body, should it tend to his eternal interests. The faithful should be convinced, that the solemn and holy prayers, which are offered by the priest, not in his own name, but in that of the Church and of its divine Founder, are heard by Almighty God; and they cannot be too earnestly exhorted, to be careful to accompany the administration of the Sacrament, with all the sanctity and religious fervour that become that awful hour, when the dying Christian is about to engage in the last conflict, and the energies of the mind as well as of the body seem to be enfeebled.
With regard to the minister of Extreme Unction, this too we learn from St. James, when he says: " Let him bring in the priests:" [1] by the word "priests," as the Council of Trent has defined, [2] he does not mean elders or persons advanced in years, or of elevated rank, but priests duly ordained by bishops with the imposition of hands. The administration of this Sacrament, therefore, is committed to priests, not however to every priest, in accordance with the decree of the Church; but to the proper priest, who has jurisdiction, or to another authorized by him. In this, as in the other Sacraments, it is also to be distinctly recollected, that the priest is the representative of Jesus Christ and of his Church.
The advantages, which flow from this Sacrament, are also to be explained more minutely, that if the sick are influenced by no other consideration, they may, at least, yield to this, for we are disposed to measure every thing by its utility. The pastor, therefore, will teach, that the grace of this Sacrament remits sins, especially lighter offences, or, as they are commonly called, venial sins. Its primary object is not to remit mortal sins. For this the Sacrament of penance was instituted, as was that of baptism for the remission of original sin. Another advantage arising from Extreme Unction is, that it removes the languor and infirmity entailed by sin, with all its other inconveniences. The time most seasonable for the application of this cure is, when we are visited by some severe malady, which threatens to prove fatal; for nature dreads no earthly visitation so much as death, and this dread is considerably augmented by the recollection of our past sins, particularly if the mind is harrowed up by the poignant reproaches of conscience; as it is written: " They shall come with fear at the thought of their sins, and their iniquities shall stand against them to convict them." [3] A source of alarm still more distressing is the awful reflection, that, in a few moments, we shall stand before the judgment-seat of God, whose justice will award that sentence, which our lives may have deserved. The terror inspired by these considerations frequently agitates the soul with the most awful apprehensions; and to calm this terror nothing can be so efficacious as the Sacrament of Extreme Unction. It quiets our fear, illumines the gloom in which the soul is enveloped, fills it with pious and
