SRE Bible study
A Mini Bible Study over the 7 Sacraments of the Catholic Church
SRE STYLE
(All Church Father references come from Catholic Answers at http://www.catholic.com/library/fathers_know_best.asp)
Baptism
In the
beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and
empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of
God was hovering over the waters. And God said, "Let there
be light," and there was light. (Genesis 1:1-3)
Notice the
pattern
1) Darkness
2) The Holy Spirit & water
3) Light
In the
beginning there was darkness, followed by light. And in between the two, we see the Spirit of God. In the
Scriptures the Holy Spirit is often referred
to as the “wind.” Darkness represents sin, Water represents baptism and
light represents life in Christ.
The Great Flood
The earliest explicit reference to baptism in Scripture is Noah's flood in Genesis
6-9, according to 1 Peter 3:20-21. “when God's patience waited in the days of Noah, during the building of
the ark, in which a few, that is, eight
persons, were saved through water. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now
saves you” (Notice Peter says that baptism now saves us)
1) Spiritual darkness (the world is covered in evil)
2) Water (the flood . . . also called "baptism")
3) Spiritual light (the new world begins with 8 people in covenant with
God)
The Exodus
Now consider the Israelites' exodus from
1) Bondage in
2) Crossing the Red Sea (water baptism)
3) Freedom from
(By the crossing of the Red Sea God’s chosen people were saved by water, just as we are in Baptism)
Ceremonial Purifications in the Old Testament-Ritual washing takes two main forms in Judaism: tevilah, full body immersion in a mikvah, and netilat yadayim, washing the hands with a cup.
Now consider the various OT ceremonial purifications
1) Ceremonial uncleanness - can't approach God (spiritual darkness)
2) Ceremonial purification - (baptisms by blood, water, or both)
3) Ceremonial cleanness - can approach God (spiritual light)
John the Baptist
1)
The world is in spiritual darkness.
2) John baptizes with water --- John points toward the "Light"
3) The "Light of the world" [Jesus] comes.
John 8; 12 Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.
Ezek 36:25-27, "I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses...a new heart I will give you and a new spirit I will put within you...and I will put My spirit within you
New Testament
John 3:5
He said no one can enter the
Acts 2:38
"Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Baptism takes away sin)
Acts 22:16
"And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized, and wash away your sins..." (Notice how it says that baptism will wash away your sins)
Matt 28; 19
Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit… ( One of Christ last commands was to baptize)
Church Fathers
Didache (70ad) "Concerning baptism, baptize in this manner: Having said all these things beforehand, baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit in living water [that is, in running water, as in a river]. If there is no living water, baptize in other water; and, if you are not able to use cold water, use warm. If you have neither, pour water three times upon the head in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Tertullian
"No one can attain salvation without
baptism, especially in view of the declaration of the Lord, who says, 'Unless a
man shall be born of water, he shall not have life'" (Baptism 12:1
[A.D. 203]).
Origen
"It is not
possible to receive forgiveness of sins without baptism" (Exhortation
to the Martyrs 30 [A.D. 235]).
Confession
In the Old Testament we see God developing the plan of confession.
What did God desire Adam and Eve to do after the fall? He wanted them to show repentance and contrition (sorrow) by confessing their sins. Notice that God tries to draw out a confession from them after the fall. When God questions Adam about eating the fruit what does Adam do? He confesses but he blames Eve for his sin. Does Eve own up to it? No she blames the serpent.
The same thing happens after Cain kills Abel. God ask where is your brother Abel. Now God knows everything he knew what happen to Abel but he was trying to show Cain the need to confess your sins. What does Cain do? He lies “I don’t know! What am I my brother’s keeper? God was trying to change Cain’s heart. Could you imagine talking to God like that? That’s what sin does it separates us from friendship with God.
This is why we go to confession. God knows what we done, but confessing our sins, helps us own up to them and puts us on the path of fixing our broken relationship with God.
GOD uses His priests as His instruments of reconciliation. God has always used a priest to help the sinner make atonement for his sins. The New Covenant priesthood is prefigured or 'typed' in many places in the Old Testament. Here are several examples from the Old Testament of reconciliation and atonement being performed by a priest.
Leviticus 4:20: "...Thus the priest
shall make atonement for them, and they will be forgiven." (Priest have
always helped people make atonement for their sins)
Leviticus 4:26: "Thus the priest shall make atonement for the
prince's sin, and it will be forgiven."
Leviticus 4:32: "Thus the priest shall make atonement for him, and
he will be forgiven."
Leviticus 4:35: "Thus the priest shall make atonement for the man's
sin, and it will be forgiven."
Leviticus 5:5-6: "...then whoever is guilty in any of these cases
shall confess the sin he has incurred, and as his sin offering for his sin he
has committed he shall bring to the Lord a female animal from the flock, a ewe
lamb or a she-goat. The priest shall then make atonement for his sin."
See also Leviticus 5:10, 13, 16, 18, 12:8, 14:18-20, 31, 15:15, 30, 19:22.
Leviticus 6:7: "And the priest shall make atonement for him before
the Lord; and it shall be forgiven him for any thing of all that he has done in
trespassing therein."
New Testament
2 Corinthians 5:17-20: "Therefore, if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. So we are ambassadors for Christ, GOD making his appeal through us. We beseech you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God." (Notice that Paul says that the ministry of reconciling people back to God has been given to the Church, and that the leaders of the Church are Ambassadors for Christ and that God appeals through them)
Matthew 18:18: "Amen I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed also in heaven." (The Apostles had the power to bind people to their sins or loosen them from their sins)
James 5; 16:
Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful. ( James tells us how to have our sins forgiven, Confess your sins to one another)
John 20:21-23: "He therefore said to them again, 'Peace be with you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you'. When He had said this, He breathed upon them, and said to them, 'receive the Holy Spirit; whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained'." (Christ gives the leaders of His church the power to forgive sins)
Church Fathers
Tertullian
"Regarding confession, some flee from this work as being an exposure of themselves, or they put it off from day to day. I presume they are more mindful of modesty than of salvation, like those who contract a disease in the more shameful parts of the body and shun making themselves known to the physicians; and thus they perish along with their own bashfulness" (Repentance 10:1 [A.D. 203]).
Tertullian
The Church has the power of forgiving sins. This I acknowledge and believe to be. (Repentance., 21 [A.D. 203)
Basil the Great
"It is necessary to confess our sins to those to whom the dispensation of God’s mysteries is entrusted. Those doing penance of old are found to have done it before the saints. It is written in the Gospel that they confessed their sins to John the Baptist [Matt. 3:6], but in Acts [19:18] they confessed to the apostles" (Rules Briefly Treated 288 [A.D. 374]).
John Chrysostom
Priests have received a power which God has given neither to angels nor to archangels. It was said to them: "Whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever you shall loose, shall be loosed." Temporal rulers have indeed the power of binding; but they can only bind the body. Priests, in contrast, can bind with a bond which pertains to the soul itself and transcends the very heavens. Did [God] not give them all the powers of heaven? "Whose sins you shall forgive," (The Priesthood 3:5 [A.D. 387])
Eucharist
The Old Testament points to the Eucharist in these passages.
1
Kings 7:48
Solomon also made all the furnishings that were in the LORD's temple: the
golden altar; the golden table on which was the bread of the Presence. (Wow the
bread of presence and today we have Jesus present is the Eucharistic bread)
Exodus 16:4-36
(Manna) Then the LORD said to Moses, "I will now rain down bread from heaven for you. (Jesus our true bread of life also came down from Heaven)
Zechariah 9:15
They shall drink blood like wine, till they are filled with it like libation bowls, like the corners of the altar. (This is a great prophecy that occurred over 500 years before Christ, we fulfill this prophecy today in the Mass)
Genesis 14:18
"Melchizedek king of
New Testament
Matthew 26; 26-28
While they were eating, Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and giving it to his disciples said, "Take and eat; this is my body." Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins. (This was the first Mass)
John 6; 35
Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life
John 6; 53
Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.
John 6; 55
For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink
(The whole 6th chapter of John is worth reading here)
1st Corinthians 11; 23-25
For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over, took bread, and, after he had given thanks, broke it and said, "This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me."
1st Corinthians 11; 27-30
Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord. A person should examine himself, and so eat the bread and drink the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many among you are ill and infirm, and a considerable number are dying. (We must make sure that we are in a state of grace when we receive the Eucharist, if we are not then we need to refrain from receiving it until we can get to confession)
Church Fathers
Ignatius of
Justin Martyr
"We call this food Eucharist, and no one else is permitted to partake of it, except one who believes our teaching to be true and who has been washed in the washing which is for the remission of sins and for regeneration [i.e., has received baptism] and is thereby living as Christ enjoined.
Augustine "What you see is the bread and the chalice; that is what your own eyes report to you. But what your faith obliges you to accept is that the bread is the body of Christ and the chalice is the blood of Christ. Sermons 272 (411 A.D.)
In the Old Testament (Covenant) the Jewish people were required to slay a lamb for a sacrifice, the sacrifice wasn’t done until they had eaten the lamb. Jesus is called The Lamb of God 27 times in the book of The Apocalypse (Revelation).
Apocalypse (Revelations)
5:6 * 5:8 * 5:12 * 5:13 * 6:1 * 6:16 * 7:9 * 7:10 * 7:14 * 7:17 * 12:11 13:8 * 14:1 * 14:4 * 14:10 * 15:3 * 17:14 * 17:14 * 19:7 * 19:9 * 21:9
21:14 * 21:22 * 21:23 * 21:27 * 22:1 * 22:3
Confirmation
By the sacrament of Confirmation, [the baptized] are more perfectly bound to the Church and are enriched with a special strength of the Holy Spirit.
Old Testament
Genesis 2; 7
The LORD God formed man out of the clay of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and so man became a living being. (This is the first time in recorded History that God ever breathed on anybody, the breath of life is symbolic of the Holy Spirit)
Ezekiel 36; 27
I will put my spirit within you and make you live by my statutes, careful to observe my decrees. (That’s what Gods does today at baptism and at Confirmation he strengthens us)
Joel 3; 1
Then afterward I will pour out my spirit upon all mankind. Your sons and daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions; (At Confirmation we receive special gifts that strengthen the Holy Spirit within us)
New Testament
Acts 18; 17
Then they laid hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit. (At Confirmation the Priest or Bishop lays hands on our forehead)
Acts 9; 17
So Ananias went and entered the house; laying his hands on him, he said, "Saul, my brother, the Lord has sent me, Jesus who appeared to you on the way by which you came, that you may regain your sight and be filled with the holy Spirit." (Notice Ananias laid hands upon Paul)
Acts 19; 6
And when Paul laid (his) hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.
Hebrews 6; 1-2
"Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment" (Confirmation was referred to as “the Laying on of hands”
Acts 2; 3-4
Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim. (At Confirmation we receive special gifts of the Holy Spirit)
Church Fathers
Hippolytus
"The bishop, imposing his hand on them, shall make an invocation, saying, ‘O Lord God, who made them worthy of the remission of sins through the Holy Spirit’s washing unto rebirth, send into them your grace so that they may serve you according to your will, for there is glory to you, to the Father and the Son with the Holy Spirit, in the holy Church, both now and through the ages of ages (The Apostolic Tradition 21–22 [A.D. 215]).
Cyprian of Carthage
"It is necessary for him that has been baptized also to be anointed, so that by his having received chrism, that is, the anointing, he can be the anointed of God and have in him the grace of Christ" (Letters 7:2 [A.D. 253]).
Cyril of
Council of
"Those who have been given the light of Christ are, after baptism,
to be anointed with celestial chrism and thus become partakers in the
Ambrose
Recall then that you have received the spiritual seal, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of right judgment and courage, the spirit of knowledge and reverence, the spirit of holy fear in God's presence. Guard what you have received. God the Father has marked you with his sign; Christ the Lord has confirmed you and has placed his pledge, the Spirit, in your hearts (De myst. 7, 42: PL 16, 402-403.)
It is evident from its celebration that the effect of the sacrament of Confirmation is the special outpouring of the Holy Spirit as once granted to the apostles on the day of Pentecost.
From this fact, Confirmation brings an increase and deepening of baptismal grace:
· it roots us more deeply in the divine filiation which makes us cry, "Abba! Father!"
· it unites us more firmly to Christ;
· it increases the gifts of the Holy Spirit in us;
· it renders our bond with the Church more perfect.
· it gives us a special strength of the Holy Spirit to spread and defend the faith by word and action as true witnesses of Christ, to confess the name of Christ boldly, and never to be ashamed of the Cross.
Marriage
Old Testament
Genesis 1; 28
God created man in his image; in the divine image he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them, saying: "Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it.
Genesis 2; 23-34
"This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; This one shall be called 'woman,' for out of 'her man' this one has been taken." That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one body.
Genesis 24; 67
Then Isaac took Rebekah into his tent; he married her, and thus she became his wife. In his love for her Isaac found solace after the death of his mother Sarah. (Notice how simple weddings were in the beginning)
Leviticus 17; 17
Neither shall he have a great number of wives, lest his heart be estranged…
1st Maccabees 9; 37
After this, word was brought to Jonathan and his brother
Simon: "The sons of Jambri
are celebrating a great wedding, and with a large escort they are bringing
the bride, the daughter of one of the great princes of
New Testament
Apocalypse (Rev) 19; 7-9
Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory. For the wedding day of the Lamb has come, his bride has made herself ready. She was allowed to wear a bright, clean linen garment." (The linen represents the righteous deeds of the holy ones.) Then the angel said to me, "Write this: Blessed are those who have been called to the wedding feast of the Lamb." (Jesus and the Church are referred to as a marriage, Christ being the groom and the Church as his bride. The marriage feast is the Mass)
Mark 10; 11-12
He said to them, "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery." (Notice it’s the remarrying that causes the problem)
1st Corinthians 10; 10-11
To the married, however, I give this instruction (not I, but the Lord): a wife should not separate from her husband and if she does separate she must either remain single or become reconciled to her husband--and a husband should not divorce his wife. (A Christian marriage is forever)
Mark 10; 4-9
They replied, "Moses permitted him to write a bill of divorce and dismiss her." But Jesus told them, "Because of the hardness of your hearts he wrote you this commandment. But from the beginning of creation, 'God made them male and female. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother (and be joined to his wife), and the two shall become one flesh.' So they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, no human being must separate." (The Church recognizes that there are Civil Marriages and there are Christian Marriages. An Annulment is a “court declaration” that declares whether a marriage is Civil or if it is indeed a Christian marriage)
Hermas
"What then shall the husband do, if the wife continue in this disposition [adultery]? Let him divorce her, and let the husband remain single. But if he divorce his wife and marry another, he too commits adultery" (The Shepherd 4:1:6 [A.D. 80]).
Clement of
Council of Elvira "Likewise, women who have left their husbands for no prior cause and have joined themselves with others, may not even at death receive Communion" (Canon 8 [A.D. 300]).
Ambrose of
"No one is permitted to know a woman other than his wife. The marital right is given you for this reason: lest you fall into the snare and sin with a strange woman. ‘If you are bound to a wife do not seek a divorce’; for you are not permitted, while your wife lives, to marry another" (Abraham 1:7:59 [A.D. 387]).
Augustine
"In marriage, however, let the blessings of marriage be loved: offspring, fidelity, and the sacramental bond. (Adulterous Marriages 1:17:19 [A.D. 419]).
Holy Orders
Old Testament
Genesis 14; 18-20
Melchizedek,
king of
Exodus 29; 1
“This is the rite you shall perform in consecrating them as my priests. [The rest of the chapter deals with the ceremony of concentration] (This shows that God has always designated priest to serve his people)
Exodus 28; 1-2
“From among the Israelites have your brother Aaron, together with his sons Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, brought to you, that they may be my priests. For the glorious adornment of your brother Aaron you shall have sacred vestments made. (Moses brother Aaron and his sons were the priest of Judaism, the descendance of Levi served in the temple as well)
Numbers 18; 1
The LORD said to Aaron, “You and your sons as well as the other members of your ancestral house shall be responsible for the sanctuary; but the responsibility of the priesthood shall rest on you and your sons alone.
New Testament
1 Tim 3:1-2
This saying is trustworthy: whoever aspires to the office of bishop (episcopes) desires a noble task. Therefore, a bishop (episcopon) must be irreproachable, married only once, temperate, self-controlled, decent, hospitable, able to teach (You’ll notice that some of the early Bishops were married, celibacy is a discipline not a doctrine. Some Eastern Rite Catholics still have married priest, and even in the Latin Rite (Roman) we have a few married priest.)
Titus 1:7,9
For a bishop (episcopon) as God's steward must be blameless, ... holding fast to the true message as taught so that he will be able both to exhort with sound doctrine and to refute opponents. (Bishops are the successors of the Apostles)
Tit 1:5-6
Appoint presbyters (priest) in every town, as I directed you (The Church has always had priest serving at the altar of the Lord)
1 Tim 5:17
Presbyters (Priest) who preside well deserve double honor, especially those who toil in preaching and teaching.
1 Tim 4:6,13,16
If you will give these instructions to the brothers, you will be a good minister (diakonos [deacon]) of Christ Jesus, nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound teaching you have followed. ... Until I arrive, attend to the reading, exhortation, and teaching. Attend to yourself and to your teaching. (Deacons are not something new the Catholic Church has always had deacons. The practice of having lay men as Deacons, faded away for a long time but has seen a rise in resent years.)
1 Tim 3:8-9
Similarly, deacons (diaconos) must be dignified, not deceitful, not addicted to drink, not greedy for sordid gain, holding fast to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. (Deacons must live holy lives) (Notice the 3 branches of Holy Orders, Bishop, Priest, and Deacon) (All cardinals are Bishops, the Pope is a Bishop. All Bishops are Priest, at one time all priest were Deacons)
Church Fathers
Ignatius of
Ignatius of
"Take care to do all things in harmony with God, with the bishop presiding in the place of God, and with the presbyters in the place of the council of the apostles, and with the deacons, who are most dear to me, entrusted with the business of Jesus Christ… (Letter to the Magnesians 6-1 [A.D. 110]).
Clement of
"A multitude of other pieces of advice to particular persons is written in the holy books: some for presbyters, some for bishops and deacons; (The Instructor of Children 3:12:97:2 [A.D. 191]).
John Chrysostom
"[In Philippians 1:1 Paul says,] ‘To the co-bishops and deacons.’ What does this mean? Were there plural bishops of some city? Certainly not! It is the presbyters that [Paul] calls by this title; for these titles were then interchangeable, and the bishop is even called a deacon. That is why, when writing to Timothy, he says, ‘Fulfill your diaconate’ [2 Tim. 4:5], although Timothy was then a bishop. That he was in fact a bishop is clear when Paul says to him, ‘Lay hands on no man lightly’ [1 Tim. 5:22], and again, ‘Which was given you with the laying on of hands of the presbytery’ [1 Tim. 4:14], and presbyters would not have ordained a bishop" (Homilies on Philippians 1:1 [A.D. 402]).
The anointing of the sick
Old Testament
Anointing with oil comes to us from Judaism
Ezekiel 16; 9
Then I bathed you with water, washed away your blood, and anointed you with oil.
Joel 2; 19
LORD answered and said to his people: See, I will send you grain, and wine, and oil, and you shall be filled with them
Exodus 29; 7
Then take the anointing oil and anoint him with it, pouring it on his head.
Exodus 37; 29
The sacred anointing oil and the fragrant incense were prepared in their pure form by a perfumer.
New Testament
Mark 6; 13
They drove out many demons, and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.
James 5; 14-15
Is anyone among you sick? He should summon the presbyters (Priest) of the church, and they should pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord, and the prayer of faith will save the sick man, and the Lord will raise him up. If he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven. (Notice that anointing with oil takes away sins. If you are seriously ill or you are having surgery you need to have a priest anoint you with oil)
Mark 16; 1
"When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and
Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint [aleipho] Jesus'
body."
Hebrews 1; 9
You loved justice and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, anointed you with the oil of gladness above your companions"
Church Fathers
John Chrysostom
"The priests of Judaism had power to cleanse the body from leprosy—or rather, not to cleanse it at all, but to declare a person as having been cleansed. . . . Our priests have received the power not of treating with the leprosy of the body, but with spiritual uncleanness; not of declaring cleansed, but of actually cleansing. . . . Priests accomplish this not only by teaching and admonishing, but also by the help of prayer. Not only at the time of our regeneration [in baptism], but even afterward, they have the authority to forgive sins: ‘Is there anyone among you sick? Let him call in the priests of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith shall save the sick man, and the Lord shall raise him up, and if he has committed sins, he shall be forgiven’" (On the Priesthood 3:6:190ff [A.D. 387]).
Hippolytus of
"O God who sanctifies this oil as Thou dost grant unto all who are anointed and receive of it the hallowing wherewith Thou didst anoint kings and priests and prophets, so grant that it may give strength to all that taste of it and health to all that use it." Apostolic Tradition,5:2 (c.A.D. 215),
Origen
"In addition to these there is also a seventh, albeit hard and laborious...In this way there is fulfilled that too, which the Apostle James says :'If then, there is anyone sick, let him call the presbyters of the Church, and let them impose hands upon him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer of faith will save the sick man, and if he be in sins, they shall be forgiven him." Homily on Leviticus,2:4 (A.D. 244)
Cyril of
"If some part of your body is suffering...recall also the saying in the divinely inspired Scripture: 'Is anyone among you ill? Let him call the presbyters of the Church and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick man, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he be in sins they shall be forgiven.” (James 5:14-15) Worship and Adoration, 6(A.D. 412)