Lizette Larson-Miller provides an overview of the current rites through the lens of contemporary theological, liturgical, pastoral and cultural issues. She focuses particularly on the sacramental heart of the rites: the anointing of the sick. The sacrament is explored and the crucial role played by a biblical text from the letter of James in reconstructing a rite for the sick rather than only for the dying. She looks at the central sacramental ideas surrounding the anointing of the sick that emerge from the primary actions: the prayer of faith, the laying on of hands, and the anointing with the blessed oil.
