Unction

Picture a communicant stepping forward at a healing service, hands outstretched, head bowed, awaiting the touch of oil upon their forehead. This is no ordinary moment—it is a liturgical act where body and spirit intertwine, where the ancient practices of the Church meet the deep human need for healing and restoration. The application of oil, the spoken prayers, the laying on of hands—all of these gestures carry layers of theological, relational, and embodied meaning. Through the perspectives of Paul Ricoeur, Richard Kearney, and Mark Johnson, the act of receiving unction emerges as a profoundly embodied and transformative encounter with the sacred.

Paul Ricoeur’s concept of narrative identity offers a way to understand how the act of receiving unction integrates the individual’s story into the larger narrative of God’s healing work. To step forward for anointing is to acknowledge one’s place in the communal story of faith—a story where Christ’s healing ministry continues through the Church. The communicant’s body, marked with oil and touched in prayer, becomes a site of attestation, a visible affirmation of their trust in God’s redemptive power. This is not a solitary act but one deeply connected to the Church’s collective memory of Jesus healing the sick and anointing the wounded. In receiving unction, the communicant aligns their personal journey—whether of illness, struggle, or spiritual longing—with the larger narrative of divine compassion and restoration.

Richard Kearney deepens this understanding by drawing our attention to the carnal and relational nature of the sacrament. For Kearney, the act of anointing is not merely symbolic but a deeply carnal hermeneutics, an interpretation of grace through the flesh. The oil, warm and fragrant, is not an abstract sign but a tangible medium of God’s presence. The priest’s hand, steady and deliberate, becomes an extension of the divine touch. Kearney would highlight the sensory dimensions of the act: the coolness of the oil, the weight of the priest’s hand, the soft murmur of prayer. These physical sensations are not distractions but the very means through which grace is communicated. The communicant’s vulnerability—exposed in their need for healing—is met by a physical gesture of care that bridges the human and the divine.

Mark Johnson’s work on embodied cognition provides further insight into how the act of receiving unction shapes the communicant’s understanding of healing and grace. For Johnson, meaning arises from the interplay of bodily experience and conceptual thought. The anointing with oil is not merely a ritual but an embodied encounter that imprints the promise of healing onto the communicant’s very being. The tactile experience of oil on the skin, the weight of the priest’s hands, and the spoken words of prayer create an aesthetic and emotional resonance that extends beyond the moment. Johnson would suggest that this sensory engagement forms a kind of embodied memory, where the communicant’s body carries the imprint of God’s healing touch into the future. The act of anointing becomes not just a reminder but a lived experience of grace, grounding abstract ideas of restoration and wholeness in the tangible realities of the body.

The ethical dimension of unction also comes into focus through Ricoeur’s emphasis on otherness. To receive unction is to acknowledge one’s dependence—not only on God but on the community that surrounds and supports the act. The communicant’s vulnerability, laid bare in the act of stepping forward, is met with the relational care of the priest and the prayers of the gathered Church. Kearney’s reflections on carnal vulnerability remind us that this is a mutual encounter: the priest’s hand, extended in service, mirrors the communicant’s outstretched need. In this moment, the altar becomes a place of relationality, where human fragility is met with divine strength, and where the communal bonds of care and compassion are made visible.

Ultimately, the act of receiving unction at a healing service is a profoundly embodied participation in the mystery of God’s grace. The oil, the touch, the words—all converge to draw the communicant into a space where divine healing is not merely hoped for but encountered. Through their body, they experience the sacred, as the physical act of anointing becomes a means of grace that speaks to their deepest need. This is not an isolated moment but one woven into the larger story of God’s redemptive work, where the Church bears witness to the ongoing reality of Christ’s healing presence. In this act, the communicant steps into a liturgical drama where vulnerability is met with care, brokenness with restoration, and the finite realities of human life with the infinite promise of divine love.