When I first started getting involved in the church, I heard that there are sacraments. What does this word mean? I studied books and articles online and found that sacraments are sacred actions through which God mysteriously grants grace to people. There are seven of them. Baptism is the birth of a person into spiritual life. Chrismation gives strength to overcome sin and live according to the commandments. Marriage is the blessing of a family. Ordination endows a Christian with the authority to perform church sacraments and rites. The sacrament of repentance is confession, where we reveal our sins to God and receive forgiveness. Communion is the sacrament where a Christian unites with God and becomes a partaker of eternal life.

I managed to understand the first six sacraments and had even participated in some of them. But what is anointing of the sick, also known as unction?

In one article, it was written that people usually go for unction when they are sick or near death. But if I'm healthy and don't have any particular complaints about my health, does that mean this sacrament isn't for me?

During Great Lent, my friends started attending unction services. I didn't understand why I should go. Every time my friends went to the unction service, I refused.

However, I regularly went to confession. Over time, it became a habit, and I stopped preparing for it properly. I would come to the priest, forgetting my sins along the way, recite standard phrases, and then leave. Forgetting my sins, not naming them, not confessing them, and not writing them down became normal for me. This led to a state of self-justification and spiritual laxity.

Outwardly, I fulfilled the rules: I prayed, fasted, and took communion, but the "stone on my soul" grew heavier. I decided to ask a priest for advice.

"Father, I feel despondent. Something is troubling me, and I can't sleep at night. What should I do?" I asked.

"Go for unction," the priest replied with a smile.

"But I'm not sick! I just feel heavy-hearted lately," I protested.

"Right. Unconscious sins always weigh down the soul. Only the sacrament of unction can cleanse it. Illness begins with a damaged soul. We are all sick with sin. Often, we don't even notice this sinful sickness, even if we try to confess. But it affects not only the soul but the body as well. By receiving unction, we get forgiveness for those forgotten, unmentioned sins in confession."

This answer from the priest put everything in perspective. I started looking for a church where I could receive unction. It was already Holy Week, and unction was not being conducted in any church in my city. A friend explained that it’s rare to find a church offering unction during Holy Week since the Lent season, when it is usually done, had ended.

So, I found a solution to my problem but couldn't use it. I remembered how my friends invited me to unction services, and I waved them off, saying I didn't need it. Now I needed it desperately, but...

I was idly browsing the internet and came across a message in a youth Orthodox chat: "Who hasn't had unction yet? Our church will hold the sacrament of unction tonight at 8 PM, followed by the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts!"

This was not just joy, but a special kind of joy! Before, I was missing just one piece to complete the picture of spiritual life. Now, it was whole. I thank God for my discoveries and for His mercy—the sacraments that allow us to heal and save our souls!

Original article: radiovera.ru/nedostajushhij-pazl-svetlana-bakulina