Recently there have been several stories in the news, both local and national, of people who have died by their own hand. Whether it was a case of assisted suicide, a cheap attempt at martyrdom in the name of religion, or simply a person who has been overcome by the challenges of life and has given up, some people chose to take the very gift that God has given them into their own hands and chose when it was that they would die. Some would say that they did so in order to die a dignified and meaningful death. I strongly disagree.
There are absolute truths in this world. There are fundamental truths that are not subjective and cannot be debated. These truths are not a matter of debate or personal preference. One such truth is the law of gravity. None of us would think twice about arguing this truth, especially those of us who are more gravitationally challenged than others. Another such truth is that all of us, at some point, will face death head on. Whether it is the death of someone we love or our own death, our bodies will die. Fortunately for us, by the passion, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, death of the soul has been conquered and we who believe shall live forever.
Life is a gift. This is a truth that must also be accepted. God alone creates life. God has given the gift for a man and woman to express their complete and total love for one another, enjoin themselves to one another, and through God’s grace and the power of the Holy Spirit, create a new life. Along with this freedom comes the ability to choose to end a life. Whether it be through the killing of a child before it leaves the mother’s womb, murder, suicide, accidental death, or assisted suicide, God gives us the freedom to make choices that sometimes lead to death.
The flip side of the coin is that God also gives us the freedom to choose life. We are free to live our lives for the glory of God. We are free to love one another as God has loved us. We are free to fight for the basic human rights of others. We are free to protect the dignity of human life through our moral principles and our legislation. We are free to enjoy the simple pleasures of life itself.
This freedom, however, came at a price. Let us not forget that God Himself, in the person of His Son our Lord Jesus Christ, suffered, died, and was buried for our sins and our sins alone. God sent us His only Son so that we might learn not only how to love and to live, but how to die. Jesus endured betrayal, a broken heart, loneliness, physical pain, and suffering beyond description so that our sins might be forgiven. After being condemned to die, Jesus was scourged thousands of times until his flesh barely remained attached to his body. A crown of thorns was placed on his head mocking his role as King of Kings. Jesus then carried the very cross that would be used to bring about his death, a cross so heavy, that it cut into his shoulders and caused him to fall three times. At
For some the account of Jesus’ death is nothing more than a story. For some of us, we fail to associate ourselves and our own sins with Jesus’ death. Unfortunately for some, the suffering and death of Jesus means nothing to them at all.
We are a society that is infatuated with self promotion and self gratification. We strive for comfort and pleasure. We are a “drive through” society that allows us to get what we want, when we want it, for very little self sacrifice or effort. We believe that we can control our lives and that we alone have the right to make the decisions that will affect how we live. We believe that life is ours to have and also ours to take if we so choose.
The truth is, we must all learn not only how to live the life of Jesus, but also how to die like him. We must learn to die to our base passions, our lust, our greed, our selfishness. When we hurt, we should look at the pain and suffering as being redemptive. This is not to say that we should be masochistic and take pleasure in pain. However, when faced with a difficult and painful situation, we must then realize that God suffers along with us and will not give us more to bear. I have said before that God will not give us a cross that we cannot carry. Recently I came across this quote from
“The everlasting God has in his wisdom foreseen from eternity the cross that he now presents to you as a gift from his inmost heart. This cross he now sends you he has considered with his all-knowing eyes, understood with his divine mind, tested with his wise justice, warmed with loving arms, and weighed with his own hands to see that it be not one inch too large and not one ounce too heavy for you. He has blessed it with his holy Name, anointed it with his grace, perfumed it with his consolation, taken one last glance at you and your courage, and then sent it to you from heaven, a special greeting from God to you, an alms of the all-merciful love of God.”
On a recent discussion board, I read the following. “A person’s character is defined by how they lived and not how they died.” I disagree with this statement. What about the martyrs and saints who when facing torture and death remained loyal to their beliefs and professed their faith in God? What about St. Maximilian Kolbe who stepped out of line in
To sum it all up, there is no dignity in choosing to take your own life. There is no dignity in choosing death instead of seeing yourself “whither away.” There is no dignity in telling God that you are not willing to suffer any longer. There is nothing that we suffer that God has not already taken upon Himself. Having said that, we must be compassionate towards those who choose to end their life. We must pray to God and ask for His mercy on their souls. Nothing good comes from speaking ill of the dead.
As Catholics, we pray for a happy death. We ask for our Blessed Mother’s intercession at the time of our greatest need. We pray:
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed are thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
Pax Tecum,
Tom
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