Pastor's Corner
February 5, 2017 Pastor's Corner
I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. I Corinthians 2:2
In 1726, Daniel Defoe, author of Robinson Crusoe, published The Political History of the Devil, and in it he wrote, “Things as certain as death and taxes, can be more firmly believ’d...” We know death is a certainty, though today, many people try to deny death’s reality as much as they try to avoid paying taxes. Christians should neither fear nor deny death for “our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 3:20)
Death is a reality, and in the early 15th century, a Dominican friar wrote a treatise on “the art of dying.” In it, he explained that dying has a good side, and offered consolation to the dying that death is nothing to be afraid of. He also wrote about temptations that beset a dying person. He gave advice to friends and family on how to behave around a deathbed and prayers to be said for the dying. And like St. Paul, he spoke of the consolation that comes from knowing Jesus and the redemptive power of His love.
The church has the sacrament of the anointing of the sick for those who are sick Too often, I’m afraid, families with a loved one in the hospital don’t ask for this sacrament because they’re afraid the sick person will assume they’re dying. The sacrament of the anointing of the sick is for the sick! It should be preceded by confession so that the person is disposed to receive the healing the Lord desires to offer.
For those who are known to be dying, there are specific prayers and litanies to help combat despair and fear and to offer comfort to the dying and their loved ones. Please don’t wait until the “last possible moment” to call the priest. We may not be able to come to the hospital or your home immediately. It is ideal that the dying person is conscious and able to swallow, so that they can make a good confession and receive viaticum, a final communion. These are meant to help prepare the Catholic Christian to meet the Lord.
You can be of great comfort to someone who is dying, even if they are not able to talk or are comatose, by reading from the Bible to them. Doctors say that the hearing is the last sense to leave us, and so a dying person may receive great consolation and healing – even the grace of repentance, when they can no longer do anything else.