Posted on 02/26/2011 8:53:21 PM PST by Salvation
For Christians, this teaching takes on even greater depth because our Lord entered this world and our own human condition. Our Lord knew the joy and pain, success and failure, pleasure and suffering, happiness and sorrow that come in this life; yet, He also showed us how to live this life in the love of God and trusting in His will. Moreover, Jesus suffered, died, and rose to free us from sin and give us the promise of everlasting life. Through our baptism, we share a new life in the Lord. St. Paul reminds us, "You have been purchased, and at a price. So glorify God in your body" (I Corinthians 6:20).
Therefore, we must be mindful that the preservation of our life — body and soul — is not something discretionary but obligatory. We must preserve and nourish both our physical and spiritual life. The Catechism asserts, "Everyone is responsible for his life before God who has given it to him. It is God who remains the sovereign Master of life. We are obliged to accept life gratefully and preserve it for his honor and the salvation of our souls. We are stewards, not owners, of the life God has entrusted to us. It is not ours to dispose of" (#2280).
With this foundation in mind, we can see why suicide has traditionally be considered a gravely wrong moral action, i.e. a mortal sin. Our Holy Father affirmed this position in his encyclical Evangelium Vitae (#66). (Please note that suicide is distinguished from the sacrifice of one's life for God or another, as in the cases of martyrdom, or of offering one's life or risking it to save another person.)
The intentional taking of one's own life is wrong for several reasons: First, in the most basic sense, each human being naturally seeks to his preserve life. To take our own life defies our natural instinct to live.
Second, suicide violates a genuine love for oneself and one's neighbor-- family, friends, neighbors, and even acquaintances. Other people need us and depend upon us in ways we may not even know. When I as a priest have had to comfort the family of a suicide victim, I hope that the person somehow realizes how much he really was loved and needed. I also feel sad that this poor troubled person faced something so seemingly unbearable, insurmountable, or agonizing that he chose to withdraw from the love of God and others, and kill himself.
Finally, suicide defies the love we owe God. Sure, we all face the tough times, hardships, and sufferings. However, we are called to place ourselves in the hands of God who will never abandon us, but see us safely through this life. The words of the "Our Father" — "thy will be done" — must be real for us. To commit suicide is to reject His "lordship" in our life.
Therefore, objectively, suicide is a mortal sin. (Moreover, to help someone commit suicide is also a mortal sin.) Here though we must remember that for a sin to be mortal and cost someone salvation, the objective action (in this case the taking of one's own life) must be grave or serious matter; the person must have an informed intellect (know that this is wrong); and the person must give full consent of the will (intend to commit this action). In the case of suicide, a person may not have given full consent of the will. Fear, force, ignorance, habit, passion, and psychological problems can impede the exercise of the will so that a person may not be fully responsible or even responsible at all for an action. Here again the Catechism states, "Grave psychological disturbances, anguish, or grave fear of hardship, suffering, or torture can diminish the responsibility of the one committing suicide" (#2282). This qualification does not make suicide a right action in any circumstance; however, it does make us realize that the person may not be totally culpable for the action because of various circumstances or personal conditions.
Only God can read the depths of our soul. Only He knows how much we love Him and how responsible we are for our actions. We leave the judgment then to Him alone. The Catechism offers words of great hope: "We should not despair of the eternal salvation of persons who have taken their own lives. By ways known to Him alone, God can provide the opportunity for salutary repentance. The Church prays for persons who have taken their own lives" (#2283). Therefore, we do offer the Mass for the repose of the soul of a suicide victim, invoking God's tender love and mercy, and His healing grace for the grieving loved ones.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Saunders, Rev. William. "The Sin of Suicide ." Arlington Catholic Herald.
This article is reprinted with permission from Arlington Catholic Herald.
God is the judge. He knows all the details. Sometimes we think we do, but we really don’t.
I’ve heard it associated that whenever a temptation of suicide arises, there frequently is also a temptation of 1 to 3 other forms of arrogance: self-justification, self-deception, and/or self-absorption.
In each of these forms of arrogance, the person being tempted fails to exercise faith in what God has exercised at the Cross.
You believe what you want, I have no problem with that. I’ll believe (or not believe) what I want. Thanks.
So sorry for your loss as well, navyblue. I cannot imagine the pain that family members feel when a loved one chooses that path.
Me too.
My son of 28 years committed suicide 05/16/2010. My wife and I did not get to see his body and had to have a closed casket because he had stuck a 12 gauge shot gun in his mouth and pull the trigger. The police and funeral director said we did not want to remember him that way.
My son had been depressed for several years and his doctor changed his medication about two or three months before he died. Was it the change in medication? I don’t know.
He had accepted Christ as his savior when he was younger and you could see the fruits of his salvation. We are baptist and believe once saved always saved. I talked to my pastor about this and he said that God would not go back on his promise when my son was saved and that he was with God.
No parent should have to go through this but God has given my wife and I to live from one day to the next, with the hope and promise that we will see our son again.
Standing beside you in sorrow, as a friend, to share your pain. None of us are perfect parents. I think that if I could have one “wish” come true, it would be to be a perfect parent to my children whom I love beyond words.
But none of us can, and we can’t protect them, either, no matter how we want to; any parents would rather suffer anything than have their children suffer, but that is not given to us. The Almighty knows our deepest heart, and weeps with us in His Love.
You don't realize you yourself are arrogant in accusing suicidal patients of this gibberish.
In many cases, depression is a cross to bear and the afflicted serves God's will by suffering so. It can be a form of redemptive suffering, up to but not including suicide.
God bless and comfort you and your wife.
Yes, thanks for posting this!
May God bless you in your sorrow.
If people were not so afraid of mental problems they might seek help sooner..
It was not your fault that your son choose his way. You may feel so, but its not true. At maturity we make our own choices but it leaves those left behind devastated. I prayed for a year and finally said (don't be offended) the heck with this, I'm going to the doctor to find out whats wrong. I was in my 30's and my parents had nothing to do with my situation. Neither did you have any thing to do with your son's situation.
I remember reading years ago someplace in the OT that G-d gives us physicians also...maybe in was in proverbs, I don't remember. I know nothing I can say will help ease your grief, I too lost a child shortly after birth. Her name was AnnMarie and she only lived 10 hours, so I understand your pain, but just know, it was not your fault..We all make our own decisions.
There can be many reasons for suicide, for some it is a brain that is not functioning correctly. I am glad I am not the one that judges after death. But I do believe G-d is merciful and only He reads the heart...
PS It must be the name, I am a Judith also..:O)
That’s a heart breaking story, I am so sorry. I do believe God when he said he will not leave his work incomplete. What he started in your son when he accepted Christ was complete when he left this World, no matter how he left his mortal body. Rest assure he is now at home with the Lord.
February 27, 2011
Sunday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time
Reading 1
Responsorial Psalm
Reading 2
Gospel
Reading 1
Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me;
my LORD has forgotten me.”
Can a mother forget her infant,
be without tenderness for the child of her womb?
Even should she forget,
I will never forget you.
R. (6a) Rest in God alone, my soul.
Only in God is my soul at rest;
from him comes my salvation.
He only is my rock and my salvation,
my stronghold; I shall not be disturbed at all.
R. Rest in God alone, my soul.
Only in God be at rest, my soul,
for from him comes my hope.
He only is my rock and my salvation,
my stronghold; I shall not be disturbed.
R. Rest in God alone, my soul.
With God is my safety and my glory,
he is the rock of my strength; my refuge is in God.
Trust in him at all times, O my people!
Pour out your hearts before him.
R. Rest in God alone, my soul.
Brothers and sisters:
Thus should one regard us: as servants of Christ
and stewards of the mysteries of God.
Now it is of course required of stewards
that they be found trustworthy.
It does not concern me in the least
that I be judged by you or any human tribunal;
I do not even pass judgment on myself;
I am not conscious of anything against me,
but I do not thereby stand acquitted;
the one who judges me is the Lord.
Therefore do not make any judgment before the appointed time,
until the Lord comes,
for he will bring to light what is hidden in darkness
and will manifest the motives of our hearts,
and then everyone will receive praise from God.
Jesus said to his disciples:
“No one can serve two masters.
He will either hate one and love the other,
or be devoted to one and despise the other.
You cannot serve God and mammon.
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life,
what you will eat or drink,
or about your body, what you will wear.
Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?
Look at the birds in the sky;
they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns,
yet your heavenly Father feeds them.
Are not you more important than they?
Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span?
Why are you anxious about clothes?
Learn from the way the wild flowers grow.
They do not work or spin.
But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor
was clothed like one of them.
If God so clothes the grass of the field,
which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow,
will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith?
So do not worry and say, ‘What are we to eat?’
or ‘What are we to drink?’or ‘What are we to wear?’
All these things the pagans seek.
Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness,
and all these things will be given you besides.
Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself.
Sufficient for a day is its own evil.”
We never know who is reading these threads, do we?
Steve and GG: I just want to say that even though we only know each other here, I am so pleased to have both of you in my life. You have an impact, and of course you will never know, in this life, who you have touched, or how you have made life’s burdens a little lighter just by your presence — yet, you have. That’s important. The world needs all the good folks it can get....
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.