- Michigan Catholic Conference » Public Policy » MCC Board / Bishops’ Statements » Living & Dying According to the Voice of FaithA good letter about death’s place in the cycle of life. Good questions for reflection at the end. tags: death, dying, grief
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The prospect of our own inevitable dying, and watching our loved ones die, naturally raises anxieties and fears about our capacity to bear the physical pain and psychological stress that might be connected to the dying process. We fear the possibility of being alone and forgotten. We perhaps lack the appropriate information about the proper steps to take in planning for our future death and that of our loved ones. We worry about the financial resources required for long-term care.
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For many people the dying process is especially frightening because it seems to be the final and most complete moment of isolation, separation and loneliness. We imagine being caught in unending physical agony with no one who could possibly understand, much less comfort us. Following the voice of fear, we run away from death and desperately try to put it out of mind and sight—as far and as long as possible. And when it seems that death can no longer be avoided, we are naturally tempted to consider a quick escape or exit.
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We often think that death is the end of the story. We forget that it is foreshadowed throughout our life; dying is woven into the very fiber of our life from its inception. The voice of faith reassures us that we need not fear death but at the same time, because we are human, we can still be anxious about the circumstances of our death. Not knowing what the future may hold, we do not want to give up all the opportunities and gifts around us. When it is time for us to leave this world, it is fitting that we should want to die in a way that is meaningful, even beautiful and inspiring—for us and for all those we love.
In the dying process, there is still a great scope for personal choice and responsibility: How we face the mysteries of suffering, dying, and death makes a critical difference for us and for our loved ones who wish to offer us compassionate support. As stewards of the gift of life, we see every aspect of life and death as part of a larger picture and part of our ongoing relationship with God and neighbor. -
Dying patients and their caregivers have the right and responsibility to determine whether a particular means of treatment is necessary. If, in consultation with their physician, they rightly judge a treatment to be useless or unduly burdensome, patients are free to undergo the treatment or to forgo it. When death is clearly inevitable and close at hand, a patient or caregiver can make the decision to forgo aggressive medical treatment which would impose an excessive burden on patient and family. In such cases, the Church particularly encourages pain management and hospice care for the dying. Further, patients and their caregivers have a legitimate right to insist on the best and most effective pain management and treatment to minimize suffering. One may even legitimately choose to relieve pain by use of medications which may have the unfortunate side effect of decreasing consciousness or shortening one’s life, if this is done with the intent of relieving pain, and no other means are available to serve this goal. This is very different from the direct intention to take life, as in euthanasia.
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s family and friends gather around a dying person, powerful and mysterious gifts often emerge—reconciliation and healing where once there had been brokenness and division; peace and acceptance for all that has been; and the opportunity to express gratitude for a life well-lived. For such things to happen, we need time and the presence of supportive family and friends. These gifts cannot come to fruition when someone dies all alone in a motel room or in the back of a parked van.
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Even when we are dependent on medical staff, family and friends, we still have much to give to others. Silently but dramatically, dying persons remind us of our ultimate human vocation and destiny; in their absolute dependence, they teach us that being, matters more than doing.
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Facing our inevitable death, we recognize our ultimate solidarity with every other person. Dying and death are not the final separation from others, but rather something all human beings have in common. No matter what other differences may separate us, in dying we enter into the fullness of human solidarity.
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- By God’s GraceThe blog of a mother with a little girl who has trisomy 18 and is defying the odds! She is a beauty too!tags: mothersloveyourbabies
- little april roseA remarkable blog by a young woman pregnant with a Trisomy baby girl who also has HPE who has decided to carry her to term and just let life happen. A powerful witness!tags: mothersloveyourbabies
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