Our modern medicine, while bringing many benefits, has made the considerations and decisions about end-of-life care much more complex. The euthanasia movement is exploiting this confusion. Under the “MAID” (Medical Assistance in Dying) act, euthanasia now accounts for 5% of all deaths in Canada – or about 15,ooo people yearly. Watch for such initiatives in our state as well.
We don’t do well with the situation after death either. How should we mourn? How do we prepare for the funeral? For the burial? Many people rush through the mourning process so that they can get on with “real life.” They thus miss an opportunity to honor their loved one and mourn in a healthy, healing way.
Blessed are those who mourn. That’s perhaps the most perplexing beatitude. But it means at least this, that those who approach death properly – with the mind of Christ – will be blessed in so doing.
This fall our parish is sponsoring a three-part series on end-of-life issues. What’s the Catholic understanding of death? What are the moral, medical, and legal implications? How does one plan for a funeral? How can we provide for those who survive us?
For guidance on these and other issues, please join us for this series.
