....faith and life....life and faces

Death..... and then?

..."like a thief at night"

There was just a brief announcement in the news at noon: "A Boeing 727 has crashed, over 120 fatalities.  The  cause  for  the accident is still unknown".  This accident  was  not  planned.  The passengers were taken by surprise. Death came  "like a thief  at  night". Where people live, there is always the possibility  of losing  life.  Closing  our  eyes to this does not make sense. Transplantation of organs, deep-freeze operations, supplies of fresh cells, etc., help to prolong life but are unable to eliminate death.

Anointing of the sick

Someone has said  that dying begins  with birth. This was supposed to mean that right from the beginning,  life  is  in danger of death. Pain, especially, the burden of growing old and falling sick marks the  first steps toward death. Man is ripped away from his usual work rhythm by  illness and becomes dependent on the help of others. In this way, he experiences his powerlessness and limitations which find their culmination in death.

The Bible often reports that Jesus particularly directed His attention to the sick to help them. His prime goal, of course, was not physical healing but psychological encouragement  and  strengthening.  Evidently, the young Christian communities felt  obligated  to  act like Jesus. In James' letter (5,14-15) we find this directive: "Is any among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the Church,  and let them pray over him,  anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer of faith will save the sick man, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven". 

We  believe  that  Christ  accompanies  our life through the Sacraments in order to be close to us and give us help in times of illness,  aging and dying. Continuing  Jesus'  and  the Apostles' service of the sick, the Catholic Church administers the Sacrament of the  Anointment  to give hope for recovery through remission of sins and confidence in God. In the past,  the  Sacrament  which prepared for death was called "Extreme Unction".  But  now,  we  see  it  more in its original meaning, as restoring life during the longer periods of illness and aging.

What is death?

Since  we  cannot  eliminate  death,  we  repress it and make it taboo.  Above all, we do not talk about it in the presence of the sick.  Often, people get rid of the dying and have them transferred to a lonely room in a hospital, even if this is medically not necessary. Dying has turned into a private matter.  This only shows our  total  helplessness  vis-à-vis  death.   Only  recently did  people  realize  that the  dying need contact and community and that more humane attention should be given to them.

What  really  happens  when  somebody  dies?  At this question,  all of us have to admit our embarrassment. Everyone has to take the last step by himself. Respiration stops, the heart stops beating, brain activity comes to an end, and at this  stage  a  death certificate can be issued. But this is by far not all that can be said about death.

Love and Marriage

Denominationally disparate marriage

A "mixed marriage"  can bring  particular  difficulties which should be discussed with the  concerned  parties  prior  to  the  wedding.  Children's  education or  the common  life  of  faith  could  give  rise  to  disagreement.   But  these  marriages are  not  identical to  another.  There could be a chance for common action in faith;  but  the  problems  resulting  from  the  split  in  Christianity  could  also  be intensified.  In  an  extreme  case, the success of the marriage could  be  endangered  and  the  faith  of  spouses  and children be influenced negatively.

When  both  partners  take  their  faith  seriously, a marriage which is denominationally different has the best chances of success.  But in this case, the difference in faith is often  especially  painful  for  the couple, and the conflicts regarding the  wedding and education of children more pronounced. The Catholic Church tries to meet the wishes of the non-Catholic partner as long as they do not  jeopardize  the  faith  of  the other spouse and the children.

The married couple has an obligation to live  according to what they perceive to be the  true faith  and pass it on to the children;  for who would want to give to their  children  less  than  what  they  themselves  have  experienced  in  terms of purpose  and happiness  in  this life?  For this reason, no church can give an exemption from this moral obligation.  Prior to the wedding, Catholic partners must declare that they are aware of this duty and will endeavor to fulfill it as far as possible in their marriage.

But since children's education concerns both parents,  it  could  become  impossible  for the Catholic spouse to give a Catholic education to the children; in this case, the right and obligation remain to witness the Catholic faith to the spouse and the children through the conduct of life.  In addition, the commitment continues to actively participate in a responsible,  Christian, conjugal relationship and family life. Obviously, the non-Catholic partner who agreed to the Catholic upbringing of the children has the same rights.

For many married couples who consider all these questions to be important, it can be a consolation to know that the first years in the life of a child are most significant for religious education but that confessional differences play very little role during  that  period.

When  spouses  with  different  religious convictions  try honestly to resolve this conflict in faith and love and to bridge existing differences, they prepare the way for a rapprochement of the churches.      

Love and Marriage

View of the Church

Man has to find out for himself how he can best correspond to the commonly valid norms in his concrete situation. After a conscious consideration of the decrees of the Church and verification of all circumstances, even a Catholic Christian can come to a responsible decision which differs from the view of the Church.

Responsibility of parents

It is natural  that marriage and family have to do with new life and with children. The Church retains the principle that having a child can be justified only in marriage and that it should not be the result of a coincidental sexual encounter.  Only in the  continuous  love of  parents  can a child find the security needed to grow into a mature human being. Moreover, for Christians the close connection between love and procreation corresponds to the creative will of God.

Married couples themselves have to make Christian and humanely responsible decisions  regarding the number of their children.  They have to consider their own well-being, the welfare of their off springs and the material and spiritual situation of the times and of their lives. (Second Vatican Council, the Church in the World of Today, No. 50 ff.)

But sexual relationship in a marriage is also rich in meaning and good if, after serious consideration, procreation is not intended or effected. "Marriage is not only established to produce children. The personal spousal community requires this expression of love between married partners. Faithfulness and the welfare of children can suffer should the intimacy of life be abandoned. (The Church in the World of Today, No. 47 ff.)

Abortion

It is the conviction of the Church that killing of germinating life in the womb can never be allowed. From conception onward, new life must be protected like every human life. Fertilization starts the process of bringing into existence a new human being. For a Christian, forced intervention is a serious sin.  No one who has  based  his  life  on  Christian  principles  should  be tempted to  believe  that abortion  is  less  reprehensible if it is not considered an offense against the civil law.

The value of life has priority above all economic, social or psychological afflictions which could burden the mother, father or family. This shows that the question of abortion is predominantly a social problem.  When  women decide to have an abortion,  people around them  usually  have to accept  part of the blame if these women feel left alone, overburdened financially, without adequate sex education and counseling, when they see only narrow-mindedness and hear nothing else than a moralistic "I-told-you-so".