"Dying begins with birth"
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.
