Dear Parishioners,

Here is a reminder of a few things to pay attention to these next two weeks. This week the Youth Garage Sale will happen Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Come check it out if you are looking for some quality items at a great price.

Fr. Sekher will be celebrating Masses in our cluster this coming weekend (July 19th -20th ). He is an Indian priest who serves in our diocese. He will be making a mission appeal.

July 22-24 we won’t have daily Mass, I will be on vacation with my family. I’ll be back for Mass on Friday the 25th. Recently in the news there has been some coverage of different countries or states passing assisted suicide bills. I think it is worth discussing this a little bit here. As Catholics we must oppose this idea that it is okay to choose to end our lives. The culture that supports this notion that choosing to end our lives is acceptable is motivated by the wrong reasoning. Those who advocate for assisted suicide usually do so out of a misguided sense of compassion. The idea driving assisted suicide is that suffering should be avoided, and if someone is suffering, they should have the option to end their lives. It is not surprising that people might want to avoid suffering. Suffering itself is not a good. However, in our Catholic faith we understand that there are times when suffering can help us prepare to be with God. Suffering can be offered in union with God for the good of others. We can unite our sufferings to Jesus and then that suffering becomes salvific. Meaning, it becomes a work of love to endure our sufferings for the sake of others.

Many saints have suffered greatly and have united their sufferings to Jesus and with the express intention of offering their sufferings for those who need assistance. This is especially can be offered for souls in purgatory, souls in danger of damnation who are still alive, and for the conversion of others.

It is not surprising that someone who is not a believer would not understand this concept of offering our sufferings for others. It requires a pretty developed faith and understanding of how we can share in the sufferings of Christ. St. Paul in Colossians 1:24 says: “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is the church…” This passage has been discussed often by theologians. Scott Hahn who is a famous convert to Catholicism who discussed this passage and how it made quite an impression on him and helped in his own conversion to Catholicism.

Suffering then is not something we look for or seek out, but when it does come our way, we can embrace it for the greater good of others. This is a real challenge, but it does offer us a real chance to do something with our sufferings and not just wallow in them. I have often seen that someone who suffers for a long time throughout their life and especially at the end of life, can truly become sanctified. I’ve seen people grow in patience, in charity, and humility even as they are stripped of many things. This is truly a beautiful witness of trusting in God, and uniting ourselves to God. On the other hand, I have also seen situations where someone has been so comfortable throughout their life that any little suffering is a real hardship. There is a great sorrow in them, and they are really looking for sympathy and making sure everyone knows how much they are suffering. They can’t see beyond their own pain. This isn’t surprising… it is natural on a certain level (this is probably how I would suffer currently), but it really isn’t edifying. When someone focuses on uniting their sufferings to Jesus it is inspiring.

If we short circuit the process by seeking assisted suicide, we rob God the chance to purify us and move our hearts to a new place. Being serene in the face of suffering doesn’t usually happen right away, there is a dying to self that happens. This takes time, and for some people it might be the thing that saves them. It might be the thing that helps them be ready to meet God. But if instead they simply end their lives, they aren’t allowing time for that conversion to happen within their lives.

This is why all forms of assisted suicide are tragic and must be resisted. Even as we can understand why people might be supportive of such measures… it really shows a lack of understanding of the Christian life.

Just by way of clarification, if a Catholic chooses to end their life by assisted suicide this would be a clear break with the Church, and with God’s plan for them. Only God can judge a soul, so we leave that up to God. However, by an the external measure which we have access to… this would be a rejection of our faith. Therefore, it would be questionable of whether a Catholic funeral could be offered to someone who has chosen assisted suicide. By their public act they are rejecting the Catholic faith, and have done so in a very public and permanent manner. This is very different then someone who in a moment of passion ends their life while dealing with a temporary state of extreme emotional darkness.

There is more that could be said on this topic, but I wanted to share some thoughts on it as it continues to make headlines and has by and large been accepted by our culture. This is not in conformity with our Catholic faith. Cooperating with suicide and making public plans for suicide are gravely sinful.

In Christ,

Fr. Eli