Sacraments of Dying

Looking forward to death under the aegis of Christ 

08/10/217

John 12:24-26 Jesus said to his disciples: "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be. The Father will honor whoever serves me."

           What is your attitude toward death? Most of us would rather not think about it, and when we bother to, we either laugh or cry. I recently came across these comical comments about death that show its humorous side. Bill Cosby said: “I want to die before my wife, and the reason is this: if it’s true that when you die your soul goes up to judgment, I don’t want my wife up there ahead of me to tell them things.” James Duffecy quipped: “A dead atheist is someone who’s all dressed up with no place to go.” Garrison Keillor joked: “They say such nice things about people at their funerals that it makes me sad that I’m going to miss mine by just a few days.” I sometimes joke with people about death by saying, “No one is getting out of here alive!”

           August 10 (today) is the feast of St. Lawrence, deacon and martyr, and he also had a humorous approach to death. He was one of the seven deacons serving in Rome under Pope Sixtus II. In 258 the Roman Emperor Valerian ordered a cruel and complete persecution of the Church which included the pope and his deacons. St. Lawrence was martyred by being grilled alive over a fire. It is reported that he joked with his executioner saying, “I’m well cooked on this side, you can turn me over.” St. Lawrence saw the humorous side of death, but where did his ability to laugh at death come from, not from a joke but from Jesus, in knowing that he was dying in the Lord, in knowing that he was dying for the Lord, and that he would soon be with the Lord for eternity. This is what the Christian faith does: it completely changes our whole life – including our death – because we see life as under the aegis of Christ. That is, faith helps us realize we truly live in his kingdom (even while we’re on earth), under his rule and his protection. In Christ’s kingdom, nothing happens without his permission, not even death, and that’s why St. Lawrence could laugh in the face of death.

            Believe it or not, the Church actually teaches us to pray for a happy death. Did you know that? What a strange thing to pray for: what could possibly be “happy” about death? Isn’t death the worst thing in the world? To be sure it is terrible; it is heart-breaking to lose a loved one; it is “the consequence of sin” as St. Paul teaches in Romans 5:12. But if we gaze at death through the lens of faith, its frightening façade begins to fade and this great foe can even be seen as a gentle friend. It can go from a moment of eternal loss to a moment of eternal love, like Jesus’ death on the Cross.

           Have you heard of the “sacraments of the dying”? Just like there are three “sacraments of initiation” – baptism, confirmation and Communion – so there are three “sacraments of the dying”: confession, Communion and Anointing of the Sick. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says: “The Christian who unites his own death to that of Jesus views it as a step towards him and an entrance into everlasting life..[T]he Church for the last time speaks Christ's words of pardon and absolution over the dying Christian (confession), seals him for the last time with a strengthening anointing (Anointing of the Sick), and gives him Christ in viaticum as nourishment for the journey (Communion)” (Catechism, 1020). You know, sometimes people don’t tell a seriously sick person they are going to die; they whisper around the deathbed. They think they are being merciful, but I believe that is misguided. Why? That fails to see death through the eyes of faith, not as a foe but as a friend, as someone who obeys the orders of Christ the King. Don’t let death sort of sneak up on you, but rather face it head on, prepare for it, indeed, pray for a happy death!

            My friends, the best way to approach death is not as a comedian but as a Christian, and it will thereby lose its menacing and morbid make-up. It says in Revelation 14:15, “Blessed are those who die in the Lord, for their good deeds go with them.” A blessed and happy death is one we should all look forward to, one like St. Lawrence enjoyed.

Praised be Jesus Christ!