Tough Subject

My husband looked at me a few days ago and mentioned how he was tired of being ill and in pain.Thought it would be easier to 'get it over with'. If he was planning to commit suicide he would have kept this thought to himself. I know he was despondent and wanted to let me know how difficult it was becoming.Yes, he is in chronic pain. I told him, no you can't do that. I would say though the thought has crossed my own mind a VERY VERY few times

It would not be healthy to dwell on the topic but since i've put it out here i wanted to share a few thoughts about both suicide and euthanasia.

Suicide is wrong.PERIOD. It's a grave sin according to Catholic teaching although there may be mitigating factors. As with any sin several conditions must be present to make it mortal(i'll write about that another day). In our country we do all we can to prevent suicides. We always have. It would not be good for our country to go down the path of accepting suicide.

I knew my own suicidal thought was wrong. I know that it was a temptation that came to me for different reasons than my husband.I concluded that it came down to wanting to have control of my own life. It was a temptation to think I am going to die anyway so why not choose the time myself? WRONG in so many ways. God gave me my life. God gave my husband his life. Suicide is no better than murder. We have no right to take any life in murder,not even our own. It is a sin of pride thinking that I am God and get to make this choice. Life is not about how much we control it for ourselves.Life is about living it to the fullest and meant to be shared with others,especially a spouse when we marry.

I know how my husband feels. I've watched him suffer terribly.I've also seen how he has grown as a person because of all we have faced.There are days he feels incredibly well too and enjoys all the things he has always enjoyed.Maybe he appreciates those little things more because of what he has been through.

The pain a suicide inflicts on other people is incredible-so it is essentially a very selfish act that has no consideration for anyone else.Perhaps too,besides pride,there are some feelings of revenge in a suicide. You supposedly 'fix' the people who have harmed or abandoned you. There are always good people to help us. I think once a person goes down this path he/she closes themselves off and can't find the light of day.

Pray. God is always there.

The Catechism states(i refer to the Catechism a lot.Thank you Popes Benedict and JPII):

2280 Everyone is responsible for his life before God who has given it to him. It is God who remains the sovereign Master of life. We are obliged to accept life gratefully and preserve it for his honor and the salvation of our souls. We are stewards, not owners, of the life God has entrusted to us. It is not ours to dispose of.

As i said it is a grave/mortal sin but the Catechism also mentions:

Grave psychological disturbances, anguish, or grave fear of hardship, suffering, or torture can diminish the responsibility of the one committing suicide.

Euthanasia is unacceptable but it is part and parcel of the culture of death.If you can kill the unborn it's no stretch to realize you can kill the elderly,sick and disabled without blinking an eye.

Again,i turn to the Catechism which states re euthanasia:

2276 Those whose lives are diminished or weakened deserve special respect. Sick or handicapped persons should be helped to lead lives as normal as possible. 2277 Whatever its motives and means, direct euthanasia consists in putting an end to the lives of handicapped, sick, or dying persons. It is morally unacceptable.

I HIGHLY recommend reading the whole section on life issues from the Catechism:http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p3s2c2a5.htm

At this point my husband is working on relief for some of his pain. Medicine has come a long way in various treatments and procedures.It seems like every year they come up with something new.This is medicine as it was intended.We do research for that very reason. We give this up we're nothing but barbarians. I recall too the unholy trinity surrounding Terry Schavio. A terrible case that showed me how far the culture of death would go.An animal gets better treatment and more protection.I'd like to think our country is still a beacon of hope.

The good news is my husband is seeing his family doctor Monday and he will order a sonogram. We'll take it from there.Once that health issue is out of the way he can go ahead with the other vein surgery. He had one leg done where they opened up his varicose veins.It is a simple procedure with remarkable results. It took one hour under a local anesthetic with small pinpoints;although they had to do some extra surgery that required 3 stitches because the veins were so deep. He came home and walked around normally. They do the mapping one day and the surgery the next.He's a diabetic too and seems to be healing very well.So you see there is never reason to give up hope. PRAY. Put life in God's hands where it belongs. He's definitely blessed our country with so many advances in science and medicine. There isn't a country in the world that can match our health care.Let's not destroy the hope we offer others.

For anyone pondering suicide pls pray. It's a mortal sin and could mean hell although we always depend on God's mercy. There is help.If you spend too much time dwelling on a way out-you will not put the energy needed to find a way to cope with your problems.I know this kind of thinking lends itself to closing ourselves off to God and others. There is always an answer on the horizon even if at the moment it seems a long ways away.Moments don't count.What matters is the worth of our WHOLE lives and our dignity as human beings. No one can take that away from us and we should never give anyone else that right.It's not theirs.There is no mercy in murder. Mercy is the compassionate care of others. It requires our service and sacrifice.