Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 4.djvu/739

 DEATH

661

DEATH

M^-

jlnv.

obviousness of this position. Nevertheless, in what follows here we are contemplating that array of ac- tions, mental and moral attitudes, ministrations, etc. which are commonly rated as the pro.\imate making ready for the coming of the supreme moment. No matter how carcfullj' conformed to the law of God and the precepts of the Church one's life may have been, no Christian will want to enter eternity without some immediate forearming against the terrors of that last passage. We shall deal first with the case of those to whom the dread summons comes after an illness which has not bereft them of consciousness. The Roman Ritual is explicit in its injunction to the pastor to hasten to the bedside of the sick person at the first intimation that one of his flock is ill. This he is to do without even waiting for an invitation: "Cum pri- nunn noverit querapiam e.K fidelibus curce sua? com- missis cegrotare, non exspectabit ut ad cum vocetur, sed ultro ad eum accedat" (I, cap. iv). Indeed, it is impossible to unduly accentuate the importance of this timely coming of the priest to offer opportune spiritual succours to the one who is ill. Practically, in the actual conditions of modern life, it must often happen that the priest can only know of this need for his services through information furnished by the rela- tives or friends of the sick person. They, therefore, have a very definite obligation in this matter. Too often there is a mistaken interpretation of the claims of affection or, even worse, a weakly surrender to a lamentable human respect, and so the minister of God is sent for, if at all, only when the patient is un- conscious, and death is imminent. For the Catholic Christian, getting ready for death is not simply the being submitted passively to the administration of certain religious rites. It is, as far as may be, the conscious, deliberate employment of prayer; the form- ing or deepening of a special temper of soul and ac- ceptance of such sacramental help as will fit the human spirit to appear with some confidence before its Judge. Hence the failure to call the clergyman in time may, far from being an exhibition of tenderness or consideration, be the most irreparable of cruelties. To be sure it is not always necessary that the patient should be told that his case is past remedy; even when the approach of death is fairly discernible, and even when such distressing infonnation must for any reason be conveyed, there is room for the exercise of a great deal of prudence and tact. It may be that the sick person will have important affairs to set in order, and that a hint of the probability of a fatal issue of his illness will be the only adecjuate stimulus to quicken him into a discharge of his obligations. In such instances it may be not only a kindness but a duty to impart such knowledge straightforwardly, but gently. It is plain that a special measure of delicacy IS necessary when this oflice falls to the attending priest to perform. Beyond question it is of para- mount importance that all such matters as the dis- position of temporalities, payment of debts, satisfac- tion of burdens of restitution, etc. should have been settled so as to leave an undivided attention for the momentous considerations which are to engage the mind of the one who is presently to pass through the portals of death into eternity.

So far as priestly assistance goes the first step in the process of preparation for death is the receiving of the patient's confession and the conferring of sacramental absolution. Indeed, inasmuch as it offers the ordinary means of reconciliation with God, it is the most indis- Jiensable factor in helping the soul to qualify for its departure from the body. The Roman Ritual (I, cap. iv, 8) indicates that the priest is to draw upon all the resources of his prudence and charity in order to ob- tain a confession from the sick person, even though the danger apprehended be as yet remote. The con- fession need not necessarily be of the sort that is described as general, unless, of course, the reasons

exist that would make it obligatory at any other time of life as well. It will often be useful where, with due regard to the remaining strength of the stricken peni- tent, it is possible to make, at least in some sense, this general avowal of the sins of one's life. Whether there be question of a general confession or merely the ordi- nary one, the clergyman has often to remember that in this trying juncture the Divine precept exacting entirety in the recital of offenses admits of more than usually benignant interpretation. Where the person is incapable of sustained mental effort without serious prejudice to his failing powers, the priest need give himself no scruple about being satisfied with incom- plete, or less specific, forms of accusation. The law of integrity is not to be rigorously urged under such circumstances. Even when nothing but the most general acknowledgment of one's sinful condition can be obtained, it is incontrovertible that in the premises this is a valid substitute for a more detailed confes- sion. After the confession comes the reception of the Holy Eucharist as viaticum (per modum viatici). "Sacred writers", according to the Catechism of the Council of Trent, "called it 'the Viaticum', as well because it is the spiritual bread by which we are sup- ported in our mortal pilgrimage, as also because it prepares for us a passage to eternal glory and happi- ness." The concordant teaching of theologians, as well as the inference from the uniform discipline of the Church, is that there is a Divine precept binding one to receive the Holy Eucharist when in danger of death. At this time the communicant is exempted from the traditional natural fast. The Council of Constance witnesses to the custom of the Church in this matter, and the Roman Ritual (I, cap. iv, 4) says: "potest quidem Viaticum brevi morituris dari non jejunis". This privilege may be enjoyed repeatedly by the dying person during the illness. Strictly speaking, it is not extended to persons whose danger of death comes from a cause other than sickness, such ;is soldiers about to engage in battle or criminals about to be executed. Still, even they, as appears from a declara- tion of the Sacred Congregation of Propaganda, 21 July, 1841, may receive the Viaticum even though they are not fasting, if they find any considerable difficulty in observing the law. So far as is possible, nothing should be omitted which can help to confer upon the administration of the Viaticum becoming solemnity. This is all the more desirable in that sometimes the demeanor of those who are present on such occasions, and even of the sick person, is not such as to betray any very alert sense of the Presence that has come to hallow this last stage of life's journey. It is needless to add that whatever the enlightened zeal of the priest or the careful piety of the bystanders can suggest ought to be done to awaken in the com- municant a special degree of fervour, a more than ordinarily penetrating faith and ardent love on the occasion of what may be his final eating of the Bread of Life.

There follows the Sacrament of Extreme Unction, or anointing, as it is popularly designated. Here the clergyman may find himself confronted with prej- udices which in spite of reiterated explanations seem to have an extraordinary vitality. His announce- ment that he purposes to anoint the sick person is often accepted by the patient and his friends as the reading of the death-warrant. It is necessary to point out that the Sacrament of Extreme Unction gives health not only to the soul, but also sometimes to the body. The basis for the teaching is of course to be found in the well-known utterance of St. James (v, 14, 1.5): "Is any man sick among you? Let him bring in the priests of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith shall save the sick man ; and the Lord .shall raise him up; and if he be in sins, they shall be forgiven him." Anciently it was the custom