Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 4.djvu/740

 DEATH

662

DEATH

to confer this sacrament before the Viaticum; the maintenance of the existing usage has been prescribed by the Roman Ritual (V, cap. i, 2). Although the existence of a precept to receive this sacrament cannot be established, still the failure to avail oneself of its efficacy out of sheer sloth would be a venial sin. It cannot be administered more than once during the same illness, unless, after some notable betterment which has either certainly or probably taken place, a new danger should supervene. In chronic diseases, therefore, such as tuberculosis, it will often happen that the sacrament may and ought to be repeated be- cause of the recurrence of what is, morally speaking, a new danger. According to the discipline in vogue in the Latin Church, the unctions essential to the validity of the sacrament are those of the organs of the five senses — the eyes, ears, nostrils, mouth, and hands. There is a diversity in the custom as to the unctions to be added to those already enumerated; in the United States, besides the parts mentioned, only the feet are anointed. The sick-room ought to be made ready for the visit of the priest on the occa- sion of his giving the last sacrament ; it can at least be cleaned and aired. On a table covered with a white cloth there ought to be a lighted blessed candle, a crucifix, a glass of water, a spoon, a vessel containing holy water, and a towel. According to the rubric of the Roman Ritual the priest is to remind those who are present to pray for the sick person during the anointing, and it suggests that the Seven Penitential Psalms with the litanies might be employed for this purpose. Extreme unction, like other sacraments, produces sanctifying grace in the soul. It has, how- ever, certain results proper to itself. Of these the principal one seems to be the getting rid of that spir- itual torpor and weakness which are the baneful output of actual sin, and which would be such a serious handi- cap in this supreme moment. From the viewpoint of the Christian, the struggle to be maintained with the de\Tl is now more formidable than ever, and a special eiidowment of heaven-sent strength is neces- sary for the soul's final victory. The anointing is ordinarily succeeded by the conferring of the Apos- tolic benediction, or "last blessing", as it is com- monly called. To this blessing a plenary indulgence is attached, to be gained, however, only at the hour of death, i. e. it is given nunc pro tunc. It is con- ferred in \'irtue of a special faculty granted to the bishops and by them delegated quite generally to their priests. The conditions requisite for gaining it, are the invocation of the Holy Name of Jesus at least mentally, acts of resignation by which the dying per- son professes his willingness to accept all his sufferings in reparation for his sins and submits himself entirely to the will of God.

The cardinal disposition of soul at the approach of death are: a frequent eliciting of the acts of faith, hope, love, and contrition; a striving towards a more and more perfect conformity with the will of God; and the constant maintaining of a penitential spirit. The words of St. Augustine are in point: "However innocent your life may have been, no Christian ought to venture to die in any other state than that of the penitent." As the hour of the agony approaches, the clergyman, according to the Roman Ritual, is to be called to pronounce the pathetically beautiful "Re- commendation of a departing soul". Where the presence of the priest cannot for any reason be had, these prayers ought not to be omitted ; they are now- adays easily obtainable in the vernacular and ought to be recited by those who watch beside the death- bed. The dying person should be invited to join in these petitions, without, however, harassing or fati- giiing him. As the person is about to expire, the Ritual directs those who are by to pray more earnestly than ever; the Holy Name of Jesus is to be invoked, and such ejaculations as the following whispered in his

ear: "Into thy hands. Lord, I commend my spirit"; "O Lord, Jesus Christ, receive my spirit"; "Holy Mary, pray for me"; "Mary Mother of grace. Mother of mercy, do thou protect me from the enemy and receive me at the hour of my death".

When death is apprehended as imminent after a sudden seizure even in the act of sin, an accident, attempted suicide, and the like, and the person is meanwhile deprived of consciousness, the method of proceeding is as follows: Conditional absolution is imparted. Viaticum of course is omitted, as it is like- wise when the person, though in possession of his senses, is subject to an almost unintermittent vomit- ing. Extreme unction and the last blessing are given as usual. In such an extremity, when the person is unable to make a confession, extreme unction may prove to be the most effective and necessary means of salvation.

It is interesting to note that recent investigations have made it plain that it is no longer possible to de- termine even within a considerable margin the precise moment of death. Father Ferreres, S. J., in his work, gathers as the conclusion of his researches that the only absolutely certain sign of death is decomposition. The practical value of this statement is that absolu- tion and extreme unction may be given conditionally for some time after the person would have hitherto been reputed to be dead. In what has been said, it is taken for granted that the person to be gotten ready for death is baptized. If this is not so, or if there be a doubt about it, either as to fact or validity, then of course baptism must first be administered, either ab- solutely or conditionally, as the case warrants, after some instruction on the principal truths of religion. Baptism may be conferred conditionally on those who are unconscious in as far as they can be presumed to have the desire of receiving it. It is perhaps worth while to add here that, when there is question of the dying, it is the mind of the Church that her minister should avail himself of any sort of probability, no matter how slight, in order to be able to give absolu- tion, at least conditionally. He then applies with great amplitude the principle, Saa-amenta propter Iwmines. Practically, therefore, the only case in which the priest in these circumstances may not ab- solve is when the person refuses the sacraments, or is manifestly discerned to have a perverse disposition of soul.

Lingard, in his "Antiquities of the Anglo-Saxon Church", gives a description of the discipline in force among the .Anglo-Saxons of the medieval period with regard to the preparation of the dying for the end. He says: "At the first appearance of danger, recourse was had to the ministry of the parish priest or of some distinguished clergyman in the neighbourhood. He was bound to obey the summons and no plea but that of inability could justify his negligence. Attended by his inferior clergj% arrayed in the habits of their respective orders, he repaired to the chamber of the sick man, offered him the sacred rites of religion and exhorted him to prepare his soul to appear before the tribunal of his Creator. The first duty which he was bound to require from his dying disciple was the ar- rangement of his temporal concerns. Till provision had been made for the payment of his debts and the indemnification of those whom he had injured, it was in vain to solicit the succours of religion; but as soon as these obligations had been fulfilled the priest was, ordered to receive his confession, to teach him to f form sentiments of compunction and resignation, to ' exact from him a declaration that he died in peace ii with all mankind, and to pronounce over him the t prayer of reconciliation. Thus prepared he might ( with confidence demand the Sacrament of Extreme Unction. With consecrated oil the principal parts of the body were successively anointed in the form of a cross; each unction was accompanied with an ap-