Spirituality in Death

The being and essence of the individual are one until the point of death, at which time the soul returns to the Father. This thesis accepts Catholic doctrine and dogmas and the Thomistic metaphysical understanding of the structure of reality.

WINDING UP OF EARHTLY AFFAIRS he individ al sho ld have their a airs and ishes in order and in doin so re are the selves to not be in this world

NOTIFYING THE PRIEST he riest st be notified ar eno h in advan e o one s ondition to be re ared to ad inister the sacraments and rituals

CONFESSION he eneral a no led ent o sin alifies the individ al to be absolved

VIATICUM Reception of the Holy Eucharist which produces sanctifying grace in the soul

EXTREME UNCTION The Anointing of the Sick, often mistaken as a statement of death, is administered

THE “LAST BLESSING” The dying person professes his willingness to a e t all his s erin s in re aration or his sins and submits himself entirely to the will of God

"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"

n the hristian eanin o an erin

“ s a result of hrist s salvific wor , man e ists on earth with the hope of eternal life and holiness. nd even though the victory over sin and death achieved by hrist in his ross and esurrection does not abolish temporal suffering from human life, nor free from suffering the whole historical dimension of human e istence, it nevertheless throws a new light upon this dimension and upon every suffering the light of salvation.”

“It is suffering, more than anything else, which clears the way for the grace which transforms human souls.”

“ hrist drew close above all to the world of human suffering through the fact of having ta en this suffering upon his very self. During his public activity, he e perienced not only fatigue, homelessness, misunderstanding even on the part of those closest to him, but, more than anything, he became progressively more and more isolated and encircled by hostility and the preparations for putting him to death”

“ uman suffering has reached its culmination in the Passion of hrist. nd at the same time it has entered into a completely new dimension and a new order it has been lin ed to love... he ross of hrist has become a source from which ow rivers of living water. In it we must also pose anew the question about the meaning of suffering, and read in it, to its very depths, the answer to this question”