May the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. This is a prayer…
The Catholic Church opposes euthanasia, understood as the deliberate killing of a person in order to end his or her…
The fourth chapter of Saint Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians is awash with paradox. He says in verse 18…
The sacrament of Anointing of the Sick, when administered to the dying, is called by the Catechism of the Catholic…
The Anointing of the Sick is a sacrament that is frequently misunderstood. When I receive emergency calls asking me to…
I have set before you life and death . . . choose life! The choice that Moses set before the…
In a recent Reflection (Feb 19, 2017), I characterized four common attitudes about death as those of “the secular, the scientist,…
Proponents of physician-assisted suicide have used the term “death with dignity” to present their cause in a positive way. The…
In the eyes of God, death is the negation of the life He created. God permits death as a consequence…
“I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.” These are the first words of the Apostles…
“We hold these treasures in earthen vessels,” Saint Paul says (2 Cor 4:7). These “earthen vessels” are human bodies, which…
Having considered the topic of advanced directives in health care in general, and the kinds of directives that can be…
We have considered in a general way the topic of advanced directives in health care. Let us now consider some…
Making advanced directives about one’s health care is frequently encouraged in our society and, in many ways, that is a…
One of the saddest experiences I have as a hospital chaplain is ministering to patients who die alone. Thankfully, that…