DEATH
661
DEATH
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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
