October 29, 2017 - "On Death & Dying" (continued)

I want to continue the discussion on Catholic considerations for our earthly passing that I began last week.  I am going to present some more questions and answers from a document entitled “Comfort & Consolation: Q &A.”  This is a supplement to the Pastoral Letter Comfort and Consolation from the Catholic Bishops of Maryland.  This is a very timely topic in this Respect Life month.
 
Q. What does the Church teach about pain and suffering?
With the help of medical science, we can and should offer the suffering as much comfort and relief as possible, and we make available pain-relieving medication in dosages sufficient to manage a patient’s pain.  If the person is dying and requires increasingly greater dosages of pain medication, the dosages may be increased in increments sufficient to manage the pain, even if the patient is made less alert or responsive, or if the increase should, as a side effect, hasten death.  Pain medication, however, must never been given for the purpose of hastening death.
 
Q. If further medical treatment is determined to be useless or excessively burdensome, what other options are available?
In addition to endorsing programs of pain management, the Church endorses palliative care and hospice care in accord with Catholic ethical principles. Palliative care is not necessarily determined by a patient’s life expectancy and may include a wide continuum of services and support designed to help a patient manage the symptoms of a long-term or terminal illness.  Hospice care includes medical, emotional and spiritual support provided to patients at home or in a specially-designated facility when a patient is nearing death.
 
Q. When death is near, what considerations can help me and my loved ones accept the moment with peace and grace?
As a Christian family, it is our privilege and duty to care for the dying by offering them love, comfort, and the spiritual support available through prayer, the sacraments and our faith in eternal life.  Pastoral care should include the sacraments, caring for and comforting those near death and their families, prayer and spiritual support to help all share a time to express hope, love, gratitude, forgiveness and farewell.  As we participate together in these spiritual preparations, the opportunity to keep company with the dying truly becomes a grace-filled moment.
 
A final thought for today.  Once we’ve taken the time to think through our wishes, it is important to make sure that our wishes are known to our family and health care providers, and to consider completing appropriate legal forms to document them.  Please feel free to contact me or Fr. Jack if you have any questions about the appropriate legal forms to use in these circumstances.
 
Until next week,
Fr. John Dillon