Help for suicide victim

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YinYangMom

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Just got word that a friend of my co-worker committed suicide last night.

He was baptized Catholic.
Mother is Methodist, Father is Catholic, though we have no idea how active they were, we suspect not very.

I advised my co-worker (a close friend of the person’s godmother) to offer a plenary indulgence for his soul. They don’t know about these things so I’m looking for a clear, concise “How To” I can print out for them.

Near as I recall this is my understanding:

The Year of the Eucharist ends on the 23rd of this month.
JP II granted a plenary indulgence for any devotion during this year.
The person seeking the indulgence (either for himself or for a baptized soul in purgatory) has to do the following:

Be free from sin, having made a full confession within 8 days of the devotion.
Pray for the intentions of the Pope: one Our Father, one Hail Mary, one Glory Be.
Then practice a devotion - which, from my understanding could be:

a mass
a rosary
a divine mercy chaplet
a visit before the Real Presence.

If I’m wrong, please let me know before I print the instructions for them (hopefully you’ll provide me links to documents already available).

I will suggest they visit a tabernacle at the 3:00 hour since that is the Hour of Mercy. But it would help to have something they could read to understand what this gift of the Church is, and what it means for that godson.

Thanks for your help!!

YYM
 
i’m pretty sure that if you offer your prayers for the intention of the Holy Father whilst adoring the Real Presence, you recieve a plenary indulgence. Don’t know about the others though, sry
 
No one can know how the suvivors feel until you experience it your self. Prayer is very helpful, but there are other issues to losing a loved one this way. Our family experienced a loss like this 3 years ago. You never fully recover. There are some very good resources/ help groups to assist people in this type of loss. My daughter was helped by this site: Survivors of Suicide Loss. I will pray for this person and his or her friends and family.

Deacon Tony
 
as a polive officer and paramedic, i have seen lots and lots of successful and attempted suicides. what i have come to realize is this:

no person with a correctly operating and lucid mind would commit suicide.

the instinct to survive is so strong and so ingrained that a serious mental defect probably is interfering with rational judgement.

humans have evolved far too fast for their own good, and alot of our physiology hasnt been able to keep up. some people’s brains dont have the mechanisms to cope with stress and chemical irregularities.

as the author of our physiology, God probably recognizes this, and is infinitely merciful. there may be quite a price to pay in Purgatory, but only God knows that.

what i try to do for a person, is try to dedicate the rest of my shift to their memory and forgiveness, so that the people i help will be for their justice.

maybe you could volunteer somewhere and pray to God that that person’s and family’s loss made you realize how precious life is, and youd like offer to serve others in need for their memory.
 
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YinYangMom:
Just got word that a friend of my co-worker committed suicide last night.

He was baptized Catholic.
Mother is Methodist, Father is Catholic, though we have no idea how active they were, we suspect not very.

I advised my co-worker (a close friend of the person’s godmother) to offer a plenary indulgence for his soul. They don’t know about these things so I’m looking for a clear, concise “How To” I can print out for them.

Near as I recall this is my understanding:

The Year of the Eucharist ends on the 23rd of this month.
JP II granted a plenary indulgence for any devotion during this year.
The person seeking the indulgence (either for himself or for a baptized soul in purgatory) has to do the following:

Be free from sin, having made a full confession within 8 days of the devotion.
Pray for the intentions of the Pope: one Our Father, one Hail Mary, one Glory Be.
Then practice a devotion - which, from my understanding could be:

a mass
a rosary
a divine mercy chaplet
a visit before the Real Presence.

If I’m wrong, please let me know before I print the instructions for them (hopefully you’ll provide me links to documents already available).

I will suggest they visit a tabernacle at the 3:00 hour since that is the Hour of Mercy. But it would help to have something they could read to understand what this gift of the Church is, and what it means for that godson.

Thanks for your help!!

YYM
Click to expand...
My understanding of a plenary indulgence is that the indulgence is for the person receiving it; it is not something that you do for another.

Perhaps you should suggest they have a Mass offered for the repose of the soul of the person who died.
 
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otm:
My understanding of a plenary indulgence is that the indulgence is for the person receiving it; it is not something that you do for another.

Perhaps you should suggest they have a Mass offered for the repose of the soul of the person who died.
Click to expand...
Well I’ll double check with my priest, but he recently gave a talk on indulgences and at that time he said we can obtain it for ourselves or for a baptized person in purgatory, so I was going off of that. I’m not certain if that applied to plenary as opposed to partials, though, maybe that is the distinction?

The disappointing part was the indulgence wouldn’t work for a non-baptized deceased loved one. There are so many wonderful people I’ve known who weren’t catholic and I just hate the thought of them having to spend so much time in purgatory. I suppose my prayers help though, so I keep praying for them.
 
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BioCatholic:
as a polive officer and paramedic, i have seen lots and lots of successful and attempted suicides. what i have come to realize is this:

no person with a correctly operating and lucid mind would commit suicide.

the instinct to survive is so strong and so ingrained that a serious mental defect probably is interfering with rational judgement.

humans have evolved far too fast for their own good, and alot of our physiology hasnt been able to keep up. some people’s brains dont have the mechanisms to cope with stress and chemical irregularities.

as the author of our physiology, God probably recognizes this, and is infinitely merciful. there may be quite a price to pay in Purgatory, but only God knows that.

what i try to do for a person, is try to dedicate the rest of my shift to their memory and forgiveness, so that the people i help will be for their justice.

maybe you could volunteer somewhere and pray to God that that person’s and family’s loss made you realize how precious life is, and youd like offer to serve others in need for their memory.
Click to expand...
Good advice, BioCatholic, I’ll be sure to have my co-worker pass it along to those friends and family members who are wondering what they can do for the family.

I don’t know these people at all, but of course I’ll keep them in my prayers.
 
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YinYangMom:
Well I’ll double check with my priest, but he recently gave a talk on indulgences and at that time he said we can obtain it for ourselves or for a baptized person in purgatory, so I was going off of that. I’m not certain if that applied to plenary as opposed to partials, though, maybe that is the distinction?

The disappointing part was the indulgence wouldn’t work for a non-baptized deceased loved one. There are so many wonderful people I’ve known who weren’t catholic and I just hate the thought of them having to spend so much time in purgatory. I suppose my prayers help though, so I keep praying for them.
Click to expand...
OK, it is news to me. But one of the reasons I stay with this forum is to learn.

Remember, as to your non-Catholic friends, some or many may be baptized, and the Catholic Church recognizes baptisms of other Churches.
 
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otm:
OK, it is news to me. But one of the reasons I stay with this forum is to learn.

Remember, as to your non-Catholic friends, some or many may be baptized, and the Catholic Church recognizes baptisms of other Churches.
Click to expand...
Right. I kinda leave that up to the Lord. In offering the indulgence I give the name of the soul I believe has been baptized, but if I don’t know if it was a Catholic baptism I will ask that He allot it to another Catholic soul who doesn’t have anyone here praying for them if it turns out the one I intended it for was not baptized in a manner the Catholic Church recognizes.

Indulgences are new to me too. I bought a Calendar of Indulgences at a seminar over the summer, but it’s for 2006 so between now and then I’m reading the various pages and noting in my purse calendars which days I need to focus on in 2006 to help the souls.

It’s a wonderful calendar and you can get it at Bridegroom Press if you’re interested.
 
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