People with altzheimers disease

[blaskoman]

We all know that once a person contracts altzheimers, their capacity to reason is highly diminished. And once the disease progresses, the person is bascically “gone.” Given such a person’s state of mind, what implications does this have for the person’s faith. If the person was not in a state of grace prior to contracting the disease, does he lose the ability to achieve a state of grace through Confession? Should this person continue to attend mass? etc.

 

[BamaRider]

Thats a good question. My thinking is he needs to settle up before the tipping point, but thats just a guess.

 

[Mary_Gail_36]

I think the sacrament of Anointing of the Sick might be appropriate for alzheimer’s patients.

My grandfather had alzheimer’s. Before it progressed to end stages, he had lucid periods. But the lucid periods were times where he could talk about things…but not recognize his family members etc. So I really doubt he was able to make any type of confession at that point.

He did have Anointing of the Sick various times before his death. God is merciful.

 

[dianaballein]

I think the sacrament of Anointing of the Sick might be appropriate for alzheimer’s patients.

My grandfather had alzheimer’s. Before it progressed to end stages, he had lucid periods. But the lucid periods were times where he could talk about things…but not recognize his family members etc. So I really doubt he was able to make any type of confession at that point.

He did have Anointing of the Sick various times before his death. God is merciful.

God is wonderful, and is indeed merciful.

My Mom is in the mid-stages of Alzheimers, and I am in the process of my conversion. When she found out I was attending Mass, she asked me to please take her with me. I said, “Mom, I am happy to but you know this is a Catholic church, right?” She blurts out, “I’m Catholic!”. Well, this was news to me. I was not raised Catholic. It was not ever discussed or brought up in our home. I asked my father, and he shared with me that yes, my mother had been born and raised Catholic but that she stopped practicing after she graduated high school.

I feel deeply that although my mother buried this part of her life for as long as I have been alive at least…she had “forgotten” to keep it hidden…that she was a true Catholic in her heart. I take her to Mass with me every week. Although I cannot accept the Eucharist yet, I still walk up with her to receive a blessing so she can partake of the Eucharist…this way I make sure she finds her way back to her seat. Going to Mass is the highlight of her week, and she remembers it’s coming…she may not remember the exact day, or what time I am taking her, but she knows it’s coming.

It’s beautiful, sincerely beautiful. What more clearer picture to we need of God’s love? I think that although my Mom will lose more of her memory, she will be welcomed by our Lord with open arms. Praise be to God.

 

[happymommy]

My husband’s grandmother has altzheimers. When we stop and visit after church she always says how she would love to go to church again, but due to other health problems she just is in too much pain to sit, even in her wheelchair, for that long. Even though she “comes and goes”, when we talk about church, she lights up. I joined the Catholic Church in 2001, she joined with me. She had been going to the church her whole married life, at that time 56 years, but never joined. She was baptized that night too. What an awesome experience.
It’s so hard to watch someone you love slip away, but every once in awhile we can still see a glimpse of grandma in there, that little twinkle in her eye. It gets us through another day.

 

[dianaballein]

My husband’s grandmother has altzheimers. When we stop and visit after church she always says how she would love to go to church again, but due to other health problems she just is in too much pain to sit, even in her wheelchair, for that long. Even though she “comes and goes”, when we talk about church, she lights up. I joined the Catholic Church in 2001, she joined with me. She had been going to the church her whole married life, at that time 56 years, but never joined. She was baptized that night too. What an awesome experience.
It’s so hard to watch someone you love slip away, but every once in awhile we can still see a glimpse of grandma in there, that little twinkle in her eye. It gets us through another day.

HappyMommy, that is wonderful. Perhaps the Priest could go and pay her a visit at home?

 

[happymommy]

HappyMommy, that is wonderful. Perhaps the Priest could go and pay her a visit at home?

Thanks, I know when she was in the nursing home they had EM come and visit, but I’m not sure if anyone has been to see her since she came home. That is a thread onto it’s self. His grandfather, who is going blind, brought her home. The Dr. gave the o.k. Of course this is the same Dr. that let him have he license back after they took it away because he can’t see. Wrecked his car the next week. Hit a truck as it was stopped behind a school bus letting kids off! Prayers please. No one was hurt, and his car was not fixable. As long as no one takes him to get a new one, we will be okay. We might be forced to write another letter about our elderly neighbor who shouldn’t be driving and see if we can’t get his license taken away again

 

[John_Walsh]

God is wonderful, and is indeed merciful.

My Mom is in the mid-stages of Alzheimers, and I am in the process of my conversion. When she found out I was attending Mass, she asked me to please take her with me. I said, “Mom, I am happy to but you know this is a Catholic church, right?” She blurts out, “I’m Catholic!”. Well, this was news to me. I was not raised Catholic. It was not ever discussed or brought up in our home. I asked my father, and he shared with me that yes, my mother had been born and raised Catholic but that she stopped practicing after she graduated high school.

I feel deeply that although my mother buried this part of her life for as long as I have been alive at least…she had “forgotten” to keep it hidden…that she was a true Catholic in her heart. I take her to Mass with me every week. Although I cannot accept the Eucharist yet, I still walk up with her to receive a blessing so she can partake of the Eucharist…this way I make sure she finds her way back to her seat. Going to Mass is the highlight of her week, and she remembers it’s coming…she may not remember the exact day, or what time I am taking her, but she knows it’s coming.

It’s beautiful, sincerely beautiful. What more clearer picture to we need of God’s love? I think that although my Mom will lose more of her memory, she will be welcomed by our Lord with open arms. Praise be to God.

I’ve taken dad to Mass for a year, this week, after disabling his car until the license revocation letter came. Mass is the highlight of his week as well. He is in assisted living & I see him at least every other day. Each time, he asks if we’re going to church in the morning.

An interesting rebound occured in his disease progression when they changed his Rx last Feb. He even started suggesting that he could drive if they let him.

 

[ThyKingdomCome]

I would guess that confession would not be very appropriate for someone who isn’t alert and oriented. But the other sacraments would be appropriate (although I guess I’d have to use discretion about the Eucharist since you’d need to be sure that they were able to still be respectful of it). And I also believe that God can work with a person’s soul even when their brain is deteriorating. Alzheimers is a disease of the body, not the soul, so I think God can work around that, perhaps in ways we don’t understand. After all until a person has died, they are not “up for judgement.” Of course, it is best for us to prepare ourselves before we become incapacitated, but our faith tells us that we have great hope in the mercy of God and we simply don’t know the fate of people who appeared to have died not in a state of Grace. If there is hope for people who have committed suicide (and we are taught that there is), then of course there is hope for people who are incapacitated. Maybe the suffering that is a part of Alzheimers is somehow refining that person’s soul, making them more able to accept God. All the more reason for the annointing of the sick and other means to receive grace.

Edited to add: I just realized that the dilemma about going to Mass may be that once you are responsible for this person, you are responsible for deciding if (s)he is worthy of receiving communion. I guess that would be a question for a priest who knows the details of how the person was living prior to becoming confused.

 

[Joe_Kelley]

In taking the Eucharist to those confined at home or in a facility we use the same rule as for small children. If they recognize the Eucharist as something special they can receive.

I had one suffering from brain cancer and altzheimers and nearly unconcious. Wondered if he should receive, but anytime I held the host before him and said, “The Body of Christ”, he immediately made the sign of the cross. The pastor agreed with us that he should receive.