Suicide-The topic we run from!

[portalofpeace]

My brother committed suicide in 2002 leaving 4 children behind to mourn without understanding the why. We pray for the souls in the Catholic Church, but what are the teachings from both sides of the aisle? Is there hope for the soul if you have the faith?

 

[FCEGM]

My brother committed suicide in 2002 leaving 4 children behind to mourn without understanding the why. We pray for the souls in the Catholic Church, but what are the teachings from both sides of the aisle? Is there hope for the soul if you have the faith?

I’m so sorry for your family’s loss and will keep him in my prayer. This is the Church’s teaching from the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

2280 Everyone is responsible for his life before God who has given it to him.
It is God who remains the sovereign Master of life.
We are obliged to accept life gratefully and preserve it for his honor and the salvation of our souls.
We are stewards, not owners, of the life God has entrusted to us.
It is not ours to dispose of.

2281 Suicide contradicts the natural inclination of the human being to preserve and perpetuate his life.
It is gravely contrary to the just love of self.
It likewise offends love of neighbor because it unjustly breaks the ties of solidarity with family, nation, and other human societies to which we continue to have obligations.
Suicide is contrary to love for the living God.

2282 If suicide is committed with the intention of setting an example, especially to the young, it also takes on the gravity of scandal.
Voluntary co-operation in suicide is contrary to the moral law.
Grave psychological disturbances, anguish, or grave fear of hardship, suffering, or torture can diminish the responsibility of the one committing suicide.

2283 We should not despair of the eternal salvation of persons who have taken their own lives. By ways known to him alone, God can provide the opportunity for salutary repentance. The Church prays for persons who have taken their own lives.

I hope this gives you some comfort.

 

[saieditor]

Man did not create life and should not decide himself on its termination. Also, the death of the body is not the end of existence.

All religions teach that consciousness and self-awareness does not end at death. Some religions teach that Liberation is the ‘end’ of existence in worlds associated with matter, and moving on to the next stage. Consciousness and awareness of personal actions, as even Catholicism teaches, does not end with death. In many religions, the vision of God, and being in the presence of God does not ensue after an attempt on life. One has to come back and finish the round of suffering, accorinding to many of the religions of man.

If someone has a hard time then it may be helpful for him to have the awareness that everything in this world is changing and fleeting in nature, and that what seems to be terrible or tragic today, tomorrow or the day after will turn out to be bearable and in some cases good or even extremely beneficial.

One needs to take into account the factor of time, which heals all wounds, and the fact that man is never left to himself alone, even if close ones, friends and acquaintances all turn away from him. There always is God as the final refuge - someone good and loving, and at the same time always present, although invisible. You may and you should ask Him for help, for support in difficult moments for settling issues and conditions, or, when the latter is for any reason impossible, for a change of our attitude towards the situation in question.

No situation is hopeless. To tell the truth, there is no situation without a solution. Keep turning towards God and His love and you will get better right away.

Another important factor is the law of cause and effect. The present state comes about, among other things, due to the past actions of a being. It is sensible to try to get through it to the end and thereby close the issue. Otherwise, one has to face up to the same consequences again, having the added burden of this not thought-out action to discharge. Now or at any time later it is impossible to circumvent this law.

Whatever a man might do, God is always on his side. Difficult moments will pass by and the sun will shine again; joy and love will come back. But you will always find joy and love in God. Smile to God and keep telling Him that you love Him very much. You will really feel lighter right away.

 

[RebeccaJ]

My brother committed suicide in 2002 leaving 4 children behind to mourn without understanding the why. We pray for the souls in the Catholic Church, but what are the teachings from both sides of the aisle? Is there hope for the soul if you have the faith?

portalofpeace, my brother-in-law hung himself in 1985. He was 22 years old. At the time a few people in his family made incredibly cruel remarks. That he was destined for hell. That God would never forgive Him.

I didn’t believe the people saying these things could judge what was in his heart. At the time, I was agnostic heading towards atheism, but even then, it made no sense to me whatsoever that others could proclaim how their God judged people. Seemed to me they were jumping to conclusions and that judgment is for God alone.

As a Catholic, I understand and believe that the hope for all of our souls is Jesus Christ and God’s mercy. God is our judge. Pray that all of our deceased loved ones find His mercy.

 

[portalofpeace]

I do appreciate the many replies…I will continue to read and pray over them. I guess one of the illusions (if that is an accurate word to use) is that I was brought up in the SBC and converted over to Catholicism while my brother remained in the Protestant faith. Yes I heard some of the remarks mostly from the protestant aisle though not hearing “anything” from the Catholic side was just as painful. But personally I can accept this because I closed down and became deep within myself. I did not really seek out the truth and that was my error. Not sure if that makes a lot of sense but I know within, that one day, I will be joyous with my brother once again!

 

[Madolaina]

… I closed down and became deep within myself. I did not really seek out the truth and that was my error. Not sure if that makes a lot of sense but I know within, that one day, I will be joyous with my brother once again!

May I ask, did you then or have you now, decided what you believe happened to your brother’s soul…as a Catholic or as a Protestant?

I pray for his eternal soul but I also pray for your and your family’s earthly peace of mind.

 

[Madolaina]

Yes I heard some of the remarks mostly from the protestant aisle though not hearing “anything” from the Catholic side was just as painful.

Not sure if that makes a lot of sense but I know within, that one day, I will be joyous with my brother once again!

I think some would be surprised at the seemingly benign remarks that ultimately cause so much pain. Did the Catholic side not say anything because the idea of suicide is too dificult to fathom?

Protestants believe…and I generalize here…that we receive a ‘new body’ after an earthly death and a heavenly reawakening. Do you mean you will be joyously reunited in a spiritual sense?

 

[portalofpeace]

My brother’s soul…I wanted to believe from the Catholic teachings, but I was too afraid to pursue just what that teaching would possibly reveal. There were many variables in place, i.e., living in the Bible Belt where a protestant church is at every corner, my father being retired as a SBC minister and I, having converted to Catholicism in '86 and yet not knowing who to turn to other than God through prayer. Those from the protestant aisle never spoke of the journey of the soul…it was only the “why” that you heard. And even I, was unable to answer though I had my beliefs, but they were mine and were within a very private part of my being. Maybe I converted prior to understanding all the teachings of the Church, but then, who knows all? As a Catholic and as a believer, I have turned to the Forum for enriching my Catholic faith that I firmly believe in as being true and just.

 

[em3boone]

In the past year or so I’ve had a cousin and a bestfriend commit suicide and I’ve made attempts aswell before getting help from the Church. The suicidal mind is certainly a very different thing and hard for people who haven’t wrestled with it to understand. By the time you reach that point you’ve definitly sunk very far emotionaly, spiritualy and mentaly. I think 2282 CCC applies alot.

I don’t feel suicide is always the choice it can be made out to be, when you dropped so low and lose sight of virtually everything and you reach that point you can slip into an autopilot like trance. You can know whats going on but can’t control what you’re doing, and in the moment your so lost in your own tormented mind you can’t think of anything else your just blank. And if your mind does grasp thoughts the reality of these things is stripped away.

Suicide is horrible and wrong but I feel alot of people who reach that point really have gone though the "Grave psychological disturbances, anguish, or grave fear of hardship, suffering, or torture " that can lessen responsibility. We should pary hard for those souls and entrust them to God’s judgment