tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7853204965986587589.post3168218213358436959..comments2024-03-17T22:48:00.427+08:00Comments on Reflections and Ruminations: Death needs to be handled with kid gloves, more so when it is the result of a suicide.Fr Luke Fonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03079016104331055895noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7853204965986587589.post-84511378234810639002016-09-19T00:25:11.245+08:002016-09-19T00:25:11.245+08:00“The Catholic Church has, thankfully, softened her...“The Catholic Church has, thankfully, softened her approach toward such deaths. By the very technical definition of suicide being a killing of oneself, it was taken to mean that the person died in a state of mortal sin as the taking of life (in this case, one’s very own) was deemed to be a both an act of despair. It also signaled the loss and abandoning of one’s faith in God....”<br /><br /><br /><br />I had a very good friend and classmate in Sixth Form (equivalent to your JC) who committed suicide when we were in Upper Six. We were close because we read a lot and we love Literature and in double periods of English, when the lesson became a bore, we would take to lampooning or scribbling rhymes and riddles to one another. There was never a dull moment when he was around and his quirky somewhat self-deprecating humor made him a class favourite. He was Catholic. <br /><br /><br />He was the last candidate for a suicide. But one morning, whilst out on a class picnic, he calmly waded into the sea and never turned round despite the shouts that rose into frantic pleas and cries from those on shore. He was found the next day. They found a brief note in the pair of Bermuda shorts he left behind.<br /><br /><br />His mother’s shrill screams still pierced the air, like the call of a strange bird’s....whenever I turn my mind to it. But what was more heart breaking were the hushed whispers, the disapproving glances of others when she goes to church. I was only a two year old Catholic then, but I learnt that not only is the suicide-dead “ostracized” by not being given a Christian burial but the family members were also given a wide berth. <br /><br /><br />“The Catholic Church has, thankfully, softened her approach toward such deaths.......” - I couldn’t agree more! The loss of a loved one is already irreparable pain under such circumstances, why must those left behind be made to suffer further anguish? Writers like Fr.Ron Rolheiser made a point not to miss a yearly post on this subject. He writes with much sensitivity, compassion and ‘humaness’ that touches the memory of one’s heart and relieves somewhat the dull-achiness therein because when someone known and close leaves in such an abrupt way, the seasons and years cannot wipe away the emptiness and loss.....the void remains to be acknowledged each and every time one comes upon a suicide death.<br /><br /><br />God bless u, Fr<br /><br /><br /><br />tessa<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Tessahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04211998984286520369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7853204965986587589.post-73013982820413321172016-09-16T15:20:13.621+08:002016-09-16T15:20:13.621+08:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com