WORLD SUICIDE PREVENTION DAY
1 Maccabees, Chapter 10,
Verse 8
They
were struck with fear when they heard
that the king had given him authority to gather an army.
The, they,
in this verse were the Hellenized Jews who were losing their power which came
from supporting Greece (King Demetrius). At once they were afraid for their
lives realizing that their power over Jonathan was gone, they decided to leave
Jerusalem. Along comes Alexander Balas who claims to be the son of Antiochus
and the rightful king, he has the backing of Rome. Jonathan plays these two
opponents against each other to make Jerusalem great again. Jonathan then
accepts from Alexander permission to become high priest which he accepts. There
is just one problem; he is not a Levi, only Levis can be priests. Here is high
stakes politicking.
This rosary
reminds us of the double love of
God and neighbor.
There’s been a
rising epidemic in the US, and that epidemic is suicide. If we don’t know
someone who had committed suicide, it’s almost certain that we know someone who
has attempted it. Suicide is a problem that affects all age groups, genders,
and social strata, and it seems sometimes to be utterly inescapable. World
Suicide Prevention Day raises awareness about this tragic issue and works to
prevent it through education and support of those who struggle with suicidal
ideation every day. It’s a tragic situation, with the death toll coming in at
42,773 people committing suicide each year in the United States alone, and for
each one of those 25 people made the attempt. Over the world it’s even greater,
an estimated 800,000 people commit suicide each year throughout the world,
which is one every 40 seconds. What’s incredible is that just like the US
statistic, it’s estimated that 25 times that attempt it, 4 million people over
the world every year. There’s something of a ripple down effect that happens as
well, those bereaved by the loss of a loved one to suicide are themselves more
likely to commit suicide.
My grandmother, Mary Alar, was a special lady. My
father told many stories about her, including how her family removed her from
school in the sixth grade so she could work as a maid to help support them.
Then, two days before her wedding day, her fiancé was killed in an auto accident.
Later, she met my grandfather, but her life was still quite difficult. By 1993,
she was suffering greatly — emotionally, spiritually, and physically. It became
unbearable for her. At the time, I was finishing college and didn’t even know
how much pain my grandmother was enduring. In a shock to me, my grandmother
committed suicide on Father’s Day. Ten years later, I told my confessor
that I was not “there for her” — even at the funeral. I mean, I was there
physically, but not emotionally or spiritually. I was so concerned about my
degree, my job, my new home, and my girlfriend, that I don’t even remember
praying for her. I told him that this bothered me, because my grandmother had
already been judged by God, and I missed my opportunity to pray for her and
help her. What I really feared most arose from something I’d heard long ago
about the Church teaching that if you commit suicide, you automatically go to
hell.
Then
the priest did something that changed my life.
He said, “Go home tonight and pray the Chaplet of
Divine Mercy for the salvation of your grandmother’s soul. This is an
incredibly powerful prayer.” I had never heard of the Chaplet. I said, “Huh?
Father, she’s already been judged, so it’s too late. She died 10 years ago!
She’s in Heaven (I hope) or hell (I hope not). At best, my prayers might
relieve some of her time in Purgatory, if she even made it that far, but her
eternal fate has already been determined. There is nothing that can be done about that now.” He said, “Look, God is
outside of time. There is no past or future for God, but only one big eternal
present moment. God sees everything at one instant. From the beginning of time
to the end of the world, He sees it all instantaneously without compromising
our free will. How do you think that the Virgin Mary was immaculately
conceived?” I said, “By the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.”
He said, “Yes, but how could Mary be immaculately conceived by these merits when
Jesus hadn’t even been born yet? Because God is outside of time. Your prayers
are eternal, and the graces given by God from those prayers, because He is not
constrained by space or time, can go in any direction: past, present, or
future. Christ’s sacrifice is eternally present before the Father, and so are
our prayers if we unite them to the Cross of Christ.”
I sat there shaking my head, saying, “Wow, Father,
this is amazing.” But I still wasn’t totally getting it. It sounded too good to
be true. He continued, “Think of it this way, Chris. God knew back in 1993 that
you would be here today, in 2003, and tonight you would pray the Chaplet of
Divine Mercy for your grandmother’s soul. And since God is so merciful, so
loving, He will put those prayers into the hands of Mary, the Mediatrix of All
Graces, and He will allow those prayers from today to be carried back in Mary’s
hands and showered over your grandmother’s soul back in 1993, at the moment of
her judgment, to help her.”
He continued, “You see, suicide is a grave sin, and
she will need all the help she can get. So, with God’s grace, through your
prayers, she may be better able to say ‘yes’ to God.” (That is why John Paul II
called each of us “mini co-redeemers” — because we can share in Christ’s act of redemption).
The priest added, “In the Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska, she records that Jesus
visited the despairing soul three times to save it from hell (Diary, 1486), so
we can infer that the souls of our loved ones have the chance to repent, say
‘yes’ to Him, and be saved.”
I said, “Father, we’re good here then, because there’s
no way my grandmother will not say ‘yes’ to Jesus when she sees Him. This is
awesome! Thank you, Father. Have a great day.”
Blinded by sin
He stopped me: “Hold on — there’s a problem. You said
she had fallen away from the Church. Do you know if she received the
Sacraments?”
“I don’t know,” I replied.
“The problem,” he said, “is your grandmother, for
whatever reason, may have turned her back on God. If this is the case, she may
not recognize Jesus when He comes.”
“Oh, man,” I said. “I thought all was good, but now I
am worried that she could be lost because she might not recognize Jesus, and
therefore be unable to say ‘yes’ to Him!”
“You didn’t let me finish,” he said. “She may not recognize
Him without your prayers. But with your prayers, she will be given more grace
through intercessory prayer allowed by the mercy of God. That is why Mary said
at Fatima that there are many souls lost to hell … because there is nobody to
pray for them! Your prayers are like a squadron of dive bombers coming in from
2003, to aid in the war being fought for her soul back in 1993. They are coming
in on the hands of Mary, back to your grandmother during her personal judgment
(again, because God is outside of time). The graces from these Chaplets you pray for her may be enough grace for her to turn around and say
‘yes’ to God when otherwise she wouldn’t be able to.”
The priest went on, “What happens when we sin and turn
our backs on God? We put a veil between God and ourselves, blurring our vision
of Him. But your prayers can help to lift that veil so that your grandmother
may see God more clearly, and she has a much better chance of recognizing God
for who He is. But remember, she has to say “yes” — you cannot say “yes” for
her. But you can certainly help. This is the whole point of intercessory
prayer.”
My confessor continued, “Your grandmother is like a
wounded soldier who cannot help herself as she lies on the battlefield, in
danger of death. Your prayers come in like a fellow soldier, putting her on
your shoulders, and taking her to safety. Now, she still has to cooperate and
let you assist her, and she needs to have the will to live. That choice is
hers. But your prayers, Chris, can offer her the help at the moment of her
judgment to determine if she survives or not — meaning salvation.”
I said, “Father, this is absolutely amazing.”
Hope for those who’ve committed suicide
I said, “I heard that the Church says that those who
commit suicide are condemned to hell and lost forever.” He said, “The Church
doesn’t teach that.” What does the Church say about suicide? The Catechism
tells us:
Grave
psychological disturbances, anguish, or
grave fear of hardship, suffering, or torture can diminish the responsibility
of the one committing suicide. 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 (2282- 2283; emphasis added).
“So there is hope!” the priest said. “The Church says
that we entrust these people to the mercy of God. So your prayers even now, 10 years
later, can make a difference. And the Chaplet of Divine Mercy is one of the
most powerful prayers you can offer for someone in dire need of God’s mercy.”
We then talked about a relative who had died after 20
years in which we all prayed for a conversion — and this person never
converted, never came back to the Church. I told the priest that my dad said,
“Well, there’s 20 years of prayer wasted.”
Is that true? No! Again, he referenced St. Faustina’s
Diary, and this added the final straw to the proverbial camel’s back that was
my former life. I was now changed forever.
Saint Faustina wrote:
God’s mercy
sometimes touches the sinner at the last moment in a wondrous and mysterious
way. Outwardly it seems as if everything were lost. [This is what it
looked like for my grandmother.] But
it is not so. The soul illuminated by a ray of God’s powerful final grace turns
to God in the last moment with such a power of love that, in an instant,
it receives from God forgiveness of sin and punishment, while outwardly it
shows no sign either of repentance or of contrition, because souls [at that
stage] no longer react to external things. Oh, how beyond comprehension is
God’s mercy! … Although a person is at the point of death, the merciful God
gives the soul that interior vivid moment, so that if the soul is willing, it
has the possibility of returning to God (Diary, 1698).
Share God’s Mercy
I broke down in disbelief. I said, “Father, we have a
God so merciful, so loving, so generous, that He will allow my grandma this
chance for salvation? And He will allow me to still help her even though I
missed my chance so many years ago?”
He said, “Yes, this is the power of the Chaplet, even
for those who have taken their own life or who have died years ago.”
He made it clear that a soul cannot be removed from
hell — this is Church teaching. What he was saying, however, is that as
part of the Mystical Body of Christ, we can aid in each other’s salvation
through our prayers. As Jesus told St. Faustina, “Help Me, My daughter, to save souls. Join your sufferings to My
Passion and offer them to the heavenly Father for sinners” (Diary,
1032).
I said, “Father, I need to spend the rest of my life spreading this message of God’s Divine Mercy.”
Now, this message is the foundation of my priesthood.
So, if you have ever known someone who appeared to be
a lost soul, especially those who committed suicide, don’t give up! There is
hope! You can help, and this is all possible because we are members of the Body
of Christ.
Pray for the dead!
Therefore, I ask you all to pray for your loved ones
who have died, even if they’ve died 10, 20, or 50 years ago. We should never conclude
that a soul is definitely lost. As Jesus said to St. Faustina, “There are moments and there are mysteries
of the divine mercy over which the heavens are astounded. Let our judgment of
souls cease, for God’s mercy upon them is extraordinary” (Diary, 1684).
Jesus, I trust in You!
Do 22 Divine Mercy's for Veterans for God's Mercy
“If
you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that
God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”-Rom 10:9
Daily Devotions
Today take the family
out for a little KFC to commemorate Harland Sanders born in 1890.
[2]
https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/world-suicide-prevention-day/
[3]https://divinemercyforlostsouls.blogspot.com/2017/12/very-good-article.html
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