The Irish standard., 1905-10-14
Who During Life Remained Out.
side the Fold.

ICu11OIeu VIII are OOuuQ 20 the de-
Iceased by ties of blood and affection
land who look to the priest for SYM
pathy and compassion in the hour OF
their affliction, writes Rev. ]. T.
Roche, in the Catholic Standard and
Times. The priest is fully conscious
! that departure from the law is always
a scandal. 1t is always scandal tc
force man or woman into the church
after death who has seldom or never
been seen in it during life. OF course
there may be exceptional circum-
stances. On their deathbed such peo-
pie may have given extraordinary evil
dences of a sincere repentance. Their
illness may have been of such a char
acter as to give the whole community
in which they live the knowledge that
they have really and truly turned to
God in their last moments. This
however, only rarely happens. Usual
~ the priest in such cases is called
when the sufferer is at the point of
death, and the result of his ministra-
l tions frequently leaves much to be de-
sired. In the majority Of such cases
the sufferer is already unconscious or
so filled with drugs that he is unable
to make a rational preparation. He
has labored under lifelong delusion
that he will repent on his deathbed,
and his deathbed repentance proves to
be of a most unsatisfactory character,
| This hope of deathbed repentance
is favorite deception of the evil one.
It's found to be deception only when
it is too late, only when Satan stands
as an accusing angel before Gods
judgment seat.
There are a few Catholics born in
the faith who do not cherish the il
lusive hope of dying in the grace and
favor of God. There are few of them
who, when they stand face to face
with the dread reality, will refuse the
Church's ministration. There is this
trouble, however, about those who
have been careless and Indifferent;
they wish to put off the work of re-
Cancellation until they are certain and
positive that death for them is near
at hand, and they accordingly put ii
off until it is too late. BY strange
retribution the real condition of such
Catholics is frequently concealed
from them at the very time when it
is all important that they should
| know it. They are frequently sur
rounded by people of their own kind,
by negligent members Of their own
faith, or by those Indifferent Chris
tians who cherish very broad views
nal welfare.
| Amongst non-Catholics there seems
to be a prevailing idea that it is well
to let the dying person pass away as
easily and peacefully as possible. Re-
ligion is seldom mentioned in their
presence, for fear it may agitate them
unduly. Of course there are honor
able exceptions, and there are many
non-Catholic clergymen who realize
the gravity and Importance of the
deathbed; but in the great majority
of cases the minister is never sum-
moned and the dying person passes
out of this life without having the
subject of religion even so much as
mentioned to him.
| DR.. Oliver Wendell Holmes in his
"Autocrat of the Breakfast Table"
tells of the impression which the
Catholic deathbed always made upon
him. He was convinced that a Cath
| Ollie alone knew how to die bravely
and well. He is describing, however,
the deathbed Of the dutiful and the
fervent, the last moments Of those
| who receive the last great sacraments
/ In faith and fear and confidence. OF
the unfaithful he has nothing to. say.
If they die without the sacraments
of which they stand in such dire need
! their end is sad indeed; and no priest
no matter what the circumstances
! may be, will dare ofticiate oyer their
mortal remains without at least the
| special permission of his bishop, to
! whom a larger discretion is given in
! such matters.
Burying man in the name Of God
! who had not lived for God is always
a scandal. One Of the most serious
| reproaches leveled against nom
Catholic clergymen is that they will
bury anybody or marry anybody. It
is such woeful absence of consist
ency to preach fidelity to Christian
principles and condone in daily prac-
tice the lack of such fidelity. I have
! seen the platant unbeliever buried
with all the pomp and panegyric ac-
} corded to well-meaning and sincere
| followers. Such Inconsistency de-
ceives nobody and brings the very re-
| ligion which they preach into disre-
p'lte.
Why bring a man into church after
| death who has been conspicuously alb
sent from church during life? Why
|, bury in the name of religion one
whose life has been entirely devoid
! of religion; and least Of all Catho-
lie, who has been warned time and
again of what he has to exnect in