The Irish standard., 1905-09-09

1
their affection. The priest is fully con-
scious that departure from the law is
always scandal. 1t is always scam
dial to 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 cir
cumstances. On their ,deathbed such
people may have given extraordinary
evidences of sincere repentance
Their illness may have been of such
a character as to give the whole COM
munity in which they live the knowl-
edge that they have really and truly
turned to God in their last moments
This. however, only rarely happens.
Usually the priest in such cases is
called when the sufferer is at the point
of death. and the result of his ministra-
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
Ito make 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
I is a favorite deception of the evil one.
1t is found to be deception only
when it is too late, only when Satan
stands as an accusing angel before
Gods judgment seat
| There are few Catholics born in
| the faith who do not cherish the illu-
sive 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 ministrations There is this
trouble. however. about those who
! have been careless and Indifferent;
they wish to put off the work of recon-
| citation until they are certain and pos
tive that death for them is near at
hand, and they accordingly put it off
until it is too late. By strange retri-
| button the real condition of such Cath
olics is frequently concealed from them
at the very time when it is all impo1-
tant that they should know it. They
are frequently surrounded by people of
their own kind, by negligent members
of their own faith, or by those indif-
ferent Christians who cherish very
broad views ON matters pertaining to
mans eternal welfare.
Amongst non-Catholics there seems
to be a prevailing idea that it is we'll
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
| un!duly. OF course there are honorable
exceptions and there are many non
| Catholic clergymen who realize the
gravity and Importance of the death
/ bed; but i'll the great majority of cases
the minister is never summoned 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 Cath
Ole deathbed always made upon him.
He was convinced that Catholic
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 unfaith-
full 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 offciate over their NOR
;; tai remains without at least the special
permission of his bishop to whom a
larger discretion is given in such mat
tiers.
Burying man in the name of God
who has not lived for God is always
scandal. One of the most serious re-
proaches leveled against nom Catholic
clereymcn is that they will bury any
body or marry anybody 1t is such
woeinl absence OF consistency to
preach fidelity to Christian principles
and condone in daily practice the lack
OF such fidelity. l have seen the bla-
tant unbeliever buried with all the
pomp and panegyric accorded to we'll
meaning and sincere followers. Such
inconsistency deceives nobody and
brings the very religion which they
preach into disrepute.
Why bring man into church after
death who has been conspicuously alb
sent from church during life? Why
bury in the name of religion one whose
lie has been entirely devoid of relig-
ion; and least of all Catholic, who
has been warned time and again of
what he has to expect in case of death
without open and evident marks of a