Where is the Mercy?

As most who read this blog know, I'm not only a priest but a deputy sheriff. Today, while working my law enforcement job, I had to respond to the suicide of a 30 year old man who had hanged himself. As if this were not bad enough his mother, who found him, was a Roman Catholic. Roman Catholics believe that suicide is a mortal sin.

I prayed with this woman and her family and then she began to weep uncontrollably as she lamented the fact that her son had committed a mortal sin. She asked me to bless him so I signed him with the cross and prayed for his soul. She then begged me to explain to her why he would have done this and why God is going to punish him for killing himself. I told her that only God and her son knew the reason why and that just because he had committed suicide it did not mean that God would not forgive him.

Once again the verse in the Book of James crept into my mind, "God's mercy outweighs his judgement." In the movie "Luther" there is a scene where Martin Luther is preaching the funeral of a young boy who has committed suicide. The parents were distraught because they, too, believed that their son was damned. Luther makes a powerful statement to the parents and the entire congregation, "God isn't angry anymore..." Because of what Jesus did on the Cross God isn't angry with us anymore. We have been reconciled to Him and God has declared a truce with a sinning humanity.

When a person commits suicide we have no way of knowing what is happening in their mind and spirit. Only God knows and only God has the right to judge. If a baby or a mentally defective person merits God's grace what makes us think that a distraught person doesn't merit that grace as well?

We cannot generalize what is sin and what isn't. What may be a sin for me may not be a sin for you. Don't take my word for it but rather read the writings of St. Paul who said that "...our conscience will be our judge." With this in mind all I can say is that one person's suicide may be a mortal sin and another persons may not. Only God knows the heart and only God can judge.

Pray for this family and the families of those who have lost loved ones to suicide. I have lost some very dear comrades in law enforcement to suicide and I, too, have struggled with this question. God is a merciful God. Let His mercy be upon those who could no longer cope with the trials of life.

Fr. Rick