Today, a good friend called me with a question concerning suicide. He was attending a suicide prevention class when during a break, a Protestant Chaplain was saying that committing suicide is not a damnable sin.
That hell was a creation of the Catholic Faith beginning with St. Augustine. The Church was planted at a time when Paganism influenced the nations.
It is important to note that suicide during Roman times use to be a Pagan practice. It was considered honorable to commit suicide as opposed to face embarrassment.
Due to the subject matter, I want to speak the truth on this subject, but with compassion. It is not always black and white and only God knows the heart of the person.
It is all God's judgement. In saying this, I would agree in part with the Chaplain that the Catholic Church taught suicide was an "unforgivable sin" unless there are circumstances were the individual was not in control. A sin must be a wilful act of defiance against God. Consent of the will.
This did not begin with St. Augustine, but the Apostolic age. Apostolic Authority handed down from the very beginning set the foundation of the Christian Faith.
St. Augustine was based from this Apostolic Tradition. Lets take a look at Sampson who killed himself while in the Temple of Dagon (Judges 16:25-31).
Hebrews 11:32 lists Sampson as one who did righteous because of his faithfulness. He was not a "suicide bomber", the Philistines were going to kill him and Sampson completed his mission to the very end.
During the attacks on the Twin Towers, you had people jumping off the buildings to escape certain death due to the extreme heat. These American hero's had no choice.
How terrible this was and may the Lord shine upon them his radiance and love in perfect happiness.
Jesus also taught that no greater love can man have than to lay down his life for his friends. I would often times give the example of a Soldier who dives on a grenade and by this act saves everyone who was there.
America has had Soldiers who have done that very thing who were given the Medal of Honor. There are situations where a person has sacrificed his life or took his or her life when there was no other way out.
The problem becomes more difficult when there is no apparent reason for such acts. There are just under 35,000 suicides per year, white males represents about 75% of that number. Women attempt it more often but they fail probably because the usual choice is through drugs or prescription drugs.
They are more easily found. Other cases are not that easy to understand. During my deployment to Germany, I was stationed in Schwienfurt (pig crossing) for about a year when one day I received some very bad news.
When I lived in Harrison Arkansas, I sponsored one of the teenagers for Confirmation. He was one who I had helped a number of times before I joined the Army. His Mother wrote me informing me that he went out into the barn and tossed a rope over a rafter and hung himself.
He couldn't have been 16 years old. I was shocked, this was very difficult for me. I had written him encouraging him from time to time and nothing from his letters gave any kind of indication of desperation.
The Christian Rock group "Petra" has a song called "For Annie" that meant allot to me. The song encourages us to never give up on people. When you're at Mass, we do not aways know what the person next to you might be going through.
Obviously, all we can do is place these unfortunate ones in the hands of God. That is all we can do. We should look to see signs that a person might be thinking of suicide. If they are giving things away, if they are more reserved, if they are not performing as normal, if they talk of suicide, these and other signs we must get them help. Recently we had 4 Soldiers commit suicide.
My Wife works with Soldiers at the WTU that are dealing with very tough images. Pray for them! Going back to the original question, will a person go to hell if they commit suicide? Many very well might especially if they took their life premeditatively. Jesus warns us not to kill (murder), we are the temple of the Holy Spirit.
(Editors note) Just recently the story of another martyr killed by Muslim Liberals. In watching the video at the end of this article, it was hard for me not to hold back tears. I'm not really a crier, but upon watching it, you will see what I mean. Please keep the Church in suffering in your prayers. I updated a tribute to one such martyr at the end of the article.
This great and glorious day, ALL SAINTS DAY, listening to FOX and FRIENDS, the report of 52 Iraqi Catholics who were held hostage by Islamic Terrorists (Middle Eastern Liberals) to include two Priests, 10 police officers, and several women.
There were about 120 people at Our Lady of Deliverance church when these extremist Muslim terrorist wearing suicide vests stormed the Church.
Many people living in Iraq and the Middle East are crying for freedom.
Many Christians are living in silence not coming out with their Christian faith because of this kind of Islamic threat. American's have had debate recently over the subject of Muslims Terrorists. The liberal talking heads in our Country want to make this a politically correct talking piece.
Joy Bahaar of the VIEW walked off the stage with Whoopi Goldberg at Bill O'Riely's indignation over Muslims (Extremism). Ron Williams was fired by NPR because of a statement he made of Muslims on airplanes. Yet, these same people have said terrible things about Christians.
I'm afraid this terrible story of the true martyrs of Our Lady of Deliverance will be ignored or found on page 10, but these little ones will forever be held in the arms of the Lord.
I have seen first hand this kind of evil from Islamic Terrorists (Middle Eastern Liberals). They would take teenage boys and kill them, then use their bodies placing explosives in them to blow them up when people got near them. They will place suicide vests on and go to a child's soccer game and kill themselves. They will blow themselves up in a crowded market place, their intent is to kill. I was near Baghdad serving in one of the JSS positions when Middle Eastern Liberals attacked 6 Catholic Churches in Baghdad.
Our Knight's of Columbus was trying to help families of hundreds of Iraqi's preparing for their first Holy Communion as Catholic Priests fled the Country for their lives. This is the hard cold facts living there for Christians. The Seed of the Martyrs bear witness to the Lord upon all the earth.
Today is ALL SAINTS DAY, please remember our Brothers and Sisters who are the persecuted Church. May their deaths not be in vain and may the Church here in America have the strength to stand up for what is right in America.
Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; and do Thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host - by the Divine Power of God - cast into hell, satan and all the evil spirits, who roam throughout the world seeking the ruin of souls.
Amen.
The following is from Associated Press:
BAGHDAD – Iraqi security forces stormed a Baghdad church where militants had taken an entire congregation hostage for four hours, leaving at least 52 people dead, including a priest, Iraqi officials said Monday.
It was not immediately clear whether the hostages died at the hands of the attackers or during the rescue late on Sunday night in an affluent neighborhood of the capital.
The incident began when militants wearing suicide vests and armed with grenades attacked the Iraqi stock exchange at dusk Sunday before turning their attention to the nearby Our Lady of Deliverance church — one of Baghdad's main Catholic places of worship — taking about 120 Christians hostage.
Maj. Gen. Hussein Ali Kamal, the deputy interior minister, said 52 people were killed and 67 wounded, in the bloodbath. Officials said at least one priest and 10 policemen were among the dead. Many of the wounded were women.
A Christian member of parliament on Monday described the Iraqi rescue operation as "not professional," saying "it was a hasty action that prompted the terrorists to kill the worshippers."
"We have no clear picture yet whether the worshippers were killed by the security forces bullets or by terrorists, but what we know is that most of them were killed when the security forces started to storm the church," Younadem Kana said.
Video footage from an American drone that was overhead during the attack showed a black plume of smoke followed by flashes from inside the building before what appears to be soldiers going in. U.S. forces often supply air support to Iraqi forces conducting operations on the ground, feeding them video footage of what American drones see from the air.
The casualty information was confirmed by police and officials at hospitals where the dead and wounded were taken.
There were conflicting accounts about the number of attackers involved in the assault, with Baghdad military spokesman Maj. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi saying Sunday night that security forces killed eight, while the U.S. military said between five and seven died.
Two police officers on the scene, however, say only three attackers were killed and another seven arrested afterward.
Outside the Syrian Catholic church Monday morning, Raed Hadi leaned against his car on top of which rested a casket holding the body of his cousin, who was killed in the siege. Hadi was waiting for the police to let him onto the church grounds to bury his relative. He railed against Iraqi authorities.
"It was a massacre in there and now they are cleaning it up," said Raed. "We Christians don't have enough protection. ... What shall I do now? Leave and ask for asylum?"
Police pushed back onlookers from around the church by erecting a barbed wire fence but residents and people from the Christian community claimed that it was too little, too late.
A cryptically worded statement posted late Sunday on a militant website allegedly by the Islamic State of Iraq appeared to claim responsibility for the attack. The group, which is linked to al-Qaida in Iraq, said it would "exterminate Iraqi Christians" if Muslim women in Egypt were not freed.
It specifically mentioned two women in Egypt that extremists maintain have converted to Islam and are being held against their will in Egypt. The two are wives of priests and are believed to have converted to Islam to leave their husbands since divorce is banned by Egypt's Coptic Church. One woman disappeared in 2004 and another in July.
Egypt's Christians had maintained they were kidnapped and staged rallies for their release. Both were later recovered by police, denied any conversions and were then spirited away to distant monasteries.
In the message, the militants claim the two are still Muslim and called upon the Vatican, which held a meeting earlier in October to discuss the fate of Christians in the Middle East, to release the women.
"We direct our speech to the Vatican and say that as you met with Christians of the Mideast a few days ago to support them and back them, now you have to pressure them to release our sisters, otherwise death will reach you all," the message said.
Iraqi Christians, who have been frequent targets for Sunni insurgents, have left in droves since the 2003 U.S.-led war. Catholics used to represent 2.89 percent of the population in 1980; by 2008 they were just 0.89 percent.
One Iraqi man who identified himself only as Abu Sami for security reasons, said his wife was inside the church during the attack. Although she was unharmed, he said he feared that the church siege signaled a new round of violence by militants against Iraq's Christian community.
"I expect the coming attacks will be worse in the future since the government is doing nothing to protect us. We are peaceful people and never harmed any of our fellow countrymen, so we do not understand the reasons behind such evil attacks," he said.
"Many Christians now believe that they do not have any hope in Iraq and the best thing to survive is to seek another country to live in," he said.
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Associated Press writers Sinan Salaheddin in Baghdad and Sameer N. Yacoub in Amman, Jordan contributed to this report.
Warrior of Light, Genesis 3:15 reveals your promised coming, ("I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; He (she, they) will strike at your head, while you (the devil) strike at his heel"), it is the first prophecy that announces your coming.
Warrior of Light, your strong arm reveals your mighty power throughout the Old Testament Covenants.
You were there at the flood saving Noah and his family;
You called Abraham establishing a people set aside to follow your law.
You were there when the Israelites quarrled against you in the desert at Rephidim, showing your compassion through the "Rock" that gave them water.
Through you, Warrior of Light, you pour out life giving water as you are the "Rock" of our salvation. It was at Rephidim you showed your victory through the raised arms of Moses.
Through Aaron and Hur, you revealed the importance of prayer, support, and team work to trust your wonderous power.
Warrior of Light, you were present through the Judges, the Prophets, and the Kings.
Warrior of Light, time after time you demonstrate your mercy and forgiveness turning away your wrath and anger. Warrior of Light, you were sent to heal the broken hearted, to release the captives and sent them free.
Through the power of your outstrectched arms you humbled yourself, "becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross".
Warrior of Light, becasue of your death you won victory over the power of death: "Death is swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting"?
Jesus, you are the Warrior of Light, you destoryed the power of darkness as you reveal the light that is you.
Lord, grant your Church, the foundation you established upon the Apostles and Prophets, to be that light that reflects you in our lives, to be that city set on a mountain.
You call us to be the salt of the earth. Help us not to lose that taste, that seasoning that is good for every good thing.
Warrior of Light, enkindle in our hearts a fire to serve you with all our hearts, minds, and strength. Thank you Lord for your great Sacraments and your presence among us through them. Help us to see through the eyes of faith. That your glory is not a thing of the past, but ever present through your holy Catholic Church.
