For to me life is Christ, and death is gain… I long to depart this life and be with Christ, says St. Paul. St. Ignatius said in following God’s will we should not prefer life to death. While I’m not there yet I hope one day to be. After all, the whole point of this life is to enter into eternal life. Someone called me the other day asking my counsel. The doctors asked if they could turn of the ventilator which was keeping their father alive. I explained that causing someone to die (euthanasia) is not the same as letting someone die. It is the plan of God that we all die “to be with Christ.” Embracing death when it comes is a sacrament.
