Letting virtues shine at the end of life

Contemplating the end of life brings moral challenges.  We need to maintain and repair relationships realistically and courageously. The end of life is a time to let our virtues shine. In particular, the virtues of charity, faith, hope and fortitude allow us to meet the challenges in ways that will carry on beyond our lifetime. Charity is a big part of mending relationships. Movies love to draw on this theme showing the power of reconciliation with the people of our life. Carrying the burden of grudges and past hurts, no matter how valid our case may be, is a drain. We need to grab the freedom that reconciliation with the people around us offers.

The value of the virtue of faith is evident at the doorstep of eternity. No matter how deep our faith has been, we embark on a journey to a new place at the end of life. Faith helps us with the moral challenges on all counts. We can look ahead at the unknown with courage and know that any move we make to repair relationships in this life is worth the effort. Here I want to reinforce the tangible value of faith-based action to resolve matters around us before it is too late. A person without faith may not be willing to pay the price.  But with faith, we can put whatever happened in this life in an eternal perspective and move on. This is a beautiful and liberating way to approach the end of life. Hope joins and compliments faith carrying us through to the finish. St. Paul’s words about the prize that is imperishable are wise (1 Cor 9:25).

Finally, fortitude or strength gives us what we need to battle our suffering with courage. We received the gift of spiritual fortitude on our confirmation day. The end of life is a time to call on the Spirit to make that gift/virtue shine. Fortitude will benefit us personally as well as those around us. Fortitude helps us make sound moral choices regarding treatments, pain management, and other challenges we face. The Michigan Catholic Conference has a helpful pastoral letter, Living & Dying According to the Voice of Faith, to guide us.

As I said a few weeks ago, the only actual preparation for death is a virtuous life. The dying process offers the opportunity to bring those Christian virtues to the surface more robust than ever.