September 6, 2024
“Suicide is one moment of weakness in a courageous fight for life.”
— Author unknown
In this booklet, “Divine Mercy After Suicide,” Fr. Chris Alar, MIC, shares his personal experiences with suicide and offers a perspective for Catholics that provides hope and a path toward healing for those who have been left behind.
“Each of us has known someone who took his or her own life, or someone whose life was affected by the suicide of a loved one,” he wrote. “It’s so difficult to face this reality, and often people despair. Many give up hope for those who have died by suicide and believe their souls are lost. The reason for this is that many Catholics were taught at a young age that anyone who takes their own life is automatically damned to hell. But is this really Church teaching? No. Hope of salvation remains even for those who have died by their own hand.”
He relates the story of his grandmother, who led a difficult life with many struggles and physical and emotional pain, who committed suicide.
Years later, a priest urged Chris Alar to pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy for her because it is an incredibly powerful prayer, invoking God’s mercy. And since God is “outside of time,” our prayers even for loved ones we have lost years before can still benefit from them.
The “Catechism of the Catholic Church” also teaches that those who commit suicide are often suffering emotionally and mentally:
“Grave psychological disturbances, anguish or grave fear of hardship, suffering or torture can diminish the responsibility of the one committing suicide. We should not despair of the eternal salvation of persons who have taken their own lives. By ways known to him alone, God can provide the opportunity for salutary repentance. The Church prays for persons who have taken their own lives.”
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Catholic Cemeteries of the Diocese of Bridgeport, in cooperation with St. Rose of Lima Church, will hold a Mass for Suicide Healing and Remembrance on September 7 at 5:30 p.m. All are welcome to attend the Mass at the church on 46 Church Hill Road in Newtown. The Mass coincides with the start of National Suicide Prevention Week from September 8 to 14. Many parishes throughout the country have scheduled Masses to pray for those who have died and those who grieve their loss.
Mass for Suicide Healing and Remembrance
St. Rose of Lima Church
46 Church Hill Road, Newtown, CT 06470
September 7, 2024 at 5:30 p.m.
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