LAST RITES

In Catholicism, the “last rites” are sacraments (confession, communion and anointing), which serve as a final preparation for the person who is dying. They are prayers designed to offer forgiveness and peace before the person dies. These final rituals are said to prepare the soul of the person for transition into the next life.

If the Catholic person dies before the sacraments are given, then a priest my offer “prayers for the dead.”

Eastern Orthodox Christianity does not have "last rites," but prepares the dying through Confession, Holy Communion, and Holy Unction (anointing with oil). A priest is called to read the "Trisagion Prayers for the Departed," where the focus is on supporting the family.

The Protestants equivalent for “last rites,” includes prayers for the dying, which are common and often considered crucial. The focus is on providing comfort and reassurance of salvation before death.

There are often, it seems, rituals associated with dying. For example, note how important it was that the bones of Jacob and Joseph be buried near their ancestral place. Similarly, in our culture the body of the dead will often be returned for burial in a graveyard near an area where the deceased was born or lived.

The Kewa people of PNG did not want to die in a foreign place. When very sick and dying, they wanted to be in their clan and ancestor’s area. When our friend Wopa Eka died in a town some distance away, his relatives spent hundreds of dollars (kina, the PNG currency) to have his body transported back to his home area.

Why does it matter where the body is buried? The concern mainly is from the family of the dead, who want a place they can go to and remember their deceased and mourn. I have a friend, who with his three sons, returns to the gravesite of his wife and their mother each year. They set up a small table near the tombstone, tell stories about her, pray and then have communion together. It is a beautiful custom and tribute.

“Last rites” then is a general way to reference how the final days of the departed are treated. In the case of my wife, we assured her that someone would be with her—day and night—until she went to heaven. My daughter and her husband were there each night except one (when a close friend prevailed), but they sent me home. They insisted and my ritual was to cry and pray each evening away from my wife. They placed her computer behind her, playing soft Christian songs day and night. It was as she would have wished it—singing her way into heaven.

Although the dying person may not always realize it, we want to be with them through their last hours or days on earth. And most often they do realize it, because hearing seems to be the last function to leave the body,

When someone dies it may be reported that the person “died peacefully and with family around him/her.” Of course, it doesn’t always happen that way. There may be pain medication given to the dying, even to such an extent that they do not realize (we think) what is happening.

The last thing I would like to think about when I am dying is the way God, in his mercy and grace, has provided a place for me in heaven. And I hope I will have a clear vision of my family and friends providing me peace and comfort as I leave this earth.

When Stephen was dying because he had been stoned by the Sanhedrin (Acts 7.55), he was “full of the Holy Spirit, [and] looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.” He echoed the words of Jesus and said, “lord receive my spirit.”

When Jesus was dying on the cross, there were seven last utterances by him: 

·      Father, forgive them for they do not know what they doing (Luke 23.34)

·      Truly I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise (Luke 23.43)

·      Woman, here is your son […] Here is your mother (John 19.26)

·      My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? (Matthew 27.46)

·      I am thirsty (John 19.28)

·      It is finished (John 19.30)

·      Father, into your hands I commit my spirit (Luke 23.46)

The “last rites” for a Christian can contain no better example than echoing the words of Jesus and requesting that God will receive our spirits!