Since I started reading "The Way" by
St. Josemaría Escrivá I have been growing in sanctity - or holiness - looking
at life through a different lens, increasingly thinking of God and life.
Sometimes that inspiration will come from the strangest of places; today from a
friend who isn't religious (though I don't think they're atheist.)
They were telling me about a documentary that they
had seen about people who had "technically died," but came back to
life. All of these people talked of how they saw a light, felt a deep sense of
peace/pleasure and wanting to go "into the light." Some saw deceased
family members telling them to go back, as nice and peaceful as it was, not to
"enter the light." Some even said how when they were bought back to
life, they were somehow annoyed because they loved this strange feeling of
death.
These people all "died" from different
reasons: accidents of different sorts, or on the operating table. Except one
person who had a very different experience: feeling pain, burning, not wanting
to be there at all and hating every second they were there. That person tried
to suicide, but lived to tell of their "hellish experience."
I'm not the best on Biblical knowledge, though know
enough that only certain sins will give you eternal damnation. No pleas to
Jesus' Divine Mercy or asking for Our Lady's intercession. One of those sins it
to blaspheme the Holy Spirit: "And everyone who speaks a word
against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes against the
Holy Spirit will not be forgiven." - Luke 12:10.
Another sin is to make changes to Holy
Scripture: "For I testify unto everyone who hears the words of the
prophecy of this book, if anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the
plagues that are written in this book; And if anyone takes away from the words
of this book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of
Life, and from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this
book." - Revelation 22:18-19.
The third sin that will give you eternal damnation is
suicide, just what the one person in this documentary tried to do as their
final act on earth! Why is it such a sin to kill yourself, though? Here are two
good enough reasons, I'm sure there are plenty of others you could find: "God
created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and
female He created them." - Genesis 1:27.
"Do you not know that you are a temple of God and
that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If any man destroys the temple of
God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you
are." - 1 Corinthians 3:16-17.
If one cannot blaspheme against the Holy Spirit, one
cannot expect to kill the temple of the Holy Spirit and not expect the same
outcome!
Having said all this, suicide is a very real issue. If
you are suicidal, hopefully reading this will change your decision to take that
path. Talk to people and let them know how you feel. Life can get pretty bad at
times, some people don't have many problems in life while others seem to
get heaped with problem after problem.
I myself have been suicidal
at times in my life. As much as I would love to be in Heaven with my God - no
more pain, no more suffering - I know I won't have a chance if I end it myself.
Having a spiritual belief/religion does help in life; if one of those ways it
helps is to make you not give up on life, that can only be a good thing!
Life does get better though, we have our rough patches but we have our good
times as well. Start to look at life from a different perspective
- through a different lens as I like to say.
