Blessing the Grave Of Terri Schindler Schiavo

God bless you!
Fr. Frank

Blessing the Grave

I recently had the privilege of blessing the grave of Terri Schindler-Schiavo, who
was murdered on March 31, 2005 by dehydration. Her grave is not far from the place
where she died, and where people from around the world had gathered to protest and
pray.

Those who visit the gravestone, however, will notice something highly unusual. While
on most graves there is an inscription of two dates - when the person was born and
when he or she died - on Terri's there are three. Here's exactly what the grave
says:

Born December 3, 1963

Departed this Earth February 25, 1990

At Peace March 31, 2005

The whole world knows that she died on March 31, 2005. National and global media
were present at the scene for days, covering every detail. Media were present again
when I preached at her funeral mass. We know when she died.

But her gravestone has become a pulpit for the euthanasia movement. Those who killed
her are now using her grave as a platform for their twisted ideology. What they are
trying to say is that once her brain was injured in 1990 and she was no longer
functioning like most of us, she wasn’t one of us anymore. She "departed this
earth." 

This is actually a variation on an ancient heresy, which says that we are really
spirits inhabiting a body. Terri couldn't communicate normally. So, her "spirit"
must have left her. The body was just a shell left behind. Those who believe she
really "departed this earth" in 1990 can therefore pretend it was OK to kill her in
2005. After all, it wasn't really her. She was already gone.

This is heresy, because Christianity teaches that we are a unity of body and soul,
not simply a soul "using" a body. The body matters. What we do to the body, we do to
the person.

Moreover, the gravestone inscription is a deep insult to all who are disabled, and
to all those who love and care for them. Should they be considered already dead,
too? Are we just wasting our time caring for them? Euthanasia advocates would have
us think so.

A recent news story about a disabled unborn child quoted one as saying, "There's no
human life there." Isn't that the same idea? They think the baby has already
"departed this earth," so they don't hesitate to abort the body.

As I blessed Terri's grave, I also prayed that God's people would be kept safe from
this falsehood. And I recalled being in Terri's room the day she died. I remembered
her face, dehydrated from not having had a drop of water in two weeks. I recalled
seeing the flowers, inches away, on her night table. They were immersed in water.
And as I left the grave, I gave a final glance to the vase of flowers that was
standing by the stone. 

[Note: Personal notes of condolence for Terri's family can be forwarded to 
Terri@priestsforlife.org, and Fr. Frank will deliver them.]

This column can be found online at:
www.priestsforlife.org/columns/columns2005/05-10-24blessinggrave.htm

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Bendiciendo la Tumba