Monday, March 07, 2005
Euthenasia and the Cross
If an elderly is suffering, should we let her die? Should we pull the plug on her? The answer lies in how we view the human person. The human person is not made to live in solitude, but in communion with others. In the Christian worldview, God, Who is a communion of Persons, made man in His image. He is therefore made to exist with and for another. He is capable of loving and being loved. Love is the meaning of his life. If he does not love, if he cannot be loved, there is no point in living. Love is the very reason why he has freedom. His freedom is not just freedom from something, but a freedom to something. More specifically, his freedom consists in being sacrificed. Freedom is not an end, but a means. It is to give oneself, one's whole self to another to the point of making the other's interest and good his responsibility. That is what love is. Love is willing good for others, to share interests, joys, and sufferings with others, and to exist for the other. It is a union of two or more persons.
