One of our wonderful ministers of care to the sick called and asked that I go to the hospital because the man she visited was talking about suicide. He has had cancer for the last year and a half and is tired of being sick. So, I went to see him, and as we got into conversation he asked, "What is wrong with suicide?" He has three children from late teenage to early thirties, so I asked him what impact his suicide would have on them. He's divorced and his children haven't lived with him until his 17 year old recently came to live with him to "take care of" him.
I said, "What an act of love that is!" And so we talked about his need to realize that his son is doing something wonderful for him, but kids that age also need something, like a relationship with Dad.
The more we talked, the more I understood that this man, after baptism, was never reared in the practice of the Catholic faith. (No wonder he did not have hope.) The extent of his faith was to believe there there must be a "Higher Power," and he didn't believe in heaven or hell. So, I said, "What if you're 
wrong? What if you die and meet the Lord? Then you will see the impact your suicidal death would have on all those who know you and love you? Suicide tends to be contagious, you know, like a mental giving of permission to give up, lose hope, and cave in to despair. If you're right about there not being a heaven or hell, then who will know if you are right? But if you are wrong, you'll be meeting a God of love, who will show you yourself through His eyes, eyes of love, but eyes that are not clouded by self-defense, or masks or pretensions. And that adjustment to seeing our lives as they really have been is what we call purgatory, adjusting to how often we missed the mark. So don't miss the mark with this 17 year old son of yours who wants to be with you, care for you, and be inspired by you. Don't give him bad example at the end of your life. Your upcoming death is not all about you."
Even though he did not know what "sacraments" are, and God knows what else about our faith he does not know, he did allow me to give him the anointing of the sick. And if I ever needed proof of the power of the sacraments, his being given the Sacrament of the Sick was a truly moving experience for him.
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