Pat McCloskey, OFM

Is it proper for me as a Catholic to have a living will? What does the Church teach about this?

This is not only proper but also a great service to one’s friends, relatives, or whoever must make crucial medical decisions for that person.

The term living will is not used very much now, having been replaced in the United States at least by advance medical directives and medical power of attorney.

I struggle to control my anger and rage when I witness individuals who appear to me to intentionally mistreat others needing assistance: the ill, the injured, the oppressed, the impoverished, or the marginalized.

I have used strong words but not profanity in voicing my objection to such mistreatment. I feel out of control during these moments and have even lost a job after one such incident.

Several friends and I are doing the devotion “33 Days to Morning Glory. ” St. Louis de Montfort suggests that we detach ourselves from all things. What does he mean by that? From what? From whom?

Detachment is about living more and more honestly before God, in one’s own eyes and with others. I think you will best understand it by considering its opposite: inordinate attachment to someone or something.

If God was taking care of me when I was in the military and killing people, then why was God not taking care of them at the same time?

Where is God when someone takes a life in self-defense? A just war presumes that soldiers on each side are acting in legitimate self-defense.

Where was God when Cain murdered his brother, Abel? When children are abused by family members, teachers, or members of the clergy? When elderly people are swindled out of their life’s savings?