The congruence of Terri Schiavo’s plight with Holy Week has led to speculation by Christians on the eternal significance of this young woman’s struggle. Some have seen in it a microcosm of another Passion, two thousand years ago:
THE PINELLAS COUNTY PASSION PLAY
TERRI AT CENTER OF MODERN-DAY PASSION PLAY
An especially powerful statement of Terri’s passion and its correlation to Christ’s Passion came earlier this week from Bishop Thomas Wenski of Orlando, Florida:
"And so, Holy Week, the annual remembrance of Jesus’ passion and death, begins with the Passion of Terri Schiavo. Terri’s agony has already begun and, barring some miracle, the denouement of Terri’s drama will be her death.
"This week, in recalling Jesus’ Passover from death to life, we celebrate the fact that the misterium iniquitatis is overcome through the misterium crucis.
"From the cross Jesus cried out, and his cry is echoed today by all those held captive to a world of pain and sin.
"As Terri shares in his passion, she will share in his Resurrection. Like Jesus did, Terri Schiavo cries out, though with muted voice: ‘I thirst!’"
GET THE STORY. (Warning: Evil registration requirement. Nod to Amy Welborn for the link.)
Some of the commentators have expressed reluctance for linking Terri’s plight to Christ’s Passion. I feel no such reluctance, and indeed think that the similarities bear expression for the benefit of all those with ears to hear:
"’I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink’ … Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see thee hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to thee?’ Then he will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it not to one of the least of these, you did it not to me’" (Matt. 25:42, 44-45).
There is an irony to this case that no one has yet mentioned. In the second reading this Palm Sunday, Paul speaks of Christ coming to us as a slave. Isn’t Italian word for “slave”, “schiavo”?
John, yes schiavo is Italian for “slave,” something I learned over at Amy Welborn’s blog. Also of note is that Terri’s family’s name is “Schindler,” a name shared with the man made famous for risking his life to save as many Jews from death as he could during the Holocaust.
Amen
Wow. What a powerful post. Thank you Michelle.
I continue to pray that Michael Schiavo will experience a conversion of heart.
Terri does share in the passion of Christ, as do all who suffer, if they only knew it.
Her blood will be upon us and on our children.
No, Billy, it won’t. It will be on those who opposed the efforts to get her food and water. I owe the Lord an accounting for many sins, but the death of Terri Schiavo won’t be one of them.
I think Billy was speaking collectively rather than individually.
I see that. That’s exactly what I disagree with, a sense of collective guilt. I mean, we all know what he meant, but you know me… It might be possible to ride someone’s coattails to Heaven, but we don’t go to hell for anybody sins but our own.
Check Dan Nichols blog dated 3/18/05 it is wonderful.
http://caelumetterra.typepad.com/blog/
If it was God’s will for Terri Schiavo to live, she wouldn’t need the feeding tube.
Why is this so hard for you guys to understand?
April
Its my understanding that Terri can ( or could) swallow and take nourishment orally, but Michael insisted that she be set up with a tube.
April, what is really ‘hard to understand’ is that there are people who believe that this IS God’s will for Terri’s life to end so horrifically.
There are hundreds of thousands of people worldwide who are administered hydration and nutrition via a feeding tube (many recover from their illnesses and go on to lead healthy lives)…often this is simply a plastic gravity based feeing tube, there are no mechanics to it…are you suggesting that all of those people are irrelevant…that they are a drain on resources and a blight to the human race?…Will you refuse all medical aid for yourself and for your loved ones…because God’s will is that when we are incapacitated, we should just shuffle off this mortal coil ?
Many thousands of people are cared for, (CARED for), by their loved ones…Terri’s own parent’s wish to care for their daughter..Michael wants her to die…Terri has been denied any form of rehabilitation….Terri’s loved ones want to ensure that Terri is given the opportunity of rehabilitation….Michael has 2 children with his lover…Terri can not ‘move on’ with her life…
Is a person’s worth in the state of their health?
Should we screen all babies mandatorily in the womb, for defect and disability…and void ’em if they are ‘imperfect’?
If it were against God’s wishes to administer food and water to those who can not do so for themselves, life as we know it would soon come to an end…because I haven’t yet heard of a baby that came from the womb with a spoon in one hand and a bowl of food in the other…it is our duty and responsibility to care for those who can not care for themselves…if you deprived an animal of food and water for 5 days you would be sitting on the inside of a police cell by now…or would that be God’s will too ?
I do not mean to sound unchariatble or rude, forgive me if my comment comes across that way, it is not my intention for it to do so.
God Bless
Was April’s post serious? I mean, why not just ask, “If it were God’s will that all those Jews survive, they wouldn’t have burned”?
Don – if Terri can swallow and take food orally, then why haven’t they been feeding her that way all along. That makes no sense.
ukok – The difference between Terri and most other people on a feeding tube, is that most other people have some hope for recovery. Numerous doctors have said that she will not recover. She is being kept artificially alive. Most people on feeding tubes are only on them temporarily until they recover and are able to feed themselves again. It is God’s will that they can recover and continue their lives and sustain themselves on the most basic levels.
The babies grow self-sufficient as they mature into adulthood. I think you’ve seen Gattica too many times (great movie, though).
Ed Peters – You are just being silly now. The Jews weren’t being kept alive artificially.
My understanding is that Michael had her put on the feeding tube because he didn’t want anyone having to sit there and feed her.
And nutrition and water is not being “kept artificially alive.” As long as her body is able to process and absorb the food and water, it is morally obligatory to provide it. Only when the body no longer is benefitted by the nutrition can it legitimately be stopped. I know, because we went through that with my mom.
My understanding is that the nursing staff saw that she may have been able to eat with a straw or spoon. And even though they were more than willing to try, Michael would not allow it. He would not allow her to have therapy. Essentially he perpetuated the idea that she was a vegetable. Why do you think he stopped her parents from filming her???
“You are just being silly now. The Jews weren’t being kept alive artificially.”
I think you’re the one being silly. Read Don’s post:
“If it were God’s will that all those Jews survive, they wouldn’t have burned.”
You were arguing that Terry wouldn’t need a feeding tube if it were God’s will that she live, which in itself wasn’t very logical. That’s the equivalent of saying “if it were God’s will for us to live, we wouldn’t need parents to nurture us when we’re born.” There are a dozen visible errors with that kind of thinking, which Don illustrated. It has nothing to do with artificial means of survival but the logic (or illogic) of your thinking.
And ironically, you could say that the Jews were being kept alive artificially: they were under the mercy of the Nazis. Using your train of thought, one would say “If it was God’s will for the Jews to live, then there would not have been a Holocaust.”
April, since when were food and water artificial means of being kept alive? they are basic requirements of the body for sustenance and nutrition….or are you inferrring that because Terri can not administer the food to herself physically, she should be denied it? By your argument then, you suggest that all who can not administer these basic requirements to themselves are being kept alive ‘artificiallly’…that’s downright illogical! Terri can swallow her own saliva, with rehabilitation she may have been able to have swallowed her own food and water..this basic dignity has been withheld from her..because that’s how Michael wanted it to be…
“If it is God’s will, they will recover”????
Where is the role of man in this, April? Are you of the opinion that if it was God’s will for Terri to recover that she would have had a miraculous healing ?
We have a will too, Terri’s husband has a will….do you think that God direct’s Michael Schiavo’s will, his actions? There is grave injustice in the world, is that God’s will also ?
Is it ‘God’s will’ that Terri’s husband has been a nasty piece of work and completely renaged on the vows he made when he and Terri were married ?
‘In sickness and in health’…it’s macabre in light of his 15 year crusade to do away with his wife.
April, I don’t know if you have visited Terri’s site, but if you haven’t I would urge you to do so ~ http://www.terrisfight.net/
Click on the ‘Myths about Terri’ link or watch the video’s of Terri as she responds to her doctors and to her parent’s…if the responsibility were yours alone to starve and dehydrate her, would you, in light of what you read and see there ?
God Bless.
p.s. Apologies that I may not be able to respond further as I am leaving for a while, tomoorow and have much to do before I go…don’t all cry at once.
I’m so angry right now that I find it very difficult to find one christian or charitable thing to say about Michael Shiavo. God Bless all those that have been able to rise above that and pray for the souls of Michael and his cohorts. Bottom line is that God could have taken Terri home anytime He would so choose to since this nightmare began for her. He didn’t. There is a reason she is still alive, perhaps to teach us as a Nation lessons of love and compassion, or perhaps to open our eyes to the legal ramifications that lie ahead for this nation,as a result of the way our legal system has handled this. whatever the reason. . .she is alive, and has brought joy to many I am certain.
The grief that her family is experiencing must be horrific. The selfishness that exudes from that skunk of a husband Micheal, is satan incarnate.
If he truly loved Terri, he wouldn’t have found it necessary to skip out of their marriage long enough to create himself a new little family. Terri’s family was willing to care for her, why he didn’t quietly divorce her and relinquish his legal guardianship into her family’s care?
His motives have been less than gallant, greed, adultery, or perhaps fear that if she really was able to recover she may have something to say about how she “fell” in their home to begin with. This man reaks of satan. The more I learn about him the less I want to pray for his soul. . .I really don’t think he deserves to be anywhere near Terri for eternity. And there is no doubt that she will be in heaven when all is said and done.
My prayers go out to her, her family and all those who have fought so hard to keep her alive. Our country needs prayer as well, as this is, I’m certain the beginning of a modern day holocost.
As for Micheal. . .I would love to be a fly on the wall the day he stands face to face with our Lord. *SIGH* well I feel a little better, maybe a prayer or two for myself is in order that I can find a way to let go of the anger, and perhaps find a way to forgive. . .but then again perhaps a little anger is needed to help prevent this from happening again. Kristi
Terri’s father stated that he wouldn’t respect Terri’s wishes if indeed they were to die even if she had them written down on paper, which in my opinion is wrong. I’ve heard alot about broken bones, but the truth is that Terri may have had an eating disorder which could have caused her condition. Boken bones rather that’s true or not are in no way the cause for an Extreme Heart Attack, however eating disorders are known to be. I honestly don’t believe that any person would really to be living in her condition rather she discussed it ahead of time or not. Although I think that life is precious I also believe that there is a time to let go as well. If Terri did discuss it with Michael and not with her parents and friends it was probably because she may have felt that they wouldn’t understand or respect her wishes, being that they are Roman Catholics, and perhaps Terri wasn’t as devout in her faith as her parents may have thought afterall her friends have stated that she always wanted to please her parents, so she may have kept her personal feelings to herself in order not to upset her parents. It appears that this case is about more than just Terri which is obvious, it’s about the right to die on the Liberal side and the right to live on the Conservative side. In my opinion everyone has a right to do with their lives as they please and is someone wants to end their life, because they are terminally ill or deformed and so on then they should have the right to do so. Afterall it is their life and they are the ones who have to live it. I have noticed that some of those people in the pro-life struggle have said that they believe in the sancity of life yet some of them are the same people who are willing to blow up abortion clinics and threaten others who don’t believe as they do, which in my opinion is hypocritical. many Conservative Christians have jumped the gun in claiming that Michael Schiavo is Sinister and an Abuser and so on, which hasn’t been proven, but even if it was true has nothing really to do with rather Terri lives or dies it’s merely a distraction. Terri’s parents can’t seem to let go of their daughter, which is understandable, but not reasonable when you consider the fact that Terri more than likely won’t ever recover. I’ve heard people state that people in Terri’s condition feel no pain and I disagree, because physical pain isn’t the only kind of pain there is also mental anguish and emotional pain of knowing that you are trapped inside your body and you can’t move or live your life normally. If it were me I’d rather die in peace than live in misery. I hope that Terri is able to find her peace and that her family will finally come to realize that its’ time for them to let go.
Female, Europe, 25, Jewish Faith
Very nicely put, European Jew. I am also Jewish, as well as adopted (my real parents had PREMARITAL sex, and after they had me, they became born again Christians, and got married. How about that for Jew power.