About an Old Man Freezing to Death, Neighbors, and Catholic Teachings

You've probably heard about it by now, but just in case you haven't: Marvin Schur, a 93-year-old WWII veteran, lived in Bay City, Michigan. He didn't pay his utility bill: for four months. So, Bay City Electric Light & Power had a technician put a sort of kill switch on Mr. Schur's power line.

A "limiter" seems like a pretty good way to remind people that there's a bill to pay. It "blows like a fuse if usage rises past a set level." (AP) More like a circuit breaker: all the homeowner has to do is go outside and re-set the "limiter." Provided that the people know it's there, and can get outside to reset it.

Bay City Electric's kill switch shut off Mr. Schur's power earlier this month. Then he froze to death. Inside. Alone.

Now, some people in Bay City and elsewhere are upset. I can see why.

An Outdoor Kill Switch, an Old Man, Michigan Winters, and Common Sense

Bay City Electric's apparently had a policy of notifying people when a "limiter" is installed. They put a note on their door.

Mr. Schur was 93. He "rarely, if ever, left the house in the cold." (AP)

Nobody from Bay City Electric actually talked to Mr. Schur, telling him what was done, and telling him how the device worked.

When the kill switch cut his power, Mr. Schur would, ideally, have called for help, put a sign in the window, or done something to alert his neighbors that there was a problem.

Looks like he quietly froze to death instead.

Marvin Schur had money clipped to a pile of bills in his house, and apparently was pretty well off. Maybe the details of paying the utility company, and getting help, slipped his mind. He was 93: and, although some people stay mentally alert at that age, some don't.

One bit of good news: Bay City Electric has decided to stop using kill switches.

Bay City, Michigan, in January

People living in Bay City, Michigan, should be used to cold winters. They're a few miles north of Saginaw, where, on average, the high is 24 °F and the low 11 °F in mid-January. That's not quite as cool as central Minnesota, where it's 21 °F and 1 °F.

Temperatures like that aren't a problem, if people are careful. If they're not, water in the house can freeze, pipes can burst, and - sometimes - people die.


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Marvin Schur's Neighbors

It was a touching tribute: 30 people showed up at Mr. Schur's funeral today. Some of them only knew him from what they'd heard or read in the news.

Nothing wrong with that: I see it as a show of respect.

Just the same, it would have been nice if one of his neighbors had noticed that something was wrong. Before he froze to death.

Mr. Schur seems to have had a "favorite armchair by the window." (AP) It's possible that someone could have noticed that he wasn't there, or that the windows had frosted over and that no exhaust was coming from his chimney. He had a gas furnace - but many of those things need electrical power to run.

But, nobody did. I'm not sure that I'd notice, if a house down the block went dark and cold.

Maybe I should start paying more attention to my neighbors.

The Catholic Church Even Has Rules About Being a Neighbor

If you think that the Roman Catholic Church as a rule for everything, I'd say you're probably right: at least, for the important stuff. The Church isn't helpful, if you need to know what fork to use, or even whether or not you should use forks.

On the other hand, the Church has quite a bit to say about being a neighbor. For example:

"The duty of making oneself a neighbor to others and actively serving them becomes even more urgent when it involves the disadvantaged, in whatever area this may be. 'As you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.' " (Catechism, 1932)

And:

"When someone asks him, 'Which commandment in the Law is the greatest?' Jesus replies: 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the prophets.' The Decalogue must be interpreted in light of this twofold yet single commandment of love, the fullness of the Law...." (2055) (The "Which commandment in the law is the greatest" quote is from Matthew 22:36-40)

Since Jesus said that "love your neighbor as yourself" is the second of two great commandments, I'd say that he thinks loving our neighbors is important. It's pretty obvious. Some people go to what I'd call heroic lengths to love their neighbor: but I'm hoping that we don't all have to be like Mother Teresa of Calcutta.

Doing good doesn't have to be a big deal. Something as simple as keeping an eye on that old guy down the street might be a way to love that neighbor. It might even save a life.

Neighbors are Persons

Sounds pretty obvious. Or, maybe not.

The way that terms like "the community," or "society," I think it's easy to start thinking about people as units in a collective: or even think more about 'the masses' than about the individual people. Maybe it's because of some of the ideas that were popular in some circles, back when I was growing up.

The Church apparently thinks it's important to remember that each person is valuable: not an interchangeable part in a socioeconomic mechanism.

"The fourth commandment illuminates other relationships in society. ... in every human person, a son or daughter of the One who wants to be called 'our Father.' In this way our relationships with our neighbors are recognized as personal in character. The neighbor is not a 'unit' in the human collective; he is 'someone' who by his known origins deserves particular attention and respect. (2212)

"Human communities are made up of persons. Governing them well is not limited to guaranteeing rights and fulfilling duties such as honoring contracts. Right relations between employers and employees, between those who govern and citizens, presuppose a natural good will in keeping with the dignity of human persons concerned for justice and fraternity." (2213)

That seems pretty straight-forward. We're supposed to remember that

• People are individuals
• Each of our neighbors is a person, who should be treated with good will and respect

I know: it's not always easy. Some neighbors are going to be annoying. Some are just plain unlikeable. Some won't talk to you. Others won't stop talking.

As a Catholic, I have to love these people. That doesn't mean I have to like them, but I do have to respect them, and remember that God loves them. It's not easy, but I've found that remembering to maintain that sort of deliberate love makes tolerating others easier.

Feelings and Attitude are Nice, but What About Doing Something?

The Catechism is pretty clear about this: It's not enough that we 'love our neighbor' on the inside. We're expected to do something about it.

"The works of mercy are charitable actions by which we come to the aid of our neighbor in his spiritual and bodily necessities. Instructing, advising, consoling, comforting are spiritual works of mercy, as are forgiving and bearing wrongs patiently. The corporal works of mercy consist especially in feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and imprisoned, and burying the dead. Among all these, giving alms to the poor is one of the chief witnesses to fraternal charity: it is also a work of justice pleasing to God...." (2447)

As I wrote yesterday, "Sometimes peoples' families can't take care of them. When that happens, neighbors and the rest of the community are supposed to step in and help." That was the way I boiled down a couple of points from the Catechism (2208, 2209).

That's the way it's supposed to work. What happened to Marvin Schur is what can happen when we don't remember to love our neighbor.

More-or-less related posts:

• "The Catholic Church Won't Even Let People Kill Themselves"
  (January 28, 2009)
• "Conservative? Liberal? Democrat? Republican? No, I'm Catholic"
  (November 3, 2008)
• "Life: It's a Single Issue, and an Important One"
  (November 2, 2008)
• "Earthquake in Ziarat: I Have to Care"
  (October 29, 2008)

Background:

• "30 attend Schur memorial service"
  The Bay City Times and The Associated Press, via MLive.com (January 29, 2009)
• "World War II Veteran Freezes to Death; 'It's just business' "
  dimensionm, blog on LiveJournal (January 28, 2009)
• "Freezing death of Mich. man in house sparks anger"
  The Associated Press (January 28, 2009)
• "Bay City raises electric rates as Marvin Schur's death spurs anger"
  The Bay City Times, via MLive.com (January 27, 2009)
• "City of Bay City"
• "Why does the Catholic Church have so many rules?"
  Holy Spirit Interactive, HSI Youth

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Update (February 5, 2009)

"Bay City vet who froze left hospital a fortune"
Detroit Free Press (February 5, 2009)

"A 93-year-old Bay City man who was about $1,000 in arrears on his electric bill when he froze to death in his home has left a fortune estimated at $600,000 to a hospital.

"Marvin Schur, whose death shocked the nation last month, bequeathed all his money to Bay Regional Medical Center...."

Doing the right thing isn't always profitable in the short run, and killing an old man isn't always punished.

In this case, though, if Bay City Electric Light & Power had tried talking to Mr. Schur, odds are that they'd have their thousand bucks: and wouldn't have gotten a reputation for being an outfit that kills its customers - accidentally - if they don't fork over the dough.

There's something to be learned about charity, too:

" 'The irony of the whole thing is he was a medic in the Army saving lives,' [Schur's nephew William] Walworth told the Free Press in a phone interview from his Florida home. 'He led a nice life, except for his tragic ending. With his contribution to the hospital, he'll still be helping people save lives. He'll be doing it in death.' "

The Catholic Church Won't Even Let People Kill Themselves

Suicide is a difficult subject. I've been meaning to write a post about it, and what I read in this morning's news encouraged me to get started.

Another family's dead, and it looks like a murder-suicide. This sad situation is as good a place as any to start. I'm going to take a look at what happened to the Lupoe family before going into a more general look at what the Roman Catholic Church has to say about suicide, hope, and families.

I think it's a good idea to remember that the Church and its rules aren't just an intellectual exercise: they're about people.

Murder, Suicide, and the Blame Game

The father of a family in Wilmington, a Los Angeles suburb, apparently shot his wife and kids, sent what the Los Angeles Times called "...a bitter, rambling two-page letter to a local television station blaming his employer for his actions...." and then killed himself.

The body count was seven: two adults; five children.

Responsibility?

The Mercury News (Silicon Valley) says that some locals "...blamed the Lupoes' deaths on a dismal local economy. They cited a suicide note left by Ervin Lupoe in which he describes the 'horrendous ordeal' that he and his wife endured after being fired from their jobs as medical technicians at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center West Los Angeles.

" 'Their employer led them to this,' said Carmen Adame, who told city officials she believed Lupoe, like many in her community, was being forced to work under unreasonable conditions. ..."

She may be right: Unreasonable working conditions and unreasonable employers really do exist. And, they are a real pain to deal with.

'The economy' and "their employer" may have added to the stress Mr. Lupoe felt: but it looks like he was the one who pulled the trigger. This won't seem very 'compassionate,' the way the word is often used, but I think Mr. Lupoe may have had something to say about whether or not he killed all those people.

Nice House, Nice Family, Not-So-Nice Job

Ervin Lupoe seems to have had issues with the hospital that had employed him and his wife. Most of the letter he faxed to KABC-TV gives his version of how he got fired.

The suicide letter's text, as posted on MSNBC, begins with:

"To start off about this tragic story, my name is Ervin Lupoe, my wife Ana Lupoe, my eldest daughter Brittney Lupoe-8yrs, my twin daughters Jaszmin, Jassely-5yrs, my twin boys Benjamin, Christian 2yrs 4mo...."

The letter ends:

"...So after a horrendous ordeal my wife felt it better to end our lives and why leave our children in someone's else's hands, in addition it seems Kiaser Permanente want's us to kill ourselves and take our family with us. They did nothing to the manager who stated such, and did not attempt to assist us in the matter, knowing we have no job and 5 children under 8 years with no place to go. So here we are.

"Ervin Lupoe

"(Handwritten:) Oh Lord my God is there no hope for a widow's son!"

In between is a discussion of how unfair Mr. Lupoe felt it was that he and his wife were fired.

Is There No Hope for a Widow's Son!

The "widow's son" may have been Mr. Lupoe: He was raised by his mother. She's having a rough stretch in her life right now: Brittney, Jaszmin, Jassely, Benjamin, and Christian were her only grandchildren.

If the widow's son is dead, his options are mighty limited.

Hope

While we're alive, though, the Catholic Church has quite a bit to say about hope. (And has been criticized for it: a different topic.)

For example:

"The Holy Spirit, who instructs us to celebrate the liturgy in expectation of Christ's return, teaches us to pray in hope. Conversely, the prayer of the Church and personal prayer nourish hope in us. The psalms especially, with their concrete and varied LANGUAGE, teach us to fix our hope in God: 'I waited patiently for the LORD; he inclined to me and heard my cry.' As St. Paul prayed: 'May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.' "
(Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2657)

There's more (Catechism, 2658), but you get the idea.

Widows and Orphans

A "widow's son" has hope, particularly if people pay attention to what the Catholic Church (and most Christian churches) teach.

Don't get me wrong: I'm not blaming anyone here. 'I only know what I read in the news,' about what happened to the Lupoe family, and the community they lived in.

From what I've read, Wilmington is an industrial town near the Port of Los Angeles, about 50,000 people live there, and it's got one of the highest unemployment rates in America.

County Mental Heath Programs and Catholic Teaching

A counselor at the County Mental Heath ACCESS call-in center said that things were worse now than she'd ever seen,

" 'Because the people that we're dealing with now, they have always had [money]. They went to school, they were able to get jobs. Now the jobs are not even out there.' "
(CNN)

That County Mental Heath ACCESS call-in center is part of what the Catholic Church says we're supposed to do about widows and orphans. Sometimes peoples' families can't take care of them. When that happens, neighbors and the rest of the community are supposed to step in and help. (Catechism, 2208, 2209)

This isn't just a Catholic thing. I think most Christian churches recognize what Jesus said about loving our neighbors in Mark, Chapter 12:

"One of the scribes, when he came forward and heard them disputing and saw how well he had answered them, asked him, 'Which is the first of all the commandments?'

"Jesus replied, 'The first is this: "Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength." The second is this: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." There is no other commandment greater than these.' "
(Mark 12:28-31)

Yes: there is hope. Providing you're willing to accept the possibility.

Suicide - It's Not Always Someone Else

Somebody very dear to me killed herself, over thirty years ago now. I am sure that some people reading this post have had similar experiences. Some may even have considered killing themselves.

So have I, a few times. Each time, on consideration, it didn't seem like a very good idea: and now I'm rather glad I came to that conclusion.

Suicide and the Catholic Church

The Catholic Church doesn't approve of people killing themselves. That could be seen as another way that the Vatican wants to meddle in people's personal lives: imposing their values on others.

I see it as God acting through the Roman Catholic Church, to keep people from hurting themselves and others.

It's My Life, Isn't It?

Not according to Catholic teaching. (You don't have to accept what the Church teaches, by the way: but I'd recommend that you do.) I don't own my life, God does. I'm just the steward.

"...We are stewards, not owners, of the life God has entrusted to us. It is not ours to dispose of."
(Catechism, 2280)

Killing Myself Only Affects Me?

It doesn't work that way. Suicide

"...is gravely contrary to the just love of self. It likewise offends love of neighbor because it unjustly breaks the ties of solidarity with family, nation, and other human societies to which we continue to have obligations. Suicide is contrary to love for the living God.."
(Catechism, 2281)

It's the idea that Donne wrote about: "No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent...." ("XVII. MEDITATION." from Project Gutenberg's Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions, by John Donne) According to the Catholic Church, we don't live in isolation. We are connected to others - and to God.

You Mean, I Can't Even Help Someone Commit Suicide?

Don't be silly: We have free will. We can do anything we want. We be destructive, or constructive: It's our choice.

But, a Catholic "can't help someone commit suicide," in the sense that the Church quite definitely says that 'no' is the correct response to that choice.

"If suicide is committed with the intention of setting an example, especially to the young, it also takes on the gravity of scandal. Voluntary co-operation in suicide is contrary to the moral law....."
(Catechism, 2282)

Catholic Teachings on Suicide Don't Take Today's Science Into Account?

If you count psychology as a contemporary science: wrong.

"...Grave psychological disturbances, anguish, or grave fear of hardship, suffering, or torture can diminish the responsibility of the one committing suicide."
(Catechism, 2282)

The Church has been around for almost two thousand years, and is based on teachings and records that are much more ancient. We've learned a little bit about what it's like to be human along the way.

Note, though: It's "can diminish the responsibility" - not "remove responsibility."

(Before moving on: "Scandal" has a particular meaning in a Catholic context. "Scandal is an attitude or behavior which leads another to do evil...." (Catechism, 2284)

Catholics Believe Suicides Go to Hell, Right?

This might be a surprise:

"We should not despair of the eternal salvation of persons who have taken their own lives. By ways known to him alone, God can provide the opportunity for salutary repentance. The Church prays for persons who have taken their own lives."
(Catechism, 2283)

In the news:

• "Economic troubles bring many to the brink"
  CNN (January 28, 2009)
• "Redacted Text: Ervin Antonio Lupoe's Murder-Suicide Note"
  MSNBC (NBCLosAngeles.com) (January 28, 2009)
• "With no job and 5 kids, 'better to end our lives,' man wrote"
  CNN (January 28, 2009)
• "Residents blame family's murder-suicide on economy"
  The Mercury News (MercuryNews.com (January 28, 2009)
• "Burden of Debt Weighed on Family in Murder-Suicide"
  The New York Times (January 28, 2009)
• "Los Angeles man kills his 5 children, wife, self"
  Los Angeles Times (January 28, 2009)

Whoopi Goldberg's "Sister Act" - A Spiritually Uplifting Movie

Some of the family watched "Sister Act" (Whoopie Goldberg, Maggie Smith, 1992) last night, and watched parts of it again today, for the music. I liked the movie when it came out, and I still do.

Particularly the movie's deeply spiritual music.

"Whoopi Goldberg - Sister Act - Oh Maria"

petconsoe, YouTube (October 24, 2007)
video (3:33)

Spiritual Music?!

'Everybody knows' what church music is like: if you're not suffering from clinical depression when you go in, you will be by the time you leave.

I'm exaggerating, a bit, but I've run into that attitude from time to time: and sympathize. I'm a convert to Catholicism, and spent my early years in the Methodist Church¹. Methodist churches, the ones I knew, don't have the reputation that Southern Baptists have for non-boring music, but they did pretty well. Although one or two organists seemed to be playing 'stump the congregation.' On the other hand, I did get exposed to a little dreadfully 'spiritual' music: dull, slow, listless, with all the energy and joy of a brick.

Being Spiritual Doesn't Mean Being Dull

The word, "spiritual," has quite a few meanings, including these, from Princeton's WordNet:

• Religious
  • "concerned with sacred matters or religion or the church"
• Unearthly
  • "concerned with or affecting the spirit or soul"

Some of what I do, that's "spiritual" in both of those ways is pretty close to the conventional notion of what 'being religious' is.



I spend time, most weekdays, in that room, 'doing nothing' except sitting and moving my fingers every few seconds. I wouldn't have to be that active, but I like to go through a prayer while I'm there, and I don't carry a rosary with me. I started 'counting the beads' by systematically extending and curling my fingers when I couldn't feel much of anything in six of my ten digits, and kept the habit.

Exciting? No. It's not supposed to be.

Dull? Hardly, but spending time in a chapel like that is something that's to be done, not watched.

Back to Music

Whoopi Goldberg's character in "Sister Act," Deloris Van Cartier / Sister Mary Clarence, was a Las Vegas lounge singer, pretending to be a nun in a convent and a church. She had good reasons: but I suggest that you watch the movie, or look it up on IMDB.

The convent had a choir, which sang with the verve of a wet mop. Deloris Van Cartier couldn't stand it, and taught them to sing "Oh Maria" with pizzazz, oomph, and zing.

Mother Superior (Maggie Smith) didn't approve. Maggie Smith's character had the more, ah, traditional view that church music should be solemn and somber, and certainly not up-tempo.

Whoopi Goldberg's character had the choir singing "Oh Maria" both ways, almost. In case you haven't viewed that video yet, "Oh Maria" is the song where you start with "Hail holy Queen enthroned above, Oh Maria...." sing "Salve, salve-salve, salve Regina!" a few times.

Even the more conventional version of "Oh Maria" in "Sister Act" was rather faster and brighter than I've heard it elsewhere.

The second time through, it was the same song: but with a distinctly dynamic and contemporary arrangement.

I liked it.

The Catholic Church Has Rules About Music

"I like it" isn't enough to make music acceptable for use in a Catholic Mass. The Church has standards.

Music: An Important Part of Worship

"Song and music fulfill their function as signs in a manner all the more significant when they are 'more closely connected . . . with the liturgical action,' according to three principal criteria: beauty expressive of prayer, the unanimous participation of the assembly at the designated moments, and the solemn character of the celebration. In this way they participate in the purpose of the liturgical words and actions: the glory of God and the sanctification of the faithful:..." (1157)

Rules of the Catholic Church and Cultural Diversity

In "Sister Act," Mother Superior did not approve of up-beat, dynamic music. Not in church, anyway. It probably wasn't what she had been used to, growing up.

The lively version of "Oh, Maria" would probably be quite acceptable for a real church in a setting like the one in "Sister Act." That's because this is the Catholic Church: universal. Not limited to one place or culture. Or, for that matter, one time. In roughly two decades, the Catholic Church will have been around for 2,000 years. (551, 552, 553) Things have changed a bit, since Nero was doing his thing.

"Song and music are closely connected with the liturgical action. The criteria for their proper use are the beauty expressive of prayer, the unanimous participation of the assembly, and the sacred character of the celebration." (1191)

In the movie, people started walking in from the street when they heard the choir practicing. Given the local culture, I'd say that the jazzed-up "Oh Maria" had about as close to "the unanimous participation of the assembly" as you're likely to get. Except for Mother Superior, of course.

I feel a little sorry for her.

The point is that the Catholic Church insists that the words sung should be "in conformity with Catholic doctrine." Apart from that, we're encouraged to take what we're given, and express it in a way that works in our culture.

"The harmony of signs (song, music, words, and actions) is all the more expressive and fruitful when expressed in the cultural richness of the People of God who celebrate. Hence religious singing by the faithful is to be intelligently fostered so that in devotions and sacred exercises as well as in liturgical services, in conformity with the Church's norms, the voices of the faithful may be heard. But the texts intended to be sung must always be in conformity with Catholic doctrine. Indeed they should be drawn chiefly from the Sacred Scripture and from liturgical sources." (1158)

Following these rules means doing some work: "religious singing by the faithful is to be intelligently fostered so that ... the voices of the faithful may be heard." (colored text, above) It might be easier to make a rule that all religious music had to be in 4/4 time, at a particular tempo, following a particular style: but the Catholic Church isn't about doing things easy. It's about doing things right.

"Oh Maria" as Sung in "Sister Act" - Spiritual?

I'd say, 'yes.' It got people in the church, listening to the music - and the words. I know: it's a Marian song, but Mary has a reputation for pointing people toward Jesus, like when she said: "Do whatever he tells you."

So, I'd say that, if music gets people to the point where they're willing to listen to the Word of God, I'd say it's "spiritual" music - no matter what it sounds like.

Background:

• "Sister Act (1992)"
  IMDB

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¹ I cherish memories of the church where I grew up, the people, the music: everything. I didn't leave the Methodist church and become Catholic to get away from something, but to join the organization that my Lord founded. Which is a topic for another post or two.

My Life Has Purpose: Everybody's Does

I think that most people, if they're at all introspective, wonder about why they exist: what purpose they have in this world.

We come up with quite a range of answers, including:

• Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die
• It's a trick question - there is no purpose in life
  • This seems to be particularly popular in some self-consciously intellectual circles
• To serve some cause, like the
  • Environment
  • State
  • Needy

The idea of service as a purpose is very close to what the Catholic Church teaches.

My Purpose: to Know, Love, and Serve God: and Come to the Happiness of Paradise

As it says in the Catechism's Glossary:

"...God put us into the world to know, love, and serve him, and so come to the happiness of paradise (1720)."
(Catechism of the Catholic Church, Glossary, H, under Happiness)

The point is restated in 1721:

"God put us in the world to know, to love, and to serve him, and so to come to paradise. Beatitude makes us 'partakers of the divine nature' and of eternal life. With beatitude, man enters into the glory of Christ and into the joy of the Trinitarian life."
(Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1721)