Understandably, there are times when one is in great pain or will be in great pain, and suicide will seem to "eradicate" that pain. Such can be the case for someone going through problems at home (i.e., drugs, divorce, sexual molestation), financial hardships (i.e., loss of a job, loss of savings, debt), health (i.e., depression, "imperfect" body, bone/joint pain, cancer), and feeling out of God's grace (i.e., Judas). The reasons for the pain that can lead one to commit suicide are almost limitless.
In many cases suicide seems easy for us to recognize. If someone shot themselves on purpose to end their lives, we would agree that they committed suicide. However, what if this person was under the influence of alcohol or some other substance? As someone who has had their fair share of alcoholic drinks, I know that with enough drinks you are not yourself. During excessive drinking, you lose your conscience, which is a part of your soul. Sometimes the aftermath of drinking in excess is a couple of bruises from a scuffle with friends. However, another time you might wake up in jail after you crashed your car and killed someone because you ran a red light. The sin of drinking in excess is large, but it is not suicide and it is not murder.*
When you commit suicide you are committing murder against your own body, without the chance of repentance. Our bodies are not our own, they are a gift from God. All sins can be forgiven by God, but if you commit suicide you are dying in a state out of the grace of God. While I do not believe people that commit suicide are guaranteed "hell"**, committing suicide is not a good way to enter the next phase of your life. If you know the Truth about God, you will never commit suicide. God loves us no matter what we have done, he forgives us all. If you are reading this and thinking you are alone, do not feel hopeless. Seek someone out who is close to God. Humble yourselves to the will of God. I urge you to let go of your pride, there is only one will. Pray to God, he will take your pain away. The instructions for forgiveness are simple, love God above all else, and love your neighbor as yourself. Part of this application is in the "Our Father" prayer, we must forgive our neighbors, if we want God to forgive us.
Most of us stumble throughout this life without thinking of the afterlife, because our lives here on Earth are "good". I understand that, I was one of those people. What happens when everything you have ever believed in falls apart? The secular views of "just be a good person" or " live to enjoy life" cannot help you. In fact, it is those views that sooner or later, will make your soul feel restless. You will feel hopeless and in pain. Know that there is hope in God. Know that pain is a good opportunity to meet God. Do not feel ashamed that you only talk to God when you are in need. He is always hoping you will find him.
However, there are forces at work, that want to keep you away from God's Love. They can give you an unnatural desire to end your life when your soul is weak. Recognize these forces for what they are. These forces would like nothing more than to send you into the next phase of your life in a hopeless state. When you are depressed, do not look for secular answers, turn to God, every other option cannot cure us because these other forces are strong. Let go of your pride and let go of your vision of what God should be. Humble yourselves to the will of God, pray for his Love. Feel his Love.
The Son of Man had two disciples that betrayed him, Judas and Peter. Judas in his shame, perceived himself outside of God's grace, gave in to the unnatural desire and killed himself. Peter turned his shame into genuine remorse. He repented. Peter became the first bishop of Rome. Peter, which means rock, is the foundation upon which the Church*** was built on.
*I hope people can take away not only what happens to the soul of the person in jail for a DUI manslaughter, but what happens to your soul if you drove home in a drunken stupor and nobody got physically hurt. You have committed the same sin as the person that unfortunately crashed their car and took the lives of others. In the justice of God you have both been found guilty of the same sin of drinking in excess. Drinking in excess is a grave sin because of the individual decision to suppress the soul.
**Hell is not a place with fire and physical pain. Hell is being out of God's love. For a good idea of what Heaven and Hell might be like, read "The Great Divorce" by C.S. Lewis.
***Not just the Catholic Church, but the entire Christian Community.
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