I thought every Catholic carried some-thing like this
Over on Fr. Mildew's blog, he mentions the difficulty UK hospital chaplains have in finding out if patients are Catholic. He mentions the roadblocks he's seen in the UK and wondered if people could tell him the situation in various countries.
I got to thinking along those lines. When I was growing up in the Catholic schools and in the home, we were taught it was a good idea to carry an "in case of emergency" card. I.E. a card that identified you as a Catholic, so that "they" could notify a priest so you could receive last rights or whatever other assistance you needed (like visits and Communion, etc.)
On the back of mine it has spaces for places/people to contact - i.e. relatives/close friends -- I added my parish information. As a single person without immediate family I find this particularly useful. But is it still common practice for people to carry such cards?
.
17 comments:
Recently we received Sacred Heart Badges and Catholic cards from Tradition, Family and Property (America Needs Fatima). They are plastic and you can either put them on your keyring or carry the card in your wallet.
Great idea! I'm making one today.
I've never seen such a card, but the medal I wear says this on the back as does the Sacred Heart visor clip in the car. My husband teases me that the SH visor clip should be enough of a tip off and the words shouldn't be necessary.
As some one who has a lot of military folks in her family, the only thing close to this I know is a dog tag, which states a religious preference. I do know members of the older generation used to carry these cards, but I have never had one. I could make something to go on my key chain because I don't carry a purse/wallet.
Yes, I have one.
And on it I have written: PLEASE CALL A PRIEST FROM ST JOHN CANTIUS 312-.......
:)
Okay, swissmiss - that's it, you and I are separated at birth - I don't carry a purse either. I always found it cumbersome, and I figured it was a ruse of the male of the species to get us to carry their crap for them. [I do have one for very "dressy-dress" occasions but I hate carrying it.]
I do carry a wallet in my front pocket though. I need somewhere to put that card so they can find it on me if I get hit by a beer truck.
;-D Good for ATM, money, and DL too.
It occurs to me that you don't see these cards anymore because they aren't on offer. I'd had one as a child .. then because we'd changed churches so many times and places of residence I didn't have one...because it hadn't occurred to me to use white out, and I didn't consciously look for a replacement. But then I was attending a religious conference a few years back where one of the vendors had a stack of "take ones." I would hate to be in a bad traffic accident and not have a priest notified.
I think it's a good custom, which should be revived. And many of the converts or younger generation may not know about them.
I used to have one - but like all cards unless they are laminated they end up being destroyed in the laundry.
My doctor is fully aware that under no circumstances are any life issues to be compromised in any way in our regard - our Living wills are - bloody feed me and give me water or i'll sue your arse off - touch that life-support off-button and I'll come back and haunt you !!!
OTSOA:
You bring up a GREAT point of adding something on there regarding water/food/ w/ feeding tube. I would not want to be kept alive on a machine when there is no hope of recovery after a decent time has lapsed for good evaluation, but I DEFINITELY don't want to be starved to death. I will add that bit to the back of my card. I think what happened to Terri Schiavo (sp?) was a disgrace, her "husband" is a very evil man.
I guess whether to laminate or not depends on how often your contact information on the back changes.
Karen - you have inspired me. I will make one for each of the family.
In the 80s, in Britain, a joke version of such cards circulated:
"In an emergency, I do not wish to be visited in hospital by Mrs. Thatcher"
trouble is i hardly ever carry a bag & never the same one..perhaps a round the neck thing might be best...
Maybe a tattoo? :-D
Stephen, you add another line:
"I do not wished to be photographed with any politician while I am unconscious."
With all the nonsense going on in the hospitals and "Care facilities" today, perhaps now is a good time to revive the custom.
Politician OR MEMBER OF THE ROYAL FAMILY. Though fortunately Phil the Greek doesn't appear to do hospitals.
Well, Good Queen Bess can visit me any time. She's not running for office. But if she's paying me a visit, something terrible must have happened. So I hope it never happens. :-D I'm not really sure about that dingy Charlie though. He'd probably try to make sure no one was using more than one square of toilet paper per time or some such daft "green" idea he's been hallucinating. He can visit Cheryl Crowe.
Yes, I have that information on the back of my donor card, alongside the next-of-kin contact details. I have also added a note about not donating my eggs. I wrote it about 12 years ago, though I thought it quite unnecessary, but thinking about it now, it's not so unlikely, is it?
That is a GREAT idea, la mamma, re: the eggs business. Don't put anything past "them" these days.
Count me in as one of the ladies who doesn't carry a purse and will only carry the smallest of diaper bags when I absolutely HAVE to do so. I put my check card and ID in my pocket and walk out the door.
Post a Comment