And don't kid yourselves, when you finally see the end to suffering that comes only with death after a long, painful decline, you really don't understand those words like 'merciful death' and the end of life coming as a blessing--redemptive suffering in the Catholic way of looking at it--to describe death after much suffering.

I have no advice for you Rabbi, but Passover is upon us. Reflecting upon how redemption might come about in this case is the family's best answer. Will it be as a result of divine intervention alone? Or will you, the family, and the doctors--human beings and covenantal partners with God (I am assuming this is congruent with your worldview), have a role to play in the redemptive process?

Isn't it our duty to ease the passage, and work with the redemptive process rather than against it?