What Does per diem Mean
The first thing to do in order to determine the meaning of the term viaticum is to discover its etymological origin. In this sense, it should be noted that it is a word that derives from Latin, from "viaticum", which in turn comes from "via".
The “viaticum” was used to refer to the provision of food and money that a person needed to be able to undertake a trip. However, during the Middle Ages, it was used to refer to a tax that was charged to everyone who wanted to travel a road that belonged to the lands of a feudal lord.
The concept, therefore, is used to name the money or species that are given to a person for sustenance during a trip .
For example: “The per diem that the company gave me is barely enough to eat” , “I have not yet received the per diem for last month… could you find out what happens? , "Since I spent little on food, I had money left over from my travel expenses . "
Travel allowances can be given to the traveler before his departure , so that he has the means to subsist during the trip. Suppose an employee of a multinational company is sent from Chile to Germany to attend a conference. This person's boss gives him per diem money before he leaves, so that he can pay for the hotel, eat and travel on German soil.
In other cases, per diem is paid after the expense . A young man who collects for a technology company makes several trips a day, spending money on train , subway and bus tickets (collective). Every day, when the end of working hours comes, he presents the travel vouchers in the company administration and receives the corresponding money. This means that if the worker spent 45 pesos in travel expenses, then he recovers them.
In the field of religion , viaticum is called the sacrament that is given to a sick person who is about to pass away. This sacrament consists of giving communion to the dying person in preparation for his departure.
This religious "rite" we can underline that it comes from an old Greco-Roman ritual in which a coin was introduced into the mouth of the deceased, under the tongue, as a way that he could pay the tax of the passage to Hades. That coin was known as "obolus," the Greek term, and also as "viaticum," the Latin concept.
Viaticum in this sense, giving communion to the dying, is established that it does not have to occur in some specific circumstances. It is exactly determined that it should not be done when the person in question cannot swallow, when he is unconscious or directly when he absolutely refuses to receive that sacrament.
As is logical, this process is carried out by the parish priest, who must carry it out when it is clear that the dying person is still in full use of their mental faculties.