he must be praying for me in Heaven: the triumph and precedence of Love over legality!!!!!!!!!! One early morning, as he dressed up to drive out for his day off, the phone started ringing unceasingly! At first, there was the temptation to ignore the phone since he was already on his way out, and it was his day off anyway. But no, ignoring the call was not that simple! There was some inner voice acting like a stern judge that kept saying, what if its an emergency? And so as the phone rang again, he reluctantly, and slowly picked it up and said, Holy Family Catholic Church, how may I help you please? The caller, with a shaky and trembling voice, started to cry after which she made the request to have her dying mom anointed. Now, recalling that there is no vacation from a priestly vocation, he ran back to the room, dressed up in his clerical attire, and drove to the hospital. The room was packed with family members and friends of the dying old mama. Upon his arrival, the sadness of the people turned into an instant joy. But that wasnt really what inspired him. What inspired him was more dramatic: the old woman was juxtaposed with an immaculate smile, and stretched out her weak but enthusiastic hand to shake him. She was conspicuously, and uncontrollably excited! When the greetings were appropriately exchanged, there was a song, a brief reflection, reception of the Body of Christ, and anointing. After all was done, he gave her a kiss on her cheek and gently asked her why she was in such great pain, and yet happy. Her reply was both spirit-filled and breathe-taking. She said, Before you came, I was so much in pain, sad, but not hopeless. But now that you are here, I have the reaffirmation of what I have known all my 95 years, that God loves me, that God will always be with me in this life; and that God will someday welcome me into His Heavenly Kingdom. Besides, you brought the Body of Christ to me, and helped me take my shower by anointing me. I will not be dirty again hopefully, and thus, appear clean before the Lord. Thank you so much, Father; and I will be praying for you He was truly humbled by those words from the old womans lips. He tried not to break down by shedding tears in front of the people. But yes, he was so touched, and inspired by such deep faith and appreciation of Gods gifts. Although the woman died two days after, she left the world prepared, and left behind a legacy not only for her immediate family, but also for the young priest! In all this, some lessons are learnt: First, we should not be people who promote self-pity and give up easily on God, on those around us, and on ourselves. Instead, we should be trusting; and keep on keeping on as we wait on God. One wonders if he would have picked the call that was made to the rectory if it only came once. But the repetitious nature of the call moved him to pick it, even as he was about to jump into his car to drive out on his day off. Here the words of Jesus in Luke 18:1-8 (the parable of the unjust judge) are very applicable. Second, the experience helps to reaffirm with certainty, that theres a God everywhere at every time; working out things for us, if only we are willing to be a bit patient. Third, Morality that is built on law lacks compassion. True morality is rooted in a twofold trajectory: law and compassion. Yes, legally, he needs a day off, so it was his right not to pick the call, but moved by compassion, he left his day off plans, and attended to the most important but unplanned occasion. Fourth, the Catholic priesthood is a mystery. God calls sinners to administer the Sacraments, regardless of their weaknesses. How else can a 95-year-old mama call a young man in his 30s “Father” if it’s not about the mystery of the Catholic priesthood? Mama, may the angels welcome you into paradise, and may God grant you a merciful judgment. As you did promise: keep praying for me. It was good to be part of your life, in the last few hours here on earth.
Posted on: Tue, 08 Jul 2014 07:32:11 +0000
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