One of the sweet things about being a priest is being able to minister at a person’s deathbed. The veil between this world and the next is very thin at that point, and you can see so much. When I say you can “see” so much what I mean is that so much is revealed. At that point the person who is dying is usually very vulnerable and open. Their worldly facade is fading. Their accomplishments and pride are forgotten. They realize that all the stuff of this world will soon be left behind.
Often the person is quietly sleeping. The family is gathered around and there is no response as the last rites are given. On the other hand, sometimes the process is very conscious. More than once I’ve been called to visit a man or woman who has called the parish office specifically because they know they are dying and they want to see a Catholic priest.
So I once made my way to a small apartment in a not so good part of town. I was admitted to find a man in his sixties with a haggard expression gasping for air. Call him Ralph.
2 Comments
A few years back, there was a Movie, called”Brideshead Revisited” in which the Father lived, divorced in Italy, with his Mistress. Before dying, he went back to England, to his former Estate, to die. He fell away, from his Catholic faith, and at the end had his Last Rites!
Once a Catholic, Aways a Catholic!
It’s good to be a Catholic! From such stories we see the practical need for a place like Purgatory.
Doug