Gaby
Something incredibly significant happened in my life today – I helped a dying person confess and take communion.
It’s incredibly tough when someone close to you is dying, especially when you feel utterly helpless. This is a close relative of ours, and they’re really sick. They live in the apartment next door, and I often give them injections, so I’ve been witnessing everything firsthand. At some point, I realized that all I could really do for them was try to help save their soul.
I suggested we call a priest for confession and communion. As someone whose faith mostly involved lighting candles on Easter, they didn’t really know what that meant and weren’t too keen on finding out… I prayed to every saint I knew to soften their heart, to help me convey how important this act was. I read them a wonderful book about confession and was so glad when I noticed something stir within them. And then I realized there wasn’t a minute to lose!
The next day, we invited the priest, but it was going to be in the evening. I literally prayed they wouldn’t die before then! All day, I kept running over to check if they were still breathing…
And what a great priest! He immediately connected with them, and all doubts vanished in an instant! Thank God, it all worked out! The priest said it was a wonderful, heartfelt confession! And when I saw tears and joy on our sick relative’s face afterward, I couldn’t hold back my own tears. I haven’t felt such spiritual joy in a long time, because this was a real battle for a human soul!
It’s so good that, at one point, someone dear to me explained that sacraments like marriage, communion, and confession often come with huge challenges, and you need to be patient and diligent to see them through! This warning really helped me these past few days. If I hadn’t known this, I would’ve had a nervous breakdown by now, not to mention that all the circumstances seemed to conspire against it happening.
So today, with some kind of inner vision, I saw and felt this whole process from within. I had goosebumps from the prayers and from realizing just HOW SERIOUS IT ALL IS!
I only want to say one thing: folks, remember what’s important in this life, not just when you’re on your deathbed.
Iren
