Dear
People,
This is a marvelous story that comes
out of Orthodox Greece that tells of the love of a mother for her atheist
son. The mother circumvents death, time
and space to minister to her atheist son seeking the salvation of his
soul. It is apparent that the mother of
the atheist had come from the other world to show her son the way to
salvation. It indicates to all of us
that life continues after death and love should be at the core of our existence
as human beings. This love should tie
all humanity together is expressed powerfully by St. Paul in his letter to the
Romans: “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor
principalities, nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height
nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the
love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39).
The
following story was translated from the Greek by:
+Fr.
Constantine (Charles) J. Simones, Waterford, CT. USA, August 1, 2015,
860-460-9089, cjsimones300@gmail.com
It
was midnight when someone went to a Church and knocked on the door asking for a
priest. It was an old lady who wanted a
priest to visit a sick man to give him Holy Communion. The priest responded to the knock on the door
and upon hearing the request he prepared himself and joined the old lady. As they walked along, they approached a
rundown house; it was like a shack. The
old lady opened the door for the priest to enter. After the priest entered the house, he
suddenly found himself alone with the sick man.
To his surprise, as soon as the sick man saw the priest, he motioned to
him to leave. In fact the sick man yelled
at him saying: “Leave! Who invited you
here? I am an atheist and I will die an
atheist.” The priest couldn’t believe
what he was hearing.
The
priest answered the sick man saying: “But I did not come here alone. The old lady invited me to come to visit you.” Which old lady? I do not know any old lady. As
the priest was saying this, he noticed a photograph over the man’s bed. It was the photograph of the old lady who had
requested that he visit the sick man.
The priest then pointed at the picture and said, “That is the lady that
invited me.” The sick man responded; “what
are you talking about priest? That
picture is my mother and she died many years ago.”
Upon
hearing this response, the both of them became speechless. They both were in awe at the supernatural reality
that brought them together. The sick man started to cry. He then requested that the priest hear his confession
and then he received Holy Communion. It
is very apparent that the mother of the atheist had come from the other world
to show her son the way to salvation. It
indicates to all of us that life continues after death and love is at the core
of our existence as human beings. This spiritual love that should tie all
humanity together is expressed powerfully by St. Paul in his letter to the Romans:
“For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities,
nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor
any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God
which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Roman 8:38-39).
We
should not fear death. It is not
something fearful; it is
the
doorway that leads into eternal life.
Δέν πρέπει νά μάς τρομάζει ό θάνατος.
Δέν είναι τίποτα
φοβερό’ είναι ή πόρτα πού μάς περνάει στήν αίωνιότητα.
Δεν υπάρχουν σχόλια:
Δημοσίευση σχολίου