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The Empty Chair
A man's daughter had asked the
local priest to come and pray with her father.
When the priest arrived, he found
the man lying in bed with his head propped
up on two pillows and an empty chair
beside his bed.
The priest assumed that the old
fellow had been informed of his visit.
"I guess you were expecting me," he said.
"No, who are you?"
"I'm the new associate priest at your parish,"
the priest replied.
"When I saw the empty chair,
I figured you knew I was going to show up."
"Oh yeah, the chair," said the bedridden man.
"Would you mind closing the door?"
Puzzled, the priest shut the door.
"I've never told anyone this,
not even my daughter," said the man.
"But all of my life I have never known
how to pray. At the Sunday Mass
I used to hear the pastor talk about prayer,
but it always went right over my head.
I abandoned any attempt at prayer,"
the old man continued, "until one day
about four years ago my best friend
said to me, "Joe, prayer is just a
simple matter of having a conversation
with Jesus.
Here's what I suggest. Sit down on a chair,
place an empty chair in front of you,
and, in faith, see Jesus on the chair.
It's not spooky because He promised,
'I'll be with you always.' Then just
speak to Him and listen in the same way
you're doing with me right now."
"So, Father, I tried it and I've liked it
so much that I do it a couple of hours
every day. I'm careful, though.
If my daughter saw me talking
to an empty chair, she'd either
have a nervous breakdown
or send me off to the funny farm."
The priest was deeply moved
by the story and encouraged the old guy
to continue on the journey.
Then he prayed with him,
anointed him with oil, and returned
to the rectory.
Two nights later the daughter called
to tell the priest that her daddy had died
that afternoon. "Did he seem to die in peace?"
he asked. "Yes, when I left the house
around two o'clock, he called me
over to his bedside, told me
one of his corny jokes,
and kissed me on the cheek.
When I got back from the store
an hour later, I found him dead.
But there was something strange,
Father. In fact, beyond strange--kinda weird. Apparently, just before
Daddy died, he leaned over
and rested his head on a chair
beside the bed."
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