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The 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 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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