Tonight at dinner, the conversation with my sister and mom reminded me of a video clip I had seen from the HUMAN movie. This is a collection of videos of people telling stories of their lives. We found it on YouTube and watched a clip that started with the man saying, “The magic moment that I had with my grandfather…” It was beautiful. Afterwards, my mom said that as soon as she saw those first words, she remembered her own magic moment with her grandfather. She told us the story. Her grandfather lived with her family after her grandmother passed away. He worked in the coal mines when he lived in Germany and suffered from “black lung disease” for a long time. He was mostly deaf and only spoke German. My mother thought about how lonely it must have been for him. She remembered the day when she was about 10 years old and her grandfather gave her a big hug and told her that it was better for him to be in Heaven. Of course, she argued with him, but he was insistent. My mom attended a Catholic school and the next day during Mass, a priest came and collected a consecrated host. My mother noticed this happening and recognized it as “viaticum” – Communion that is brought to someone who is dying. She told her friend that she thought the priest was bringing it to her grandfather. When she got home from school, her grandfather was no longer there. She learned that he had passed away and that the priest had indeed gone to the house, anointed her grandfather, given him the Eucharist, and was there when he died. My mom, sister, and I cried. It was sad for sure, but also a story of the gentleness and mercy of God as He prepared my mother and her grandfather for his entry to Heaven.

I Found God today in a beautiful story of passing from this world to the next.