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 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."
Author Unknown
Related: Storytelling