Ready for your ultimate battle?
By Farah G. Decano
IT has been seven years since my father had passed on. I cannot help but be reminded of his last moments on earth, how ephemeral life is, and how tough that “final” battle was.
My two older sisters took care of my father during that critical time. They remained in the hospital room while doctors and nurses scrambled to save his life a few hours after midnight. The younger siblings, including me, stepped outside to give space for the medical team.
Portia, a doctor herself, managed Papa’s corporeal necessities. On her shoulders lay heavily permanent decisions she did not want to make. Blanche, also a doctor, stayed beside my father and concentrated on his spiritual needs. She recited the Apostle’s Creed over and over again close to his right ear as he was already delirious. She uttered the prayer loud enough in the hope that Papa, whom we projected was perhaps traversing a supernatural crossroad, would hear and be reminded to choose the good. Finally, our father gasped his last.
To me, his manner of exit from the world was calmly beautiful. While we did not give up on him medically – he was then about to undergo peritoneal dialysis to prolong his life – we did not neglect his other transcendent requirements. I would like to believe that the prayers untiringly said by Blanche was critically essential to Papa’s biggest fight to survive.
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Visualize these choices. You are having your ultimate dream vacation – a month long stay in the Maldives occupying the most expensive hotel room which is a suite underwater – savoring an exquisite dinner of medium-rare Kobe steak with a bottle of fine Leroy Musigny red wine. Or perhaps, imagine reconciling with your TOTGA (the one that got away) at last, after years of heart-wrenching pining and chasing. Or maybe, picture yourself as an omnipotent ruler of a wealthy kingdom being served every worldly pleasure you may conceive, or possibly finally tasting that bittersweet revenge handed over to you on a silver platter against those who made your life miserably unbearable. All these to be given to you in exchange for your chance to repent and claim that the Lord is your God and your savior.
The choice may not be that easy for some.
Let us complicate the surreal situation further. Two people with radiant halos on their heads suddenly appear and urge you to refrain from uttering a prayer to acknowledge the Supreme Being because there is no God. That the Creator was a concept fabricated by the devil to keep the people submissive. And one of the two looked like your sweet grandmother. She probably was not lying to you, wasn’t she? Another gentle figure comes out from nowhere and he claims to be San Pedro. He taps on your shoulder and convinces you, “We are not made to suffer. Faith is an invention of Belzeebub. Just choose to be happy.”
How would you choose if these were your last minutes before your demise in the ultimate dilemma of your existence?
While they say that the separation of the soul from the body brings about the most painful physical hurt, there is more to this so-called crossing to the afterlife. Our Catholic faith teaches us that it is during these moments before death that the individual makes his/her final choice between good and evil. This is the last chance for our souls to be snatched by the devil forever. Do you think he will make it easy for the transitioning spirit? Do you think he will be presenting himself to the dying as the scary creature portrayed with big horns and fangs, as seen in horror movies?
No, the demon is smarter than that. He will make the moment of expiration as difficult as possible. He will capitalize on your weaknesses, present himself as the better choice in an atmosphere of deception. Remember how social media is now confusing because fake news abounds? Don’t you think the devil won’t employ the same strategy to capture your soul?
Are you ready for your final battle? You should pray hard. And I mean very, very hard.
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