Friday, June 21, 2002 4:04 PM
Another response to ‘A soul asks for prayers’
Here is another response to the ‘soul asks for prayer’ mailing of June 13. /forum/forum515.html
When I read “A soul asks for prayer,” I could immediately identify with the roundabout way Jesus sometimes takes us in order to test our spiritual ‘hearing’ and discernment. My story is different as it involves a dream and how Jesus didn’t wait but a weekend to reveal to me who this person was and also why I needed to pray for him. It also teaches me a valuable lesson I still struggle with.
Please bare with me as I feel Jesus wants me to relay this story to TLIG because it is about a priest and a lesson I am still learning.
When I read TLIG and Vassula’s accounts of souls approaching her I have to admit that this thought frightened me. The rational thought of seeing dead people in your room was not my idea of happiness with God. It was something I hoped would never happen to me. I was innocently ignorant as I did not comprehend, even after having read this account the first time. It was not until I watched the New York video when I heard Vassula verbalize her experience, that it sunk deep into my heart.
I believe that is when God knew I was ready…..
My dream went like this:
I was standing on a pier by the ocean when I decided to jump in. The feeling I had when I jumped in reminded me of Epiphany when the boys dive for the cross. This is celebrated every year in Orthodox parishes that are near the ocean.
I was surprised because I found that I could breath while I was underwater! Then I turned to swim back up to the surface when I saw a soul floating in the water. He spoke to me with a thick accent. I assumed upon seeing him that he was like a monk or a priest, definitely someone holy, who was old and of ethnic descent, with white hair and a small stature. I distinctly felt that this person had lived MANY years ago. I thought maybe he was Spanish or Italian. His eyes were alittle obscure but I know without a doubt that I heard him ask me to pray for him.
When I woke up Saturday morning, I shrugged it off, although I did mention the dream to my sister. I figured it was some demon trying to instil some kind of suggestion into my intellect, as I figured that someone holy like that would not need to ask me for prayers and basically dismissed it for the rest of the weekend.
God had other plans…..
Saturday morning, we determined that I would spend the weekend with my sister, as my parents now live with her, and my Mom needed some help unpacking more boxes. Then we could all attend church together Sunday and make a family weekend of it. As we started to unpack, my Mom came across a box that had a lot of religious objects in it. There were 3 crucifixes, more than a few icons and an Evangelion (Gospel book used by Orthodox priests).
As we talked about these objects, Mom refreshed my memory that my dad’s grandfather (my great grandfather) was an Orthodox priest and that is why we had all of his religious objects. One of the crucifixes was the one he used to bless the congregation, another was made of metal and porcelain, but on one side of the cross it had a broken picture of Jesus’ Baptism, the other side shows His crucifixion. One icon was of the Annunciation.
I asked Mom if we kids could split the objects so that each one of us has something in our home. There are 3 of us and so we split the 3 crucifixes and the icons. I took the big silver Cross he used to bless the congregation and the icon of the Annunciation. After having since learned the Rosary…this icon is special to me.
I was STILL oblivious to this encounter…..
Sunday morning comes along and the dream begins to haunt me again. I am compelled to ask father and also a dear TLIG friend that I trust, if it is possible for a demon to be able to ask a human, who loves God, for prayer. I don’t know what prompted me to ask, but all of a sudden I had this desire to dismiss that it could have been a demon, by seeking advice from my spiritual father.
We all agreed that it was probably impossible for a demon to ‘ask’ for prayer, and father personally felt that it could have been a saintly soul still in purgatory with a blemish and needed extra prayers. I was surprised to hear this.
My next thought of course is WHY ME? I am the worst person to ask because I hardly ever pray for the dead as I should!
After getting home Sunday afternoon I took out the relics and began to wash the cross under running water and as the water was running over the cross, I began to think about water, which lead me to think about the ocean and then my dream. There it was again still haunting me… then my angel guided me to call my father and inquire MORE about my great grandfather. I thought I should have a name in association with the holy objects and have a story to go with them that I could pass onto my children.
So we began talking. He told me that his name was Anthony and that unfortunately my great grandfather had his personal problems, but that he was a good priest to his flock.
The next thing I did was call and tell my sister (who lives upstairs from my parents) about this conversation I had with dad and how I was sad to hear about our great grandfather. It made me think about the state of his soul.
BUT…. I WAS STILL OBLIVIOUS TO THE PURPOSE OF ALL OF THIS! (Jesus must have been smiling! :))
As we continued on, our conversation turned to that of Church earlier in the morning and my discussion with father as well. Then she said, “You know today was the name day of Saint Andrew.” I do not know why I did not remember that after just having been to church that morning (Jesus, please forgive me as I don’t always pay attention in Church as I should!). She went to get the pamphlet to read it to me.
As she began reading the pamphlet given out at Church, it was this excerpt from his story that nailed it!
St. Andrew, like his brother St. Peter, was a fisherman, a toiler with net and boat recognized in the Psalms of the Old Testament as one of those “who go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters; these see the works of the Lord and his wonders in the deep.”
I began to get the chills. I recalled my dad telling me that his grandfathers church was established in Pensacola Florida (which I had known, but forgot), a city by the ocean where they celebrate Epiphany and the young boys jump in to fetch the Cross! I remembered having that feeling when I jumped into the ocean.
THEN THE CONNECTION WAS FINALLY MADE! (Jesus knows how slow I can be sometimes in listening when He speaks to me!)
This is how Jesus communicated to me….
My great-grandfather’s parish was in Pensacola (near the ocean in a city that celebrates Epiphany), he himself is Greek (which explains the thick accent! DAH. I am Greek, why I was thinking Italian or Spanish is anybody’s guess!) and he was a priest (which explains my thinking he was someone holy, like a monk or priest).
I was also under the impression that he had lived many years ago. I went and looked again at the relics and realized the dates are from the early 1800s! The porcelain cross is dated 1858 and the Gospel is dated 1820, the icon is dated 1898!
Jesus was going in every direction to get me to LISTEN with my soul and thank God He helped me. He taught me a very important lesson. That I should pray everyday for the departed souls. I am ashamed to say that even after this event I still struggle to do this. Jesus knows this.
So I humbly ask for your prayers on behalf of my great grandfather Anthony. Mine alone are unworthy and he needs others to pray also. Please help him.
God bless you all!
Anna
