Living in a wonderment of peace before our actual call home.

Living in a wonderment of peace before our actual call home.

Writing about what we shall encounter the moment our soul is asked of us can be a search for the proper prose without knowing the facts.  Reading about those who have had a near-death-experience can give some insight as to their visit in heaven or some mysterious place.  Fr. Cedric Pisegna, C.P. is a passionist priest who wrote about his two NDE’s and the revelation he received and put in print are examples of one person’s journey outside of himself.  St. Paul also wrote about a similar situation; “I know someone in Christ who, fourteen years ago (whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows), was caught up to the third heaven.  And I know that this person (whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows) was caught up into Paradise and heard ineffable things, which no one may utter.”  (2 Cor 12: 2- 4).  Fr. Cedric did mention what God told him through his heart and it had a complete change in his spiritual life.  These incidents, among others who have experienced NDE's, shows us that indeed God chooses many to experience the place called heaven with just enough words to entice the rest of us to seek their encounter with God.  

I never had a NDE but did write in my autobiography named “Called by God” in the first paragraph about an experience as an infant.  Now some may scoff at the idea that a small baby could remember anything in detail.  However, my mother was wheeling me outside my grandmother’s house and two women stopped her in order to view me.  At that very moment I was out of my body hovering above them as they looked at me in the carriage.  Of course I didn’t have any consensus of this at that age.  But sometime later in life the incident came back to me and I saw this as it had occurred.  These types of memory flashbacks may not be so rare since more than a few people have had similar experiences through their lives.  

My recollection of this along with a number of other happenings, in retrospect, had a definite result of my being called to the diaconate.  Each event in its own way was a positive reaction to what God told me, even at several months of age.  Thinking about how the Lord calls anyone to ministry several priest friends of mine have related how they  were called at 5 or 6 years of age.  My great-grandson has been called to the priesthood, as God told me when he was born that he was calling him to that ministry.  At 5 years of age he has already shown signs of a different stature by his demeanor.  He still is a normal boy, placing high in wrestling at his school, and does typical things all boys do.  

If we look carefully we may see people of any age performing signs of some type of call from God, and even if they aren’t totally aware of it yet, they will at some point lean in the direction of God’s will for them.  It took me 38 years to be ordained, but the initial call came at age 24.  It took 14 more years to get ready before I even heard of the Permanent Diaconate.  That’s how God works in all of our lives.  Abraham, Moses, Joseph (son of Jacob), and many more were called by God, but their ultimate ministry to what they were called had a series of events before they were ready.  So it is with each of us before the graduation into God’s service is ready for us.  

If you feel called, do not reject what you believe is real.  Depend on God and keep the faith.

Ralph B. Hathaway