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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 man 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 man to continue with this
practice. 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 father had died that day.
"Did he seem to die in peace?" the priest asked.
"Yes, when I left the house around two o'clock, he called me over to his bedside 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. Apparently, just before Dad died, he leaned over and rested his head
on a chair beside the bed."
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