Fr Seamus Maguire

This is a series of short stories by Fr Seamus Maguire that have been inspired, for the most part, by his experiences as chaplain at the San Fernando GeneralHospital.
Fr Seamus hopes that this series of anecdotes may help to foster vocations to the priesthood and religious life.
Fr Seamus served the San Fernando Parish between 1995 and 2006. He has since returned to West Virginia, USA.

I had completed the “rounds” and was on my way out of the hospital when a lady stopped me and said, “There is a Catholic lady in ward seven, she is in the last bed on the right.

I kept my eyes focussed on the ground to concentrate on her instructions, and I asked her if that was on the left or on the right. She was very definite “She is on the right” she repeated (so often I get completely wrong instructions, so I always ask twice).

I went off to ward seven, and found a young man giving the woman in the bed a drink of water from a bottle. I presumed he was her son. She was finished drinking, but he made no sign of moving out to allow me to move in – (the space between the beds is very narrow).

I waited patiently, and waited a little while more, but although he saw me he didn’t make a move to allow me to move in. Finally I said – “Do you mind if I pray with your mother?” He said nothing, but came out so that I could get close to his mother.
As usual, I prayed with her and then told her that I would give her the sacrament of Holy Anointing and Holy Communion.

She slowly and lovingly accepted this array of gifts from God. I finally told her that I would come immediately to her tomorrow.

The next day I came by – only to find the bed empty. She had died during the night. I knew that there was a wondrous story behind all of these happenings, and I praised and thank God for using an unworthy priest in it all. Only in eternity will we know the answer to it all.

I was still standing there praying, when I heard a shuffle behind me. I swung around only to see a woman right behind me. “You are the Catholic priest,” she said. “Yes, I answered.

“Well, my sister is very ill in ward 9, could you come down to see her?” she asked. “Of course,” I replied and we chatted on the way there. It appeared that her sister had left the Catholic Church when she married. Her husband had died 20 years ago, and she always went to Sunday Mass with her sister, but never received Holy Communion. We were at her bedside by now.

She was sitting up in the bed and very alert. Immediately I said to her – “I am going to hear your Confession”. Her sister looked stunned as she stood beside the bed.

I spoke to her, saying, “Please move away and give us privacy”. She stumbled back a few inches. “Please, move back further and give us privacy – further please,” I insisted. Fr Taylor always said that you have got to “take the bull by the horns” in cases like these. How right he is.

Having received all o the sacraments, I left her in prayer promising to return the next day. But there would be no “next day” for her – that was her last night on earth. Jesus met her that very night.

I often wonder who was that first lady (or was it an Angel?) who directed me to that woman in ward seven to “the last bed on the right”?

Was that son a “fall-away to the Pentecostals”, and had he sworn that his mother would never see a priest when she was dying? And on and on the mystery goes. In heaven we shall know it all.

But we priests have more work to do tomorrow; we cannot daydream over the yesterdays. All we can do is thank God for His wonderful gifts to us, and move on to receive more and more. Yes, it’s a great life when you give of yourself completely to God and neighbour.