Daddy's hands
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The time has come.

"Finally, when I get to that stage where my mind is gone, pray the Lord will just take me home quickly. Why should I remain mindless and helpless on this earth when I could be enjoying all that's heaven?'

- Rev Robert David. (Ref 1).

Daddy had been losing his ability to walk independently in the final year of his life, and was dependent on mom & his carer Richu. Both of us, his children, lived abroad. 
He appeared quite unwell on 11 Aug 2022, and was taken to hospital as advised by his local doctor. He was diagnosed to havid Covid 19 virus, the one responsible for the pandemic which had been raging across the globe since Dec 2019.  The fear of Covid 19 was particularly heightened within the Kerala society. So, daddy's hospital admission and the diagnosis of covid pneumonia caused distress to all who heard about the news.

What happened in the following 2 weeks, which enabled daddy to die peacefully & prayerfully in his ancestral homestead on the 30th Aug 2022, was nothing short of a series of miracles. Through these events God clearly showed each one of how much he loved this true child of God.

Daddy’s last Holy Communion

My father was ordained as priest in the Mar Thoma Church 1958. He distributEd the Holy communion from the chalice to his parishioners for the final time on Mainday Thursday 2014 at Kadammanitta MT Church. The Holy Communion had been an integral part of his whole life.  
 
Daddy had not been able to go to church or receive Holy communion for several years, due to his advancee dementia. When he came home from the hospital during his final illness, it became an urgent matter to address his spiritual need to receive the sacrament of Holy Communion. His final Hoky communion service was conducted by Rev Ipe Joseph, a senior priest from the Mar Thoma church, who had known daddy & our family for many decades. As the priest started chanting the Syrian Christian communion prayers in Malayalam at 8am, daddy was already experiencing very laboured breathing. Daddy however was conscious, repeated a part of the communion prayer & said Amen at the end. He had been non verbal now for well over a year by this time; he consciously accepted the Holy communion- the bread & wine was mixed and given in a spoon, and he swallowed it. It was a miracle to watch. Then I heard him calling the priest ‘Achaa’ (that’s how they addressed each other in their church). The priest carried on & completed the Holy Communion prayer service. Meanwhile the bishop had arrived to give him his final anointing. As the final anointing prayer was going on, daddy took his last breath… in a beautiful prayerful atmosphere..
The way my father cherished that final Holy communion made us realise how important this sacrament was for him- the final spiritual gesture before his departure from earth…With his advanced dementia, we did not think that he would be able to participate in it the way he did.
It was a miracle to behold. As one priest put it, it was 'a moment of pure Grace'.