There
lived on a beautiful island in the Aegean Sea a very pious Orthodox
priest. His soul was filled with compassion
for the members of his flock and especially for those who had suffered
tragedies. Well the time came for him to
suffer tragedy in his own life. His
daughter, who was an exceptional young woman, had been married to an
outstanding young man. The daughter
became pregnant and the time had arrived for her to bring a new life into the
world.
Unfortunately,
during the birthing process, the priest’s daughter died. She was called home to eternity to meet her
Creator while leaving her family with a great deal of grief. Her father, the priest, grieved terribly at
her passing from this life and yet remained faithful to his God and glorified
His holy name. The priest expressed his great love for his daughter by
fervently praying for the repose of her soul and by offering donations to the
poor in his daughter’s name.
The
priest had a brother who had worked as a ship’s captain all his life. He was now retired and was spending the rest
of his life on his beloved island. He
had acquired a good nest egg for his retirement and was now enjoying the fruits
of his labors. But unfortunately for
him, he was virtually an atheist in spite of the fact that he had a good
heart. The priest had a very hospitable
home and many of his Church volunteers would gather together in the evenings in
the priest’s home. These people would
sit around drinking hot tea and talking about the problems of the world.
One
evening during their discussions the captain said abruptly to his brother the
priest: “Wait a minute, my dear father; you really don’t believe that life
continues after death and that your daughter sees us now; she knows what we are
saying and what we are doing!” The
priest calmly attempted to help his brother deal with his lack of faith because
he knew down deep his soul was suffering from a deathly cold heart. In spite of the priest’s effort to direct him
in the path of faithfulness, it appeared that it had no impact on him.
One
night the priest saw his daughter in a dream.
She appeared to him surrounded in bright light, dressed in white and
with great joy said to him: “Dear father I want to thank all of you for
whatever you have done for me; you’re love, your prayers, and the offerings you
make to charities on behalf of my soul.
Please do me a favor and tell my uncle the captain that I want to thank
him very much for the fish that he sent me.”
This is what the daughter said to her father with an angelic voice and then
she simply disappeared.
When
the priest woke up in the morning, he was filled with joy and emotion. That same night during the evening gathering
in the priest’s house, the priest told everyone about his dream that night. Everyone was moved by the dream except for
the unbelieving captain. But when the
priest said to the captain that his niece thanked him for the fish that he sent
her, the captain suddenly stood up, his eyes filled with tears and his hands
began to tremble. Up until that moment the priest could not understand the
meaning of the fish and the captain. Upon
hearing this message from his niece the captain’s hidden faith expressed itself:
He said “My God” as he looked confused
at everyone that was gathered in the room.
All
present were asking him what was happening to him and why was he so agitated
and emotional. When the captain calmed
down he sat down in his chair and with tears running down his cheeks he said to
them in a humble voice: “Yes, it is
true, souls live and they see us. I say
this because on the day of the funeral I was getting ready to go to Church for
the funeral. I felt great pain in my
heart. You know dear priest how much I
loved your daughter. She was always like
an angel. At that very moment a fisherman
friend of mine arrived from a fishing trip.
I had previously told him that when he caught a good fish that he should
bring it to me and I would pay him.
Well, when he approached me at that moment I was heading for the Church.
I became angry with him and I cut him off abruptly saying, I don’t want
anything because today I am burying my niece.
The man was stunned by this. He
became silent and froze in place.
I
then felt sorry for him and I said to him:
I will now pay you for the fish and you can give the fish to some poor
person on behalf of the soul of my niece.
The fisherman took the money, expressed his condolences and quickly
left. I have not shared this encounter
with anyone else and I forgot all about it.
But can you now imagine that the soul of my niece thanked me for sending
her the fish.” As he said this the
captain was still wiping the tears from his face. He then smiled at everyone with a sweet
smile.” Upon seeing that smile the
priest discerned that his brother, the captain, had now become a believer. The night of disbelief had been
banished.
Translated from the Greek by:
+Fr. Constantine J. Simones, Waterford, CT,
USA, April 2, 2016, 860-460-9089, cjsimones300@gmail.com In memory of my grandson Costa, 3/16/2016
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