Viaticum

Viaticum refers to Holy Communion administered to a dying person during last rites. The word derives from the Latin, meaning "provisions for a journey." My father is approaching his last journey sometime in the near future -- it is hard to say exactly when. He is now facing the indignity of being put on a feeding tube. He has prepared as best he can for his journey. I know this from conversations we have had, both from when I was in Iowa with him on a recent visit, and from recent phone conversations. We talked about the recent earthquake in Chengdu, Sichuan, China, where I was born, and other natural disasters recently in the news. He understands these, along with all the evils that abound today, what with "nation rising against nation" and the like, as the "birth pangs" preceding the end of the age, mentioned in Mark 13:8. He said he didn't know how a person could navigate such times without knowing the love of Christ. I agreed and told him that he had given me the most precious gift any father could give a son: the knowledge of Christ.

I recently emailed a friend, asking for his prayers for my father. He replied with the following touching anecdote:

Dear Philip:

When Msgr. Ronald Knox was in his last illness, he visited his devoted student, Harold Macmillan at No. 10 Downing St. In his typical diffidence he announced: "I expect I'll be going on a long journey." And the Prime Minister replied: "But Ronnie, you are so very well prepared for it."

You and your father are in my prayers,

Kind regards, T.

My thanks to each and every one of you willing to remember my father in your prayers.