One morning late in the summer, 14 of my sisters and I began our day as we normally do, with a Holy Hour before the Blessed Sacrament and Mass. After a quick breakfast, we packed our cars for a 3-hour drive to a retreat house, where we would spend the next several days together. By 10 a.m., we were on the road and excitedly chatting about our hopes and dreams for our time away. An hour into our trip, as we passed through downtown Pittsburgh on the highway, we came upon slowed traffic.
As we inched our way forward, we realized there had been an accident--a motorcycle accident. Based on what we saw as we passed by, it appeared to have been fatal for the motorcycle driver. There were only 3 vehicles stopped and the police had not yet arrived. The accident probably occurred only minutes before we came upon the scene.
We immediately began to pray. We prayed for mercy upon the motorcycle driver’s soul, others involved in the accident, all those who passed by this traumatic scene, and, of course, for all of his family and friends. We prayed a Chaplet of Divine Mercy for him and continued to spontaneously offer up intercessions.
The accident occurred in a matter of seconds and it probably took us only a few more to drive by the scene. But those few seconds changed everything. A man lost his life and others were profoundly impacted.
Needless to say, these events were deeply impressed in my memory and on my heart in the next days. As I prayed, I felt like I was supposed to attend the man’s wake. I knew that it was not a coincidence (nothing is) that we passed by only minutes after the accident. I felt that God wanted me to tell his family that, while they weren’t able to be there, he didn’t die alone. We were there praying for him.
So, I Googled and found a recent news story about the accident that identified the driver by name: Nathaniel*. Next, I found his obituary and the visitation time and location. Sr. Mary Gemma and I made plans to attend the visitation together the following week.
This is not something that I would typically do. As Sr. Mary Gemma and I pulled into the funeral home parking lot, we looked at each other and said, “What are we doing here?” Yet, I knew we were supposed to be present and offer comfort to Nathaniel’s family.
We didn’t know a soul when we walked into the funeral home, but by the time we left, we felt like family. It was such an incredible gift and privilege to be able to meet Nathaniel’s family and be with them at such a sacred time. They shared with us what they love and what they will miss about him as well as some personal stories. We prayed some prayers and all shed tears. We were able to share with them that we had been praying for Nathaniel and for them since the moment we saw the accident and that Nathaniel deeply impacted our lives too.
Passing by the accident reminded me that death is real. I was brought face to face with the truth that life is very fragile and I do not “know the day nor the hour” (Mt. 25: 13) when my life here on earth will end. It made me pause and ask myself, “Am I living my life in such a way that I am ready to die?” I also understood in a deeper way the importance of praying for those who will die unexpectedly, especially for those who are not prepared to meet the Lord.
As I reflected on both the accident and meeting Nathaniel’s family, I realized that one of the reasons it had such a deep impact on me was that the whole experience deepened my vocation. As a consecrated religious sister, I am called to stand in the gap between God and the world. More specifically, as a Franciscan, I am called to be a sister to all people.
By God’s providence, I was able to be present to Nathaniel when his family wasn’t; I was concretely able to stand in the gap. As we passed by the accident, I felt like Nathaniel’s sister, because I was able to be there with him at his time of death. Then, at the wake, I experienced being a sister to all of his family, as we offered consolation and let them know that he was not alone.
Yes, I was present to them, but more than that, I hope and pray that, by my presence, they experienced God’s presence, closeness, and deeply personal love. I pray that they saw how God was with Nathaniel when he died and that God is now present in their grief. I continue to pray for Nathaniel and his family on a regular basis as well as others who are in similar situations.
*Name changed for anonymity
-Sr. Sophia Grace Huschka, T.O.R.
