Dr. John Lerma, in his book Into the Light: Real Life Stories About Angelic Visits, Visions of the Afterlife, and Other Pre-Death Experiences, recounts his interactions with an elderly priest he identifies only as “Fr. Mike.” It is a fascinating story for all of us, particularly as we enter the season of Lent with penance and reparation on our minds.
Fr. Mike was a Catholic priest dying of severe neck and head cancer at M.D. Anderson Medical Center in Houston. He was missing an eye from the cancer and suffering intense pain, yet he refused any pain medication. Dr. Lerma, his attending physician, recalled Fr. Mike instructing him on the Catholic group Opus Dei's beliefs about pain and suffering. Fr. Mike felt his suffering would help countless souls worldwide, including other hospice patients. Though it went against his medical training, Dr. Lerma honored Fr. Mike's desire to feel his pain raw and unmodified.
Despite describing his pain as unbearable, Fr. Mike maintained a joyful spirit, insisting he felt only love for God. He spoke of seeing angels dressed in white and said they were working on projects to spread optimism globally. Fr. Mike believed focusing too much on negative news darkens the soul and “puts us in a position to develop fear and judgment of others.” He also talked frequently about unconditional love and said random acts of kindness could stop wars and change the world. He cautioned that technology without God could destroy humanity but could also be a great good if controlled by people who were close to Christ. He saw prayer, knowledge, self-sacrifice, love, and joy as the keys to life.
When Fr. Mike slipped into a coma, Dr. Lerma described him as glowing with incredible peace despite a racing heartbeat and labored breathing. On the day of his death a few days later, an ominous storm raged over the region, with the worst of it, it seemed, right over the hospital. When Dr. Lerma arrived in the hospice wing after being paged about Fr. Mike's passing, the lights were flickering on and off, yet there was “an incredible sense of peace in the midst of the chaos.” The nurse and secretary said they saw a bright light shine from Fr. Mike's room, making them think that the overhead lights were coming back on. But the most incredible event that happened, and which was witnessed by all, was that each time the lights pulsed, feathers fluttered down from the ceiling like snowflakes, vanishing as soon as they landed. Attending nurses also said they saw a glowing orb exit the priest’s body, circle the bed, and fly away. Moments later, the lights came back on.
When Dr. Lerma went into the priest’s room, Fr. Mike still wore a striking smile, his palms were open, and he seemed downright blissful in death. Later, the dean of the Catholic university where Fr. Mike was once the president, reported similar electrical disturbances and falling feathers at their offices right around the time those things were happening at the hospital. The dean noted Fr. Mike had collected feathers from around the world throughout his life and kept them in a jar in his office. After the disturbances were over, the dean went to the priest’s office and discovered that the jar of feathers was empty.
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