{"id":175,"date":"2024-02-19T18:51:14","date_gmt":"2024-02-19T18:51:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/johnschalice.org\/?page_id=175"},"modified":"2024-02-29T20:19:12","modified_gmt":"2024-02-29T20:19:12","slug":"the-chalice","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/johnschalice.org\/?page_id=175","title":{"rendered":"The Chalice"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
Chalice illuminated on the Candle.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

—<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Story of John’s Chalice<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

As my mother became bed-ridden, I wanted to give her Holy Communion, since we are Catholic. I started to research it on the internet, to see if it was Ok for me to do it myself at home, or if I needed a priest. It seemed like it was split 50\/50 on whether it was ok or not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the meantime, I purchased a Chalice, a Platter with Hosts, and a Religious Candle from Amazon (shown above).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One day, one of the Caretakers that had been caring for my mother told me that she was going to pray for mom. I asked her if she was religious, and she said yes, she was a Catholic. I told her so were we, and how I had been looking into giving mom Holy Communion. Amazingly, she pulled out a small purse that had Hosts and Prayer cards! What are the odds? We took mom out back and under a beautiful blue sky gave mom Communion. She said she would not give it to me since I can go to church myself! It worked, and I’m now getting it myself at Church!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was so inspired by what had happened that I wanted to write a song! I went to my music journal where I had tried to write some religious songs years before, and gave up. The words were already there! I rearranged some versus and realized it wasn’t a song, it was a prayer! A Caretaker’s Prayer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I put the words onto Parchment with Pen and Ink, and drew my Chalice, Platter with Hosts, and the Candle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

—<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Carpenter represents the young Jesus, learning to become a man. The Fisherman is Jesus having learned wisdom from the lessons of life. The Preacher is Jesus riding a Donkey into Jerusalem, and the Man is Jesus on the Cross, stripped of everything but his Faith!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He will guide all of us, and help all of us when he can. The next verse turns to you. You must keep your Faith.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your Last Tomorrow. I didn’t say your last Day, I said your last Tomorrow, because we live for Tomorrow and a brighter future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Returning to the story, on Mom’s last tomorrow I came down to checked on her and she wasn’t breathing. I took her pulse and couldn’t feel anything. I then took the Pulse Oximeter and it read 98% Oxygen and 45 Beats per Minute. As her heart gave out it couldn’t push the Oxygen rich blood through her body. Whatever happened, I was there with her as she left, and I know Jesus was waiting, just for her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After a few days, the Funeral Home asked me to provide a Saint to put on the prayer card for the funeral. I asked the Caretaker who had given mom Communion, and she told me about her favorite Saint. I was ready to use her suggestion, when at the last minute I looked up “Patron Saint of Caretakers” on the internet. Much to my amazement, it was Saint John, and the image of him holding a Chalice!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As if there weren’t enough already, we received one more sign. I cleaned up the room where mom had passed, and set up a table with the Chalice, the Platter with Hosts, and the Candle. When I turned on the light, the light reflected off the Platter and on to the Candle to illuminate a Chalice! I didn’t know there was a Chalice on the Candle, as evidenced by my drawing of it on the Caretaker’s Prayer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If I never see another sign again, I know mom is with Jesus. I know it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

John F. Bergin
February, 2024<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

— The Story of John’s Chalice As my mother became bed-ridden, I wanted to give her Holy Communion, since we are Catholic. I started to research it on the internet, to see if it was Ok for me to do it myself at home, or if I needed a priest. It seemed like it was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-175","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/johnschalice.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/175","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/johnschalice.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/johnschalice.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johnschalice.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johnschalice.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=175"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/johnschalice.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/175\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":426,"href":"https:\/\/johnschalice.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/175\/revisions\/426"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/johnschalice.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=175"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}