(NOTE: “The Apostolic Pardon is blessing with an indulgence that happens at the conclusion of the anointing of the sick if the recipient is in danger of death. The usual process is confession then anointing of the sick, and it is concluded with the Apostolic Pardon. While confession forgives the eternal punishment for sin, the indulgence attached to the Apostolic Pardon forgives temporal punishment due to sin.” –Catholic Answers–)
After announcing to everyone in the room of Yeyette’s imminent demise, I just stood there by her death bed, frozen in silence, trying to process what was happening and what was about to happen. The sobbing of her loved ones disturbed the stillness of the dark room. In the meantime, the pulse oximeter showed her oxygen level drop to alarming levels, and her heartbeat started to become erratic. Nurses and orderlies started going in and out every couple of minutes to check on her.
So what now? I asked myself. Should we just wait for her to give up the ghost? How long do we have to wait? Is there anything else that we can do?
I stared at Yeyette, still unconscious, involuntarily gasping for air, and already on her death throes. Then my gaze turned towards her mother, seated in anguish at a nearby sofa, all drenched in tears. All this wait was futile. Yeyette was no longer responding. It was like waiting for a bus on a deserted island. Something else should be done…
All of a sudden, I was reminded of the Last Rites. Of Marcelo H. del Pilar receiving the Viaticum* on his death bed in Barcelona. Then of a priest who should administer it. Then of Fr. Jojo Zerrudo, the same priest who married us in 2013 (and who baptized Junífera Clarita two years later).
But I was hesitant to contact him. I was afraid that Yeyette’s mother might react the wrong way, because she still couldn’t accept the fact that her beautiful daughter was about to die. Her heartbreaking litany that night was “¡Lumaban ca, Yeyette!“
But we are dealing with salvation here. It’s now or never. So a few minutes before nine in the evening, I sent a message to Fr. Zerrudo using my gadget.
“Dear Fr. Jojo. My wife is dying. If you are free, may we please invite you to give her the Extreme Unction. Only if you are free.” He replied immediately: “Where is she? Give me an address and contact number.”
After doing so, I put my gadget back in my pocket. “My wife is dying.” I can’t believe I just typed those words. Was she really dying? Afterwards, I gathered enough courage to make another announcement to everyone in the room. I addressed my mother-in-law, but in a voice enough for everyone to hear.
“Mommy, Fr. Jojo Zerrudo, the priest who officiated our wedding, is coming for the Sacrament of the Annointing of the Sick.”
“Really?” she replied. Her face lightened up. Not exactly the reaction I was expecting. And I was thankful for that.
During the wait for Fr. Zerrudo’s arrival, Yeyette’s condition deteriorated rapidly. I was afraid that Fr. Zerrudo might not make it on time. Even my mother-in-law was surprisingly frantic. She kept on asking me: where is Fr. Zerrudo now? I just told her he’s on his way. He was probably caught up in traffic. His parish is in Balintawak, Quezon City, clearly a far distance from Bacoor.
I went close to Yeyette’s ear and whispered: “Mommy, hang on. Fr. Jojo is coming to see you.” I then sent another message to Fr. Zerrudo as I was getting alarmed that he might arrive too late: “I think she only has a few minutes left. But I whispered to her to hang on because you are on your way.”
An hour and a half before midnight, Fr. Jojo arrived. It turned out that he and his assistant got lost along the way. But that didn’t matter anymore. Yeyette will finally receive spiritual nourishment before she leaves this earth.
When Fr. Zerrudo entered the room, he wasted no time. He began the ritual immediately. It was the first time that I was able to witness the sacrament. I assume that the rest inside the room (her sister, her sister’s children, and perhaps one or both of her parents) were also first-time witnesses. And it was no ordinary annointing of the sick, for Fr. Zerrudo officiated it in Latin (pre-Vatican II).
All throughout the ritual, Yeyette remained in her agonizing slumber, even when Fr. Zerrudo applied the blessed oil on her.
“Per istam sanctam Unctionem et suam piissimam misericordiam adiuvet te Dominus gratia Spiritus Sancti, ut a peccatis liberatum te salvet atque propitius allevet,”** the holy man recited while applying blessed oil on Yeyette’s forehead, nose, lips, and hands. My children had to take off their mother’s socks (but very gently) as Fr. Zerrudo also needed to apply oil on the soles of her feet.
But when the part came when Fr. Zerrudo was about to give the Viaticum, something special happened.
After blessing the Host, the priest looked around to ask if it was all right for Yeyette to receive even just a small piece of it. I immediately said yes before her parents could respond. So the priest broke a very small piece to give to Yeyette.
Much to my surprise, I saw Yeyette gently open her eyes to receive the Body of Christ. Upon receiving a small piece of the Host, she closed her eyes again. It must had been midnight (April 25) when that miracle had happened.
Afterwards, Fr. Zerrudo gave me the rest of the Host. I almost declined because I haven’t been to Confession yet. But the priest’s hand with the Host was already outstretched towards me. Perhaps it was part of the rubrics that I shouldn’t protest against.
Immediately after the ritual, Yeyette’s pulse oximeter alarmed. Our youngest son Juanito was the one nearest the device. He checked his mother’s heart rate — it was below 60 beats per minute. Juanito started to panic. But Fr. Zerrudo gently placed his arms on my son’s shoulders.
“Do not be afraid,” he told him. Then his gaze fell upon all of us in the room. “We should rejoice that Yeyette will soon join God the Father. Her suffering has ended. Her sins have been forgiven and I have granted her plenary indulgence.”***
My wife was given the Apostolic Pardon, an indulgence that is not usually given during this type of sacrament. But Fr. Zerrudo was gracious enough to accord it to her. At that moment, although in deep pain to see Yeyette dying, I felt a sigh of relief and was on the verge of tears. Everybody in the room also started to weep.
Fr. Zerrudo then went towards my wife’s face and called out her name in a loud voice. “Yeyette. Do not be afraid. When you see Jesus’ hands, reach out for them. And please always pray for us.” Then he kissed her forehead.
Turning to us once more, he told us to whisper to Yeyette’s ears our final messages. Juanito was the first to do so, followed by Jefe, then the rest. On his way out together with his assistant, the priest told me not to follow them anymore. They left the room filled with sobs for our beloved Yeyette. Not an eye was left dry.
Looking back, summoning Fr. Jojo Zerrudo was the best decision I had ever done so far.
When our final goodbyes had been said and done, I really thought that the end was coming for my dear wife. But she refused to die (TO BE CONCLUDED).
*Viaticum — Communion administered to a person in danger of dyring and who is likely to receive it for the last time.
**“Through this holy anointing may the Lord in his love and mercy help you with the grace of the Holy Spirit. May the Lord who frees you from sin save you and raise you up.”
***Plenary indulgence — the remission of the entire temporal punishment due to sin so that the soul will no longer experience Purgatory.
EL FILIPINISMO 