Ghost or Angel-You decide

From: Anonymous
Story type: Ghost
Location: Pgh. PA
Source: Form Submission

This is a true story that includes three events that happenedto me around the time of my fathers death. I am in my 50's, do not have a vivid imagination, nor do I tell stories.

The week before my father's death, on a Sunday morning, I was in church during mass praying for strength and comfort as we reached the end of my fathers illness. I wasn't quite ready to let him go yet. As I finished my prayer and looked up, I saw three men in white clothes standing behind the altar to the one side with an open door behind them. As I continued to look I noticed a casket in the center aisle, and my father standing beside the casket. He then started to walk towards the three men, and the man in the middle opened his arms to my father. At that point I experienced a wave of incredibly intense feelings that I have never had before-love, joy at seeing each other again, welcoming and total acceptance. The experience left me breathless. My reaction was, "if that's what he's going to, how can I be so selfish and try to keep him here when he's so sick". My attitude became more calm and accepting of my fathers death after that.

The following Saturday night my father insisted on going to church that night, but I was unable to help my mother, so we persuaded my father to wait till Sunday. My father had become very ill the day before and was really too ill to go out without a great deal of assistance. I had been a their house all Saturday afternoon, leaving at 5:00 PM to go home and change, then went to my brother's house for a brief while. He lives very close in the other direction from me. I was at his house a brief time when my mother called to say that my father collapsed. We rushed over, finding my father had passed away. It was 6:00PM I called the paramedics, then called my church and left a message with the secretary to have a particular priest come to our house directly after the 6:00 mass, which he was saying. When he arrived after mass, his first words to me were, "what was your dad doing at mass by himself. I saw him in the back by himself, but when I went to talk to him after mass he was gone." I told him my father couldn't have been there because he had died around that time.

A few days after the funeral, I was wakened up in the middle of the night by a sound downstairs. I wasn't afraid because I have a huge dog with a very deep bark that will not let any strangers near our house. As I got out of bed I went to the steps and started to look down the stairwell when my father came to the top of the steps. I started to touch him but he told me that I couldn't touch him, however he gave me a hug and told me everything was alright, not to cry or be sad for him. When I told my mother what happened, she asked why he had not come to her. The only reason I can give is that we had always had discussions about life after death and he told me if there was any way to come back and let me know, then he would do that. I believe he did.