by Fr Fabian Dicom, National Office Director for Caritas Malaysia
Excerpt from Fr Fabian’s article published in The Herald, 01 November 2024
The Heart of a Grieving Parent: A Story of Loss and Love
I woke up early one morning to find a message on my phone. It was from a very dear friend, and as I read her words, my heart sank: her daughter, a very lovely young lady, had passed away earlier that morning. Just the evening before, I had anointed her in the hospital, and her mother had been filled with hope and optimism for her recovery. It felt surreal to think that, within those few hours, the vibrant light of her young life had been extinguished, leaving her loved ones devastated.
Remembering that day, her mother expresses the depth of her heartache:
“In the nineteen years that have elapsed, there has never been a day that I have not thought of her. She was such a vibrant young person, innately happy and kind. In her late teens, she fell ill, and although she recovered, it weakened her. Over the years, her health deteriorated, and she suffered greatly. It was agonizing to watch her in pain, hearing her whispered ‘feelings of despair’ which was destroying her ‘love of life and will to live’.”
The mother prayed constantly for her daughter’s healing, but it was not to be. That fateful day, she says, is etched in her memory: “I lost my child. In the natural order of things, children are expected to outlive their parents, not the reverse. I held myself accountable for what I failed to do and begged God’s forgiveness.”
To read more, click here for article published in The Herald, Malaysia