Dear Uncle Poncho. Every time I spoke to you, you always had wonderful words of wisdom and advice (sprinkled in between a joke or two). It was also this way the very last time we spoke. Thank you for that. You died on the Feast of the Most Holy Annunciation. I found this profound as this was the day that Mary’s “fiat” brought our Savior into this world. But I also realized that it is also the Feast day of St. Dismas, who was the good thief being crucified at the right hand of Jesus. He was a man who, despite great trials of life, showed a great profession of faith and repentance at his moment of death and is said to have been canonized by Jesus Himself while dying upon the cross. Uncle Poncho, through the Grace of our Lord, I am confident that you, like St. Dismas, have heard the words of Jesus, “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise." (Luke 23:43)Glorious St. Dismas, you alone of all the great Penitent Saints were directly canonized by Christ Himself; you were assured of a place in Heaven with Him "this day" because of the sincere confession of your sins to Him in the tribunal of Calvary and your true sorrow for them as you hung beside Him in that open confessional; you who by the direct sword thrust of your love and repentance did open the Heart of Jesus in mercy and forgiveness even before the centurion's spear tore it asunder; you whose face was closer to that of Jesus in His last agony, to offer Him a word of comfort, closer even than that of His Beloved Mother, Mary; you who knew so well how to pray, teach me the words to say to Him to gain pardon and the grace of perseverance; and you who are so close to Him now in Heaven, as you were during His last moments on earth, pray to Him for me that I shall never again desert Him, but that at the close of my life I may hear from Him the words He addressed to you: "Today you will be with Me in Paradise."
Amen
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