Authors: Lorna Byrne
A few days after I felt him leave me, Sally arrived at the
house. It was as if she had been running; she seemed very
excited and jittery and said she felt the need to let us know that
her brother's body had been found, that it had been in the
canal, under a shelf in the bank of the canal, and that his hands
had been tied together with rope.
It was only then that I realised that this beautiful spirit was
in fact Sally's brother, the boy with whom I had made eye
contact all those years before.
Sally was sad, but happy now that the search was over, and
that they could now lay him to rest.When I looked into Sally's
face, as she stood before me telling me all of this, I saw Peter's
spirit. He had sent his sister to us with urgency, unknown to
her, so that she could tell us that he had been found. It was
Peter's way of thanking me: she was a spiritual messenger
between Peter and I. To this day, Sally has never come to visit
me again.
One cold winter's morning, Joe was back from the night shift
but hadn't yet gone to bed. He told the children that they were
going to give their mum some time off; that he was going to
take them down to the canal to see the ducks. I never saw the
two boys and their little sister, Ruth, get ready so quickly; they
put on their coats and hats and off they went.
No sooner had they gone than I got a flash of a vision of my
parents. I saw them standing together in conversation and
there seemed to be a strong breeze blowing around them. It
was as if they were standing together but my Da wasn't really
there – he looked like a spirit. As quickly as it appeared, the
vision was gone. I knew I was being told that Da's life was
coming to an end. It was like a bolt of lightning hitting me.
I cried. I gave out to God and the angels, because I loved my
father. It was as if only a few minutes had passed before Joe and
the children came back through the hall door. The children
were all excited, telling me about what they had seen down by
the canal. As I made some tea, Joe said, 'What's wrong? You
look very pale and you've been crying.'
'I had a vision,' I told Joe, 'my Da is going to die!'
'Maybe you misunderstood,' Joe said. 'What did the angels
say?'
'They said nothing. I just saw the vision and I gave out to
God and the angels,' I said. 'I was too upset to understand what
they were saying, and then you and the children came home.
It was as if you were only gone a few minutes.'
Joe gave me a hug and I felt a little bit better. I tried to put
the vision to the back of my mind. I would have liked to have
gone and seen my father there and then, but I couldn't. I had
three young children to mind and we had no car. Fortunately,
the following day Da came to visit. I was delighted to see him,
but I couldn't tell him why.
Often I am able to see illness in a person's body: sometimes
bones will flash and I will see them, or sometimes the heart
might come forward in someone's chest, or sometimes I will
see an organ with a dark shadow around it. I looked hard at Da
but I couldn't see anything wrong, which confused me a little.
A few weeks later, the weather had improved and I went for
a walk down to the Maynooth College grounds while Joe
looked after the children. Walking through the apple orchard
and the groves of trees, I gave praise and thanks to God. I was
enjoying my walk, feeling the breeze – that cold fresh air – on
my face. Seeing the birds and the squirrels, all of these
creatures made me smile; I was seeing them not only in the
ordinary way, but also seeing the light of the energy around
them.
I said hello to the people that I passed – a priest and another
with a baby in a pram. Suddenly, the Angel Michael stepped
into stride beside me. He put his hand on my shoulder and
then he touched my hand. Immediately, I was filled with
peace. 'Thank you, Michael,' I said, 'that makes me feel good.'
Michael was walking beside me in human form. As usual he
was tall with dark hair, but this time his hair looked short. He
was dressed in a black suit and black coat and could easily have
been mistaken for a priest. I looked up at him and smiled,
saying, 'I admire your priest-like appearance!'
He gave himself a little shiver and turned up the collar on his
jacket. 'How does this look?' he said. We both laughed.
A few priests passed by, with prayer books in their hands,
and said hello; Michael nodded his head in acknowledgement.
I smile now as I recollect a neighbour, whom I didn't know
well, saying that she had seen me out walking again with my
friend. I knew I never walked with anyone other than my
family – it was the Angel Michael she had been seeing. (I can
think of three occasions when people have said to me that they
had seen me out walking with someone, when I knew I was
alone, and I realised they had seen me with an angel in human
form. It's possible that this has also occurred more frequently
but I haven't realised it.)
Angel Michael said, 'Let's stand under that big oak tree for a
few minutes, while there is no one around, and I will explain
to you the vision about your father.'
'Michael, before you say anything,' I said, 'I want you to
know I am cross.'
Michael laughed at me, saying, 'Lorna, you are such a
character.'
'Sometimes,' I said, 'I think God and all you angels forget I
am human. Why do I have to know about my father's death?
Michael, I would rather not know!'
Michael looked at me with sadness in his eyes, held my hand
and said, 'Your father needs you to help him pass over.'
I took a deep breath. 'I love my da.'
Angel Michael said, 'Let's walk for a little while.' Still
holding my hand as we walked, he continued,
'Remember the vision you had of your da the day Joe
brought the children down to the canal? That was the time that
God connected your da's soul and yours – joining them
together. Your souls have been intertwined, Lorna. In a few
days it will start: you will see your da's life from the moment
he was conceived; it will be like a television screen in front of
your eyes and in your mind, continuous every day. When it
stops, you will feel the sudden shock of your da's soul breaking
away from your soul as he leaves his human body to be taken
by the angels to God.'
I walked beside Michael and cried my heart out.
'Lorna, let me wipe away those tears.' As Angel Michael
raised his two hands to my eyes I realised that we were not
walking; we were standing in a circle of light. Sobbing,
between words and gulps of breath I said, 'This is really going
to be hard.'
'Lorna, remember God and we angels will help you,' Angel
Michael said to me, as he again slipped his hand into my
pocket and touched mine. 'I will walk to the end of the path
with you, and then I must go.'
We walked in silence; it was only a short distance and I
could feel Michael giving me strength. Then he squeezed my
hand and was gone. I walked on home and never told Joe about
my meeting with the Angel Michael.
Within a few days, as Michael had foretold, my da's life
started to roll in front of my eyes and in my mind. It was
constantly there – sometimes very rapid, sometimes slow – but
never ceasing. I saw the scenes over and over again. I saw Da
as a little child playing with another child in the mud, looking
skinny and scrawny sitting at a school desk, as a young man
with jet black hair sitting by a riverbank with a good-looking
young woman who I knew was Mum, Da mending bicycles in
the dark shop in Old Kilmainham, the despair on Da's face
when the little house we lived in collapsed, the loneliness as he
took the boat to England to get work . . .
Da now started to visit us more often, sometimes even early
in the morning. He would say he just wanted to call in for a cup
of tea or a little chat and stay for a few minutes. I wanted to tell
my Da what I knew, but how could I? You cannot tell someone
that you know that they are going to leave this world; that your
souls are connected in order to help them pass over. That
would be too frightening. We have not evolved spiritually
enough yet.
Da was coming to know God now; he had grown so much,
spiritually, in recent years. I always remember my father
saying to me some years before, 'Why did it take me so long to
find God?' He had become fascinated with Him and it was
wonderful to see my da's soul growing. Da had begun his
journey to God, his transition from the human world to the
spiritual world. This is a journey we all have to take, regardless
of our religion or belief in God. For some of us this journey
will be short; for others it can be much longer – years, or even
a lifetime.
On one of Da's visits he invited us, as a family, to go to the
born-again Christian family prayer group the following
Sunday morning in Dublin. Joe and I said okay together and
Da said he would collect us.
Later that day I went for a walk down along the canal banks.
The children ran ahead to play so I had a little time to myself
with the angels. I said, 'Hello angels' and laughed as they
tickled me, pulled my hair and filled me with tingles. I asked
the angels if they could tell me why it had taken so long for us
to go to this group. It had been several years since that day at
my mother's house when the preacher from the born-again
Christian prayer group in Dublin had suggested to Mum that
she bring us along some Sunday.
The angels spoke to me in one voice: 'Remember, Lorna,
you're sharing something very spiritual with your da – the
partnership between your souls. Your da feels within himself
the need for you to share this prayer group with him. Now is
the right time.'
Owen called, 'Mommy!' and in a flash of light the angels
disappeared.
The two boys were standing together, smiling, as I walked
up to them and Ruth was asleep in the buggy. I knew by the
expressions on their faces that they had seen something.
'Don't say anything,' I said.
'I won't,' replied Christopher.
We had fun that day, we fed the ducks and then we headed
home.
On Sunday morning, Da and Mum arrived at the cottage at
about a quarter to twelve and we all got into the car. Sitting in
the back of the car on our journey into Dublin, I found it heartrending
watching my da; all of the time I could see golden light
surrounding him.
I remember the church – it was big, more like a cathedral –
but I don't really remember very much else about what the
place looked like. There were a lot of families there and
children running about and food was being served. I felt very
light; I could feel the angels carrying me and it was as if I were
in a trance; as if I was on the outside looking in. I watched Da
walk over to me saying, 'come, the prayer meeting is about to
start.'
Da walked ahead of me and sat in the second row from the
front, with an empty seat beside him. I know he meant me to
follow him, but the angels had other plans. About three rows
back, a man moved in a seat and invited me to sit down beside
him, which I did. This chair was about one foot out, not in line
with the other rows of chairs and I could see my Da clearly.
The meeting began with a prayer and then everyone started
to sing hymns. Da stood up in front of his chair, like everyone
else and, as he did so, in that moment I knew this was what I
was to share with my da – to see him in prayer. I could feel the
power of the angels all around me.
I don't know how I can describe what started to materialise
in front of my eyes, it was something so beautiful and so pure.
I could no longer hear the people singing. Da started getting
brighter and brighter, until he glowed a golden colour and
became more and more radiant. My da's human body was
standing there at the front of the church, and levitating about
three feet above him was his guardian angel.
I saw Da's soul rise out of his body. I was amazed to see it: I
have seen other souls appear in this way before, but this was
my father. Da's soul was in the shape of his human body; it was
made of light and it was as if it was wrapped in capes of golden
light. It rose upwards, accompanied by his guardian angel, and
grew, becoming an enormous presence of bright light about
four times the size of a person. It was shimmering and moving
gently all the time.
Then Da's soul turned and faced me from afar, smiling love
down on me. I could feel this love. It was then that I saw what
looked to me like a golden chain dangling from my da's soul,
which entered my father's head from above and then encased
his whole human body. To my surprise, I saw another part of
this golden chain coming from my father's physical body and
slowly moving through the air towards me. As the angels
bowed my head, I could see how this golden chain entered my
body, in the centre of my chest, connecting Da's soul with
mine.
The angels lifted my head and I watched Da's soul
descending carefully and entering his body. Normally, a
person's soul is fully within the area of the body, but Da's soul
did not re-enter his body fully; it stayed partially out, partially
above his head, for the short period of his life that remained. I
could see Da's soul had great love for the human parts of my
da's life; great compassion.
Someone tapped me on the shoulder from behind and asked
if I could sit down. It was only then that I realised I was still
standing and everyone else was sitting, including my da. I was
starting to feel human again and I took a deep breath. All of a
sudden, I felt the touch of all my angels. Silently, I thanked
them. I was sad, but yet I was full of joy.
It always amazes me when God and the angels tell me that
someone is going to start their transition from this life,
through death and to what we humans sometimes call the
supernatural world. I may be told about someone who I may
have met casually years ago, or only heard of through someone
else, or maybe a person who is well known in the world.
To see how another human being changes their life and their
beliefs makes me smile. We never seem to realise when this is
happening, that we have begun the journey of rebirth. I always
remember my da asking why did it take so long to get to know
God.
One morning in March, after leaving the boys at school, I
was walking home with Ruth in the buggy when I turned
towards the gate of the cottage and who did I see but the Angel
Michael sitting on the doorstep. I was delighted and called out
as I opened the gate, 'Angel Michael, you're gleaming like the
sun.' No sooner had I said those words than Michael was by my
side.
'Hello, Lorna,' he said.
Ruth started to awaken and Michael put his finger to his lips
with a radiant smile. He touched Ruth on the cheek with the
tips of his fingers on his right hand and beams of light came
out, her eyes started to close slowly and she fell back asleep.
When Michael moved his hand away, I could see my baby's
energy and Michael's intertwined and then, breaking away
gently, Angel Michael said, 'Lorna, you know it's getting closer
to the time for your father to leave this world.'