Priest Ioan Istrati
One day, Ilinca, a miraculous nurse who assisted my own birth, the birth of my entire folk and my children called me urgently at the lying-in hospital to baptize a baby born prematurely at six months who was on the verge of death. I went with my heart small as a flea and after they gave me slippers, mask, glasses, helmet, I entered the land of the struggle between life and death. Tens of babies born from 5 to 7 months with thousands of threads and hoses were struggling to pass the boundary over death.
One was so small, he had about 500 grams I think but he strived from his entire being straining his small hands the size of my pinkies.
This is how he cries, Ilinca told me.
The sick baby below a kilo laid in a terrible electronic machine I took him with gloves full of threads as he was and I baptized him pouring over him holy water. Then with a small spoon I communed him with a milligram in which it was the entire Christ, the King of the ages.
This child did not put a gram of weight from birth he has a very severe respiratory failure however he doesn`t want to die.
He is waiting to enter the heaven of the Church, I said.
I took a chair and looked closely at the baby in his incubator for some minutes. On his face there was a profound peace. All of a sudden he turned his head towards me and offered me the nicest smile in the universe. A gate of light opened in my heart
I was his spiritual father, wasn`t I ? The tears came out of my eyes and I saw only two nurses running all over the place. And the life line from the electrocardiograph uninterrupted was buzzing monotonously smelling of death.
This baby was waiting for you to baptize him, said Ilinca.
I was so deeply crushed that I didn`t say a word. But in my mind it was sealed forever that divine smile.
