Margherita, Thank you for your answer. You don't know how much your words help to ease my pain. I also thank all the rest. Teo, Sandy, Inda, Angela, and Sylvie for your prayers as well.
I do believe that God and the Angels engineered these last moments, so I could be alone with my Dad. His passing was quite beautiful. The only thing I can compare it with is watching a record on an automtic turn-table. The stylus reaches the end of the song, the music ends, while the needle follows the grooves to the very end of the disc, causing the tone arm to lift and return back to it's holder, shutting off the phonograph. Sorry, not very poetic writing, but i think you get the idea.
I didn't mention something.... the Sunday after the Funeral, my Mom and I went to Mass at the same church. She had wanted to go to a different church at first, because she didn't think that she could deal with all the people. She decided that she wanted to go to her church, so we did. Toward the end of Mass, she whispered to me "Dad tapped me on the shoulder." I looked at her a little puzzled and thought, "what do you mean? A week ago? Do you care to elaborate here?" She said "during the homily, I was thinking that before we married, he told me I want to marry you, but I cannot marry someone who is not a Catholic. I told him that I'm not going to change for you, that wouldn't be right. I will go to instructions to see if this is something I want." She continued, "I loved the Catholic faith and I just thought "thanks for the gift of your faith. That's when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked over to you and saw your hands were in your lap, there was no one behind us, so I knew it was him, telling me 'I am here and ok. I love you even here in heaven.'"
It really was a touching moment... no pun intended.
A few days later, I had my own experience when late at night, I was sending emails and had David Letterman on in the background. Suddenly the VCR, which is under the small tv, started to go on and off, and then the channel changed from Letterman to snow and back. If that wasn't enough of a sign, the TV sits on a small lazy-susan turn table. That started to shake. I said "ok Dad.. you either want me to run out of the house screaming or you want me to go to bed." I chose the latter.
It hasn't happened since then but I can tell you I feel his presence as I type this late at night. I feel he is smiling right now because I never showed him that I go to these places of prayer because it did not fit with his beliefs that Catholicism is the only true faith. Toward the end he became more spiritual and from little things he would say, made me know that he knew that God is there for everyone no matter how they see him. Later my Mom and I even found some books of wisdom of all faiths.
There is a picture of him and my Mom looking so happy, whenever I glance at it, I feel so much love for him and miss seeing him.
Love, Frank