Hope you enjoy the following “Letter From God” which I received via e-mail shortly after 9/11. Am always amazed at how quickly people can compose such thoughts in response to unspeakable tragedy.

“I know you’re mad at Me right now. That’s alright. People have been mad at Me before and will be again. Being mad is part of being human. My Son got mad, too. It’s all right to be mad sometimes at injustice, for example, or the lack of charity.”

“You probably think I am unjust and uncharitable when an airplane goes down like that. All those people lost. The children gone. It doesn’t seem right; it can’t be loving. You ask, ‘Where was God?’ Why did He allow that to happen?”

“I allow it to happen because I allow you freedom. I could have left you on a string and made you dance all day without getting tired. I could have moved your mouth for you and made you sing all night without growing hoarse. I could have pulled a wire that would let you soar skyward and never fall.”

“I could have, but I didn’t because I love you so much. I want you to be free to decide when to dance and sing. Free to determine when you will come to Me in faith and hope. Because you are free, some of you choose not to dance or sing. Some of you select hatred over love, revenge over forgiveness, bombs over a helping hand. As you choose, I watch. I do not disappear. I listen to both the songs and the bombs. AND I REMEMBER.”

“Where was God?” you wonder...I was there. I whispered in the ear of a little girl, ‘Don’t be afraid, I am with you.’ I held the hand of a business woman as tightly as she clutched mine. I cradled a pilot against my shoulder as if he were a baby again.”

“Amid the paralyzing fear, I was there, as I was there with my Son in the garden. Amid the unbearable pain, I was there, as I was with Him as He was whipped. Amid the terrible realization that life was ending too soon, I was there, with Him as He hung on the cross and asked, like you, “My God, why have you forsaken Me?”

“I had not forsaken Him. I did not forsake them. I was there as they fell, and as they rose to eternal joy. I listened to their anger, answered their questions and showed them why they had been created. Not to end that way, but to live with Me forever.”

“In an instant, they came into existence. As you did. In an instant, they left this world. As you will. But beyond that last instant, I kept my promise…
A little girl dances...A business woman sings
And a pilot keeps his wings forever.”

Wise Words:
? Fear is faith that it won’t work out. (Sister Mary Tricky)
? Experience is a good teacher, but she sends in some pretty big bills. (Minna Antrin)
? Often it seems a pity that Noah and his party did not miss the boat. (Mark Twain)
? A diplomat is a man who always remembers a woman’s birthday, but never remembers her age. (Robert Frost)
? Diplomacy in the art of saying “Nice doggie” until you can find a rock. (Will Rogers)
? Laugh and the world laughs with you. Snore and you sleep alone. (Anthony Burgess)
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Consider one of these items as a memorial for a loved one: a pair of brass candle sticks for the ambo (total $1,500), or a bronze Advent/Christmas wreath for $1,500. Think about it,...not too long, tho! Then call me.

     Love in Him,
     Fr. Jim
 
 

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