Candy Bowl

Before the onslaught of princesses and zombies I thought we could clear up a few questions and comments from readers we've had, rather like a bowl of candy left out for the taking:

Animals do not have immortal souls. They are, however, a sign of God's pure love for us. So why would that be taken away? We know that there will be plants in heaven, they don't have immortal souls either, so why not animals? And specifically, why not the pets we have loved? It is, of course, all speculation, but will not the Judge of all the world do right?

An eternity in Heaven isn't enough of a sign of God's pure love for you?


I have addressed this question before and for me, the answer is two part.
1.  If your dog gets to go to Heaven, then every animal that every lived should go, too.  Every rhinoceros and opossum, every iguana and crocodile, every toad, frog, elephant and hyena. Your beloved pet is not  any different from any other non-immortal soul creatures. It isn't fair that just because he had a bowl with his name on it, he gets to go and they do not.

2.  That means your animal has to be a dog or a cat for all eternity.  That's not a nice thing to wish for your beloved pet.  In fact, its seems a little mean to me.

Moving along, a reader gave me an award! But had my name wrong.  That's okay, but the actual Sister Mary Margaret took notice:

@NC Sue - It's Sister Mary MARTHA, not Sister Mary Margaret!

I know, I know, what's the difference? Well, for starters... I am me and she is she. Also, she is a Lakers fan and I am a Spurs fan, so we probably can't even be friends during certain times of the year! (J/K, SMM!)

Prayers,
Sister Mary Margaret

Actually, I am not a Lakers fan.  My last post was Chicago, which is where I picked up my love of basketball, back in the heyday of the Bulls.  The Lakers were our arch rivals and I never got over it.  After I came here (and I have been here longer than I've been anywhere!), I tried to get on board with the locals, but I just can't.  I don't know why.  There is no logical explanation.

I truly enjoy basketball and I appreciate a team that functions as a team.  So that was the first strike against the Lakers.  They've gotten better at it, but I can't seem to be impressed.  I will admit that when I watch them play I find myself rooting for whoever it is they are playing against, even if I don't like the other team or don't know a thing about the other team.

And I love the Spurs!  I also love the Boston Celtics, the Bulls, and although I've never been big Mavs fans, I was thrilled for their win this year.  

Sister, Can you tell me who is the patron or patronness of those with Alzheimer's or dementia? Is it the same as patron of those with special needs or mental retardation? Some searching has led to St Dympha, but I thought that mental illness was different? I did search through a couple of years of older posts, to no avail. Thank you and keep up your great ministry.

I'm with you on this.  For one thing, poor St. Dymphna gets inundated with all things 'crazy' from actual mental illness to sleepwalking.  It was her father who was unbalanced.  She had this in common with St. Barbara.

A better saint for people who are mentally unbalanced would be St. John of God, who actually was mentally unbalanced himself and was able to find stability through God.  But no one thinks of him that way.

Except me.

But for Alzheimer's, I would have to recommend St. Anthony.  We all know that he is the patron saint of finding lost objects, or lost anything, so that would be enough right there.  And most people think that the reason St. Anthony is the patron saint of lost items is because of an incident with a book.

But I disagree that this is the reason!  The truth is that St. Anthony had an amazing memory himself.  He was a fabulous speaker.  Why? Because he was one of those people who could remember everything he ever read. He had what people call a "photographic memory".  Which is why he remembers what you did with your car keys.