Whispers of God's Love: Touching the lives of loved ones after death, by Mitch Finley. Liguori Press, 2004.

Have you heard of some deceased persons who came back to visit their closest of kin and to bring them peace and assurance?  Finley made it his project to prepare  such a collection of  stories and he presents them in good form in this book.  His intent was to make sure his readers could develop a firm faith in the Communion of Saints doctrine of the Catholic Church. Eighty individuals supplied information saying they had each felt the real  presence of a deceased loved one. Thereby they reinforce the belief that at the time of death, life is changed, but not ended. Those words are included in almost every Wake service and/or funeral .

True to the title of this book, Finley believes such encounters are truly "whispers of God's love".  Contributors assured Finley that their experiences were always loving, not fearful, and  each brought a deep peace.  At the end of each story, Finley offers pertinent reflections that may enhance one's  grieving process. These reflections often take the form of a poem or question period.

Here is part of one such reflection:
   When loved ones who have died do "return"
   their presence comes about in various ways.
   The way they return seems to be determined
   more by us than by them.
   Some people actually see
   the deceased loved one. 
   Other times, there is more a sense of 
   a powerful, invisible, but undoubtedly
   real "presence" that has no visual component.

(I am writing this on the 69th anniversary of the death of my brother Emil Jr who was killed in World War 11 in 1944. My grief is not ended yet, but one dream I had some years ago brought much comfort. Emil had in early youth thought God was calling him to become a priest, but as a senior in high school, he changed his mind, and prepared to join the army which he did after the birth of his only child Janet. 

After his death, our family celebrated his life with a Memorial Service. 

Many many years later, I had a dream in which Emil came knocking on my door one late night. Of course I was very surprised and delighted to have a long talk with him. In the middle of the conversation, he asked if I wanted him to celebrate Mass the next morning for the Sisters in my convent.

"But, you aren't a priest!!!"

"Yes , I am. During my many years in prison, my companions and I gathered often to pray and some even asked to be baptized. They yearned for the Eucharist. They eventually asked me to become their priest and they laid their hands on my and made me their priest."

Then the alarm clock sounded! And a new kind of peace came to stay.

(Thanks to Sr. Irene Hartman OP for this review.)



St. Teresa of Avila (1515-82) October 15

Teresa lived in an age of exploration as well as political, social and religious upheaval. It was the 16th century, a time of turmoil and reform. She was born before the Protestant Reformation and died almost 20 years after the closing of the Council of Trent.

The gift of God to Teresa in and through which she became holy and left her mark on the Church and the world is threefold: She was a woman; she was a contemplative; she was an active reformer.

As a woman, Teresa stood on her own two feet, even in the man's world of her time. She was "her own woman," entering the Carmelites despite strong opposition from her father. She is a person wrapped not so much in silence as in mystery. Beautiful, talented, outgoing, adaptable, affectionate, courageous, enthusiastic, she was totally human. Like Jesus, she was a mystery of paradoxes: wise, yet practical; intelligent, yet much in tune with her experience; a mystic, yet an energetic reformer. A holy woman, a womanly woman.

Teresa was a woman "for God," a woman of prayer, discipline and compassion. Her heart belonged to God. Her ongoing conversion was an arduous lifelong struggle, involving ongoing purification and suffering. She was misunderstood, misjudged, opposed in her efforts at reform. Yet she struggled on, courageous and faithful; she struggled with her own mediocrity, her illness, her opposition. And in the midst of all this she clung to God in life and in prayer. Her writings on prayer and contemplation are drawn from her experience: powerful, practical and graceful. A woman of prayer; a woman for God.

Teresa was a woman "for others." Though a contemplative, she spent much of her time and energy seeking to reform herself and the Carmelites, to lead them back to the full observance of the primitive Rule. She founded over a half-dozen new monasteries. She traveled, wrote, fought-always to renew, to reform. In her self, in her prayer, in her life, in her efforts to reform, in all the people she touched, she was a woman for others, a woman who inspired and gave life.

Her writings, especially the Way of Perfection and  The Interior Castle, have helped generations of believers.

In 1970, the Church gave her the title she had long held in the popular mind: doctor of the Church. She and St. Catherine of Siena (April 29)were the first women so honored.