ArcaMax

Many of the God winks you send me, dear readers, have to do with music. The songs of our life somehow act as signs that the life of our souls extends beyond the grave. Also many God winks are connected to sacred places – not only houses of worship but places where love and hope and joy were given and received. Here is a lovely and poignant God wink that combines sacred music and a sacred place:

My mother passed away on June 25, 2023. It has been a tough time for me, and I just look forward to the time I can be with her again. This past summer, I was on a trip to Wisconsin, and while there I was deciding what I would like to do. Many thoughts were tossed about, but I could not get all players together at one time, so I decided I just wanted to at least see the Mississippi River and I would go there on my own. It was a short two-hour drive to Dubuque, Iowa. When I got there, it was a beautiful morning. I walked around the river’s edge for a while and then instead of heading back, I got some breakfast. Afterward, I walked around town for a while and saw a sign for St. Raphael Cathedral. I was taken aback, because other than the church I grew up in, and the one my mother attended since 1959, I had never seen another Saint Raphael’s Church, let alone a cathedral. My mother was very religious, and attended mass, daily, not just on Sunday. She also was devoted to the Blessed Mother and Ave Maria was her favorite song. My brother would play it on his violin for her, and, of course, we had it played and sung at her funeral. Once I saw the church sign, I said I should go see the church, but did not, and kept walking. At one point, I was in a store, turned and saw a steeple. I asked if that was the steeple to the cathedral, and it was. I decided to then walk to the church. It is now 12 p.m. and as I got to the church the bells started ringing to signal the midday hour. Just when I thought the bells were stopping, they started a new tune, and in the middle of the country, at St. Raphael’s Cathedral, in Dubuque Iowa, the bells chimed out Ave Maria. Through my tears, I could not believe what I was hearing, but I knew my mom was sending me a sign that I would see her again. – (From R)

And now a winking slot machine!

My Mom enjoyed playing the slot machines in Aruba for many years. She had a favorite machine. Soon after she passed away the casino she spent some time in was updated. I personally don't like to play the slots, but my husband and I went to that very casino to see all the improvements. All the slot machines were brand new, but suddenly I came across my mom's old favorite and sat down to play. I was winning and winning and all of a sudden there was a tap on my left shoulder. I turned around and nobody was there. I knew it was my mom who tapped me on the shoulder. I called my sister in New York from Aruba to tell her what happened. She told me to go back to that same slot machine the next day to see if that happened again. But, of course, my mom was not there. I did play the same slot machine and gave back the money I had won the day before. – (From C)

Very interesting wink. The way I see it, the tap on your shoulder was probably your mom telling you to quit while you were ahead!

Seriously, your God wink reminds us that the purpose of the contacts we are blessed to receive from the souls of our dearly departed do not happen so that they can do magic tricks for us or give us the winning lotto numbers. They do not have such power and if they did it would just trivialize what the God winks are all about. They occur to give us hope that death is not the end of us, and they occur to remind us that we are not alone but are always in God’s protective love.

Finally a touching Thanksgiving thank you from R that truly touched my heart…

My compliment goes to anyone, I learn from … I learned from you … bless you!

(Send ALL QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS to The God Squad via email at godsquadquestion@aol.com. Rabbi Gellman is the author of several books, including “Religion for Dummies,” co-written with Fr. Tom Hartman. Also, the new God Squad podcast is now available.)

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