Thank God!

09-06-2020The Pastor's PenFr. Matthew R. Paratore, S.T.L., J.C.L.

Dear Friend,

I hope this week's "pastor's Pen" will give you a laugh.

A man has been lost and walking in the desert for about five days. One hot day--actually, they’re all hot--he comes to the home of a community of Irish missionary priests.

Tired and weak, he crawls up to the house and collapses on the doorstep. One of the priests takes him in and the community nurses him back to health. Feeling better, the man asks for directions to the nearest town.

The Superior of the house tells him the directions, and offers to lend him his horse to make it.

The priest says, "However, there is a special thing about this horse. You have to say ’Thank God’ to make it go and ’Amen’ to make it stop."

Anxious to get to town, the man says, "Sure, okay" and gets on the horse. He says, "Thank God" and sure, the horse starts walking.

A bit later he says louder, "Thank God, thank God," and the horse starts trotting.

Feeling really brave, the man say, "Thank God! Thank God! THANK GOD!" and the horse is soon up to a full run! About then he realizes he’s heading for a huge cliff and yells "Whoa!"

But the horse doesn’t even slow a bit!

It’s coming up REAL QUICK and he’s doing everything he can to make the horse stop. "Whoa, stop, hold on!"

Finally he remembers "AMEN!!!"

The horse stops a mere two inches from the cliff’s edge, almost throwing him over its head. The man, panting and heart racing, wipes the sweat from his face and leans back in the saddle.

"Oh!" he says, gasping for air, "Thank God."

Anyway, dear friend, remember to pray always and never lose heart.

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