Page 63 - With Fr. John Angus Rankin, Glendale

ISSUE : Issue 45

Published by Ronald Caplan on 1987/6/1

walking. And if that lamb hadn't bleated, I'd have left there saying, "What was the noise?" And, "That house is haunted." But the lamb bleated, and then I knew right a- way what it was. A fellow's still scared. (But it was a natural thing.) A natural thing. So the first part of the story is absolutely true. The second part is what could happen to anyone, see. And you'd leave there saying, "I heard walking on that verandah," And you did, you heard it all right. There's at least 1/4, maybe 2/3, of the stories, that have no natural explanation. There is something there, (A person once said to me, "Isn't it odd, people come back, and they don't come back to tell us about Heaven, they don't come back to bring us wisdom or something like that. It's always something like, 'I had this little debt,' or 'I owed that,' or 'Something I took'--and they can't rest.") See, to me, the happiness of Heaven is love and peace. That's my concept of Heav? en, Being with God, and revealing himself to me--which he doesn't do now. He hasn't done since man came on the earth. He hasn't revealed himself completely. So you have the complete revelation of God, and there's nothing there but peace, and love. You're so much in love with God that noth? ing else bothers you. But that love is based on justice. So I may be heretical in my conclusions, but I feel this way. Say a person has lived a good life: he's been honest, faithful to God, faithful to his family, faithful to his fellow men. And he borrows something, or he had a bill. And it was on his mind to pay, but he never got the money, or nev? er got around to pay it, And he dies, This is the only thing that's keeping him from complete union with God. And since he was so faithful to God, God will give him the special favour, or her the special favour, to fix up what's left undone behind, and get to that, the happiness of God in Heav? en. It may seem too simplistic, but.... (Why not be simplistic? I find most of the things we're talking about are fundamental and quite simple. The complexities--) Yeah we create them ourselves. (I like hearing that sense of it. Prior to this woman tell-l ing you the story that you couldn't refute, had you ever had any experiences like this--not that turned out to be natural, but that you just didn't understand?) Yeah, well, see--forerunners, And lights, (You saw lights?) Oh yes, (Can you des? cribe what the light looked like?) Well, I saw lights stationary. I've seen lights leaving a house and coming down the lane and going on the road. After seeing so many of those, and listening to the old people--that type of light was a forerun? ner of a funeral. (When we call them a light, are they like one of those little bugs at night?) No. They'd be about the size of this bulb. (That's 6 or 7 inches in diameter.) Yeah. White light. You might see it in the house. You might be coming and visiting, and the curtains drawn or something, and you happen to look in and see, just where the casket would be later on. You'd see a light there, eh? Then you'd see it leaving the house. And, depending upon the distance from the main road, it would come right down the drive? way and go on the road. You'd have an idea then. You see, I was brought up mostly by my granduncle and grandaunt, because they had no boys. And when I was 7 years old, I was with them practically all the time except when I was going to school, A' that's where I got my full of this Celtic lore, or whatever you want to call it, I came home one night and mentioned this, "Oh," the old fellow, my uncle, said, "there'll be a funeral over there pretty soon," (You had never heard about it before you saw it?) No, (Is there anything in the Bi? ble about such lights?) No, But you'll get reference to omens and signs. That's the only connection I can make with it. See, there's also another category of lights. I saw the light a hundred and one Jacques-Cartier Motel kitchenette units available / telephones in all rooms P. O. Box 555, Sydney, N. S. B1P 6H4 (902) 539-4375 or 539-4378 or 539-4379 SYDNEY - GLACE BAY HIGHWAY FRANCAIS 2 Kilometres de I'Aeroport ENGLISH OPEN JUNE 15 to SEPT 15 9 to 5 DAILY SUNDAY 12 to 6 See life as it was in Cape Br6ton during the nineteenth century. Nova Scotia Highland Village The Highland Village shows examples of dwellings built in Scotland, the first homes, built with ba? sic tools in Cape Breton, as well as buildings that exemplify the settlers firm foothold in the new land. More than half the planjned buildings are completed and work goes on. Come"see us grow. Highland Village Day August 1 -- 26th year of this festival, featuring tradi? tional Scottish entertainmenty' Highland Village is located at lona on Route 223, which leaves the Trans-Canada about 7 miles east of Whycocomagh. It 'is a scenic alter? native paved route eastward to the Sydney ar? ea. Two short ferry rides pro? vide pleasant breaks in the drive. Please Note: The Village will be closed to the public on August 2 "(63)

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