BOOKS: Fantasy novel transports readers through time

But it was a column he wrote in July 2003, called, “Will I See My Little Doggy in Heaven?” that generated an enormous amount of letters to the editor, both supportive and dismissive of his piece.

Basically, the thesis of that column — into which this new book has grown — is summarized thusly:

“We know little for certain about the kind of life we are destined to spend with God in the future, or how animals and other creatures will be included in the picture,” Fr. Wintz writes.

“But clues abound in three vast available sources — Scripture, our Judeo-Christian tradition and the strong example of St. Francis — and all of these sources strongly suggest that other creatures besides humans are included in God’s plan of salvation,” he writes.

I think you can see how this idea would generate a lot of mail. Those who love animals, care for them, talk to them while making dinner, and are generally comforted by them tend to take Fr. Wintz’s idea as a great vindication and consolation.

On the other side of the spectrum is, well, Clayton from Santa Clarita, Calif., who wrote this letter to St. Anthony Messenger:

“Dear editors: I was thoroughly shocked that the editors of a supposed Catholic magazine would publish ‘Will I See My Little Doggy in Heaven?’” Clayton began.

“I was taught that only human beings had immortal souls and free will and, therefore, were able to earn either heaven or hell. When did that change?” he continued. “How do dogs and other animals know what is right or wrong? Will pit bull dogs trained to kill go to hell for doing what they were trained to do? To quote St. Francis because of his love of nature is a totally unfair interpretation of his ideas.”

Now, there’s not much love lost between the animal kingdom and myself. At the same time, I’m quite content that the particulars of heaven remain a deep mystery to me while on earth. This is because I’m usually much more worried and nervous about actually making it there than what the there is actually like.

So, I guess I don’t really have a dog in this fight. (Sorry, that was both terrible and irresistible.)

But, to be fair to Fr. Wintz, he’s not suggesting anything in his book that is as radical as Clayton claims.

The argument is that because of the Incarnation, all of creation was transformed in a real way. Fr. Wintz links the Incarnation to Franciscan spirituality.

“Francis was keenly aware of that one moment in history that we call the Incarnation. At that moment God entered creation as the Word made flesh. For Francis, that even sent spiritual vibrations through the whole network of dust and flesh,” Fr. Wintz writes. “Not only was human nature made holy by the Incarnation, but also the whole fabric of creation was charged with the divine presence.”

Fr. Wintz asks his readers to think about the created world and its place in salvation history. No, he’s not arguing that caterpillars or wombats have the ability to sin or the free will to choose a life of grace over evil.

Rather, he’s simply musing about the implications held for the created world because of the Incarnation and death and resurrection of Christ.

The Franciscan offers a number of passages from the Bible that hint at the future of creation. Firstly, in Genesis, God makes all sorts of creatures and declares them to be “good.” He desires to save them with Noah in his ark and uses them — like Jonah’s whale and the bush he grows over his prophet to the Ninevites and then destroys with a worm — to unveil his plan for humanity.

“We are a part of the Creation, not apart from it,” Fr. Wintz writes.

This closeness between humans and creation is also shown in a number of prayers and psalms in the Bible. One of the most beautiful is the hymn offered by the three young men who were thrown into the fire in the Book of Daniel.

“You springs, bless the Lord; praise and exalt Him above all forever,” it reads in part. “Seas and rivers, bless the Lord; praise and exalt Him above all forever. You dolphins and all water creatures, bless the Lord; praise and exalt Him above all forever. All you birds of the air…” and on and on.

Prayers like these, claims Fr. Wintz, show the natural order of things. All creation was made to praise and worship the Lord.

Making the jump from this to a postulation of what heaven will be like is difficult, though. I remained fairly agnostic throughout the whole book.

That said, I found it edifying in its reminding me that humans are, truly, part of creation and should both care for it and exult in it. Maybe this summer it will help me appreciate Brother Sun instead of cursing him.

Media critic Andrew Junker is a staff writer for The Catholic Sun. Comments are welcome. Send e-mail to letters@catholicsun.org.

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