St. Patrick's Gargoyle by Katherine Kurtz

Author:Katherine Kurtz
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Group US

Chapter 12

It was nearing dawn by the time Paddy got back to his post in the tower at St. Patrick’s. The outing to St. Michan’s, while agreeable enough a diversion from normal routine, had hardly been enlightening, so far as explaining any reason for the special conclave called for the next evening. At times like this, Paddy found it both puzzling and even mildly amusing that relatively minor functionaries like himself were regularly dispatched to investigate earthly goings-on, when an omniscient Boss was perfectly capable of Knowing what He needed to know—though Paddy always welcomed the opportunity to delve beyond his usual job description.

Not that boredom was any part of a gargoyle’s lexicon. How could one possibly be bored, when possessed of the supreme contentment that came of working in absolute harmony with God’s Master Plan? However, the occasional departure from routine did enable even angels to share more directly in God’s infinite variety.

What caused the occasional blip in that Plan was free will. The angels were possessed of it, of course. Himself numbered with all the other angels among the first of God’s creation, Paddy well knew what a particular mark of Divine favor it was for God to have granted free will to His later human creations—but free will did have its complications and perils.

That was why Paddy’s original assignment had been as an avenging angel; for free will meant that humans could and often did insist on making the most appalling choices, and someone had to deal with the consequences and clean up the mess. (The Boss was very big on delegating authority—and small wonder, given the size of the universe He had to oversee.) At times, humanity seemed alarmingly prone to screwing up in a big way. Paddy liked to think that the New Testament really had made a difference in the way humans treated one another—and he chose not to waste his time worrying whether any other holy books had been any more successful in getting God’s point across—but sometimes he wondered whether quite so many avenging angels should have been reassigned.

In that regard, Paddy sometimes missed his former duties as an avenging angel—though circumstances did change on earth, even if God Himself was changeless, being All Perfection and, therefore, having no need of change. His Master Plan had been laid down at the moment of Creation, but only God had a broad enough perspective to see and understand it all.

Trouble came when humans misunderstood that plan, or understood only a part of it—or discarded it altogether. Mistakes and, worse, flagrant disregard, always had their consequences, either from the action itself or from Higher Up—which was where avenging angels came in. Paddy had to admit that smiting evildoers and acting as the implacable scourge of God’s Righteous Anger could be extremely satisfying, in its place—and he had smitten and scourged with the best of them, in his avenging angel days. But gargoyle duty did have its own rewards. Gargoyles were, after all, still angels.

In general,

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