Rock-solid faith?

Despite being a (medically retired) pastor, I couldn't help but see the irony in this news report from Austria, even while offering a prayer for the soul of the late Mr. Link.

A devout Catholic who popped into church to thank God for a his rescue from a lift was crushed to death by a 860lb stone altar, the Telegraph reports.

Police spokesman Roman Hahslinger explained that Gunther Link, 45, was "a very religious man and had been scared when he was trapped in the lift and had prayed for release".

He continued: "A short while later he was pulled out of the elevator and he went straight to the church to thank God."

Link was reported missing by his cousin, and found the next day by parishioners going to Mass at the Weinhaus Church in Vienna.

Hahslinger concluded: "He seems to have embraced a stone pillar on which the stone altar was perched and it fell on him, killing him instantly. We have found his fingerprints on the pillar. We are now investigating the case further."

One hopes that Mr. Link's obvious faith 'saw him home' in good order . . . but I wouldn't be surprised if, somewhere on high, he's complaining rather bitterly to the Lord about how things turned out! Talk about being in an 'altared state' . . . And, far from the usual way of being 'elevated to the altars of the Church', he was saved from the elevator and clobbered by the altar! I should think his Guardian Angel had a hard time explaining that to him on the way up . . .



Peter