Monica quotes from Touched by an Angel

There isn't a single night that I don't lie in bed and ask myself: Did Katie cry and I didn't hear? Did I turn the television up too loud? Why didn't I just walk into the room and kiss her goodnight again?

Monica

It's time to forgive yourself.

I can't.

Monica

I'll help you. I'm an angel. [Christine refuses and wants to drive away only to find that there is no car] I'll give it back, I promise. Really, I am an angel.

You're an angel?! You're an angel, so what?! What are you doing here now? Where the hell were you a year ago? Where was the angel when my baby died alone in her crib? Why didn't an angel come down and take me out of my bed and drag me into that nursery? Why didn't an angel dial 9-101 for me? Where the hell was the damn angel then?!! [breaks down in tears] Oh, God, why did you send an angel?

Monica

[embraces her] Christine, there was an angel with your baby that night. That's what she was there for. And it's the same angel who's with her right now and forever. God loves you, Christine. So much you can't even imagine. And so do I.

Monica

It worked. Thank God it worked.

Tess

What'd you do?

Monica

I did something really radical, Tess. I prayed.

Tess

Now you know that's dangerous. But if you think that gets you out of that little mess of yours, you got another thing coming.

Monica

Oh, c'mon! Admit it. I pulled it off.

Tess

You and who else?

Monica

[while practicing baseball] Are you sure this is how it's done?

Tess

You are speaking to the angel who told the Babe which way to point. And you know who kept Kirk Gibson in that locker room 'til he was ready to hit that home run?

Tess

He's got a temper the size of Montana, this coach. But the wind is changing. A mighty storm is rising. And the rains are about to fall hard on that man. And he's going to need an angel to hold the umbrella.

Monica

Me.

Monica

It seems to me that encouragement goes a lot farther with a person than yelling.

Coach Earl

Losers get encouragement. Winners get coached. [To his team] C'mon, guys.

Monica

That's funny. I thought you caught a lot more fleas with honey.

Tess

[whispers] Flies.

Monica

Flies.

Earl

You gotta drink what you toast or it doesn't work.

Monica

[Holding a bottle of Tabasco sauce] Coach, don't tell me you're superstitious.

Tess

Malicious is more like it.

Earl

They let down their guard for one minute or they got sloppy for an instant, that's the opening the enemy is waiting for and bingo! They're dead.

Monica

But this is baseball. These are kids playing against kids, not the enemy.

Earl

No difference. Today it's baseball. Someday it'll be something else. Kids gotta learn to fight to win in a job or..

Monica

Or in a war?.... So that's how it happened. In a war. You got sloppy and you got hurt. Are you really trying to save these kids from the same thing? Or do you just need someone to pay for it?

Monica

Sometimes we have to stand up and fight for what we believe in. And sometimes, it takes even more courage to stay put. To hold your ground and refuse to be bullied.

It doesn't always stop it.

Monica

No. It doesn't change the bully. But it changes you.

Tess

I told you he needed an umbrella but I didn't tell you to hit him on the head with it.

Monica

I know. I got angry.

Tess

Well, anger's not so bad. You just gotta be careful where you put it. So now you're sitting out here contemplating the infinite, huh?

Monica

And what it takes to run it. [sigh] I can't see the plan, Tess. I know I'm supposed to be doing something but I don't know what. He said so many awful things.

Tess

You see, that anger's clouding his brain. Forget what he said. What did you hear?

Monica

I heard fear. Fear that his life has been a waste. He knows that he's dying. And he knows that he's dying by himself.

Tess

Oh, honey, we all die by ourselves. It's living by ourselves that hurts. What is he leaving behind that will last?

Monica

I don't know.

Tess

Some of our best living is done by the people we leave behind.

Monica

[the day of the big game] Tess, any last minute pointers?

Tess

Well, same thing I told the Babe. Hit far and run fast.

Monica

That's it?

Tess

Well, I never got any complaints outta him.

Earl

You know, until last night, I was afraid of this. Dying.

Monica

Until last night, you weren't really living.

Monica

[Sniffing coffee] Wow! This smells incredible, Tess.

Tess

Honey, will you wake up and stop smelling the coffee? Sooner or later, you gotta drink it. It's like life. You never really know how good it is until you taste it. And all coffee doesn't taste the same.

Monica

What's espresso? I always hear about espresso.

Tess

Strong and bitter. Some people like it like that: straight ahead, rich, undiluted. There's another side to an espresso kind of life. Heartburn. That's the price you pay for all that flavor.

Monica

You make it sound so dangerous.

Tess

Well, I've had my flings with danger. But my favorite is a good ol' cup of Joe: straight ahead, honest, no camouflage. 'Cause when you try to hide what's underneath, you end up feeling miserable.

Elizabeth

Want a drink?

Monica

Oh, I'd love a cup of non-fat decaf mocha latte with a little nutmeg on the side.... Or a cup of Joe?

Elizabeth

I got iced tea.

Monica

Well, I haven't worked up to tea yet but how about a nice cup of water?

Elizabeth

I think the last lover I had in Rome was a New Wave director. Now what was his name?

Sydney

For Heaven's sake, Mother!

Elizabeth

Don't give me that holier-than-thou pious look of yours, Sydney. When was the last time you had a lover? Might do you some good, you know.

Monica

[interjecting] A good brisk walk in the morning always does me a lot of good.

Monica

Sydney, I'm sorry. I didn't realize.

Sydney

What?

Monica

That your mother has a drinking problem.

Sydney

My mother doesn't have a drinking problem. My mother is an alcoholic.