Part 20 (1/2)
”Trembling, I approached, and prostrated myself at His feet.'
”'Go to Earth,' said the voice, 'and tell those who call themselves your sons that I, having created millions of suns, around which, thousands of worlds, inhabited by millions of millions of beings, created by my infinite Mercy, gyrate, cannot be an instrument to the fulfilment of a few ungrateful creatures' pa.s.sions, simply handfuls of dust carried away by a gust of wind; insignificant particles of the inhabitants of one of my smallest worlds!'
”'Tell them that my Name must not be used to extend the misery or ignorance of their brothers, nor shall they restrain in my Name, intelligence and thought, which I created free. That they must not commit abuses in my Name, cause a tear, nor a single drop of blood to be shed. That they must not represent me as being cruel, revengeful, subject to their whims and executor of their will. Not to represent me, The Fountain of Goodness, as a tyrant, or an unkind Father, pretending that they are the only possessors of Light and Eternal Life. How? I, who have given to each being air, light, life and love, that he may be happy, could I deny to one of the most transcendental, true happiness, for the sake of others? Impious! Absurd! Tell them that I, who am All, and apart from whom nothing exists, nor could exist, I have not and cannot have enemies. Nothing equals me, and no one can oppose my will!
”'Tell them that their enemies are not my enemies; that I have never identified myself with them, and that their maxims are vain, insensible, blasphemous! Tell them that I pardon error, but punish iniquity; that I will forgive a sin against me, but will prosecute those who should torture an unfortunate. That being infinitely Powerful, all the sins of all the inhabitants of all the worlds, thousands of times centuplicated, can never dim an atom of my glory. But the least injury to the poor and oppressed I will punish, for I have not created man to make him unhappy nor the victim of his brothers. I am the Father of all existent; I know the destiny of every atom; let me love all men, whose miseries and needs I know. Let each one perform his duty, that I, The G.o.d of Mercy, know my own will.'
”Thus spoke the Almighty; and I came here to fulfill his command. Now, I say to you:
”That the miseries of the unhappy Indian whom you have impoverished and stupefied, have reached the Throne of the Highest. _There_ have arrived so many intelligences obscured and impaired by you! The cry of so many exiles, tortured, and killed at your instigation! The tears of so many mothers and the miseries of so many orphans, combined with the noise of your orgies! Know that there is a G.o.d, (perhaps you doubt His existence, and only use His name to advance your ends) who will some day call you to account for all your iniquities. Know that He needs not the money of the poor, nor is it necessary to wors.h.i.+p Him by burning candles and incense, saying ma.s.ses or believing blindly what others say, contrary to common sense.
”No! His luminary is greater than your own sun; His flowers more fragrant than those on earth. He suffices to Himself. He created intelligence for no subservient purpose; but that with its use, man could be happy in raising himself to Him. He needs no one. He created man, not for His sake, but for man's own. He is happy for all eternity!
”You obstinately uphold the existence of a Purgatory, using even the most ign.o.ble weapons and means to defend your belief. Why, instead of wasting your time in affirming the existence of that which you never saw, do you not preach and practice love and charity amongst yourselves? Why not preach words of comfort and hope, to somewhat soothe the miseries of life, instead of frightening your brothers by tales of future punishment? Why? Because Christ's True Doctrine would bring you no earthly wealth, and all that you look for is gold, and gold! And to satisfy your end and bleed the timid souls, of money, you have invented a Purgatory! Why afflict orphans and widows with dreadful tales of the next life, only to extort from them a few cents? Have you forgotten what the Apostle said? 'Nolo vos ignorare, fratres, de dormientibus, ut non contristenuni, sicut qui spem non habent,' which means, 'I do not wish you to ignore, brethren, that which concerns those who sleep, that you may not be saddened, like those who have lost all hope.' Also, that I, myself, have said? 'Hoec enim est Christianoe fidei summa: vitam veram expectare post mortem,'
that is 'Here is then the summary of the Christian faith: to hope for a true life after death.' But you, lacking in charity, and for a vile, greedy interest, live in opposition to Christ, and pretend to be able to mould Divine Judgment. All the strength of your philosophy seems to be derived from your own theory, which denies the existence of souls sufficiently sinners to be condemned, or pure enough to enter the Kingdom of G.o.d! By whose authority do you pretend to oppose the judgment of Him who weighs and considers the smallest thought? Who knows it is impossible to expect perfection from beings made of clay, subject to the miseries and oppressions of earthly life? Who told you that He will judge as you, with your narrow, limited intelligence, do? That the miseries of this life are not expiations of sins?
”Cease in your avaricious h.o.a.rding of wealth! You have now enough. Do not wrench from the poor his last mouthful of bread.
”Remember what Saint Fulgentius said: 'Et si mithetur in stagnum ignis et sulphuris qui nudum vestimento non tegit, quid pa.s.sures est qui vestimento crudelis expoliat? Et si rerum suarem avarus possessor requiem non habebit, quomodo aliaenarum rerum insatiabilis raptor?' Meaning, 'And if he who never clothed the naked is sent to the pond of fire and sulphur, where will he, who cruelly stripped them, go? And if the greedy possessor of his own wealth may never rest, how shall it be with the thief, insatiable in his greed for the wealth of others?'
”Preach then, the religion of Hope and Promises, as you, above all, are in need of pardon and forgiveness. Do not speak of rigor, nor condemn others, lest G.o.d should hear and judge you according to the laws by you formulated. Bear always in mind Christ's words, 'Vae vobis scribae et Pharisae hypocrite qui clauditis regnum coelorum ante homines; vos non intratis, nec introeunts sinitis intrare!' This means, 'Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees, who close to men the Kingdom of G.o.d, and neither enter nor allow others to enter!'
”Now, to you personally, I will say: You are an unfortunate fool, who speak numberless absurdities, although I could not expect aught else from you, and would not punish you for them. But you have had the audacity of not only insulting others, by which you forgot truth and charity, but praised yourself and called attention to your own praise.
”Referring to yourself, you said. This Father, whom I well know (liar, you do not even know yourself), although he may appear a little hard headed (a little hard-headed? Ask my crosier if your head is not harder than stone), never speaks in vain (this is true; every word you say causes as much laughter on earth as in Heaven), nor uses words without first thinking (if such is true, your intelligence is very limited).
”For such foolish vanity I ought to punish you severely, so that you would stop forever your senseless writings, saving me the trouble of coming to reprimand you at every instance.
”Were I to judge you according to your own theory, you should at least go to your Purgatory. But, after all, you are not so bad, as many learned persons are made to laugh at your writings.
”It would be well for your pride if you allowed the Indians to pa.s.s by you without taking off their hats or kissing your hand. But then, they would be imprisoned or exiled, and it would not do to increase the wrong you do them.
”Shall I make you lame and dumb? No! Your brothers would claim it was a trial of your forbearance, to which G.o.d had submitted you. No; you won't catch me on that!
”What shall I do with you?”
The old Bishop meditated for a few moments, and then, he exclaimed:
”Ah! Now I know! Your own sin shall be your punishment!
”I condemn you to continue saying and writing nonsense for the rest of your life, so that the world may laugh at you, and also, that on the Day of Judgment you may be judged according to your deserts!”
”Amen!” replied Friar Rodriguez.
The vision then disappeared; the light of the lamp regained its yellowish flame, and the soft perfume dispersed.
On the following day Friar Rodriguez started writing greater nonsense, with renewed energy.
Amen!