The rescue of the Morning Star from the valley of death was one of the outstanding subjects and used in many art work. Artifacts were on display at Saint Peter church.
Verena and Catherine walked through the village, dressed in colorful costumes, dancing and singing. The forest was filled with the fresh smell of spring and everybody enjoyed the beautiful day accompanied by singing larks. The sun shone on ferns and stinging nettles, filling the air with a sweet bitter smell. A cuckoo called from the high of a branch of a spruce where it had built a nest. A brimstone butterfly flew over the lilac growing around at the edge of the forest. The air was saturated with the sweet smell of flowers. Nature took part in the festivities and appeared to celebrate with the people. It was nature giving the celebration a mysterious touch. Everybody could hear the voices, smell the plants, see the colors, and enjoy the season creating a celestial symphony of heavenly pleasures. It felt like a bath in the waters of the spring of youth.
When the sun fell on Saint Peter, the children returned to the orphanage. The children’s carnival processions offered a glimpse of the colorful religious spring and summer processions like White Sunday and following later in the year. These celebrations were under the patronage of Saint Mary. She invited young and old on their spiritual walk through gardens of joy where the sunshine reflected on the mountain lakes early in the morning. The days merged with the passion of the summer sun. When the moon fell on the mountains, the warm southerly winds blew through the leaves of the trees taking the excursionist home where they laid their heads on pillows filled with lavender, geranium leaves and mint.
Brother George was sitting with his friends in the big tent. Thousands of people gathered and enjoyed the festivities. There was juicy beef, pork and lamb together with chicken on offer. Roasted potatoes were served with the meals with plenty of vegetables. Beer was brought down from the monasteries and served with the meals.
The Mystery of the Black Widows
Brother George sat on a bench with Maurice, Julian and Jack when a Black Widow player approached with a glass of beer. The Black Widows were notorious for their rude behavior but nobody dared complain. Musicians with fiddles, flutes and drums were playing folk music. Farmers were dancing with their spouses.
The Black Widow sat next to Brother George.
“If we are not allowed to eat for the next forty days we might as well drink! Cheers,” she said, emptying the big glass in one go. The Black Widow put the empty glass on the wooden table with a loud burb and wiped the beer foam from her lips.
Brother George was confused. He felt disgusted by the behavior of the lady but he was also full of admiration because of her strength. This energetic lady had almost wrestled him down to the ground in the games. More and more players of Saint John gathered around Brother George and his friends.
“Do you like beer?” asked Brother George the Black Widow sitting next to him.
“Of course I do, my sweet pumpkin,” she said to him and put her arms around his neck.
Brother George felt even more embarrassed and did not know what to do. He looked around. Everybody starred at him. The musician stopped playing. His face was red like a tomato in full summer. The lady smelled like an old beer barrel.
“Let’s dance together!” she said and took him by the arm.
She dragged him on the dance floor followed by an applauding crowd. All eyes were fixed on the odd couple to the embarrassment of Brother George who hated dancing.
“Come on, Brother George. Show us where you buy the cider,” shouted a farmer in the front row. His last words were followed by the roaring laughter of the crowd.
Brother George stood there like a wooden log ready to be cut in half. The lady put her arm around his waist and grabbed his right arm. She started spinning around. Brother George could feel her strong arms. The Black Widow was out of control and came very close to the edge of the dance floor. Brother George managed to keep her on the dance floor with a reflex movement. A sigh of relief went through the crowd. Brother George was feeling a bit better. But then he felt a hand on his bottom. He felt like a little boy who had been caught wetting his pants and asked God to take him away immediately.
God heard his prayers. His dance partner moved straight to the edge of the floor and tipped over holding Brother George firm in her hands. Brother George landed straight on the Black Widow. The crowd was crying with laughter. The Black Widow made an attempt to get on her legs. Her black dress was in tatters revealing a naked breast. The laughter of the crowd stopped immediately when they saw the black hair on the breast.
“Pleased to meet you all,” said the Black Widow and took her false hair off.
“A cheat. She is a him,” said an old man in the front row who could not close his mouth anymore.
“She is a monk from the monastery of Saint Michael,” said another man in the audience.
Brother George wiped the dirt from the shoulders of the Black Widow.
“Nice try. But you know that monks are not allowed to participate in the tournament,” said Brother George wiping the dirt from his dress.
“We knew that all along. But we wanted to have some fun before the long fasting season,” said the young man in defense.
“You are right. It is carnival, the fifth season. Let’s celebrate!” said Brother George and prompted the musicians to continue.
Let the Feast Continue
Thousands of different scents filled the streets of Saint Peter inviting the people to an orgy of the senses. Brother Benedict and Steve had decorated the Atlantis pub in blue and white colors. A fisherman’s net hung on the wall. Brother Benedict wanted it to look like a fishing room on a Cycladic island in Greece where Homer used to live. Grape leaves hung over the veranda. People sat underneath the leaves and drank wine. The air was filled with the fresh earthy smell of the river Rhone dashing through the mountains.
“Come in and dream with us,” said Brother Benedict to the people who gathered in his tavern. “Life is full of adventure like in Odysseus’ time. The river is in love with the earth. The moon rises over the river guiding us through the valley of the river.”
The fine sound of a harp sounded through the evening. The melody was like a river gathering the dreams of the heart.
“Can you see the sea of love?” said Steve to Catherine and looked down into the valley where the river disappeared behind a mountain.
The fisherman had organized a big party at the fishermen’s den. The fishing boats had been tied together and transformed into a river tavern which was rocking up and down moved by the waves of the river. The waves of the river were like arms stretching out to the fishermen’s den. Peter was sitting there with his friends. It seemed as if the river wanted to join in the happiness of the people and invite them to dance, take them in its arms and carry them through the beautiful Rhone valley.
The masks and costumes filled the streets of Saint Peter like leaves of roses flowing down the river. People were dressed as the seven vices of human mankind: the fool denying the existence of God; the peacock with his prideful feathers. The dragon representing envy and anger reflected the loud roar of the lion coming from deep in his stomach. The fox with its long sharp nose danced on the streets, standing for greed. The rooster picking through the soil with its claws in red, yellow and black colors was the archetype of lust. The bear in its big sloppy brown fur coat stood for immoderation and the stubborn donkey for laziness. But rather than identifying with these vices, they were reminders of the bad characteristics of mankind which were dragging the whole society into decay.
The fear of a Roman attack hung like a Damocles sword over the Christians but people wanted to forget and be happy and enjoy the carnival. The lightheartedness of the carnival was contagious. Everybody tried to forget and look to a brighter future.
Three Romans were wandering around. It did not occur to anybody that they could be enemies as everybody believed that the uniform was part of their costume. They approached Brother G
eorge who was on the way to Benedict’s Greek tavern. The soldiers were only four arms’ lengths away from Brother George when they drew their daggers. Brother George was laughing as he thought they were some drunken fools trying to have some fun. Julian who was walking with Brother George jumped right in front of his friend and fought off the attackers. Brother George realized the seriousness of the situation and drew his sword. A sword charged down on him like the deadly sting of a scorpion. He quickly moved away. He escaped another blow and dug down. They eventually managed to overpower the Romans and to capture them they brought them in the big tent.
“Kill them,” shouted the mob angrily raising their fists in the air.
“We are not punishing innocent people who follow orders because they are too weak to think for themselves. They are blinded by Maximian and Diocletian. They live in fear and have lost the freedom to think. If they do not obey they will be killed or expelled from the army and they will not be able to feed their families,” said Brother George He understood what was happening in the Roman army as he had served there for many years before he decided to defend the Christian villages.
“Go to your friends and tell them that they should come to Saint Peter. There will be plenty of work available. We are going to build wagons. Thousands of them will soon roll over the mountains and transport goods from Rome to Paris. Goods to feed families,” said Brother George.
“The devil only blesses the strong but Jesus Christ blesses the whole world. He is a generous God and has given us the morning star. We want to share the blessing received from him with all our brothers and sisters in the world.”
The soldiers looked at Brother George in disbelief. They could not understand why he had spared their lives. They were defeated and deserved to be killed but instead they were offered work and a better future for their families. The soldiers were so fascinated by the fact that Brother George spared their lives that they decided to stay in Saint Peter.
The Victory Ceremony
Thousands of people met in the big tent at the football field. There was singing and dancing. The celebration came to a halt when a little boy pointed to Mount Mary. Two monks from the monastery of Saint Mary stood on Mount Joseph. People were screaming in excitement when they saw the golden gleam of the cup of Saint Mary shining on the mountain.
The monks disappeared in the forest leading to the village. The excitement was rising and everybody was looking on the gate where the monks would appear in a moment. Plants were growing over the gate. The cup winked like a light in the dark forest. The monks ran through the gate holding the cup in the air. They brought the cup to Abbot Anthony. Some farmers put tables together and helped the abbot to climb on the tables to be seen by everybody.
“There is still plenty of food and drinks. I hope you have all enjoyed our football tournament. Thank you all for building unforgettable memories into the life of Saint Peter. We will never forget the wonderful days. Thanks to our Lord Jesus Christ who made that possible,” said the abbot.
His last words were overpowered by screaming voices.
“Saint John played well. However, the rules of village football stipulate that monks are not allowed to participate. Saint John engaged warrior monks from Saint Michael. This breach is so severe that the abbots of Saint Mary, the Mountain of the Angels and Mount Jesus have decided to disqualify Saint John. I am therefore proud to announce that the winner of this year’s football game is Saint Peter,” said the abbot holding the cup of Saint Mary in the air.
The people of Saint Peter screamed with joy. Brother George accepted the trophy.
“We could only win because of the determination of our team,” said Brother George.
“This little boy has shown extra bravery. He has defended the painting of the lost sheep against his enemies and deserves the highest distinction.” Brother George handed the cup over to Marc. Marc was smiling. He had never been so happy in his entire life.
“I would also like to mention Father Timothy from Saint Marc. He has shown extraordinary courage unlike his team, “said Brother George.
Everybody was allowed to hold the cup which was going to the church of Saint Peter after the spring carnival.
“Saint Peter was playing unfairly too using doves to win the game,” shouted a player in the crowd.
Brother George turned around and said:
“That is not true. We won the game because our Saint serves Jesus Christ best. Saint Peter cares for the poor and unfortunate. To show you and the whole world that he is the favorite Saint, I will challenge the monasteries. There will be new rules in place. The amount of players and the size of the playing ground will be reduced. The middle point will be replaced by bars and the aim is to carry the Saint behind the bar. A game will only for one hour. The tournament will be held in Saint Peter after the resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Who takes the challenge on?”
There was a pause. People stared at Brother George who had already tasted some of the delicious beer brewed by monks in the monastery.
“Are you kidding? Do you really want to challenge the warrior monks of Mount Mary, the Mountain of the Angels and Mount Mary?” asked a monk from Saint Michael.
“Yes, and I am willing to submit the cup of Saint Mary to the team which is victorious,” said Brother George.
“Your proposal will be proposed to the council of the abbots,” said abbot Antony.
People were singing and dancing in the street enjoying the fifth season. Ash Wednesday would come up soon followed by the fasting period. The fasting period would last for forty days. Moses had stayed on the mountain of Sinai for fourth days until God consigned the Ten Commandments to him. The Prophet Elijah had walked for forty days to the mountain of Horeb to speak to God. Jesus Christ had fasted forty days in the desert before he changed the whole world.
The contrast between the carnival season and Ash Wednesday could not be greater. Both were a reflection of a mystery, the mystery of life and death. Joy and sorrow walked together until death divided them. Death also parted the body from the soul. The soul went for a long journey to heaven protected by Jesus Christ, Mary, the angels and saints.
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