The gate sprang open and Maurice appeared laughing.
Brother George was surprised to see his old friend with whom he had defended many Christian villages in the past.
“You bet. It’s me, your friend in Christ and you cannot get rid of,” said Maurice tapping on the right shoulder of his friend.
Maurice was leading the 22nd Roman Legion with 6666 soldiers. Maximian and Diocletian had recruited the whole legion from Thebe in Egypt to fight the uprising Christians. Being a Coptic Christian, Maurice refused to do any harm to his fellow brothers and sisters. He arrived with Verena, Regula, Felix, Victor and Ursus.
“Is Verena here?” asked Brother Benedict.
“Yes, Brother Benedict. She was talking about your orphanage all the way from Agaunum to Saint Peter,” said Maurice.
“I have also brought a book with the Coptic Gospels for the abbot,” said Maurice standing in front of the church.
Verena walked down the hill. Her steps were light, effortless as if she was flying. She was smiling. Her white teeth shining like pearls in her brown face and her big brown eyes were wide open. Verena was not ageing.
“Have you finished your games?” asked Verena cheerfully.
“Yes, and guess who won,” said Maurice.
“It is getting dark. Let’s walk to the monastery and bring the book to the abbot. He is studying the Gnostic gospels and will be pleased to read your book,” said Brother Benedict.
“Are you never getting upset of these stupid games?” asked Brother Thomas.
“Games are the answer to war. Problems are resolved in a playful way and nobody gets hurt,” said Brother George walking on the way to the monastery.
The Holy Lance of Christ
A few days later Maurice Felix, Victor, Ursus and Exuperius arrived at Saint Peter. They were warmly welcomed by the abbot who was smiling like a little child under the Christmas tree when Victor gave him a copy of the Egyptians bible.
“Did you tell Maurice about the attack of the soldiers of darkness?” asked the abbot Brother George.
Brother George was mesmerized by the Holy Lance in Maurice right hand. The spear had a wooden shaft and a diamond shaped head. A nail of the Holy cross was embedded in the spear head.
“Did you tell him…..? Asked the abbot who was looking at Brother George who was watching the Spear of Destiny like a little boy his favorite toy.
“Is that the Holy Lance of Christ?” asked Brother George not losing one of the most Holy Christian relics out of his sight.
“It is my dear brother,” replied Mauritius.
“It is said that he who claims the spear and solves its mystery, holds the fate of the world in his hand for good and evil,” said Brother George.
“It is meant to protect the church of Christ. The gates of Hades will not prevail. The principalities of hell fear the lance. God killed Leviathan, one of the princes of hell with this spear when he became too powerful and threatened the earth. It was handed down to the Archangel Michael, who protected the Queen of Heaven against the dragons in the valley of death,” said Brother George.
“You are referring to the book of Job and Revelation 12,” said the abbot.
“You can carry the Spear of Destiny. There is no other man worthy of the Holy Lance of Christ than you,” said Maurice and gave the lance to Brother George.
Brother George took the lance in his hand. He closed his eyes.
“I want to be with God and bring all the goodness he intended for us on earth. Jesus Christ gave the Lance to you Maurice to protect your soldiers, the soldiers of Jesus Christ from the army of evil,” said Brother George and walked to the door. He was turning around and looked in the eyes of Maurice and his friends.
“In peace time, the lance gives us ideas for new inventions. In ware times it protects us from our enemies. We are going on a very dangerous mission to rescue the Morning Star from the Queen of Darkness. She has abducted one of our finest young men and is stealing Christmas from the children of Saint Peter,” said Brother George.
“I have heard about the disappearance of Christian and the Morning Star. I, Felix, Ursus, Victor and Exuperius are here to save the Morning Star before it gets incinerated by the soldiers of Skulls and Bones,” said Maurice.
Maurice was one of the finest soldiers of his time. His courage was as legendary as his weapon, the Holy Lance, which was named after his original owner, Gaius Cassius Longinus.
The origin of the Holy Lance goes back to Golgotha where Jesus Christ was crucified. The Roman soldiers broke the legs of the two thieves who were crucified with Jesus. But they did not break the legs of Jesus Christ. The centurion Gaius Cassius Longinus pierced the side of Jesus Christ with a spear that later became known as the lance of the apocalypse. The prophecy of John that not one of Jesus bones will be broken became true.
They were walking to the dining room of the monastery.
The pastures were soaked with the fresh smell of water. The Rhone was thundering down from the mountains flooding the valleys and creating the soil for a good crop. The valley looked like a big green bowl from the mountains. The birds were singing into the sun disappearing behind the Mountain of the Angels. The wild river became calm carrying the snow from the mountains to the mountains in the West which looked like the Holy Cross spilled with blood. It was as if the Rhone wanted to sooth the wounds of Christ with the pure snow of the mountains to keep him alive. The river sank in the night like Jesus Christ in the arms of his mother, Mary.
The light disappeared but the voices of the birds resounded in the night carrying the dreams of the day to Saintes-Maries-de-la-mer.
The voices of the birds were mixing with the chanting of the monks in the chapel of the monastery.
“The attacks of King Bloodstone are becoming more and more vigilant. How long can we resist against the powers of evil? The battle of All Saints is imminent,” said the abbot at the dinner table.
“The dragons are rising from the underworld. A sign that the power of darkness is preparing for the last battle to destroy the human race and establish a new world order. The dragons are perching on the peak of the mountains like vouchers. They have big dark holes in their hearts and want to fill the holes with our souls,” said Brother Benedict.
Moonshine was falling through the windows in the North.
“Saint Peter is built on a rock and the gates of hell will not prevail against it as long as I live,” said Brother George.
“The dragons are pets compared with the ancient fish living in the sea of death. Leviathan and Behemoth as described in Job can devour the church of Saint Peter that is how big the monster is,” said the abbot looking out of the window and gazing at the white stars hanging over the Mountain of the Angels.
“Job 40 to be precise. Job is talking about dragon like creatures wandering around in forests,” said Brother Thomas who was waiting for the main dish.
“But all these creatures have been killed by the archangel Michael,” said Maurice tearing a lump of bread from the loaf.
“Their bodies were killed but the souls lived on in the sea of death. King Bloodstone has resurrected their souls from death” said the abbot.
“He will evoke the biggest catastrophes on earth as God deemed these creatures to be too dangerous to live on earth,” said the abbot.
“Earthquakes will crush the eggs of the dragons which will creep from the underworld to devastate the earth,” said Brother Benedict.
“Saint Beatus was not afraid of the dragons and fought against them?” said Brother George who has always admired the courage of Saint Beatus.
“Who knows if we will ever come back from our quest to find the Morning Star,” said Brother Thomas pinching pieces of white bread avoiding the crust.
“George and I have encountered many dangerous situations when we were protecting the Christians in Jerusalem,” said Maurice.
“To be honest with you: I’d rather read about the dragons in the bible than fighting against them,” said Brother Th
omas.
“You are honest, Brother Thomas. But if Jesus and his disciples had thought like you, we would still walk in darkness,” said Brother George.
“I will stay back with Benedict and look after the orphanage,” said Catherine wiping her mouth with the white table cloth.
The Prophecy of Maurice
After dinner Brother Martin and Maurice walked down to Brother George’s workshop. The workshop was full of all sorts of tools he crafted for the farmers in the region. He had also made some weapons for defense.
“What you carry on your belt is not a sword, is more like a dagger and you will not be able to frighten anybody off, particularly not the Romans, Maurice.” Brother George and showed him one of his newly crafted swords.
“I do not need a sword as long as I have Longinus on my side. The Holy Lance is much more powerful than any sword,” said Maurice touching the sharp blade of the sword with his middle finger.
“You need a sword too, Maurice. If somebody comes close to you, you need to defend yourself with a proper weapon.” Then Brother George took a sword and said to Maurice:
“Attack me!”
Maurice was hesitant and Brother George said in a firm voice.
“Do not be afraid. I know how to defend myself.” He took a step forward.
Maurice did as he was told and advanced with his Roman sword. Brother George pointed the sword which was about three times longer than Maurice’s, at him. Maurice tried to attack but could not get near Brother George.
“Do you see what I mean? You cannot reach out with your sword,” said Brother George.
“This is my favorite sword. It took me month to craft. I used the best iron and technique I found but I never came across a man who deserves to carry it. Maurice you are the only man, who is worthy of this sword. You always stand up for the week and vulnerable putting your neighbor first and not yourself.”
“Come on. We are not crying now. I could only defend the Christian villages because you were fighting on my side. The guardian angels are afraid to look after you so he had to send the Archangel Michael to protect you. Seven times he will save your life. Jesus will spare you from death one time. How many times have you already been saved?” asked Maurice.
“I do not know. I stopped counting,” answered Brother George taking an iron bar from the ground. He poked the iron into the forger where he had crafted the weapons for the farmers. Pieces of glow were rising in the air.
“Has Maximian already found out that you are not following his orders?” asked Brother George trying to kindle the fire.
“He has not figured it out yet,” said Maurice who was thinking about the time, when he first met George in Jerusalem.
“What are you going to do, when he finds out, Maurice?” asked Brother George putting the iron bar into a water tank. Steam rose in the air.
“I do not know. I am a soldier of Christ and as such I protect my fellow brothers and sisters. I do not know what else I could do. I keep thinking we are fighting for the noblest course in the world. The thing we are fighting for is much greater than ourselves. We make the world a better place by defending the principles of Christianity. Jesus Christ took all the sins of this world on himself. He gave his live so we can be connected with God. But evil is rising from the Underworld again. We have to stand firm and protect our brothers and sisters. One day we will have no enemies anymore and the world will be a better place.”
“We will always have enemies. The fallen angels of hell will rise against us. You should quit your service as a soldier as I did, Maurice. We have not much time left. The end is near and we have to save as many souls as possible. We can create peace. Once we have established peace, swords will be turned into ploughs. Tools will be created to fight hunger and sickness. These tools will be strong and fight the strongest demons creeping in the hearts of the idle. There will be love and the Holy Spirit will be reign over this world.”
“George you are not only a good soldier. You are also an excellent preacher. I am only a soldier. A soldier of Jesus Christ. The only thing I can do is protecting the weak and vulnerable,” said Maurice.
“You have compassion, Maurice. You do not even need to preach about Jesus Christ; Jesus Christ is living in you. You only have to give people the chance to get close to you. There are not many men who have charisma. You are one of the few ….
Your heart is a big gold mine and big enough to make many villages rich.” Brother George looked at the ploughs he had forged for the farmers.
The Orphans of Saint Peter
Somebody was knocking at the door. Brother George opened the wooden door and a boy on crutches stood before him.
“Can I come with you to rescue Christian and the Morning Star?” asked Marc full of expectancy.
“You are a good boy Marc but somebody has to stay in the village and protect the elderly against the Romans. But you can go on the pilgrimage to Mount Mary in spring and you can look after all the children in the orphanage because you are such a brave boy,” said Brother George.
“But there are no dragons to fight on Mount Mary,” said Marc, bracing his body on the wooden crutches.
“Oh, yes. The Lady of the Mountains has seen dragons too. We need soldiers like you to protect her against the army of evil,” said Brother George, putting his arms around his shoulders.
“Can I come to Mount Mary too?” asked Simon, who stood behind Marc with Peter.
“Of course you can. I am going to build a big wagon. Big enough for all the children in the orphanage,” said Brother George smiling and tapping on the shoulders of the boys.
“Do we stay overnight in Mount Mary and have a camp fire?” asked Peter whose parents were killed by the Romans.
“You bet, and will roast chestnuts in the glow of the fire as we did last year,” said Brother George.
“It is getting dark boys. You have to go back to the orphanage now,” said Brother George.
Benedict and Verena finished cooking for the children and brought them to bed.
“Brother Benedict has told us a lot about you Verena. It was as if you had been living with us forever,” said little Catherine.
“Verena! You must stay with us over Christmas. The Sheppard and the wise men from the East have already left the Holy Land to follow the morning star and visit us. It will be the most beautiful Christmas we ever had.” said Peter.
“I was so sad until I came to the orphanage,” said John.
“Verena stay with us and take us to Mount Mary, the Mountain of the Angels and Mount Jesus. We will travel through the world until we reach the sea of love,” said Paul whose parents lost their lives in an avalanche.
“The world does not end. When the old year finishes Jesus is born again and a new year starts,” said Luke whose parents were sold as slaves.
“Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega. The beginning and the end,” said Brother Benedict.
“Are you staying over Christmas?” asked little Catherine.
“Yes, I will help you to light all the stars in the cold winter night,” said Verena to the children cheering loudly.
“Do not get too excited,” said Benedict knowing that it would be very hard to calm the children down and get them to sleep.
“Verena look! There is Hally, Steve’s sheep dog. She is looking after the sheep during the day. She is looking after us during the night. Jesus must have liked animals. There were a mule, ox and sheep present when Mary gave birth to baby Jesus,” said Ruth.
“Jesus loves all creatures. He is the good shepherd who gets us back when we are in troubles,” said Verena.
“It is time to go to bed now children. I have brought some cloth to make warm dressings for winter,” said Verena.
“Are we going to look like the monks in the monastery in the new dress?” asked Simon and the children were laughing.
“Yes, you will look like little monks and nuns,” replied Sister Verena.
The Mother of the Orphans
Bene
dict waited in the kitchen whilst Verena sat with the children and told them their favorite Bible stories.
Verena was particularly fond of the holy shrines in the mountains dedicated to Mary. On her last visit to Saint Peter, Verena had suggested that they refurbish an old farm to accommodate the orphans.
Brother Benedict was indulging in the last pilgrimage to Mount Mary enriching his spiritual experience.
The appearance of the dragons was hanging on Verena’s thoughts like a black cloud. She was afraid that something could happen to Brother Benedict on his trip to the valley of death.
“You should not go to rescue the Morning Star. It is too dangerous,” said Verena.
“They need me, Verena,” said Brother Benedict looking into her eyes.
“The children need you too. Beside that you are not a soldier.
“I could not forgive myself if something happened to my friends and I was not there to defend them. I need to go, Verena. When I come back we will celebrate Christmas together. We will celebrate with all the children and we will have the most beautiful Christmas ever. But if you really insist, Verena, I will stay with you and the children.” Brother Benedict looking at her like a little boy who wanted a treat.
“If you get hurt, I will never forgive myself,” said Verena.
Julian Returns from Mount Jesus
Many pilgrims visited Saint Peter as it was situated between Mount Jesus, Mount Mary and the Mountain of the Angels, the best place to start a pilgrimage. Every pilgrim who knocked at the door of the monastery was granted entrance. It was considered to be an insult not to offer accommodation to a pilgrim. A pilgrimage was a sacred journey or the marriage of the soul with God. A pilgrimage was a life time experienced in a few days: intense, dramatic and always different. The pilgrimage went straight to the core of life. The soul flew to heaven for one day to be united with Jesus Christ, Mary, the angels and Saints. The soul lived forever but the body must die. The pilgrims became angels carrying messages to God. They carried their dreams and hopes to Mount Mary or the Mountain of the Angels or Mount Jesus to experience the marriage of heaven and earth. The earthly soul of Adam met the divine Jesus Christ and the earthly soul of Eve met the divine Mary. The shrines were like fountains conveying eternal youth and a new life to the pilgrims. Thousands of pilgrims went on an adventure with God every day.