Day 149o: To honor the rare True Saint … (September 25, 2019)
And then I made it to Saint Stephen Catholic Church just off the side of Lee Highway; a church containing one of the warmest renditions of Jesus on the Cross (if there could ever be such a thing, and I think there could & should) I have ever seen – a rendition that had Jesus maintaining a fully peaceful visage, it seemed; almost smiling upon us all as he hung within that crucifix. And this was somehow fitting in a church dedicated to St. Stephen; one the few and only characters in the entire Bible who clearly “got it” – one of the few and only people mentioned in the entire Bible who quite literally preached and walked and lived The Way of Christ that Jesus himself taught & lived; a way that demanded we all serve rather then be served and love rather than be loved, a way that called for us all to openly forgive and love and even care for those who are persecuting us – even those who happen to be crucifying us or stoning us to death …
“Even when they turn from religion, most men remain subject to it; depleting themselves spiritually that they might instead create fake gods which they then feverishly adopt & demandingly demand. Indeed, mankind’s need for fiction, for an overarching & controlling celestial mythology, seems to triumph over both evidence and absurdity alike. His power to adore & adulate the on high is made responsible for many of his greater crimes, and those who love their god unduly force others to love the same, and throughout history have been all too eager to exterminate the latter if they happen to refuse … Instead I want the religious – if they must remain so – to think of being in church as being in the middle of a work of art, as being a collective witness of fellow human beings to the latent and innate greater goodness within us all … Indeed, let the religious evolve (Quite soon, I pray!) to the point where the tears of joy others shed because of them and their gentle graciousness are the only holy waters needed to rebuild our world anew.” ~ inspired by Emil Cioran, David Clark & Abhijit Naskar
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