D44601

I have been a priest for over seventeen years. In all that time, I have never lost my faith in God, and always opened the doors of my church to the people that needed it the most. Religion, any religion, should be cherished because for those with faith, these doors are as much a home as their own. I bring that to people, it is my life’s work to bring them home.

In all that time, I have cared for many no matter their species. All are welcome so long as they are true to their own belief whatever it may be. I have never turned away anyone, and never have I looked into the face of a sinner and believed they were irredeemable. Tonight, I must confess that my faith has been shaken and I have, for the first time in my life, questioned my belief.

A man walked into my church today, he was tall, his features were pale, but his eyes shined in a way I have never seen before. There are those with eyes unique to their species, where they glow in the light and reflect, that is not what this was. This man, his eyes were like stars that gazed far beyond that of which he peered at and when that gaze fell upon me, it was not I that he saw, but rather my soul. I knew that my faith was to be tested with this one, but I did not comprehend to what extent.

He asked me if I had ever met God. I said no, but he listens to my prayers. He looked at me and gave me a smile, one with a wickedness I have only seen in nightmares. He stated to me that those prayers were not going to god, but rather to deaf, dead ears, for he explained there was no God, and that they had already eaten his flesh. The man was hooded, and the eyes peered through the darkness that hid his face. He pulled off the hood and my ceremony paused. All were silent. All eyes fell upon him. He smiled onto the congregation as their gaze turned into awe. All around me, those that I sheltered for years, those that I cared for and in turn, I believed cared for me, all stood and gave thunderous applause to the man who had said not a word. You must understand, I was confused. I thought all understood something I did not, but it was very clear we all knew what the man was. An angel, like Micheal, like Gabriel, one that I had seen in my dreams as I pondered the world and how one day we would be saved from it. This was to be the man who would save me. And yet his eyes brought me no joy. No love. It was as if he embodied everything that we were taught against, for all it required was his stare for me to understand that there truly was no love in the beyond.

Those around me stood and cheered, their eyes all started to change. Eyes salted with sin and each cheering mad for this man who spoke only to me. He turned to face me, and I felt my body freeze as if his control had already overtaken. He reached for my cross, touched it with his fingers and kissed it, then let it fall back on my chest. He spoke to me, child of mine, why do you fear? I said to him, because you frighten me. He laughed for a moment, then raised my chin high as I looked down, then he spoke, have no fear. Soon the world will be saved, this is what you’ve been praying for, is it not?

I know now something that I didn’t at that moment. That he had been listening to my prayers, he did understand. That is his evil. That he can hear the desire of the world, but he chooses to ignore it. I have discovered today that I have been cured of my cancer. I place the blame of my cure onto the angel that touched my soul and cleansed my body. But I understand now, my purpose in all this. He did not save me out of the grace in his heart. He wanted me to live with the understanding that our faith means nothing in the eyes of our lord. And that when the Divine chooses to ignore the righteousness we have dedicated our lives to follow, we are powerless to prevent them from doing evil.