Moses, the Biblical patriarch who played the leadership role in the liberation of the Hebrew children from captivity in ancient Egypt, was climbing, once again, the rough terrain of Mt. Sinai in order to consult with the burning bush. According to the ancient script, the burning bush was a small tree that appeared to be on fire but the leaves of the bush were not harmed in any way by the flames. And a human voice came from out of the bush giving Moses instructions and messages from The Almighty concerning the effort to lead the Jewish people through the wilderness into the "promised land," a place that flowed abundantly with milk and honey.
But Moses was not in a good mood. His followers were complaining about the quality of their lives and were not at all sure they wanted to continue following Moses' instructions even if they did come from the Supreme Being of the Universe. And Moses had a nagging feeling coming to mind that something else was yet to go wrong on this day that got off to a bad start.
He finally arrived at the little flat clearing on the mountain where the burning bush sat at the ready. He came to discuss a report that a fire breathing dragon was raiding the camps and, according to rumor, had taken one of the higher ranking young ladies into, yes, you guessed it, captivity. Would the people never be free? What else could go wrong. Moses was about to give it all up himself.
No sooner did Moses remove his sandals as required before stepping on holy ground that he heard a loud flapping of dragon wings and felt a wind rush his back and disturb his robes. He turned to see the dragon alight on the ground near by him. The dragon was gigantic and awful in all its aspects but Moses had never been a man of feint heart. This is going to be interesting, he thought.
"Greetings to you, Moses, leader of a chosen people and the messenger of God. Please grant me audience," said the dragon.
"Yes, it is I," replied Moses.
"As you have heard, I abducted a choice young lady and hold her captive in my lair for dinner, as dragons are meant to do according to the law of nature, but she is not cooperating. When I offer her meats and other foods in order to fatten her up for slaughter she refuses to eat because my offering are not lawful for her to eat. No matter how I threaten her she rejects the fare. How in the world can I complete a dragon's lot in a situation like this?"
"It is good to hear of a young lady who keeps the law under dire circumstances. Perhaps this project is not lost after all. No, she will not eat anything that is unlawful according to our standard, but perhaps there is something you can do about that. See that small bush over there. It is lawful for her to consider. Perhaps you can pull it out and offer it too her. That is my advice."
"That was quick and easy," said the dragon with a smirk. "Thanks." Then he slowly walked toward the bush. He put his paw around the thin trunk and gave a pull with his mighty arm, but the bush remained rooted.
"Hey, Moses. What is this? Never have I failed in any feat of strength. This bush is rooted deep."
"Try it again," said Moses.
The dragon took a deep breath and gave the bush another slow steady pull. He pulled so hard the veins stood up on his neck. But the bush did not budge.
"Moses, this is embarrassing. Never before have I failed."
"Wrap your tail around it. Make sure you get a real good grip. It is a sacred plant, suitable for the maiden."
The dragon did as instructed. He wrapped his tail around the bush, got a real good grip, and pulled with all his might. Moses tapped on a stone with his staff. The bush erupted in flames and the dragon screamed out in pain. The flames licked his tender under belly near the joint of his tale and his impulse was to flee the burning bush. But he couldn't. The leaves attached themselves to his tail and would not release him as the flames shot up his back. He started cursing and threatening. The bush moved and spun the dragon in the air and slammed him down on the ground. Then it spun him and slammed him down again, and again and again. He shrieked and howled in horror and pain and cried out for mercy. Moses tapped the stone with his staff again and the flames abated. The dragon lay on the ground badly burnt and exhausted. After regaining his composure just a little he looked up at Moses with a question in his eyes.
"Yes," said Moses. "You may go. When you get back to your lair release the girl. And never attack any of our people again. I mean it."
The dragon was too weak to speak. But after awhile he was able to make his way back to his lair. He released his captive and never bothered the chosen people again.
Wrath Warbone is a casual writer with an interest in Creative Writing. Althugh not related to this article, he would like you to download a free copy of Surrealistic Haiku by Martin Kloess Thank you.
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For those of you who do not know our story, Bob was born in the Bronx and I in Brooklyn. We were city children who lived in a small town called a neighborhood. Customs from different parts of the world filled and permeated our little world. Often a neighborhood became like a little country unto itself, as members of families and friends from the "old country" moved close to each other. My family was originally from Sicily, Italy, as were most the people on our block. Many of our neighbors did not even know the English language, so out of necessity we were a multi-lingual society. But we were more like a big family, our traditions making us one.
Christmas, like all holidays and Feast Days was a neighborhood thing, a shared experience, what with doors open, the fragrance of sauce and pizza filling the air, the freshly baked Italian cookies on a plate by an open door for one to bring home to share with the family. We were all poor, but I never felt poor. I always felt like a princess in wonderful wonderland. Christmas in my life was filled with, you might say, two days of gift giving and receiving. I opened gifts on the morning of Christmas and again on the Feast of the Epiphany. My parents striving to be American, adopted all the customs of their new land and gifts were placed under the tree, Christmas Eve. But my grandmother, clinging to the customs of her people, exchanged gifts on the Feast of the Epiphany.
Early in the evening, Christmas Eve, we were told we had to go to sleep or Santa Claus would not stop at our apartment and bring us gifts. I never questioned why the Santa who visited us, early in the evening, looked different each year. I believed in Santa Claus and that was enough for me. Now, one of my brothers, a sophisticated giant, who was tall while I was petite, with six years on me, decided he would burst my balloon and expose Santa Claus as a myth. Needless to say, this brough about much wailing and torrents of tears in its wake. My mother, who plainly adored him, gently challenged him, "Oh, you don't believe in Santa Claus. Well let's see what he brings you!" Now, although there was no question about my mother's open affection and preference toward her little boy, a lesson had to be given and brother received coal in his stocking and nothing else. Needless to say, the subject of Santa was never brought up again.
I never questioned why my Nana (grandmother) brought gifts on the twelfth day of Christmas, the sixth day of January, rather than on Christmas Day. No one told me about th Magi; they got shoved out of the way by Christmas Trees and Santa Claus coming down the chimney bearing gifts in his sack. Although in our cold-water flat, we had only a coal stove in the kitchen to warm us in the daytime and a kerosene space heater in the front room to provide heat in the bedrooms in the evening, I never questioned which chimney he was going to climb down.
To those of us who grew up in the North, Christmas and snow were synonymous. When I think about it now, how awesome and wonderful is our Father, to place that Bundle of Joy in our midst amid the gloom of winter. We speak of Spring as new beginnings and it is, especially with the new hope of Easter. But the new beginnings began at Christmas with the Baby Jesus. Our Hope was born into the world. Do you ever meditate on why God chose to come as a Little Baby into the world? Why not a grown Man? What was God trying to tell us? Was the Omnipotent God showing us the way, through His Son Who is the Way, the Truth and the Life, that the way to know eternal happiness is in becoming as innocent and vulnerable as a little child fully dependent on the Father's Will?
Bob and Penny Lord are renowned Catholic authors and television hosts on EWTN, Global Catholic television. They are prolific writers about the Catholic faith, especially the Saints for which they have been dubbed "experts on the Saints." For more information about their ministries go here.
Family, researching and writing about Visions of the Saints has been one of the most emotional experiences we've ever had. It has been exciting, inspiring, frightening, uplifting. It has called us to new commitment! We've been brought back to some of the values of our childhood, long forgotten.
We learned most of the teachings on Heaven, Hell and Purgatory, sometime in our early Catholic School training, granted, not with as much depth as in this book. But the Souls in Purgatory were always in the recesses of our minds and hearts during our formative years. The good sisters encouraged us to pray for the release of the Poor Souls from Purgatory. And hand in hand, we also prayed very often and fervently for the conversion of sinners, so that there would be fewer Souls in Purgatory, and hopefully none going to Hell. On the Feast of All Souls, we wrote on little envelopes, we received in church, all the names of loved ones who had died. During the month of November, our pastor kept those envelopes on the Altar, so that the Poor Souls would be remembered, during the Sacrifice of the Mass.
But what has happened? We're twenty, thirty, forty years older. We've forgotten the devotions to the Poor Souls in Purgatory, which were so important to us when we were young. When we should have been offering Masses and sacrifices for their release from Purgatory, instead we have regressed to the pagan ways of our ancestors, supplanting the life-saving rituals of the Church with the fancy caskets and expensive floral arrangements which will get no one into Heaven. An ironic thing, now that we're older, we know more and more people who have died; yet say fewer prayers, have fewer Masses said, and make fewer sacrifices than we did when we knew fewer people who had died. Brother Joseph's daddy is 82 years old, and he says he's a stranger in his hometown; everyone his age is dead. Well, they may all be in Purgatory, Willie! Pray for them, so that someday they will be praying for you in Heaven.
We always wonder why the Lord has us do, whatever He assigns us, at a given time in the history of the world. What is there that He knows that we don't know, and should know? Is it He Who is bringing this book to us about Heaven, Hell and Purgatory? Is He saying, we should be willing, no, anxious to spend our Purgatory on earth? Is He through this book, imploring us to not do the things that will land us in Purgatory, no less Hell? Is He not saying that He and His Most Precious Mother are waiting for us in Heaven?
We said in this book that there have been so many indicators that we're in the Latter Days, we should take very seriously the mandates that Our Lord Jesus gave to St. Gertrude the Great, St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, and in the Twentieth Century, St. Faustina, to pray, pray constantly to His Sacred Heart for His Mercy.
Why did the Lord inspire us to write this book, at this time? Could it be that our deceased relatives, whether they be mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, cousins, grandparents, and descendants going back five and ten generations, are begging us to pray for their release from Purgatory? Are Our Lord and Mother Mary trying to warn of us of something that will happen in the final days of this Millennium? We are on a crash course of destruction, and our Holy Family doesn't want us to be caught up in the devastation. Our greatest weapons have never changed, the Mass, the Rosary, sacrifices for the Souls in Purgatory and the conversion of sinners. Use them! Take to heart St. Paul's command to the Ephesians:
"Put on the armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the Principalities and the Powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness on high.(Eph 6:11-12)
Bob and Penny Lord are renowned Catholic authors and television hosts on EWTN, Global Catholic television. They are prolific writers about the Catholic faith, especially the Saints for which they have been dubbed "experts on the Saints." For more information about these Saints go toVisions of the Saints
