The Crooked Road to Heaven

by Robert Connolly

  “Yes, he did and we will keep walking, reflecting on the sins we committed during our earthly life and feeling our spiritual remorse for them. Then they will be deleted from our souls, making our spiritual burden lighter all to our benefit.”

  “Yeah! Yeah!” Nole enthused spiritually. “That’s right! And when we reach the Serene Palace of Heavenly Justice at the end of the crooked road our spiritual souls will be cleansed of all our earthly sins. That will surely be a mighty good spiritual feelin’, somethin’ to look forward to.”

  “Oh yes, Nole,” agreed Seán, “and at that same moment we will be on the brink of beginning a new existence in the kingdom of heaven. So we must indulge some deep thinking to recall as many sins as possible that we committed during our mortal life and I believe the best way to begin is to concentrate on the most common sin repeated over and over by the human race on earth.”

  “Most common sin?” Nole repeated, and suggested, “Would that be swearing?”

  “No, Nole, but telling lies. I believe that is the most common sin committed. I don’t think there is a man, woman or child that lives through any day without having told at least one lie of some description.”

  After a thoughtful moment Nole replied, “Yeah, I can believe that, Seán.” And after a slight pause he added, “Even Brother Peter himself, who will judge us, told lies when he lived on earth. He denied knowing Jesus three times.”

  “Yes, so it was written, but it couldn’t be verified since the writer didn’t state he was a witness to the fact; and even if he had said he was he too might have been lying.”

  “Yeah! I never thought anythin’ other than it was true because it was associated with religion, but upon reflection now you might be right; on the other hand you might just as easily be wrong,” Nole stated uncertainly.

  “Many innocent men and women, going back through history, have lost their lives through the telling of lies, and equally many guilty people have escaped punishment through the same devious art,” Seán elaborated.

  “How would the person whose lies resulted in the execution of an innocent victim stand in God’s eyes, Seán?”

  “In my opinion the liar who has caused the execution of an innocent victim is guilty of murder and will pay the price sooner or later.”

  “Well, I’m glad I’m not guilty of that crime, although I am guilty of lesser lies and angelic lies, and I confess to committing lots of venial sins plus I’m guilty of not havin’ done a lot of prayin’, but I’ve also done my fair share of good deeds over the years,” Nole confessed.

  “You surprise me, Nole. You always carried a rosary and I used to believe that you were spilling Hail Marys and the Lord’s Prayer all over Ireland,” Seán revealed with a spiritual smile.

  “Well, you thought wrong, Seán. I always carried a rosary because my mother told me when I was a child it would keep the devil from tempting me, but to be honest I only prayed when I wanted somethin’.” Nole spiritually exposed his lifetime misdemeanours.

  “So you only prayed when you thought you might benefit from it, is that it?” Seán questioned.

  “Well... I suppose... yeah, I confess that is about the size of it.”

  “Did you ever consider the souls in purgatory, such as we are now, who depend upon the prayers of the living to lighten their burden of sin?”

  “Only at funerals and church services and especially on All Souls’ Night. My mother used to place a large bowl of water on the kitchen table before midnight with a lighted candle on either side to guide the visiting souls of family members to the water in which, it was believed, they would dip their spiritual tongues to soothe their souls. Your mother would have done the same, wouldn’t she, Seán?”

  “Yes, she did, Nole, but I could never understand the necessity of the ritual. Still, I suppose it was a custom or religious superstition passed down through the generations.”

  “Yeah, that’s what it must have been. Did you always remember to pray for the souls in purgatory, Seán?” Nole asked, spiritually curious.

  “To be truthful, Nole, not any more than you did, but I hope there’ll be people down there on earth who will be praying for our souls whilst we are wandering here in a state of purgatory.”

  “Yeah, me too, Seán, but do we deserve their concern for our souls considering the fact that we didn’t do much prayin’ for departed souls when we existed on earth?”

  “That’s an honest reflection, Nole - a pristine spiritual thought free from the influence of an instinctive earthly body. You’re not hoping to have your soul cleansed sooner by regretting your earthly sins, are you?”

  “Oh no! That would be like expectin’ a miracle, but it’s temptin’ to know how long we might have to stay in a state of purgatory, that’s all.”

  “Well, in case you’ve forgotten, Nole, heaven is timeless. That means there aren’t any seconds, minutes or hours, no clocks, no darkness. It’s always daylight. We will exit the crooked road to heaven when we arrive at the Serene Palace of Heavenly Justice and time doesn’t play any part in it.”

  “Yeah, but all the same it’s hard to break the time habit, and besides I haven’t got the same scientific grasp of the situation as you have, Seán,” Nole reminded. After a timeless moment of silence he telepathically exclaimed, “Look ahead there, Seán, where the road bends! There’s something or someone standin’ under the heavenly tree there. A spiritual soul, I mean. Do you see it?”

  “Yes, yes, you’re right, Nole. There’s nothing wrong with your spiritual eyes,” Seán remarked.

  “Yeah, right, and there was nothin’ wrong with my physical eyes either in my earthly body,” Nole reminded.

  “Yes, I agree, credit where it’s due. You never missed much in life even when you seemed not to be looking,” Seán spiritually teased.

  “Yeah, you hit the nail on the head there, Seán.” Nole spiritually smiled, adding, “They didn’t call me Hawkeye for nothin’, you know.”

  “I’ve also heard you called other names besides Hawkeye,” Seán spiritually teased.

  “Oh yeah, I can well believe it. Amadán would have been one of them no doubt, but I did more than my fair share of good deeds and maybe some of those I helped looked upon me as an amadán, but it didn’t stop me from helpin’ them out in their need. What do you make of the spiritual presence under the tree ahead of us?”

  “I don’t really know what to make of it. Perhaps we’ve just overtaken another soul heading in the same direction.”

  “Well, that might be true, and it will be the first soul we’ve seen on the crooked road to heaven.” Nole made the point.

  “And it probably won’t be the last,” Seán ended as they both approached what they finally agreed was a spiritual monk.

  The latter greeted them with a smile: “Good day to you, Brothers Seán and Nole.”

  After they returned the greeting in like manner, Nole remarked smiling, “I don’t recall havin’ seen any spiritual telegraph poles or carrier pigeons along the crooked road, Brother.”

  The spiritual monk smiled and replied, “Yes, I get your quaint hint. Our information travels at the speed of light and nothing is faster than that, Brother Nole.”

  “Well, Brother, that’s beyond my comprehension, but my friend Seán here will know somethin’ about that.”

  “Yes, I don’t doubt it. I only need to ask Brother Seán one question and I will be aware of his depth of knowledge at the same speed as his answer to my question, which is, what is the speed of light?”

  “One hundred and eighty-six thousand miles per second,” Seán answered without hesitation.

  “Excellent, Brother Seán! You are a deep thinker by your answer and you will be at home in heaven if accepted at the end of your journey.”

  “That sounds very intriguing, Brother,” Seán enthused, delighted.

&nb
sp; “Will I fit the heavenly expectation too, Brother?” Nole enquired.

  “I believe you will, Brother Nole. Brother Seán will be your tutor along your journey and you will learn much from him. You will both be even more enlightened before you reach your destination.”

  “I suppose everything about the heavenly existence is good, Brother?” Nole asked.

  “Yes, Brother Nole. If you are accepted for membership all will be wonderful. It is an eternal existence without a physical body and its restrictions.”

  “Will we be occupied, Brother? Will we have interests like we had on earth, study and learn and make ourselves useful?” Seán asked hopefully.

  “Yes, Brother Seán, but the nature of your studies can’t be revealed until you are invited into the kingdom of heaven.”

  “That sounds quite intriguing, Brother. I’ll be looking forward to the revelation and I have a spiritual feeling that it will be exciting.” Seán anticipated, spiritually uplifted, and added, “May I ask another question, Brother?”

  “You may indeed, Brother Seán, but only what is allowed to be answered will be answered.”

  “Does the spirit age in heaven like a person ages on earth?” Seán posed the question.

  “No, there is no ageing process in the kingdom of heaven,” the monk replied.

  “The reason I ask is because you seem to be more spiritually mature than us. So is there an explanation for that, without any intended offence?”

  “Well observed, Brother Seán,” the monk responded, smiling. He continued: “When one’s earthly body dies its spiritual self holds the image of its physical host at its full maturity. That simplifies the visual identification of each just as the living, ageing bodies do on earth, but the spiritual self even in the physical earthly body never ages; only the body that houses it ages, and both you and Brother Nole are existing proof of that. Does that explain your query, Brother?”

  “That is the very essence of simplicity, Brother. Don’t you agree, Nole?” Seán declared, greatly impressed.

  “How could I disagree? It’s as plain as this beautiful heavenly tree - a spiritual chestnut, I would say, judging by the shape of its silver-grey leaves,” Nole replied, spiritually enlightened.

  “That is correct, Brother Nole, and if you are invited into the kingdom of heaven you will see all the trees and flowers in their natural colours just as you saw them on earth,” the spiritual monk revealed.

  “Well now, Brother, that is enlightening news. You are like candlelight in the dark, if you’ll excuse the expression,” Nole praised.

  “There’s no need to apologise, Brother Nole. Such earthly expressions are a novelty in the heavenly existence,” the monk assured.

  “You wouldn’t by any chance be accompanying us along the crooked road, Brother, would you?” Seán enquired.

  “No, Brother Seán. I am here by divine arrangement to reveal aspects of spiritual truth to you, some of which I have already imparted. If you wish to know more you may ask, but remember there are facts you cannot know until you have become a fully accepted member of the kingdom of heaven.”

  “That is quite understandable,” Seán agreed.

  “Yeah, one couldn’t argue against that, Brother. Brother Azrael told us back at the crash site that our journey along the crooked road would be determined by the burden of sins on our souls,” Nole commented.

  “Yes, that is correct, Brother Nole.”

  “So, I suppose, Brother, that we will just have to be patient until we arrive at the Serene Palace of Heavenly Justice before learning of our destiny?” Nole indulged his spiritual curiosity.

  “As you are both aware you are in a state of purgatory whilst wandering along the crooked road, and each time you reflect on a transgression committed in your lifetime on earth and feel the spiritual remorse for it the blemish is deleted from your soul. So the more contemplation you do on your past life, the shorter your journey on the crooked road will be,” the monk assured.

  “So, Brother, is it safe to say, then, that we will certainly not be going to hell?” Nole requested hopefully.

  “There is no place named hell as you imagine, Brother Nole. Hell is a human mental state of torment and despair, created by human beings who elevate the instinctive demon, greed, to the status of a god and then manipulate the mentalities of others to follow their example. That is how hell on earth is created - a self-designed state of misery,” the monk explained.

  “I can see the truth in that, Brother,” Seán agreed, and added, “through that wayward, selfish deed the human race turned the Garden of Eden into a fearful existence. Would that be a fair assessment, Brother?”

  “Precisely and neatly summed up, Brother Seán,” the monk complimented.

  “So that means, then, that hell is on the earth!” Nole spiritually exclaimed, surprised by the revelation.

  “Yes, Brother Nole, but it is a state of mind in turmoil. It resembles a fire figuratively speaking, hence the saying ‘fiery hell’.” The monk explained the comparison.

  “Yeah, yeah, now I’m beginning to understand. What a revelation!” Nole exclaimed, enlightened by his spiritual flowering.

  “There is something else that will interest you as well. The open, heavenly countryside beyond the spiritual hedges of the crooked road abound with the spiritual souls of people and animals too, but you cannot see beyond the hedges until your souls have been purged of sin and you are invited into the kingdom of heaven. However, if the spiritual self of any creature should cross the crooked road anywhere along your journey you will be able to see it as its silvery-grey spiritual self, but only whilst it is crossing from one side to the other,” the monk concluded.

  “I didn’t know that souls of animals went to heaven as well, Brother,” Nole confessed, surprised.

  “Oh, yes, of course they do!” the monk assured. “Where did you think they went to, Brother Nole?”

  “Well, I must be honest, Brother, I never thought animals had spiritual souls and that’s the truth of it.”

  “Every creature on earth has a spiritual self, and every spiritual self has a heavenly home,” the monk revealed.

  “I have always secretly held that belief, Brother, and I also believe, rightly or wrongly, that we will eventually meet the previously departed spiritual selves of family members, relatives, friends and beloved pets in the heavenly existence.” Seán laid bare his spiritual thoughts.

  “Yes, Brother Seán, you will be reunited with them when your souls are purged,” the monk stated.

  “Now, that is without a doubt good news, Brother, and something to look forward to. I can hardly wait to meet them all again.” Nole voiced his spiritual delight.

  “I have one more question, Brother, but it may be going beyond the restricted limit,” Seán explained.

  “You may ask it, Brother Seán, but do not be disappointed if it can’t be answered yet,” the monk invited.

  “Is it true, Brother, that there is no redemption for the souls that committed mortal sin on earth?”

  “No, Brother Seán. There is redemption for all souls, even those in a state of mortal sin. The crooked road to heaven winds its path through the realm of heaven, hence its name. It is a reflection of an unmade earthly road or lane, as you have noticed, but there is another road, the twilight road, that circles the outer perimeter of heaven. It is a dark, dismal route, a direful wilderness passage littered with potholes, sharp, jagged stones and rocks. That is the punishment byway the mortal sinners must tread, and their spiritual souls will feel the anguish a human, living body would on earth walking in similar circumstances. They must wander that lonely, dark, melancholy road in a perpetual state of sorrow until heaven decides that they have atoned for the mortal, heinous crimes they perpetrated on earth. Then they are welcomed into the glorious kingdom of heaven, which is the final destin
y of every soul,” the monk concluded.

  “Thank God I didn’t qualify for the twilight road, Brother. I’m glad I’m in a state of purgatory, however long I have to stay. What do you say, Seán?” Nole asked.

  “I entirely agree with you, Nole. The twilight road is a state to be avoided regardless of the struggle involved, and I’m just wondering, Brother, if you’ll excuse my curiosity, how does the devil fit in with life’s earthly existence?”

  “There isn’t a spiritual devil demon called Satan,” the monk revealed. “On earth the cultivation of the innate, instinctive human weakness, greed, which is also the generator of all evil, is insidiously excused as the temptation of a non-existent devil demon named Satan because the guilty parties will not embrace the truth and few, if any, will change their ways; but on the perimeter twilight road of heaven the condemned souls are forced to face their guilt and suffer the consequences,” the monk explained.

  “I feel a spiritual compulsion to agree with all you have said, Brother, and I must admit that even I, during my short existence on earth, was at times tempted by greedy thoughts, but not consumed by them,” Seán confessed.

  “Honestly highlighted, Brother Seán. Every human being is likewise tempted, but most resist the temptation to be led by greed,” the monk elaborated.

  “I’m guilty too, Brother, but, like Seán, I had a compassionate mature mind that wouldn’t allow me to entertain the silent whisperings of selfish greed.” Nole exposed his brief earthly association with greed.

  “I understand, Brother Nole,” the monk replied, smiling, and added, “and your confession was very honestly stated.”

  “You have certainly enlightened us, Brother, and we are grateful. You have strengthened our spiritual resolve and raised our hopes.” Seán expressed his thanks on behalf of himself and Nole.

  “That is the purpose of this meeting here, Brothers,” the monk revealed with a smile.

  “I feel like a new man - I mean a new spirit - no, that can’t be right either - an inspired spiritual self. Yeah, that’s it!” Nole corrected himself, pleased with his effort.