The people were lost, Father Chris knew, but then, he felt that they had been lost for a long time. Now they looked to him for guidance, a phenomenon that he had not yet been accustomed to. The diocese had informed him that they would assign a new pastor as soon as possible, but all responsibilities would fall on him until that time, including the need to act as the main celebrant for all scheduled Masses. He exerted his best efforts, managing enough to at least keep the ship afloat, but he found himself more deprived of sleep than ever before. The little free time that he scrounged for in between his duties were spent in prayer.
He had fumbled his way through the homilies the last three weeks. Saturday evening’s Mass yesterday wasn’t much better, and now he faced the people again, praying for some way to reach out to them. He had found himself too distracted by the violent, yet mysterious events that had occurred. Too distracted by the idea that these events were somehow connected to the stranger who had visited his confessional about a month ago. A stranger with a strange story, strange abilities, and a strange message:
Do you not see; your church is sick? And I cannot help them. You however, I believe are exactly what they need. Someone who can return what has been lost to them…
Faith.
He almost said the word aloud, but remembered the tiny microphone attached to his garment was still on. He closed his eyes during the gospel reading, taking in the Lord’s message. Matthew 13; The Parable of the Sower:
A farmer went out to sow his seeds. As he scattered the seeds, some fell on a path, where the birds came and ate it. Some fell on rocky ground where there was little soil. It sprang up, but when the sun rose, the plants were scorched, withering because they had no roots. Some seeds fell among the thorns which choked the plants. But other seeds fell on rich soil where it produced good crop, a hundred, sixty, or thirty times what was sown.
He had no way to relate the message to the events that infected the people with fear. But suddenly, he felt the best option was to not try to. At first, he used a charmingly humorous story from his childhood as an attention grabber, but when, as usual, the parishioners showed little response to his tale, he again became discouraged in his skills as a religious leader.
Faith, he heard in his mind again. Taking one more breath, he dismissed the half-assed speech he had prepared, and spoke from his own heart.
“Someone recently made a terrible accusation to me,” he began. “Someone recently suggested that our church is sick. And you know, I think that might be true.” For a moment, many attendees in the congregation before him began looking around among the pews, then back at him with an uncomfortable curiosity in their eyes. Father Chris fought the urge to cringe, imagining that if the Bishop were present to hear his words, he would receive a private chastisement for them. But at least he finally got their attention.
“It’s easy to lose sight of our cause,” he continued, “with all the distractions of this material world. It’s a sickness that is common and can be quite contagious. But faith… faith and love are always there. And it’s because of our faith, and our love, that healing is at hand.
“If Father Paul were here, what would he say? He’s been known to ask that we consider the consequences if we fall to temptation, if we allow sickness to fester. He might even suggest that we seek redemption through giving,” he dared to rub his fingers and thumb together to symbolize money, “during the Offertory Hymn.” Several parishioners chuckled at this, having heard many of their pastor’s homilies. “Or urge us not to miss confession. The power of penance. And he would mean well.
“But as I stand before you, brothers and sisters, I won’t do that today. Instead, I implore you: don’t set yourselves to do the Lord’s will out of fear of consequences. There’s enough fear going around our homes as of late. I’m happy to see that we’ve had a full house during the past couple of weeks, but don’t come to Mass out of fear. Come to Mass out of faith and love. Love for yourselves, for your neighbors. Love for humanity itself. Even love for those who mean to do us harm. This is what our Lord Jesus teaches us. This is the healing of which I speak.”
The pews, though overcrowded, emitted a dead silence by his speech.
“You know,” Father Chris continued. “As I reflect on today’s reading, I think of the sower in Jesus’ parable. It’s easy to interpret that God the Father is that sower, spreading his word. Some people will remain deaf to it, like the seeds that fall upon the path for the birds. Some will hear the word and rejoice, but soon forget the grace it provides by the time the sun rises the following day, like the seeds that fall upon the rocks. And like the seeds in the thorns, some will receive the word and mean to carry it out, but their intentions are soon choked away by the routines and habits of their daily lives, and those people feel powerless to change, holding too tightly to their possessions. And of course, there are those who are blessed with the word in such a way, that they flourish in it, making the kind of difference that betters themselves and those around them. They hear the calling and they respond to it.
“We often hear this parable and think to ourselves, ‘which one of those am I?’ We hope that we’re the seeds planted in good soil. The ones that don’t just hear God’s word, but truly live it. But maybe we should consider something that we haven’t before. Maybe Jesus is trying to send a different message than what we interpret. Maybe, God isn’t the sower in this parable. Maybe, it’s quite possible… that you are the sowers. You are the ones meant to spread the word. To spread our faith and our love to the world. Some will reject it. Some will accept. Isn’t it possible, that God put such power in our own hands? Instead of waiting for Him to bring His light to the world, shouldn’t it be we who carry the light? Who spread the seeds of his love?”
He meant to end his message there, but he suddenly recalled one other moment in his encounter with the stranger. “The Lord is our shepherd, we say. But that doesn’t mean He wants us to behave like sheep. We ourselves, must be shepherds in His image. So, as we return to our lives this week, I challenge you to cast aside your fears, as St. Peter did on Pentecost, and act with faith and love in your hearts instead. I can assure you, my friends, that it is then when we will know God’s healing.”
As the young priest returned to his seat, taking a moment before asking the congregation to join him in reciting the Creed, he looked out upon the masses in the pews. The parishioners remained silent, but their eyes were blinking as they looked around at their neighbors in such a way, that it gave the appearance that they were, for the first time since his arrival at St. Elizabeth’s, waking up. Not just from a feverish sleep, but from a hibernation, induced by an unnaturally dark and lengthy winter that had finally come to an end. And it seemed to him, that they were more than ready to receive the long overdue spring.
****
After Mass had ended, Father Chris waited in the foyer and greeted a livelier congregation as they filtered out of the nave. Many parishioners shook his hand with gladness and took time to speak to him with words of encouragement. Surprisingly, no one had asked him of Father Paul like they had done in the weeks before. He smiled, gave his blessings to those who had asked, and secretly reminded himself not to feel more superior by the apparent acceptance he was finally given.
At one point, a young man who was alone stepped up in line to shake his hand. “I traveled a good distance to hear your homily today, Father,” he said with a voice that the priest recognized immediately. “Happy to report it was worth the drive. I haven’t heard such uplifting words since Father James.”
Father Chris nearly froze where he stood as his smile faded from his lips. He forgot he was still shaking the man’s hand, and he was too stunned to speak, being somehow locked in a stare at the stranger’s blue eyes that were almost electric.
The man let go of his hand, leaving a small business card in his palm. The priest looked at it, seeing that it was plain and lacked any design whatsoever. The only print on it, three letters and a symbol: K O A #.
“If you ever have the need,” the man said just above a whisper, “if you ever feel that same pit in your stomach about anything amiss with your church as you once did, press the numbers that match those letters on your phone, followed by the pound sign. We won’t pick up the phone, but we’ll answer your call. Keep this card safe, and let no one else know of it.”
To his own surprise, Father Chris found himself nodding in agreement to him. Then, with a friendly smile, the young man continued on his way, soon disappearing into the exiting crowd. Before he could make sense of what had just transpired, he found himself shaking hands and conversing with the next parishioner in line to greet him.
Author’s Note
First, I would like to thank those of you who have ventured through the horrors and humor of this series to what I consider the end of the first story that took three books to complete. It has taken me over four years to get this far, and I’m honored that you have given your free time to read what I’ve put so much effort into. I truly hope that you’ve enjoyed the journey so far.
For those of you who have read the entire series up to this point, you’ve most likely noticed that The Paladin’s Redemption created a significantly different mood than its two predecessors. Unlike Agents of Shadow and The Paladin’s Message, this third installment has given the reader (as well as myself) a slight reprieve from the intense, graphic scenes of explicit violence and inhumane content which had classified the first two books as horrors (or at least paranormal thrillers). This one is probably more like a paranormal romance, being lighter, more humorous, and mainly consisting of the budding relationship between Michael and Megan. You’re welcome. Or, if you get a kick from the obscene and were expecting more of the same, I apologize for switching things up this time.
I felt this change in tone was essential to the story, as The Paladin’s Redemption focuses more on explaining much of the backstory and operations of the mysterious Keepers of White, as well as the overall objectives of the Agents of Shadow. But more importantly, as he only played a small role in Agents of Shadow, most of which was incognito as the vagabond Cliff, and only truly revealed himself at the end of The Paladin’s Message, Michael Messenger needed some catching up on his character development. For, although Megan Panco is perceived as the main character of the first three books, Michael is the Paladin, and will prove to be the main character of the entire series once it has reached its ultimate completion.
Mostly however, I wanted to follow the traditional protocol of plot design, while keeping focused on the symbolism that I hoped to create with such a shift in tone/mood. As I’ve mentioned before, consider these first three books as one major story in the series. Agents of Shadow set up the stage and remained dark and despondent throughout. The Paladin’s Message continued with implementing the suspenseful rising action with even more terror, until Michael Messenger’s intervention in the Dark Year, when he stops the Agents of Shadow and saves Megan’s life. This part can be considered the climax. Finally, The Paladin’s Redemption causes the shift to demonstrate falling action and resolution. But it does much more than that. We see near the end of this book, the scene in which our protagonists watch the sunrise on the beach together. That moment pretty much symbolizes the transfer from darkness to light that occurs in these three books as one story. In my mind, there must be balance between good and evil. There must be a bright dawn filled with hope to follow such a dark night of despair.
And, though he’s a gun slinging, sword wielding badass, I wanted the readers to also see Michael Messenger as a human being; vulnerable to flaws and internal conflict, but capable of compassion and personal growth as well. What better way to display all this than through a damsel in distress, yet not without her own unique strengths (for Megan saved Michael as much as he saved her), who can soften his heart.
On another note, before closing, I’d also like to leave a quick comment on the spiritual content of the story, particularly the philosophical conversations between the characters on religion and theology, and their own interpretations of their supposed faith. Simply put, all material concerning this content is purely just that: characters’ interpretations. By no means am I an expert on such matters, nor do I claim to hold any qualification to deliver accurate ideas on the true messages and teachings of any clergymen of the Catholic Church. My story is, from beginning to end, a work of fiction, as mentioned in the disclaimer.
And there we have it: The Paladin’s Redemption stands apart from Books I and II. However, for those of you who thrive on the horror, suspense, and action that made up much of Agents of Shadow and The Paladin’s Message, fret not. Michael Messenger’s quest is far from over. The Keepers of White series will continue on. For, although the first major story is complete, this is still only the beginning.
The Paladin will return…
-R.C.
About the Author
Originally from Wilmington, Delaware, Richard Crofton now resides in Florida with his family, where he works as an instructor in the art of Shaolin Kempo Karate. However, his heart has always felt truly at home in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and this work of fiction by no means should imply that anything dark or sinister lies within its tranquil farmlands, nor among its neighborly residents.
Richard Crofton can be contacted/followed at:
Email: [email protected]
Facebook: http://fb.me/richardcroftonauthor
Twitter: www.twitter.com#richardcrofton@writercrofton
Blog: https://richardcrofton.wordpress.com/
Other Novels by Richard Crofton
The Keepers of White series:
Book I: Agents of Shadow
Book II: The Paladin’s Message
The Paladin's Redemption (The Keepers of White Book 3) Page 29