Just
as God offered Himself up for humanity, I offer myself for the sake of all
I
chose work so others may rest
I
chose penance so others can be comforted
I
chose sacrifice so others can gain
Let
my bitter song of love reach the ears of God and be acceptable so that He may
have mercy on all including a sinner such as I.
Amen
-
A
prayer of the Penitent
Story
4 – Long Suffering
There’s a clan among that Penitent
that has no official name. Their acts are not recorded in the Penitent’s history
books and are subject to the memories of the next generation, which leaves it
open to human error and forgetfulness. This clan is simply known as the silent
clan. Their penance is a general vow of silence. In their youth, they are taught
to speak just so they can learn to refrain from doing so when they grow older. These
people live longer than all the other Penitent clans with some living as long
as five hundred years.
They are also relatively healthy as
they are allowed to eat and relax more so that they may live long lives and
their skin doesn’t suffer from their supernatural penances, unlike the other
clans whose skin can fall offer their body. This would seem like a blessing;
however, they are also keenly aware of the outside world, its corruption, and
habit of never learning its lesson, which makes them less willing to do penance
for a seemingly separate of the human race that appears to be so incompetent
and beyond mercy. Still, it is primarily through the silent clan that the
Penitents know anything of the outside world and what penances they should
focus on. Those in the silent clan communicate by mostly using sign language
and through their actions. If they decide to fast, then the Penitent know that
the world is suffering from gluttony. If they decide to live in the cold north,
then the clans know that the world is suffering from lust. The silent clan is the
most influential of all the Penitents and closest to God, in some cases, for
their ability to bear suffering for so long.
Among the many in the silent clan
is a boy that is named Pax. This boy does his penances day in and out just like
everyone else like him. Despite this, he feels tempted by sin as if he were God
in the desert.
“Look at how the modern people
writhe in the filth they’ve created and how good people keep to themselves and
do nothing as the world burns itself to the ground. Is this a world worth suffering
for?” a voice that only Pax can hear whispers to him.
Pax resigns himself to praying the Rosa
Corona while making a crown of roses.
The voice continues to pester him with
more voices joining in that speak temptations such as, “You are perfect as you
are and do not need prayer or to improve yourself in any way. Give yourself a
break. You’re sore and tired. It’s not good to do so many penances that will
eventually end up making you sick. Even your elders have said this.”
Once Pax finishes his prayers and
puts the crown of roses on the earthly mother of God, the voices subside for now.
After an hour, they come back to tempt him.
“The good people dedicated to God are
hardly even good. They compromise the truth so they can be better accepted into
society, but in reality, they are just prostituting themselves to it. Think of all
the children who become slaves to businesses, political leaders, and false gods,”
a demon says, “Pray only for yours and yourself. Do not bother with the scum on
the outside.”
To resist this temptation, Pax
continues with his daily chores of taking care of a friend’s garden and
cleaning up their house. When the task is done, the voices disappear again,
however, they come back again soon after while Pax is relaxing after another
day’s work.
“You know what is going on out
there. Why don’t you tell people about it? Why don’t you start a group and lead
them to the outside world to change it? Surely, that is the right thing to do
that will lessen the penances of the people here and make the world a better
place,” a voice suggests.
Again, Pax busies himself to ignore
the temptations by doing simple works and relaxing hobbies that he offers up to
God and thanks Him for it. This quiets the voices, but they do not let him rest
even as he tries to fall asleep.
“Why are you resting when you
should be working? You could be doing more penances to relieve your loved ones
of their burden. You could be getting done work that will allow you more time
to rest. You could be praying all night like the night clan that only does work
at night while resting in the morning,” a tempting voice says with a critical
voice.
To strengthen himself against this
voice, Pax invokes the earthly foster father of God who is one of the patron
saints of the silent clan. This saint, this terror of demons, makes himself
manifest to Pax and scares away the demons without saying a word. He only nods
to Pax with a smile who smiles back in return and silently gives thanks to God.
This general monotony is Pax’s life with very few deviations. It is also one of
the reasons why those in the silent clan fall to sin.
Even though Pax does fall every now
and then, he gets back up and keeps trying to do his best to serve God in his
everyday life. Though this may not seem like the inspiring story of a saint,
this is what a saint does. This is what a true virtuous hero does as he cares
more for what is right than what he considers right and dedicates every second
of his life to doing the right thing. Everyone dedicates their lives, their
comforts, and sufferings in service to their god with every action they take
and word they say. It is only those who sacrifice and suffer in the right way
for the right reasons who are eventually saved and rewarded in the end,
however, if you asked Pax what reward he was looking forward to he would tilt
his head in slight confusion, and say in sign language, “Living for and loving
God and everyone I love is its own reward”. A wise piece of advice that few
believe and even fewer believe completely since it involves sacrificing
yourself completely for someone greater. It can feel bitter at times, but it is
the sweetest and truest form of love that is like God’s sacrifice on the cross.
The End
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