There's a lot of worship at the St. Michael's Conference, and there's a lot of teaching, too, with three classes on various subjects after Mass and breakfast. One of the courses is the Blessed Virgin Mary, and I taught the kids that she's the new Eve.
In the garden of Eden, Eve is seduced by an evil angel in the form of serpent, and eats the forbidden fruit. Her faithless disobedience and pride leads to death. Mary reverses this; her humility and faithful obedience to God's will, as announced by the angel Gabriel, leads to the conception of Christ in her womb and the entry of life into the world.
I reminded the class that an angel, calling itself Gabriel, also appeared to Mohammed. The message of that spirit led, almost immediately, to death.
One of these angelic messages is liberating and the others aren't. You decide which one is which.
LSP
At the Hebrew University there is a sculpture that is called "The Battle of the Sons of Light against the Powers of Darkness". There is also a scroll from Quamran by the same name that inspired the sculpture. Darkness has a flavor all its own and so does light. Light is sweet and its fruits are hope and joy. Darkness fakes sweet and its fruits are despair, hopelessness and genuine misery.
ReplyDelete"By their fruits you shall know them."
I don't think Mohammed's Gabriel was the real thing. I suspect something lied about who they were.
ReplyDeleteWho truly appreciates the light that has never experienced the darkness?
ReplyDeleteCouldn't agree more, LL.
ReplyDeletethat might well be the case, Bill.
ReplyDeleteThe darkness loses, in the end, Brighid. Thank God...
ReplyDelete