Conversing with the Fisherman
She slips by quietly in the dark, down, under, un-noticed or maybe she is noticed but no one disturbs her on her way, her pilgrimage doesn’t require acknowledgement. They have seen her pass this way before.
You see she has some heavy business to conduct. She needs a little guidance. She’s tried going straight to the top — but she’s been more successful with the rock.
She settles in, her cheek pressed against the cold stone.
Sitting in the peaceful darkness, her eyes adjust (not necessary though, she often keeps them closed). Surrounded by millennia of history, religion, faith, sacrifice, war, inquisition, love and control, she struggles.
Is someone talking out loud? There’s a quiet echo from the surrounding stone — like a cave — she must be talking out loud, expecting a response to her questions.
She has settled in, between two favorites.
Her anguish, her dilemmas, her self doubt, her denial — these are the things she will talk (confess) to him about.
On the one side, he took the tough stand, the unpopular position, not yielding or bowing to the easy way out. All life is valued — the young, old, impoverished, disabled, disenfranchised…all are valued. LIFE is precious, a gift.
She remembers the casket. Bury me in a box, simple, with a cross. The mass, the good bye, the tip of his body – she choked back tears — such a simple gesture — and we were overwhelmed with all that he was, all that he stood for — he stood by mankind while standing by his faith. She could never aspire to this.
On the other hand, the working man, the fisher man, every man, a man who has known self-doubt and denial — him she identifies with.
The rock upon which he built his church…
This man of humble beginnings and quiet strength and many flaws, worn down by life, and then rebirth thru the acceptance of divine mercy. This is easier for her to relate to, to speak with and confide in.
She imagines a practical, matter of fact, if not gruff, stance. Absolution, of course, tempered with the inevitable, atonement, if sincerity is to be a part of the package.
and so, she begins…
Eventually the clouds part, they arrive at reason, not necessarily easy but right — and she is sent on her way. Another lesson learned.
