27.- John the Apostle
St. Francis has once written in his memoires that he has had visions of John the Apostle crafting a cross that blends the shadows and the light. A great miracle of sorts. But this has not happened overnight. It took three miracles to craft such a Holy Cross.
It is told that St. John the Apostle was sent to preach the Word of God and His Son, Jesus Christ, across the Creation. Yet every time the Word of God is preached, resistance is found. "If your God is true, then my trials you must pass," is a phrase St. John the Apostle would often hear. A trial of light and darkness has God Almighty in his Great Plan.
On the one hand, Emperor Domitian, has designed the trial of light. "Endure burning oil falling in your body," he demands. And St. John gracefully turns to God's will to endure and pass the trial. And by taming fire, God Almighty grants St. John the mastery of the season of Light. On the other hand, priest Aristodemus, has designed the trial of darkness. "Let your guts endure this black poison," he demands. And once again, St. John commits unwaveringly to God Almighty's will. For that, he is granted the mastery of the darkness.
Two crosses St. John the Apostle designs with the seasons his Lord has provided him for carrying his Word across the Creation. But then, St. John the Apostle remembers that the best sacrifices are those that are given with great joy to God. So, he renounces the mastery of the seasons of Light and Darkness, and creates a Holy Cross that blends the darkness with the light. And such is the miraculous state of the Holy Cross of St. John the Apostle. But as soon as St. John the Apostle leaves the world, the blended crosses split again.
This beautiful fragment of the Trials of St. John is now being reread by a mischievous angel who retrieved a book with the Memoirs of St. Francis from the office of the head of Natla Technologies back in 1996. A little angel interested in a new tomb raiding quest.