He grinned at her, trying to lighten the mood. “Do you think your father would like us to have a chaperone when we see each other?”
They both laughed at that idea.
Simon brought the conversation back to safer waters. “The collector who was just acquitted, Oded Golan, has been fighting this battle in the courts since 2003. Because of the ongoing legal battles, there’s been very little attention paid to what has actually been discovered about Jesus and his family. There have been two major discoveries of Jesus family burials since 1980, and Golan’s acquittal calls attention to these findings in spite of the extreme resistance of Israeli archaeologists. Now the lid is finally flying open, excuse the pun.”
Sarah nodded. She remembered reading about the ossuary in the news after it was first discovered, since the inscription in Aramaic clearly read James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus. It had been linked to an earlier discovery of ten ossuaries inscribed with the names of various members of the Jesus family in Jerusalem in 1980. One of the boxes, that of James, the brother of Jesus who led the early Church in Jerusalem after the crucifixion, was not found among the nine remaining bone boxes when the inscriptions were tallied. James was very prominent in the early Church, so it had seemed strange that his name was not among those on the ossuaries. Then in 2002 the ossuary turned up mysteriously on the antiquities market.
“Some think Golan’s ossuary was the one that was stolen in 1980, right?” asked Sarah.
“Exactly,” said Simon. “Scholars who believe in the authenticity of both finds are screaming for worldwide attention, since these finds need protection against Vatican cover-ups and the Israeli authorities. Outrageously, the Church ignores archaeological discoveries that contradict the Christian fairy tale!”
Sarah frowned. She still felt a little twinge of discomfort with Simon’s term “fairy tale,” yet her own research had challenged the Catholic doctrine stating that Jesus had no brothers or sisters because Mary’s conception was immaculate and she had perpetual virginity. The ossuary discoveries were powerful evidence that Jesus had in fact had siblings. “I remember when the James ossuary was sent to Ontario in 2003,” she said slowly. “It was damaged during shipment, which was so sad. It was repaired and the inscription was protected, but people just forgot about it. Maybe they didn’t want to think about what the discovery might mean for their faith. These findings call direct attention to the fourth century Church cover-ups.”
Simon brought his hand down on the table with a thump. “That’s just why I’m so excited about this! You and I have met just as these big secrets about Jesus are being uncovered; we are in the middle of a revelation. Sexual degeneration in the Church is calling attention to their ultra-secrecy, which includes the cover-up of the real story of Jesus. I think demonic clerical behavior comes out of a weird Jesus complex. Victims have reported some priests say they are Jesus while seducing them! Maybe sexually repressed priests go over an edge when they seek divine connection. The truth is, celibacy makes them lonely and dries them up. It warps their character and then demons take them over when they seek spiritual contact.”
I wonder if enforced celibacy is warping me, Sarah reflected. The other side of the coin is that if I were sexually active, demons could be unleashed in me. That is what I’m afraid of.
“So, Simon, isn’t there anybody in the hierarchy who is curious about these finds? Don’t they feel the desire to see and touch an ossuary that might have contained the bones of saints they supposedly adore? After all, you and I saw all the bejeweled reliquaries in the Medici Chapels in Florence that contain the bones of saints and wondered why the Medicis were so obsessed with them.”
“This is where it gets weird. I’m obsessed with the cover-up because I think if the news gets out, the Church will collapse,” Simon responded. “Have you ever heard of the Tomb of Mary, mother of Jesus?”
Sarah shook her head.
“Almost no Catholics have, yet it’s a major sacred site on the Mount of Olives for Eastern Christians, who call her Theotokos, the mother of God. Muslims also revere the site as the tomb of the mother of Issa, their name for Jesus who they believe came to their land to teach. Yet the Vatican takes no interest and Catholics know nothing about it! What’s at stake here? Merely the truth! So why do Western Christians deny the existence of things that should be of such great interest to them?”
“This is why I’m investigating the Gnostics,” Sarah responded passionately. “Until the recent finds, we only knew what the Church Fathers who distorted Gnostic beliefs said about them. Maybe orthodoxy was afraid Jesus was a Gnostic?”
“Okay, Sarah, give me a good synopsis of Gnostic beliefs; I’m all ears.”
Sarah’s eyes glistened. “Okay, here goes: The Gnostics say that an error occurred that brought in evil when the world was created. When the world was not yet manifest, they say it was filled with hierarchies of spirits and angels. Eventually, the goddess of wisdom—Sophia—wanted to use her power to create a world for new creatures to adore the divine, creatures that would be half animal and half angel. But instead of doing so with a partner, out of impatience she made the mistake of creating the world by herself. When the creation unfolded, her potential partner, Lucifer, fell into matter and became overly physical. His fall created all kinds of imbalances, such as male energy dominating and abusing women, and children being used by adults instead of simply nurtured by them. The new beings—humans—were cut off from divine access, so they got trapped in their egos.”
While she spoke, Simon was entranced by the way her nose flared while she was figuring something out, and her right hand rapped the table lightly as if she was winding up her left brain. This girl knows more than I even realized.
“As this fundamental imbalance evolved through time, humans and angels forgot the cause of their confusion. They struggled to find their way back to the divine world, and Lucifer struggled to find his way back to divinity. Amid these titanic struggles, they say Fallen Angels were created who wanted to control the world, such as the Jewish god, Yahweh. Modern Gnostics believe the Vatican is Yahweh’s throne perpetuating evil in the world. The original Gnostics said Jesus came to correct the error that occurred during the creation by teaching about love, which is why Mary Magdalene would have been his disciple, maybe his wife.” She paused.
“That fits right in with some of the things I’ve been thinking about,” Simon responded eagerly. “Organizations need power, so getting people to do what the priest says is the obvious way to run a church. So the Church uses the people, who are pushed and pulled by the struggle between good and evil. Also the Church ended pagan rituals by building churches on their sacred sites, and then they conducted their own rituals to hypnotize the people. Being half human and half divine, people experiment with sex to find the fire in their bodies. Believe me, sex is direct access to the divine. What if priests possessed by the Fallen Angels have been culling sexual energy, most particularly the potent and pure energy of little children? Based on evidence in the Hebrew Bible, child sacrifice was rampant in the land that spawned Judaism. Yahweh commanded Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac to prove his faith. That is insane! As you said, systemic sexual abuse in the Roman Church is the newest form of child sacrifice.”
Sarah was nodding vigorously, her wine and tiramisu completely forgotten. “You’re right, Simon. What will it take to get people to see this? What? Perversion rots the heart of the Church, and this cover-up of the family of Jesus is part of their game. Who would tolerate the hierarchy once they realize Jesus was a normal man endowed with advanced divine consciousness? People would begin to see the dangers of the hierarchy. Funneling all the power to the top leaves the clerics at the bottom so powerless that it actually encourages them to become abusers so they can have a sense of power.“
“Yeah,” said Simon. “And if people did wake up, we could bypass the story of a celibate weirdo with no brothers and sisters who had a mother who didn’t conceive him during sex.” Simon looked at hi
s watch and said apologetically, “It’s getting late, and I have to catch a flight to Jerusalem tomorrow. The Times knows this is a hot story, and I have the right background for it and I know more because of you, Sarah, a lot more, so thank you. I may be gone as long as a month. Tune in and picture me as I’m visiting the Tomb of Mary.”
The two of them left the café and walked in silence, both feeling somewhat spent from the frenetic nature of their conversation. The night air was soft and warm, and Sarah wished he wasn’t going away, especially for so long. They turned into the curved driveway in front of her apartment and then stopped in front of the massive carved door.
“Will you hold me for a moment?” she asked. “Hold me so that I can remember your touch. We may be two different people when you return to Rome.”
Happily he pulled her to his body and held her tenderly. She feels sacred. Her hair exuded a delicious light scent, juniper. Her soft cheek nestled into his neck, and time stopped for both of them while they stood there together like one body. Finally, reluctantly, he pulled away. “I will not be different when I get back, but maybe you will be,” he said. He held her away from himself searching her eyes for a moment, and then walked away trembling. I belong to her now that I’ve held her. Someday I will have her, but it is going to be a long journey. I remember my mother telling me how long it was before she gave herself to my father.
Sarah turned the key thoughtfully and slipped quietly into the silent hallway. Every cell in her body vibrated with his strength and integrity. She thought about how much she would like her mother to meet him as she ascended the curving grand staircase up to her apartment. She knew her mother would respond to Simon’s warmth and integrity. I know he will always be a part of my life. But I feel like I am poised on the edge of an abyss.
She was.
That night she slept so soundly that she had no memory of her dreams. Her psyche moved right into universal consciousness, an unexplored region of her mind. She found herself in a garden filled with marble carvings of ancient Greek gods and goddesses. They cracked open and oozed dark liquid that swirled around their white forms and transformed into ravens. Raven eyes switched back and forth like signals in her mind of gossamer shrouds made of angel feathers that sometimes come to turn the world white.
10
The Limestone Grotto
The night Simon flew to Jerusalem, a big storm descended on Rome and flooded the ancient streets. Sarah spent the next day in the library and came home to dinner alone. She found herself really missing Simon. Maybe our converging ideas flowed out with the rain and went down the Tiber. She felt a strange twinge in her belly, the palpable feeling she always had when a new idea was emerging. Seems like we go so deep when we talk. Maybe that is why I miss him?
She’d spent some time reviewing articles about the St. James ossuary, so she turned them over in her mind while she ate chicken salad. The ossuaries were used for burial for a hundred years, from 30 BCE, a period of messianic fever, through 70 CE, when the Temple of Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans. Upon burial all of the ossuaries had been aligned to the Temple Mount.
The destruction of the Temple not only ended these burial practices, it had shredded the social fabric of the Jews. Significantly the timing exactly paralleled the period when Jewish Christians awaited the Messiah’s return. Sarah wondered if the ossuaries had been aligned to the Temple so the dead would have front-row seats to the fervently awaited apocalypse. What an odd thought, yet I feel as if it’s true. Again she wondered why she was able to sense so much about this period.
Sarah thought the ossuaries could reveal the real story of Jesus and his family, including whether or not Jesus survived the crucifixion in 33 CE and then taught in the East for around thirty years, as many people in the Middle East believed. The date of 70 CE also corresponded to the Eastern date for the death of Jesus (Issa) in the Middle East when he was seventy years old. Those ossuaries held secrets about what the Jews and early Christians believed, yet the current Jewish authorities and the Vatican hid them as much as possible. It was outrageous! Why weren’t all Catholics, especially the hierarchy, seeking to protect the authentic relics of the Holy Family?
There had been a monumental shift in human beliefs during this short period when time ran down to zero and then started up all over again in the West. What did this restart have to do with ossuaries? If studied, would the ossuaries reveal the life of Jesus in the East after his supposed crucifixion? That would get him off the cross!
While Sarah mulled over these wild ideas, the late spring storms ended and were followed by a few days of perfect weather. On a particularly beautiful morning, she picked up the phone hoping it was a call from Jerusalem. Instead, it was the call she had been beginning to dread.
Armando Pierleoni’s smooth, entitled voice said, “Oh, I’m so happy to reach you, Sarah. I’m back in Rome and I managed to reserve for two at La Fraschetta, which you will love. It is intimate with delicious food, so I do so hope we can share an evening? Will you join me tomorrow night? Is that possible?” Armando’s sophisticated Italian accent caused him to slightly roll his consonants when he elongated his vowels in a high pitch. She visualized him gesticulating in alignment with his body while he spoke into the phone.
She didn’t see how she could get out of it, since she’d already agreed to dinner with him. And he was the son of a family her father adored that she too was growing to love. If I don’t go, Matilda will be disappointed. Hell, I’m a big girl, I can handle Armando. Sarah was also tired of being alone. Until this year, her life had been filled with constant activity. With some hesitation, she agreed to his proposal for Friday night.
Her bell rang at exactly eight o’clock just after she’d nervously finished dressing. Despite the care she’d taken, she felt like her clothes wouldn’t protect her as she buzzed open the front door.
Armando strode into the entry hall and stood there watching while she descended the tall curving staircase. Her long, muscular legs were eye-catching below an ivory shift that accentuated the beauty of her pretty feet in light tan flats. This was a good idea, a very good idea; she’s in for a very big surprise. When she came to the bottom of the marble stairs, he exclaimed, “You look lovely, just like the dream I’ve always waited for. It is so good of you to join me!”
She was completely taken by his easy manner. It was so very male. Ushering her smoothly out the door, he said, “I hope you won’t mind. I changed our dinner reservation to my private club under the Hotel Circus Maximus where I stay sometimes when I’m in Rome. When you gave me your address yesterday, I realized your apartment is only blocks from the Vatican and therefore close to my club. So we can walk together,” he said as they passed by an antique Karmann Ghia. He patted the small forest green sports car. “Father’s car. If you can believe it, he didn’t want it anymore!”
Gallantly being steered by her bare arm at the elbow, Sarah felt amazed she was going out with him. I don’t have any idea where we are going! What am I doing?
As they walked down the Via Ovidio approaching the back of the Castel Sant’ Angelo, Sarah said breathlessly, “It’s so kind of you to keep your promise after meeting me in Tuscany. But what do you mean by private club?”
“Oh, my darling, you make it sound like a seduction!” he joked as he looped his arm tightly into hers and bent over her in a catlike way, a very smooth and intimate gesture that made the hairs on the back of her neck tingle. “Roman restaurants are so noisy you can’t hear your companion’s voice. Everybody shouts and it is so boring. When they built the Hotel Circus Maximus, the antiquities department allowed them to build a private area inside the early Roman grottos below the hotel so that people can see an ancient part of the old aqueduct system. It’s now a private club, the Doria Pamphili, and luckily I got a membership fifteen years ago. You will love it, just as all Romans love it. It is like dining in the tufa cave restaurants of Santorini in the Aegean where the club owner got his idea!” Armando was fluttering inside a
s he envisioned walking into his club with Sarah on his arm. The old guys will be really jealous.
As they veered off onto the Via Aurelia, the lights of the Vatican façade above St. Peter’s square switched on and illuminated the saints and angels on the top rim. I wonder what the saints think about what I’m doing tonight? Sarah mused. Soon they walked into the lobby of the Hotel Circus Maximus and down a long flight of stairs to a large, dark, carved double door. The tuxedo-clad doorman greeted them both in Italian and opened the doors. After they stepped inside, the heavy doors closed soundlessly, and damp air called them to a lower world. As they descended limestone stairs, the bizarre two-story anteroom rose up through natural limestone layers topped by a painted dome.
“Fascinating, isn’t it?” Armando said, eyeing Sarah’s reaction.
As they walked through the anteroom, Sarah’s attention was caught by an ornate mosaic floor in bright but subtle color depicting Cupid riding a lion. “Is this original? Is it early Roman, even late Etruscan?”
Armando watched her keen eyes scan the mosaic. “It is very ancient. They discovered it in a buried villa when they excavated for the hotel, so they moved it here to save it. Originally this was a water tunnel, so of course there was never anything like it here before. It is lovely and very pagan. Our Pierleoni lineage fades back into the late Etruscan times, so my ancestors might have once seen it in the villa. Maybe they brought someone beautiful just like you in to see it!” He was fascinated by how viscerally she responded to art, as she did to his paintings. She really has an eye for beauty, even, in this case, pagan beauty. Maybe she can feel the free love of art and sensuality that characterized the ancient days. She will love the delight we Romans seek. I picked the right place for our first evening together.
Revelations of the Ruby Crystal Page 10
