"Ecce Homo", "Behold the Man"/ Pontius Pilot's "spirituality"

Ok. I've got to say it. What passes for "spirituality" today, including the New Age hysteria, and the grandiose big business enterprises, like Deepak Chopra's empire, all add up to narcistic sophistry.

It all began while looking for the text of "East Coker," ("Four Quartets.") I stumbled upon a website, ostensibly devoted to "spirituality." Succumbing to the temptation, I went a little deeper. Oh boy...quicksand...couldn't extricate myself from this syrupy tripe fast enough!

Chopra's website which markets $3000.00 seminars at exlusive resorts, (one such ad reads, "a safe haven of non-judgment,") like the Chopra Center in New York, named the "Dream Hotel," promises those, willing to fork over a few bucks, the way to inner harmony, peace, love...blah, blah, blah.

Millions, are forking over, caught up in the frenzy, sort of like the Obama supporters are caught up in his words, which say nothing. Testimonials abound! It's the same old, "can't we all just get along?" "Of course, we can," ply the nimble tongues of these trendy modern day prophets; "for a inconsequential price, peace is ours for the asking!"

Perhaps, from the back row of one's consciousness, a still small voice whispers, "uh, if I may, what is the "inconsequential price?" However, the frenzied crowd, like the congregation in Jeremiah Wright's Church, is loudly pulsing, rhythmically swaying, obcessed now only with the rising climax of voices, emotional excitement and mania. "Yes, yes, yes," as Meg Ryan's character emotes in the 1989 movie, When Harry Met Sally.

The answer...to that still small voice,

Truth, truth is the casualty.

But, "what is truth?" Pilot's words echo through the centuries. It is a poignant scene in the New Testament when Jesus is tempted in the wilderness. The Devil offers peace, there need be no emnity between us, all the kingdoms of the world can be yours, if you will just surrender that one little thing that separates us...if you will just bow down to me and surrender...truth.

These "new age" profiteers, including Deepak in his "The Third Jesus, the Christ We Cannot Ignore, " invite us, indeed, lure us, toward the same cynical question Pilot posed. "Can't we all just get along?" If you can just ditch this absolute "truth" thing, all will be well. Ignore, "I am the Son of God, ignore the ressurrection, ignore everyting that makes Jesus, God, we can all be God, so hearkens the voices in even an allegorical "Garden of Eden."

Jesus did not succumb to the temptation in the wilderness, even though it meant anything but peace, in this world. It meant a horrifying, tortuous death. Why?

Because, "I AM." Because, the Logos within each of us calls us to Him. Jesus is not a teacher, a sage, a philosopher, an "I'm ok, You're ok," historical figure. He is Truth, He is Personhood, He is Divine, He is Reality. He is Someone, not an idea or a philosophy.

Where does this leave us?

It leaves us with a choice. We deceive ourselves if we think we can ignore the ultimate question. Is Jesus the fully human, fully divine, Son of God? It cannot be dismissed, as Pilot tried to dismiss it, it must be confronted, existentially, by each of us. Our declaration for or against Him is proven by our acts, not our words. To act in the love of Agape is to declare for Christ.

I am not justifying here the pharisaical thinking within the institutional church, nor am I denying the wisdom and truth found in other religions. What I am saying is, if Jesus is absolute truth, as He clearly claimed, then wherever "truth" is found, it, by definition, has to be "of Him," so to speak, even if that fact is unacknowledged.

If Jesus is, as he said, "the Way, the Truth and the Life," then, "Being" is Christ. Contrary to what is so often "preached," his statement here, may be "exclusionary" only in the context of truth. It is simply a statement of fact. Truth is One. If, for example, a Buddhist, gives up his life, in love, for another, he is, by act, in Christ.

These are monumental claims, not made by any other historical figure, period. To deny the existential significance of that question, is fatal, and, it is nothing new...no, we can't just all get along, not if it means denying absolute Truth, not if it comes at the expense of a loss of man's dignity, liberty, his ultimate freedom to consummate, in love, a covenant between he and his Creator.

No, give me the "manly" love of Christ, not the impotence of modern day "navel gazers;" give me the love of Anne Frank, Maximilion Kolbe, Mother Teresa, Sir Thomas More, give me the love of Christian martyrs, eaten by lions, in the Roman coliseum.

Our "existential choice" comes in the context of this world, where evil is present, and must be battled, every single day, within our hearts and in the outside world, sometimes in the guise of a Hitler, sometimes in the guise of terrorists and sometimes in the guise of "peace."

The Zeitgeist of Relativism/No new "primary colors"

The relativist "chickens are coming home to roost!"

The misguided and hate-filled "minister" of Obama's church, Jeremiah Wright, used this cliche, in a scurrilous attempt to blame America for a vicious attack on our homeland. It is a profane statement and illustrates an irrational fragmentation in human psychology. Jeremiah Wright needs help, on numerous levels, and has no business standing at a podium inculcating young impressionable minds.

The fact that an ivy league educated couple like the Obama's could credibly be members of such a "congregation," which is more accurately described as a "mob," is, on one hand, sobering, but even more disturbing, it is conclusive evidence, that the "zeitqeist" of our culture, ie., relativism, is catapulting us into the abyss.

Yes, the "chickens are coming home to roost," but they are not the "chickens" of the "blame America crowd;" they are the consequences of the libertine, dissolute culture, which daily chips away at the God given dignity of man, and, as C. S. Lewis predicted, will eventuate the very abolition of man.

Lewis makes a simple statement, which declares the truth unambiguously. One can no more invent a new "value" than one can invent a new primary color.

Oh, but wait, our culture is operating on a completely different set of principles, the enforced implementation of which, betrays our first principle, namely, that, of relativism! One can only demand adherence to a first principle if, in fact, there can be an absolute first principle. But never mind that little bit of illogic. Let's go on.

Moral equivalency must be enforced. There can be no exceptions. No one set of values is more praiseworthy than any other set of values. Our schools are doing a spectacular job of instilling this 20th century "idol." Let us note the "Lincolnesque" speech, (according to the media,)of our presidential candidate, Barack Obama. Jeremiah Wright's bigoted coomments are no different than the comments of Barack's own white grandmother. Ok. The ultimate blasphemy of moral equivalence, of which Chris Matthews, along with other media sycophants, are guilty, is the dishonorable attempt to compare Obama's speech of moral insipience, to the inspired thoughts of a truly great man, Abraham Lincoln!

There is no absolute "truth," no absolute "virtue." One never hears "right and wrong," one hears "context." What is most egregious about the granite slabs listing the Ten Commandments on public property? The grave atrocity, that must be demolished forthwith? Absolutes! It's that old "primary color" business...no, we have now "canonized" shades of gray! Get with it!

While listening to the moral failings of the new governor of New York, David Paterson, who seems to be reeling them off, pre-emptively, the prevailing opinion seems to be, how asute it is of him to air all this "dirty laundry," at the beginning of his term. Does David Paterson have any sense of shame? Do we, as a culture, supposedly raising our children to esteem the "Good," have any sense of shame? Of course not. It is all about "context" and "strategy!"

Yes, we have become a utilitarian culture. Does it "work" to advance my cause; if so, it is praiseworthy. It has become an "exemplar!"

Why are the Boy Scouts so despised and literally driven off public land? It is because they are swimming against the current, indoctrinating impressionable minds with dangerous ideas, honor, virtue, family, country, God, all of which require the discipline of selfless sacrifice.

Oh, yes, but the Boy Scouts discriminate, against what? The God of Tolerance! Homosexual troop leaders, for one. It is a "sin" to judge one behavior less optimal than another! No behavior is more reprehensible than another. Certainly if we can brutally destroy the unborn child, we can raise homosexuality to an alternative "lifestyle."

But, Obama has no problem inculcating his daughters with the hate spewed by the likes of Jeremiah Wright!

There are voices crying in the wilderness, here. Pope Benedict sounded a warning with his first speech after becoming Pope, about the culture of relativism. Truth will triumph, because God is Truth. But, it will require, what is becoming a mere remnant, to stand up and sacrifice for it.

From where can we draw strength?

I've been watching the John Adams series now showing on HBO. When I see Abigail Adams tirelessly nursing her 14 year old daughter through small pox, while taking care of 3 other children, all alone, while her husband is away for years, nursing the newly born liberty of a nation; when I see John Adams, his first son, by his side, perrilously crossing the Atlantic, retching for days in sea sickness, fighting for their lives against an intercepting British Navy vessel, in a desparate attempt to reach France. When I see George Washington, his troops ravaged by small pox, honorably fighting the British in bare feet, succumbing to frost bite, disease and death, hoping for a miracle, giving the "last full measure for it, I shutter and tremble.

I ask myself, why? What kept them going? What brought the impossible to fruition? How, in the name of God, did America triumph?

These brave souls brought forth our nation in "hard labor, sacrificing every ounce of blood and life they could ring out of their own flesh and bone, relentlessly pushing on through despair and the black night of doubt, fear and anxiety. They didn't "talk" about virtue, honor, truth, they actuated it.

This is the same "truth" we so blithely dismiss.

There are no new "primary colors." No, not G...D..., America. God Bless America. God save America!

The Timeless Moment/Pascha Triduum

The Oxford Anglican, Orthodox and Roman Churches, truly shine when it comes to Holy Week and the Easter Triduum. The century old traditions which re-enact the events of this week, nurturing on all levels, are profound. For converts, it's like the earthly version of being invited to the "wedding feast of the lamb," for the first time.

St. Augustine's word's, after his own conversion, summarized my own experience perfectly, "Too late have I loved Thee, O, Ancient Beauty." The intellectual and mystical profundity, the ancient liturgical beauty on both a sense and spiritual level, the nobility and grandure inherent in music and chant, is all so thoroughly edifying to the human spirit.

The Protestant Churches just don't seem to have the theological grasp of "time" so ubiquitous in the Catholic liturgical understanding. Man is made in the "image of God." Because of this sacred imprint embedded at the core of his being, man is not only capable of participating in the "timeless moment," it is a necessity for him, that he may reach his destiny as a child of God.

This is all a mystic does in the contemplative experience...he apprehends and is apprehended by, that which is outside of time, and, in his own soul, closer to him than he is to himself, the Triune God. Our relationship with God is not confined by the constituent elements of our mortal existence, ie "time," because that very Covenant which Our Lord declared on Maunday Thursday, by its nature, is timeless. Thus, as the Catholic Church has always understood, we are not only able, but literally "commanded," (coming from the Latin 'mandate') to participate in the timeless moment, so to speak.

Yes, His sacrifice on the cross took place in one historical week, but, because it is timeless, it is ever-present, meaning it is there for every generation, every soul to participate in.

From Ash Wednesday through Holy Week and in every Eucharist celebrated every moment of every day in the created milieu of time, Christ, His one holy and sufficient sacrifice, is present. for us to enter {as though} it was happening for the first time!

It is a mystery, but a mystery, though not fully penetrable, is still capable of being entered into...and that's what God's covenant of love with us, is all about; freely entering into the convenant relationship, the Bride and the Bridegroom.

G. K. Chesterton wrote a poem, after his conversion, which gives us a flavor of the covenant between the soul and God.

The Convert

"After one moment when I bowed my head,
And the whole world turned over and came upright,
And I came out where the old road shone white
I walked the ways and heard what all men said
Forests of tongues, like autumn leaves, unshed,
Being not unlovable, but strange and light;
Old riddles and new creeds. not in despite
But softly, as men smile about the dead.

The sages have a hundred maps to give,
That trace their crawling cosmos like a tree,
They rattle reason out through many a sieve,
That stores the sand and lets the gold go free:
And all these things are less than dust to me
Because my name is Lazarus and I live."

Here is an example of Chesterton's mystical participation in the "timeless."


(The Russian Orthodox have a wonderful tradition on Easter Sunday. They, meaning as many from the congregation as possible, as a group, visit all the graves of loved ones; a red egg, (it's a special dye that is deep dark red,) symbolizing the resurrection, and a candle is placed on each grave and all sing the Pascha prayers and Alleluia. Then, it's home to a huge feast. But, those who have gone before us are remembered first. Like everything in the Orthodox Church it's highly mystical.)

Christ is risen...Alleluia. "He has trampled down death, by death."

"The Abolition of Man"/Barack Obama & Harvard

How can a man like Barack Obama get this far in the political process, with his 20 year membership in the Trinity United Church of Christ, in all its ugliness, undisclosed?

It is an egregious circumstance, which should serve as a strobe alert to the rest of us, the "crazies" are running the asylum! Political correctness, situational ethics, relativism, have overwhelmed our culture, we are literally drowning in what a prophetic C.S. Lewis called, "The Abolition of Man," in his book of the same title.

This stir over Obama's absurd membership in a church which ascribes to racial hatred, malicious accusations against America, Whites and Jews, whose minister travels to Libya to see Momar Khadafi, gives a "life time achievement" award to Louis Farakan, is an eye opening opportunity to see where America stands intellectually and morally! It is devastating relvelation!

The media, (no surprise,) even the seemingly most "enlightened" commentators, are underplaying the significance of this whole fiasco. Ultimately, it asks a fundamental question.

What does it mean to be Man? Lewis argues it means the "doctrine of objective value, the belief that certain attitudes are really true, and others really false, to the kind of thing the universe is and the kind of things we are." He goes on to say, all cultures have so operated, whether it be the Chinese Tao, the Jewish Law, the Western Natural Law, the Hindu, Buddhist, Egyptian, Aborigines writings, etc.

Augustine defined virtue, "the ordinate condition of the affections in which every object is accorded that kind of degree of love which is appropriate to it." Therefore, the point of education is to "make the pupil like and dislike what he ought." "When the age for reflective thought comes, the pupil who has been thus trained in 'ordinate affections' or 'just sentiments' will easily find the first principles in Ethics..."

Lewis goes on to quote Plato from the Republic, "the well-nurtured youth is one 'who would see most clearly whatever was amiss in ill made works of man or ill-grown works of nature, and with a just distaste would blame and hate the ugly even from his earliest years and would give delighted praise of beauty, receiving it into his soul and being nourished by it, so that he becomes a man of gentle heart." If this is achieved, Plato argues, when the age of reason comes, he will "hold out his hands in welcome and recognize her because of the affinity he bears for her."

Could it get any more beautifully annunciated? Values matter, and values can be judged by our actions. If all values are the same, if it is politically incorrect to judge one value system relative to another, what is left to ground this being we call Man? One thing only is left...as Lewis empasizes, if there is no ought, then, there is only want; want is only acquired through power. Whoever steals the most power, his "values" win, hence we have the values of totalitarian states, of Lenin, Stalin, Hitler.

Obama was educated at Harvard, a school originally founded by religious values. Does anyone think Obama was educated in the values inherent in the Natural Law, and on which this country was founded? Does anyone think it is acceptable at Harvard, or most other universities, to advocate inculcating children with the most true sense of values? Of course not, it is considered immoral in our contemporary culture to raise ANY set of values, against any other set of values. It is considered wrong to make moral judgements on behavior, it's called situational ethics!

This is the abysmal state of affairs in which we find ourselves and, in which, a man, devoid of any real sense of values, can be nominated as President of the United States of America.

We, as parents and grandparents, MUST turn this around in our own families. We MUST stand up and fight for the Natural Law and true moral principles, which have advanced the spiritual development of man from the beginning of civilization itself.

These principles are NOT found in the Trinity United Church of Christ. That Obama has been a member in good standing for 20 years, contributing $22,500.00 in 2006 alone, should finish his political aspirations!

If I hear one more commentator say one more time, "well, we have to accept him at his word," I will scream. No, we DO NOT have to accept him at his word, we have to judge him by his actions, and over the last 20 years his actions have spoken loud and clear!

JeremiahWright a Wolf in Sheep's Clothing/Barack Obama

The hubbub over Barack Obama's church along with its pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright is a highly illustrative example of the moral morass in which we find ourselves. This "reverend's" church, the Trinity United Church of Christ has nothing whatsoever to do with Christ!

Somehow we blaspheme the "god of tolerance" if we question the judgement and values of a man who for decades has supported a blatently anti-christian, anti semitic, anti-American, racist, marxist oriented community of people, who tout themselves as Christian, but are, in fact, its antithesis. At the same time, we are to expected to reject any politician who may belong to a golf club which is "men only," or to reject the Boy Scouts because they refuse to allow militant homosexuals from becoming scout leaders.

We are all familiar with Edmund Burke's admonition, "all that is necessary for evil to triumph, is that good men do nothing."

The fact that Barack Obama has not only been a member of this community for years, had his children baptised by Wright, called upon Wright to perform the sacrement of marriage for he and Michelle, sought his advise before entering the race for president, and employed his talents in his campaign, admitted he has been his spiritual advisor, etc, is the ONLY fact any of us need to know about Obama!

It is irrelavent what Obama says NOW about not agreeing with everything a "beloved uncle" might say, or, the fact that he objects to bigoted speech, the fact that he has sought out this "congregation" to be an integral part of his family's "sacramental" life for the last 20 years, illustrates he is a "wolf in sheeps clothing" whose lack of good judgement, inability to recognize and distance himself from such an anathema posing as Christian, demonstatres the true character of Obama and Michelle.

He should be finished in the Presidential race. But, our culture has been seduced by the god of "Tolerance," it is our idol, we have sacrificed all values to this imposter. Hence, the dribble coming at us from media "commentators," that it is only an attempt to impose "guilt by association," to link Barack to this wretched church. God help us!

This man, Jeremiah Wright, is a vile anti-Christian, a true "wolf in sheeps clothing!"

Barack and Michelle need to go back to square one, it has nothing to do with their race, it has everything to do with their character.

Clanging Cymbals/William F. Buckley

William Buckley died last week. I found two quotes from a 1995 interview with him when he discussed the role of religious conservatives.

“They’ve, (meaning religious conservatives) figured that our foundations need restoring and I have never doubted that those foundations are religious”.

And,

“When Christ said, “Go to the world and preach the gospel, he put a very high cost, not on sacrificing principle, but on tuning your instrument in such a way as to arrest attention and persuade.”


All religious conservatives would certainly agree on the first quote.

The second quote invoked some soul searching. How is one to interpret, "tuning your instrument" so as to arrest attention? This may be the question for Christians. Perhaps it can only be resolved individually.

Anyone who has been to the Symphony has observed the musicians tuning their instruments before beginning the program. The sounds are cacophonous, discordant; then, as the lights dim, ethereal sounds waft through the air, effortlessly uniting with chords deep within. It's as though the music merges with some inner truth. It can be a transcending experience. Truth, in all forms penetrates the soul, as we are made in God's image. The more perfectly tuned the effort, the more efficacious the response.


Given that Christians must take an active part in the "public square," must stand up courageously for absolute truths, must take up the fight against the devaluation of traditional values, etc., how do we assure our presentation is nothing more than clanging cymbals?

One idea is to make every attempt to discover the spirit of the law, rather than the letter. Christ said, "there will come a time when true worshipers will worship in spirit and in Truth." The Pharisees commanded the "letter," because that's all they could control; in so doing, they lost the truth entirely. In the media or sometimes in the pulpit, we see churchmen (again, universal context here,) pontificating, in absolute terms, as to the salvation of others, could this be clanging cymbals?

For example, the following words have been used consistently by "pontificators," of all Christian traditions, to mean millions will not be saved: "I am the way, the truth and the life, no one can come to the Father except through Me;" "Clanging cymbals?"

Let's look at this statement with just a little more depth. Yes, Jesus said it, yes, He is Truth, therefore, He speaks truth. However, He is also the Truth. With this in mind, what do His words really mean, at least as we are capable of perceiving it, through our intellect and heart?
Since He IS Truth, it has to mean, wherever truth is, it is He.

Let's say, a very holy person, a Buddhist, in India, for example, gives up his life to save a friend. Or, say, there is an atheist somewhere in the world who is ultimately charitable, honest and humble in all his doings. If we don't look deeper to see what Our Lord is really saying, we risk condemning these souls in our thoughts, perhaps our words.

In fact, wherever there is truth, it has to be 'of Christ' because that is the only "truth" there is! The "Good" cannot belong to evil, Jesus cannot be less than perfect truth, therefore, goodness is always aligned with Truth, it cannot be otherwise. I would argue, these words can only be interpreted through the spirit of truth, no other way would be rationally consistent, and,
God is not irrational.

As long as we adhere to our higher nature, to that which is the Good, for the sake of the Good only, seeking always the spirit rather than the letter, we shall be more perfectly tuned, more efficacious in our efforts to "fight the good fight."

WFB was strident, ardent and effective, not withstanding his intellect, it was probably because he walked humbly before his God.

The Politics of Ennui/"Man's Search for Meaning"

In watching the daily cable channels, I still have not heard ONE Obama supporter articulate a single accomplishment of their candidate!

At twelve, I picked up my first serious non-fiction book, intrigued by the title, Man's Search for Meaning, by Viktor E. Frankl. Frankl, a psychiatrist, spent time in a Nazi concentration camp. His portrayal of the experience in the first half of the book is profound and poignant. The second half is devoted to the psychological wisdom he gleaned while surviving the horror, Logo Therapy, or the therapy of "meaning."

Vicariously living through Frankl's account, provided an interior affirmation that, that is the point of life. In other words, human beings are inherently compelled to seek meaning. Furthermore, the anathema of existence is ennui, boredom, meaninglessness, this is the devil in our midst and the greatest threat to our culture.

Fast forward to today's politics and the Obama "movement;" it is the epitomy of relativism, ennui. It is as though, as a culture, we have so trivialized reality, become so desensitized to moral ambivalence, so indolent intellectually, that we have lost our soul...the one Obama promises to repair through the art of the shallow! His supporters see no incongruity between his words and his substance, as merrily they row along.

In discussing T. S. Eliot's profound poem, Four Quartets, Thomas Howard, (Dove Descending,) addresses the topic of man's destruction through an "assault" on meaning. His application equally describes the swirl around Obama.

"The 'temptation' always seeks to diminish and ruin the sheer force of meaning..."

Therefore, if meaning is a constituent necessity to a properly integrated personality and, extrapolated outward, to society, then the Obama "phenomenon" is a grave "temptation."

The only hope that we won't be seduced by the pettifog of vacuity and its repercussions, resides in the gut level common sense of the American people, notwithstanding the blank looks on the faces of Obama supporters when asked for ANYTHING substantive.

Jack & the Beanstalk/Christianity

To live Christianity, in ones heart, ie., existentially, it is more like a fairy tale than a system of beliefs. Not that the theology isn’t important, it is, exploring that theology alone or in conjunction with modern science is enormously edifying, intellectually.

However, to follow Our Lord, mystically, is more like walking through the “wardrobe door,” than luxuriating in philosophical doctrine. Each day is an adventure; everything we need to participate in the “dance” is contained in the nursery tales of our childhood.

I am not alone is this perspective. Two rather credible sources back me up, namely, C. S. Lewis and G. K Chesterton, two Christians whose apologetics have influenced millions.

I read once that C. S. Lewis was less than enamored with religion, when, as a child, his role models expressed their religion with constrained piety, great decorum, lowered voices and forced sentiment, all very English! Emilie Griffin, a Lewis scholar, gives this description, and also says that it took Lewis years to overcome the effects of such a muted experience of religion.

In contrast, Lewis thoroughly enjoyed the Norse mythic tales of “Balder,” These stories seemed passionate, exciting, effortlessly capturing his imagination. Griffin says that in later years, Lewis came to the opinion that these “tales” were all pointing to the one true myth, Christianity.

“Later (he) resolved to write stories that would do for others what the story of Balder did for him: strip away false and mandatory piety and leave the story of God’s sacrificial love in a wild and persuasive new guise, galloping with real momentum through fields of imagination.” (Griffin) C. S. Lewis wrote the following:

“But supposing that by casting all these things into an imaginary world, stripping them of their stained-glass and Sunday School associations, one could make them for the first time appear in their real potency? Could one not thus steal past those watchful dragons? I thought one could.”

Potency is the salient word here. Christianity is potent. It is a love story with a Bridegroom and a Kingdom. He bids us on, past “those watchful dragons,” past the “wardrobe door,” into the enchantment of the Kingdom.

Finally, there’s Chesterton:

“My first and last philosophy, that which I believe in with unbroken certainty, I learnt in the nursery… The things I believed most then, the things I believe most now, are the things called fairy tales…. I knew the magic beanstalk before I had tasted beans; I was sure of the Man in the Moon before I was certain of the moon… There is the chivalrous lesson of "Jack the Giant Killer"; that giants should be killed because they are gigantic. It is a manly mutiny against pride as such. There is the lesson of "Cinderella," which is the same as that of the Magnificat. There is the great lesson of "Beauty and the Beast"; that a thing must be loved BEFORE it is loveable. There is the terrible allegory of the "Sleeping Beauty," which tells how the human creature was blessed with all birthday gifts, yet cursed with death; and how death also may perhaps be softened to a sleep…” (G.K. Chesterton, The Ethics of Elfland, Othodoxy)

Faith is an existential risk, it is a gamble, one that is only open to the humble, but, once one lays down his chips, the “wardrobe door” squeaks open, life "gallops" into the Tale.

“ I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a child, will never enter it "(Mark 10-15)