A Man and An Angel in a Park

A Man and An Angel in a Park

                There is a man in all of his rights and glory. He is a father and a son. He is a husband and a friend. He is a Controller II as his profession. He is the President of two organizations. He has earned two bachelor’s and a master’s degree. He has cheated on his wife and he has neglected his family at times for his career. He watches porn and masterbates frequently. Sometimes he lies. He cares for his elderly in laws with compassion and love. He plays golf when he gets a moment free. He doesn’t think highly of himself, but he thinks highly of his children and his brother. He sends his wife flowers every third Thursday of the month since they were married. He attends Mass every other Sunday with his family. He attends Confession once a quarter. He is harsh on his daughter, but lenient on his son. For this reason, he will soon be a grandfather. He often thinks he is a failure to his family and to God. He sits in the local park when he feels overwhelmed and tries to put a price on his life.

                It was on one of those days an angel came and sat next to him and he knew it. It threw seed to the pigeons and reclined on the bench.

                “If you take away all of the labels that your race created for you, then what is left of you?” the angel asked. The man thought about it.

                “I don’t know,” the man answered in dismay.

                “You are no longer a father, a son, a cousin, or a husband. You are no longer a controller, an employee, a president, or a scholar. You are no longer an adulterer, a masterbator, a liar, or unfair. You are no longer a Christian, a brother, a lover, or a golfer. You are no longer a success, a failure, a stranger, or a bystander. If you are none of these things, who are you?”

                “I don’t know how to answer that without adding on another label,” the man told the angel.

                “This is the simple mindset of the human race, which is completely fine. It’s the only way you can define who you are. However, you are focusing on the wrong labels in my opinion. What do you think you should call yourself if you were not all of those things?”

                “A man, I suppose.”

                “Yet even that has a predisposition list of labels. Let me ask you this, who am I?”

                “An angel?” The angel looked at the seeds and picked out one of them.

                “What is this?” The man thought long about what the angel was trying to tell him. The angel saw his perplexed nature and threw the seed to the birds. A pigeon walked over to it and ate it.

“What the Lord sees, is not the labels you put onto yourself and not the sins that you have accumulated. What the Lord sees is the essence of you. He sees you in your most raw form. A form you can’t comprehend in this life. It is a form that bears no labels and sheds the purity and goodness that is in all of His creation. Now what you humans have been given are two gifts. Life in the physical form, and free will of the mind. Therefore all of human kind has a choice. You can choose to accept your identity, or you can refuse it. Just like with your own cultures, there comes traditions and beliefs that you must accept and obey in order to accept your identity. If you don’t, you can’t participate in the culture. The Lord waits for all to accept their identity and those who refuse get to go where they desire.”

                “Where is that?” the man asked.

                “The only place in existence where Lord cannot be found.” The man thought profusely at these things and he still remained confused.

                “My dear friend. You are burdened by troubles that are not troubles. You are saddened by actions that have already been forgiven. You are doubting your worth when your worth cannot be quantified! You hinder your spirit from true everlasting love. It is with this love that your soul shall be healed. That your worries will vanish and that you will truly live.”

“How would I even begin? I’m not that great of a person to begin with. Sure I have degrees and a good paying job. I support my family and try my best, but I have done, and continue to do so much wrong in my life. Heck, I’ve done a lot worse than cheat and, well…you know. How will I God ever be able to see past that if I can’t even see past it?”

“Speak to Him.”

“Who am I to think that I’m more important than the next guy? Yeah I’m doing fine right now, but everything can fall apart the next day. How can I face God knowing that I couldn’t care for the blessings He gave to me?”

“Speak to Him.”

“Why bother? I’m saying why bother? You sit here, telling me all of these things and I say why bother? You’re sitting here trying to tell me all of the answers. Why won’t you just tell me?”

“Do you want me to spell it out for you? S-P-E-A-K T-O H-I-M!” The man stood up in anger and yelled to the sky,

“Why God? Why?” People stared at the man as he realized that he was acting crazy in public. A bright eyed small girl around the age of eight walked up to him with a bright yellow carnation. She handed it to the man and spoke in her little voice,

“Because He loves you.” She skipped away as the man sat back down, staring at the carnation. For the first time he noticed the intricacies of each pedal. How they were meticulously colored and frayed ever so gently to bring out the gentle beauty of it. How vibrant the yellow beamed from the collection of pieces. The simple beauty of it amazed him enough to allow him to look at his hands that caressed the delicate flower. How more intricate was his body. Carefully molded and shaded to make sure his uniqueness was shown. What about his voice? How was is voice created distinctly from others? He then began looking around him. The sounds, the smells, the colors, the feelings. Oh something began stirring inside of him. Something he used to know a long time ago, like an old relative. The feeling grew stronger and he became emotional. The angel clapped its hands and joyously proclaimed,

“Ah finally! You have found it!”

“What is it?” the man asked with tears streaming down his cheeks.

“Your real self! The soul! That is the rawest form of you!”

                The angel clapped its hands and jumped to its feet in rejoice of the discovery. “That is where the Lord enters and that is where the Lord remains if you let Him. It is also where evil enters and where evil remains if you let it. It is your choice. Now, speak to Him so that He may enter and speak to you.”

                The man closed his watery eyes and clasped his hands together. With a weary voice, he began,

                “Our Father…”