Fools' Journey: The Showdown

By Nicholas A. Marziani, Jr.

In this sequel to Holy Fool, Holy Father, Marziani continues the journey of the young Jesuit priest turned pope just a few weeks after an apocalyptic-like solar flare has crippled the world. Financial systems have crashed, all communications are down, and an evil entity, calling itself "I AM" is raising its ugly head in the holy city of Jerusalem.

 

Pope Misha's prophetic foresight, a gift he credits from God, has allowed the Vatican and many of the Catholic seats worldwide to maintain communications through the archaic means of short-wave radio frequencies. They struggle to help their regions with food and shelter. Without working electrical grids worldwide, humankind is catapulted back hundreds of years to a time when families survived solely on their own wits and the church enclaves rely on the generators and provisions they stored in preparation of just such an event.

 

From the Vatican to the Holy City, Pope Misha, his celibate soul-partner Anastasia, and a faithful troupe of protectors and believers journey to confront the antichrist. Their mission? To halt the progress of a "new world order" that promises to strip humankind of its humanity, and perhaps even its eternity, in the guise of healing a world gone mad.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WC Publishing
• Release date: May 31, 2020
• ISBN: 9781733848855

Book preview

CHAPTER ONE

The ancient chapel buried among the vast spaces of the Vatican was calm, quiet. Holy. The flickering candles guarding the monstrance illuminated the polished Italian marble walls. The subtle scents of stone and centuries of incense wrapped around anyone who entered like the embrace of an invisible parent.

The young pope often took his solace in the room in the past weeks, his spirit weighed down with the knowledge of things stirring in the Holy Land. Evil things.

An older, tall man in black robes–a cardinal-entered in silence and squinted in the low light. Holiness, please come and take some food. You’ve been in this chapel all day. I’m concerned that you keep up your strength.

Cardinal Reisner squinted to make his way closer to Misha in the dim light. He stopped a couple of meters short of where the pope was sitting and cleared his throat, then repeated his plea.

At first, Pope Misha closed his eyes. After a long pause, he sighed and turned to face his new secretary of state and personal aide. The cardinal’s striking blue eyes reflected the dancing candle flames as Misha extended his right hand in a gesture of invitation and made room on the pew for the man to come forward and join him. They sat in silence for several minutes.

Misha kept his focus on the monstrance as he replied. Ewald, you served my predecessor well, and without your able assistance, we would have been utterly unable to address this current crisis. Thank God, we and our brothers and sisters to the East are finally able to work together as one. But the global losses of life, as you well know, have just been so devastating .... His voice dropped off into a long sigh. The food I seek is beyond anything this world can supply.

The aging cardinal regarded his younger superior. They were bound and divided by the two decades of life and experience that separated them. He shifted his head and lightly rubbed his chin.

Well, Holiness, I’m told that Pope Victor was often found in this place, lost in his thoughts, praying quietly within. Once, he reportedly even went an entire day on a total fast, but eventually was persuaded that the Church needed him alert and alive for the task that weighed so heavily upon him at the time. And Holiness, I would also so counsel you. Please, you may be young, but even Elijah was commanded to take the bread, the angel brought him and to drink from the water jug. Great witness that he had been, he was human and needed nourishment. And so, do you.

A thin smile broke across Misha’s face. The cardinal was bright. Misha knew he’d made the right choice for such a close confidant. The comparison to Elijah before his end hit home.

He turned to his aide. So be it, Ewald, let’s move on from this holy place. We have got a lot of work to do and probably not a lot of time in which to complete it.

THE VATICAN COMPLEX was a big place, but business as usual, was no longer the order of the day. Every available resource was now devoted to the grim effort to coordinate global relief with nothing more than shortwave radio communications to stay connected to the rest of the world.

Anastasia rose from her evening prayers and made her way to the little chamber that served as a simple makeshift refectory. There was no glamour there, only the cold utilitarian room usually used as workshops to effect repairs around the complex. Concrete floors and walls, inadequate emergency lighting, two battered banquet tables, and mismatched chairs made the space work to provide minimal meals and refreshment to the inhabitants of the building.

She hoped to find Misha as well as a hot cup of coffee in the temporary café. While she was ever mindful of his responsibilities and her commitment to support him in fulfilling them, she was concerned at how hard he pushed himself. When they’d met earlier in the day, the dark circles under his eyes alarmed her.

The former Russian ballet dancer shook her head as she passed through cool, thick stone hallways that smelled of age and vaguely of rosewood. The Vatican complex was a massive place, more extensive than she imagined when they’d first arrived, but business as usual was no longer possible. Lights, heating, air conditioning, and all manner of electronics had become inoperable since the massive solar flare that only Misha had foreseen.

Rome herself had become the haunt of desperate bands of roving citizens and visitors to the Eternal City. Some pious folks huddled in little prayer circles near the colonnades that formed the perimeter of the great square in front of St. Peter’s Basilica, but such courage seemed to be in short supply.

The shops and cafes along the Via della Conciliazione had been stripped by marauders, and the bells of the Great Cathedral had fallen silent. The Italian Army was in full deployment on the streets, although within the Vatican gates, the Swiss Guard maintained a resolute vigil to protect the sacred compound and its people.

Pope Misha and Cardinal Reisner arrived at the refectory just ahead of Anastasia. The smell of recently brewed strong coffee greeted their nostrils, and the cardinal went immediately to the urn to pour them each a mug.

The room was just large enough for ten or fifteen people to sit under the dim emergency lights. The potential energy from the compressed natural gas reservoir that powered the complex’s generators was being diligently conserved to power the specially designed transmitters of Vatican Radio.

After the major solar flare had struck only a week before, rogue state missiles waging nuclear-generated electromagnetic pulse attacks against a wide range of global targets followed in quick succession. The Vatican’s specially redesigned communications network was one of the few left capable of securing peace and order in the world. And it had its limitations.

What are the day’s reports from our bishops’ conferences? asked Misha of the cardinal as a steaming mug was placed in his hands. He inhaled the fragrance and closed his eyes for a second. Barely had he taken a sip when Anastasia walked into the room, brightening his heart.

Though yet in their early forties, he thought she looked as exhausted as he felt. He got up and poured her a mug of coffee and invited her to join them in their pre-supper conversation.

Well, as you predicted and as we feared, the cardinal said, the ripple effects of both the flare and mindless missile launches have essentially incapacitated more than eighty percent of our major population centers around the world. Thank God that your instinct to prepare for this tragedy is keeping most of our nuncios in touch with us. And our brethren in Greece and Russia report good connections with patriarchs and metropolitans throughout Eurasia and beyond. Unfortunately, we’ve heard precious little from our bishops in China and Southeast Asia.

Misha pondered the news and glanced over to Anastasia, who struggled to keep back tears. She managed a weak smile and a slight shrug. You must stay strong, Misha, and whatever I can do to help share that burden, I will.

The smile, fragile though it was, revealed a dimple in her chin. The sight brought him back momentarily to the day he first met her, years before.

Oh, and I will also just indicate that we’ve definitively heard from the bishop in Astana, said Cardinal Reisner. The Baikonur Cosmodrome complex there in Kazakhstan may have escaped the brunt of the damage, thanks to our special diplomatic work with Moscow. They heeded our concerns through the office of their patriarch and his relationship with the Federation president and incorporated many of our recommendations to harden their facilities. There is a hope that new communication satellites can be launched to replace those that were disabled.

Cardinal Reisner’s mention of Kazakhstan energized the tired pope.

Misha and Anastasia glanced at each other, and their faces brightened. It had been decades since they’d met as teenagers in far-off Central Asia, and the mention of their one-time national home triggered many happier memories for them both.

It also reminded Misha that his mother, who had endured so much through her difficult life, was not faring well under these harsh circumstances. He had transferred her domicile from the Trastevere flat he initially obtained for her years before, into the Vatican under armed guard just as Rome went utterly chaotic. Once, he had even hoped to have a grand seventieth birthday party for her, with members of Anastasia’s dance troupe providing the entertainment. He wrinkled his brow. That was quite out of the question now.

Anastasia studied his shift in mood. You’re thinking about Natalia, aren’t you?

Misha slowly nodded. Turning to Cardinal Reisner, he said, And please, Ewald, how is Mama? Is there any further news from the physicians?

The cardinal reflected once again on the unusual nature of this pope. He’d never before served a pontiff young enough to have a living mother, much less one now living in the Vatican itself. Misha was a pope, literally surrounded by women who had known him for years. Most unusual indeed, but then not entirely unheard of. Wasn’t Jesus also surrounded by women who had known him throughout his ministry?

I will check for you, Holiness, most certainly, the cardinal said. I’ll have something to convey to you within a few hours.

Thank you, Ewald. Thank you so much.

The three of them ate their dinner in silence. Then, sensing their need to discuss many things, Anastasia excused herself to return to her quarters. Please let me know if there’s anything I can do for Natalia this evening, she said before she disappeared through the door.

Misha momentarily closed his eyes, then turned again to his aide.

Such personal and pastoral matters aside, Ewald, said Misha after a heavy sigh, the astrophysicist in me can’t help thinking how ironic it is that the Americas were just a year away from launching a major space probe to the sun. It’s difficult to know that the fifty years of work by Dr. Eugene Parker and his studies in heliophysics was about to culminate in hard data that might have assisted us in easing this crisis. It is amazing to contemplate.

The cardinal noted the helpless expression on Misha’s face. "Yes, Holiness, timing seems to be everything during occasions such as these, but although we Catholics don’t exactly believe in rigid predestination, surely nothing overtakes the Lord by surprise, and He always makes provision for His people in their extremity. In all my years, I never thought I’d see those days when these precincts would be retrofitted with the colossal power plant you recommended before Pope Victor passed away.

And especially with all our financial woes and the continuous drumbeat of allegations of fiscal intrigue throughout the Church and the world, we were able to modify the infrastructure of this place to meet our current challenges. What has transpired has transpired as God decreed. In His time. We don’t need data as nearly as much as we need faith.

Cardinal Reisner flinched even as he spoke the words. Pardon me, Holiness, I didn’t mean to be impertinent.

Misha smiled, too fatigued to laugh out loud. You know, once a very wise priest told me never to try to be my own priest. How right he was. Sometimes–no, frequently–I need to hear exactly what you just said. And not just in the confessional. And if you don’t say it, I can guarantee that Anastasia will!

The cardinal mulled over Misha’s direct reference to someone who was still a substantial mystery to him.

Holiness, thank you for your understanding. Please permit me, then, one further question.

Misha gestured for him to continue. Yes, speak freely. His smile telegraphed that he surmised what was coming, enabling greater frankness from the cardinal.

Holiness, I would understand that your early days in Russia, er, the one-time Soviet Union were quite remarkable. There aren’t many deep secrets in this place that don’t emerge in time. I just know that besides your mother, Anastasia means a lot to you. I realize she joined a secular institute here in Rome many years ago, and her pledge of lifelong celibacy is as binding as your own. I never worked with a man in Holy Orders before, let alone the pope, with such devotion to a living woman as though she were a peer. A working partner, if you will. And please, I hope I’m not–

Misha cut him off in mid-sentence. No, Ewald, you’re not ‘impertinent’, as you mentioned earlier. Just curious. And that is fine. If you and I are going to work together, especially under these circumstances, we will need to be quite open with one another. I have come to trust you implicitly and assure you of my confidence in you. Let me explain the situation. He paused as he collected his thoughts.

You know, it’s interesting. During the days of Pope Pius XII, no slacker when it came to spiritual and clerical discipline, there was a lady in his life, someone in religious vows who served as a significant advisor during his ministry. My Lord, how could he manage to get through those days of Nazi occupation of this city, except through the counsel and encouragement he received from Sister Pascalina. That Bavarian nun–that Popessa as some derisively referred to her out of envy and misunderstanding–probably had more to do with the eventual restoration of Rome than most imagine.

Misha paused, choosing his next words carefully.

"Envy, my cardinal, envy was what sent our Lord Jesus Christ to the Cross, and envy is our constant enemy within. They say it’s the only one of the seven deadly sins that gives its practitioners no joy, no satisfaction.

"Sister Pascalina had the pope’s confidence, and so does Anastasia. And so do you. I trust that the three of us will come to share our thoughts and especially our feelings as comfortably as we just shared supper. There’s just too much at stake here. And I’ll tell you one other thing, something I haven’t even yet mentioned to Anastasia.

"In my prayers and reflections, it’s coming to my mind that even as we will eventually get through this terrible global cataclysm, all this may just be the setting for the rise of the Man of Sin that the Lord spoke of so long ago. I'm no prophet, Ewald, just an astrophysicist who stumbled into becoming pope. But I get the distinct sense that out of the ashes of this tragedy, a man who will envy our success in pulling the Church and the world out of the fire is going to come after us. I mean, all of us!"

Misha repeated the words, all of us, and continued.

"Many say the Third Secret of Fatima has been fulfilled. Well, in my opinion, and I claim no infallibility here, it has been but partially fulfilled. The shooting of our predecessor St. John Paul II was but an opening salvo, of what is before us."

Cardinal Reisner knew the pope’s reference too well and shuddered to consider the implications of his words.

"Do you truly think so, Holiness? You are scaring me. At my age, I’ve been through a lot, but what you’re suggesting goes beyond anything I’ve experienced. The Church, certainly, has survived national uprisings against her interests in one-time Catholic countries; in France, Spain, Mexico, even here in Italy in days gone by. But a direct attack against our holiest sites and God’s people en masse ...." He couldn’t complete his remarks as he turned away with a moan.

"I’m sorry to have upset you, Cardinal. I’m so sorry to have to say these things. I may just be a fool, although I hope a holy one as in my Russian ancestors’ tradition. But let us consider reality. We have had diplomatic missions in over one hundred and eighty countries in recent years. And now, through our special provisions, we have been able to maintain communications with most of them through our many bishop’s conferences. We are exerting a powerful peace-enabling influence throughout the world, as our Lord would have us to do. But the end of history, as we have known it, is upon us, I genuinely believe that. Not that we should depend upon such things, but most folks are unaware that one of the greatest physicists of the past half-millennium predicted the return of the Lord in our century–the year 2060, to be exact!

"But we don’t need Isaac Newton’s keen biblical insights to tell us that our Heavenly Father is preparing to bid his Son return to this planet. The signs of the times are just too plentiful. And for what it’s worth, I can feel it in my bones. Somebody out there, somebody already alive and plotting his own foul advent, will likely soon make his presence known. And his motivation? It will be precisely out of envy for what we have been able to accomplish and will yet accomplish in the Name of Christ."

The cardinal hung his head with closed eyes, absorbing every word. At last, he sat upright and looked the pontiff in the eyes.

You’re right, Holiness, you’re right. We don’t know the day or hour, do we, but we do know the season, and that season is upon us. Never have I witnessed what I have witnessed in the past few years. Never. He pointed his finger in the air as if to nail his words to the wall.

Thank you for your confidence and understanding, Ewald. Not many in this place would have acknowledged my convictions with such integrity. Misha’s appreciation for his new counselor brought him a sense of courage. He was a man to be trusted, to be listened to, a man to be counted upon.

The cardinal’s shoulders relaxed as he eased himself back into his chair, and a thin but pensive smile appeared across his face.

Then, Holiness, if I have gained your favor, please indulge an old man of the Church, just a bit. And please don’t consider my question ....

Impertinent? Misha was smiling as well. No, Ewald, I think I know what is on your heart, and you have a right to know in greater detail. I was starting to tell you more about my days in old Kazakhstan, and now in the fading hours of this day, let me indulge my own need to reminisce. Anastasia has been a constant source of strength for me for many years now, but it does the soul well to reflect on God’s mysterious ways with us in front of another confidant in our sacred office. Priest to priest, may I proceed? Oh, and this isn’t confession–I made that many years ago before I was ordained. But Anna–and I hope she’ll feel comfortable with you calling her that name–Anna’s story, and mine, are quite intertwined. I wouldn’t be here were it not for her.

Please, Holiness, I don’t wish to be a voyeur in these things, but whatever you feel led to share, I promise to hold as though ‘under the stole’.

Good, Misha said simply. I love rehearsing this story, this echo of the love of God in His ‘foolish’ love for such creatures as us. And afterward, we can go check in on Mama before compline.

CHAPTER TWO

"W e were just fifteen years old. And Kazakhstan was a place like no other in the day. A veritable outback of the former Soviet empire. Anastasia, on her mother’s side, was a descendant of deportees ordered to Central Asia from Germany by Stalin in retaliation for Hitler’s treacherous betrayal of his one-time ally. She, like her mother, was Catholic, as were most Bavarians. Very Catholic, very devout. And her mother was an effective evangelist because she was greatly influential in the conversion of her husband-to-be from Russian Orthodoxy to Catholicism!

In due course, the two married through the ministry of the Catholic community in Karaganda, which at the time was little more than a loose fellowship of like-minded souls who had to endure constant official harassment. They were not able to even meet in significant numbers until they had obtained a small worship space after Anna’s arrival.

Cardinal Reisner interjected, How deeply did Anastasia’s–I mean Anna’s–father hold to the faith? Here in Italy, we’re happy when the man of the house even shows up for Christmas and Easter!

"Good question, Ewald, good question, and I’m pleased to say that my first real acquaintance with Catholicism came through her father’s witness. His name was Pasha, which means ‘little’ in Russian, but there was nothing little about that man. And there was another surprise. He and his brother, Vladimir, who lived in the same town, were the grandsons of a Jewish man who grew sick of the pogroms and essentially melted into the Orthodox population around him. His vivid sense of Jewish identity nearly equaled his Catholic and Orthodox faith."

Catholic and Orthodox. Cardinal Reisner pondered those words even as he repeated them. So that’s when you first saw the two wings of the faith co-existing in the same person. No wonder God ultimately chose you as the pontiff for this hour. And why he led you to be a Jesuit, as well. Discernment is certainly a grace needed now more than ever.

Misha smiled. I once thought that my becoming a Jesuit was an accident that piggy-backed onto my responsibilities at the Vatican Observatory. And my residency at the Russicum during my seminary days. Now, however, I am most grateful for the charism of discernment that Ignatius of Loyola brought to the Church. He shrugged. And I am equally grateful for the witness of our elder brethren in the faith of Abraham.

Ewald nodded.

Misha’s smile vanished, and concerned look replaced it. Have we heard from Dr. Gottsman in Israel? How are things going there, amidst all the conflict they and the Palestinians have already experienced?

"The news out of the Holy Land is rather sporadic and mixed. The one thing that strikes me from what I’m getting has something to do with a new political figure. One I know I haven’t heard of before. All I know is that