Chapter 11 Chapter Eleven Saint Michael of Siena

The exit of the subway station is facing the entrance of the International Peace Park.When General O'Toole appeared at the top of the escalator in the afternoon sun, he saw, less than 200 yards to the right, the Vaulted Temple; At one end, behind the administration complex, the top of the ancient Roman amphitheater is clearly visible. The American general walked into the park in good spirits, turned right and walked along the sidewalk leading to the temple.He passed a beautiful little fountain that was part of the Children of the World statue.He stopped to admire the sculptures in the water. They were a group of lively children playing in the water.O'Toole was content. "What a marvelous day!" he thought. "I have met the Pope alone. Now I will visit the Temple of St. Michael."

Michael of Siena was canonized in 2188, fifty years after his death and three years after John Paul V was elected pope.There is a lot of meaning in this.At that time, it was immediately agreed that the International Peace Park would be the most suitable place to place the shrine in his memory.The park is huge, stretching from Piazza Venezia to the Colosseum, interspersed with the ruins of the Roman Forum that survived the nuclear holocaust.The location of the temple had been carefully chosen.In the southeastern corner of the park, since 2155, stands a marble pentagonal monument in honor of the five men and women who restored order to Rome in the months after the catastrophe.It has been the most visible icon in the park for many years and there is concern that it should not be overshadowed by the new sanctuary of Saint Michael.

After debate, it was finally decided that the Sanctuary of Saint Michael should be built in the northwest corner of the opposite park.It is right in the center of a nuclear explosion, which is symbolic.Ten yards from here lay the ruins of what Trajan's Column had once stood, until it was vaporized at that moment by the heat of the fireball's center.The grounds around the temple were places of worship and contemplation. 12 recessed chapels are connected to the nave, 6 of which are decorated with sculptures and artworks of orthodox Roman Catholic themes, and the other 6 chapels are the chapels of the world's major religions.The eclectic division of the ground floor was deliberately designed to give pilgrims of other religions a comfortable place to express their love and remembrance of Saint Michael.

General O'Toole did not delay on the first floor, but knelt in St. Peter's Chapel and said his prayers.At the entrance porch on the second floor, he didn't stop to visit like other tourists, but just took a quick look at the famous hardwood Buddha statue, and he couldn't wait to admire the murals on the wall.The moment he stepped off the escalator, O'Toole was overwhelmed by the grand scale and beauty of those world-renowned paintings.Before him was a life-size portrait of a lovely girl.She is about 18 years old, has long blond hair, and is bowing in an old church in Siena on Christmas Eve in 2115.Behind her, on the cold church floor, is a basket with a curly-haired baby wrapped in a blanket.This painting represents the night of Saint Michael's birth and is one of 12 murals that surround the entire sanctuary.The paintings tell the story of the saint's life.

General O'Toole walked to a small stand and rented a 45-minute guide disk.The disk was 10 centimeters in size, and it just fit into his pocket.He ordered a single-use VCR and wore it over his ear.After choosing English, he pressed the button labeled "Introduction" and heard a British female voice explain the places he was about to visit. "Each of these 12 paintings is 6 meters high..." While listening to the woman's explanation, the general carefully watched the face of Saint Michael when he was a baby in the first painting. The natural light outside is filtered and combined with the electric light on the dome. The automatic sensor adjusts the mixing ratio of natural light and artificial light according to the change of ambient light, so the picture is always perfect when viewed.

"The 12 murals on this floor correspond to the 12 small halls on the ground floor below. They are conceived in chronological order, showing his life in turn. Therefore, on the last painting, the city of Rome commemorates Saint Micah in 2188. Adjacent to the religious pageant of Leo is the painting depicting the cathedral of Siena, where he was born 72 years ago. "These murals were conceived and completed by a group of four artists. In the spring of 2190, the Chinese painting master Yi Feng came here suddenly without prior notice. Although he was not well-known outside of China at that time , however, the other three artists - Rosa da Silva from Portugal, Fernando Lopez from Mexico, and Hans Reichwein from Switzerland - saw the profound skills Yi Feng brought with him. After his work, he is immediately welcome to join.”

While listening to the explanation on the disk, O'Toole walked around the hall and admired the paintings one by one.Today is the last day of the year 2199, and more than 200 people, including three tourist groups, roamed the second floor of the Sanctuary of Saint Michael.The American astronaut moved slowly, listening to the recording of the female narrator, and watched carefully in front of each painting. The main events in the life of Saint Michael are detailed in the painting.The second, fourth, and fifth paintings describe his apprenticeship to the Franciscans in Siena, his travels around the world to increase his knowledge during the turmoil, his early religious activities after returning to Italy, and his use of The church feeds the homeless, the hungry, etc.The sixth painting shows the indefatigable saint receiving a donation from a wealthy American admirer on television.Here, Michael repeatedly preached his basic teachings in eight languages, asking people to show fraternity and asking the rich to care about those unfortunate people.

The seventh painting was painted by Yi Feng, and it shows the confrontation between Michael and the dying old pope in the city of Rome.A masterful work of intense color and light, this exuberant young man is chastised by a prelate who longs for a quiet and peaceful death.From Michael's facial expression, we can clearly see his two contradictory reactions to being reprimanded: he obeyed the Pope's will, and he only talked about decency and dignity to the church, but did not pay attention to the substance. out of disgust. "Michael was sent by the Pope to a monastery in Tuscany," continued the guide's voice in the headset, "and it was here that the final change in Michael's personality took place. In the eighth painting, the During these lonely days, God appeared to Michael. According to his account, God spoke to him twice, the first time when there was a thunderstorm and the second time when a rainbow appeared in the sky. In the tempest of time, God cried aloud in thunderbolts. Later, on Easter morning, Michael proclaimed God's new 'law of life' in Bolsena. God told the saints in his second visit , his teachings will be given to the world when the rainbow disappears, and he will also 'give a revelation to the faithful' at Easter Mass.

"These famous miraculous lives are represented by the ninth painting. It depicts Michael's sermon at the assembly at Lake Bolsena during the Easter mass. Most of his followers Wearing blue robes, which was their emblem. A high spring water splashed the crowd. There was a shower of rain, except for Michael's pulpit and the sound amplification equipment, all around was foggy and foggy. , as Michael proclaimed God's new laws for the world, a beam of light shot from a gap in the cloud and shone on the young saint's face. This marked his turning from a purely religious leader to a saint... "

As he walked toward the tenth and eleventh paintings, General O'Toole turned off the tape recorder, familiar with the story that followed.After the Mass at Bolsena, Michael was besieged and trouble continued.His life took a sudden change.Within two weeks, his television transmission license was revoked.As his young followers quietly swelled into the hundreds of thousands across the Western world, stories of depravity and immorality among them circulated widely in public opinion.There was an assassination attempt, thankfully foiled at the last minute by Michael's associates.There are also fanciful reports that Miller claimed to be Christ reincarnated.

"So the world leaders became afraid of you. The new law of life that you brought was a bad omen for everyone, and they never understood what you meant by the so-called 'last evolution' .” O’Toole stood in front of the tenth painting, thinking.He remembered the painting so well that almost every educated person would recognize it immediately.Every year on June 28th, the first second of the terrible nuclear explosion will be replayed on television. This is the first day of St. The anniversary of the millions of other people who died in Rome.People will never forget this fateful summer morning in 2138. "You have always called them to come to Rome, to join you, to show the world the unity of people, so, they came." In the painting, Michael is dressed in a blue robe, standing next to the tall Vito in Venice Square. Preaching on the steps of the Rio Emanuele Monument.In different directions around him, there are crowds gathering everywhere, a blue ocean everywhere, crowds of people everywhere, and eager faces everywhere.There are mostly young people here, they surround the monument, looking around, wanting to take a look at this bold young man.He said that he had a way, the way God pointed out, that could save this hopeless world that had fallen into the abyss. Like thousands before him, General Michael O'Toole, a 57-year-old American Catholic from Boston, knelt and burst into tears when he saw the eleventh painting.This painting is the same scene as the previous one, but the time is one hour later, one hour after the explosion of the 75,000-ton nuclear bomb hidden in a propaganda vehicle next to Trajan's Column, a huge flower A mushroom cloud rises over the city.Everything within 200 meters of the explosion center was immediately turned into gas.There is no Michael, no Piazza Venezia, and no monument to Vittorio Emanuele.In the center of the painting, there is nothing but a pit.At the periphery of the pit, where things have not been fully evaporated, there are horrors beyond the hardest of hearts. "Dear God," said the tearful General O'Toole, "please help me to understand all this, to understand the moral of Saint Michael's life; help me to understand my Mission, however little I can do; tell me your plans for us, and guide me as I prepare to meet the people of Rama as your emissary."