Crusade against the Pope

Chapter 430 Who are you?
When the long-hidden tomb was discovered, three crosses were found buried near the Lord's grave.

Everyone is convinced that one of the crosses belongs to our Lord Jesus Christ, and the other two to the thieves who were crucified with him.

However, they could not discern which cross the Lord's body was taken to, or on which cross His precious blood was received.

But the wise and holy city lord Macarius solved this problem in the following way.

He had a chronically ill noblewoman touch each cross with devout prayer, so that she could discern the virtues embodied in the Savior. The moment the cross was brought to the woman, it dispelled her suffering and healed her.

—Theodore Theodore's *History of the Church*
The world is full of both good and bad things.

Where there is birth, there is death; where there is health, there is disease.

The fear of death shapes people's perception of the world, and diseases that threaten to kill are naturally the greatest enemy of life.

Therefore, all religions, both ancient and modern, have attempted to claim that they can ward off diseases.

The scriptures are replete with passages about the Heavenly Brother healing diseases.

For true believers, believing all of this to be true is perfectly natural.

This makes things even more complicated. After all, Alan is a petty thief, a sinful person by all accounts, yet he is a devout believer in God.

But what's the use of not believing in God?
In the year 2 of the New Calendar, even though many medicines in Jerusalem were miraculous compared to the past, they were still insufficient to cure all diseases.

After spending a fortune on medicine, all that was left was for her sister to linger on her deathbed, with no hope of improvement in sight.

In this growing despair, Alan had no choice but to rediscover his faith.

But what good is just praying blindly?
Instead of expecting a gift of grace, it's better to actively seek it out.

As for whether this will lead to any punishment, it's no longer important to Allen.

As long as his sister is alive, he is willing to endure any punishment.

As for whether grace would descend to purify all diseases, Alan had no doubt about his sister's piety.

Of course, he was unwilling to have any doubts.

For someone who has fallen into the water, even the smallest straw should be grasped with all one's might.

Therefore, he orchestrated all of this.

Taking advantage of the opportunity to enter the reliquary with the priest, he pulled off a clever switch, replacing the real reliquary with a fake one that he had prepared beforehand.

Thus, a small fragment of the true cross was brought out through the deception.

But what about it?

Perhaps to God, everything He has done is a joke...

Overwhelmed with grief, Alan wept bitterly by his sister's bedside.

Maria, not understanding what had happened, could only turn her head with difficulty and try to force a smile.

……

It was still the square in front of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, still bustling with people, and some white doves flew across the sky.

Allen sat on the stone bench, his eyes vacant.

Today is the fourth Sunday of Lent, the middle of the fast. On this day, believers temporarily take a breather from the solemnity of fasting and foresee the joy of the resurrection.

It is important to know that during Lent, one is allowed to eat only one main meal a day, and meat is forbidden. Only on these Sundays can one break the fast, eat and drink heartily, and share joy.

But for Allen, there was no joy whatsoever, for his sister had passed away just yesterday.

Neither the doctors from the hospital nor the priests from the church could save his sister's life.

Furthermore, since today is Sunday, we cannot hold a funeral mass directly; the burial will be held on Monday.

In this helpless and aimless situation, Alan could only wander around the city like a walking corpse or a puppet on a string.

Finally, he arrived at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

The reason is actually quite simple: this is the place where the Messiah was resurrected, and what he hopes for is that the resurrection is the truth, and only in this way can he have the opportunity to reunite with his sister.

It wasn't exactly unexpected, but rather quite natural, when Allen noticed a familiar face standing next to him.

That guy was still teasing the pigeons with some grain.

It has to be said that ever since Jerusalem started raising pigeons, the city seems to have become more vibrant.

For no apparent reason, the guy blurted out, "I'm sorry."

Before Allen could speak, he continued, "Your sister has an illness that doctors call intermittent fever, or malaria, but I know exactly what it is."

"Even if I ask the city to work hard to kill mosquitoes and improve the sewer environment, many neighborhoods will not be perfect, so people will still get infected with this disease."

“I even know where the medicine to treat this disease is, but I can’t send anyone to get it.”

As he spoke, the other person took out another pendant and slapped it into Allen's hand.

When Allen looked closely, he was almost breathless. It was the very same True Cross fragment that had passed through his hands earlier.

“Alan, the purpose of this kind of thing from the very beginning is to make people believe that it is real, and it has no other use.”

“If you are truly devout, then don’t be obsessed with this kind of thing. I can give you as much as you want, but if no one believes it’s real, then it’s worthless.”

"On the contrary, even if you carve a cross out of any piece of wood you find, it is real as long as it is hung around the neck of a priest in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre."

As he spoke, the middle-aged man pointed to the procession not far away, where a group of deacons were escorting the priest who was to preach that day into the church.

The surrounding believers and pilgrims bowed down to the procession because the priest wore a simple wooden cross around his neck.

The praise and prayers coming from the surroundings told Arun that the believers around him believed it to be true.

At that moment, Allen suddenly realized something; he felt it was the truth, and then he felt somewhat ridiculous.

Or rather, everyone present, including those who have come here on pilgrimage for countless years, is somewhat ridiculous.

Even if it was a cross carved by a thief, as long as everyone acknowledges it, it is a true cross.

On the contrary, the original fragments will become worthless because they fall into his hands.

What exactly is he pursuing?
In such circumstances, the so-called grace, the record of healing people's diseases...

But if all of that is just empty talk, why did the cross disappear from his hands, come into the hands of the person beside him, and then be returned to him in the end?
This in itself is a miracle.

"who are you?"

(End of this chapter)