Ice Cream Revelations

I recently went driving at night with my children to go eat ice cream. Pope Francis having died, my daughter mentioned Tik Tok talk of the prophecy of Saint Malachy.  As it were, I’m familiar with those prophecies, having heard about them almost 30 years ago.

Saint Malachy lived in Northern Ireland in the 1100s.  Born Máel Máedóc, he served as Archbishop of Armagh and was the Primate of All Ireland – the highest ranking position in the Catholic and Episcopalian Church of Ireland.  His predecessor was no less than Saint Patrick, known as the “Apostle of Ireland,” venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church, the Lutheran Church, the Church of Ireland, and in the Eastern Orthodox Church.  ‘Tis no small role to be the Primate of All Ireland.  

Malachy’s prophecy presaged 112 more popes before the Last Judgment.  Pope Francis happens to be that 112th pope.  The prophecy is widely debunked, but on social media it seems to be generating great interest.    

My daughter explained the conventional view, that following the last Pope will come the rapture, when the dead and living believers will be lifted up in the air, ascending to heaven at the Second Coming of Christ.  My son, a deep thinking Sagittarean, questioned, “what about the others?”  I clarified, “…the Buddhist, the Muslim, the child of Indigenous parents…?” 

My son questioned more deeply, “How can a God of love exclude half of the world’s population?”  My daughter repeated the factual statement that the faithful believe theirs alone shall be redemption.  When she spoke of the risen Christ, I queried about John 14:12 “These and greater deeds ye shall do” which means to raise the dead, to walk on water, to feed loaves and fishes to the masses…come one come all – he says – we the people all have that power.  Who among us shall believe, and act?    

And so we drove, into the dark night, eating our ice cream.  

I reminded them that the world in fact came to an end on 12/12/12, just over 12 years ago.  Such was the popular view, pre-Tik Tok.  I spoke of the Mayan Long Count calendar, the end of a 5,126 year-long cycle.  250-950 AD was the Mayans’ Classic period, the peak of their large-scale construction, urbanism, monumental inscriptions, and significant intellectual and artistic development.  Their flowering has been likened to that of Renaissance Italy or Classical Greece.  Everyone reading this essay today knows that the world did not end on 12/12/12; the Mayan calendar’s end marked only a new beginning.  In Hindu terms, this is Shiva’s cosmic dance, his never ending destruction creation cycle.  

A friend has read the Book of Revelations and suggests that the current Commander in Chief is the 8th King of the Roman Empire, Revelation 17, “destined for destruction,” the Antichrist.  Indeed we can read the “two beasts” as representing opposing forces of evil: one from the sea (Manhattan and Florida) is a political power that dominates the world, a healed gash to its head, seeking to establish himself as a pagan deity, while releasing scorpions.   The beast from the earth (Africa), the False Prophet, helps the sea beast gain global control, sends fire from heaven and promotes the worship of the beast from the sea and works to deceive people through signs and wonder. 

Carl Jung came to mind, in Psychology and Alchemy his observation that religions perfectly coopted the archetypes to their narrative.  Scriptural writing to my mind seems symbolic more than a factual narrative.  The end of one narrative is but the beginning of another.  

Talk of the end of the world is not for the faint of heart.  As we drove, as we ate our two scoops of ice cream in waffle cones, the popular song from 40 years ago by the band REM came to mind, “It’s the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine.”  

And so we ate our ice cream. We will figure it out in the light of day. The sun will rise, life will go on, world without end, amen.

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Gaia pushes up the Garlic while cold weather starts go into the ground: Kale, Chard, Lettuce, Pac Choy, Snap Peas, Fennel, Shallots, Scallions, Rosemary, Parsley and Thyme.

And most importantly, Eve has come to our garden! A 4-in-1 semi-dwarf apple tree, a gift from Grammy Moana to Becca, with four varieties grafted onto the root stock: Fuji, Pink Lady, Honeycrisp, and Ginger Gold. Something for everyone! She joins our two peach trees and a sour cherry tree. I cannot tell a lie, my son cut down our sweet cherry tree last summer, at my instruction. The trunk had a serious gash and its time was ended. Every end is a new beginning, the circle of life, and Eve has taken its place!