[after he is revived] I'm starving. I don't remember ever being this hungry before.
It makes sense. Always starving after a long trip, and you had quite the journey. That's for sure. Precious few have taken the road you took.
I feel everything that is happening here is a matter of faith, not science. So I don't want to cloud this area with any doubt. Something is happening, shifting inside of me. I remember when I was younger I experienced times of great spiritual growth. But that was just, it's nothing like this. It's like I can feel God move inside me.
We can keep this quiet for the moment. But Monsignor, we should show them. Tell them who you are. Don't hide your light under a bushel. That's one of the parables, and it was important enough that Matthew, Mark, and Luke all wrote it down. We'll do what you ask, of course. And if you don't think you're ready, well that's OK. Jesus revealed himself slowly after resurrection, but what a wonderful revelation it will be to know their own dear Monsignor Pruitt was restored by an angel of God. Think about it.
It will be. In God's time.
There's no other kind, is there?
A lot of people cross-stitch Bible verses. But my mom goes with the passage from Lamentations. It's a special kind of self pity to identify with the destruction of Jerusalem. She said, "Everyone gets their wings clipped at some point." And I asked the next question. It's the only question a kid's going to ask when they hear something like that. I said, "Mom, did you get your wings clipped?" And she said, "Yep. Oh yes. Day you were born." [pause] I ruined her life. But Littlefoot? You see, that baby saved mine. Because I did it. I did what I said I was going to do. I ran away at sixteen. I was going to be an actress. I was going to be a star. And I traveled, and I lived. And by the time I woke up and the drugs had worn off, I looked up and I had married my mother. [about her baby] She saved me. And now she's gone. And how is that possible? How is that possible?
[to Erin] I have this dream. This recurring dream I've had since I was inside. I'm floating out in the middle of the bay. Middle of the water. Morning water. The sky lightening as the sun's about to rise. And if I could just point the bow, find a wind, or an oar, paddle with my goddamn hands if I had to, to a different shore. Start a new life. That dream always ends with the sunrise. Always. I never get further than that sunrise. That part I can see, clear as day. That part is real. But the rest, whatever life I'm supposed to have after? That I can't see. And the more I have that dream, the more I know that it's not in the cards for me. [pause] I'm not getting off this island. I know it. Late at night, no matter what I let myself hope, or what I might tell my mom or my dad. I know it. But you, you can do anything. You always could.
That's the thing, isn't it? What do you say? You say, "I'm so sorry for your loss." Or "God works in mysterious ways. If there's anything I can do..." It's so hollow, isn't it? We can never understand the will of God, and I wouldn't presume to know what to say to Erin Greene other than that. We must trust in the Lord with our whole heart and not rely on our own insights.
Give yourself over, whether you understand or not.
Sometimes it's okay to just look at the world and say, "Why? Why? Why? I don't understand. And I will not." Yeah, sometimes that's okay.
Yeah, I actually agree with that.
Well, it's hard not to, isn't it?
"Gospel" means good news! Good news on Good Friday. And yet, it's a story of such profound suffering. What's so good about that? Jesus' suffering in this story, it isn't simply necessary. It is good. It is the price of eternal life. That suffering, he endures alone. At the Resurrection, he is alone. And then...we; he has a few allies. And then more. A congregation.
...
God has no country. There is one God for the world. And the lines we draw, and the treaties we draft, and the border we close mean nothing to Him. No, don't fight for a country. You fight for God's kingdom. A kingdom which Jesus tells us has no flags or borders. God's army. [pause] Conscience. In the army of God, conscience is standard issue. There are many like it, but this one is mine. You may think that that's a line from a war movie, but it isn't. That's actually the Rifleman's Creed. And a creed is, by definition, not just a belief, but it is a religious one. So, it is a war, and there will be casualties. And we must be soldiers. That is what Good Friday is about. The Gospel of the Lord, so full of horrors, is only good because of where it is headed: the Resurrection.
You've been taken back as well, taken back to your best self. Your peak self, your perfect self, as God wanted you. I just had a lot further to go than you did. It was a lot further to go.
RFRiley Finn
[about Joe Collie] You killed him.
It's not as simple as that.
No. No. You fucking killed him. You...and that thing!
It cannot be changed! It's done and cannot be undone. Just like what's happened to you cannot be undone. These are two things that cannot be changed, and we must accept them with serenity together right now.
What the fuck was that thing?
It's as if your body were acting under some other will. It was. It will again, and this is the thing. This is where you need to listen. Listen to the Holy Spirit. Listen to your conscience. Because, you see, I was there too. Well, I had been restored. I had been made young again. I had been made pure again. And then, like Jesus before me, I died. I died on the floor, just across the way there. And then I was resurrected. But I was scared and confused, and this drive inside, this powerful will, and I felt the same way you did. My will became His will, and He moved through me, and Joe was taken. And I was sustained. I was nourished.
Well, I suppose so, but here's the thing: I had no guilt. None. And knowing that I should feel guilt, but accepting that I did not, finding grace where the guilt should be, I wrestled with that. I prayed on it. But then Bev Keane, actually, she showed me this -- Hebrews 9:14. "How much more, then, will the blood of Christ who, through the eternal spirit, offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death so that we may serve the Living God?" Cleanse our consciences so that we may serve the Living God. I read this passage and the graces of the Holy Spirit rained down on me. He had taken that guilt. He had cleansed my conscience, for I had simply done His will. Been His vessel. A murderer, maybe. So is Moses. Joseph. Paul, my namesake. I'm hardly unique as a soldier of the Lord. I'm hardly unique in this room either. Am I? I mean, you've killed someone.
You were drunk and you don't remember?
I was drunk. I was at a party, it was a party and I drank too much.
Oh, come on. Don't do that.
Well there is meaning here-- there is purpose here that you are willfully ignoring.
It was fucking ordinary, what happened! There weren't even skid marks on my side of the road; I'd never hit the brakes. I didn't even tap the brakes. I was literally asleep at the wheel, that is what happened. So don't talk to me about God moving through you or doing His will. You don't know a fucking thing about me and our stories are not the same!
The guilt you feel, the remorse.
Even though you didn't mean to do it.
See, I killed Joe, I watched myself do it with my own hands, and I have no guilt. None. No remorse. I have been spared all of that. How does that make you feel?
How does it make you feel?
Nope. How does that make you feel?
NO! I promised you complete honesty and I am giving that to you, and I'm tired of you lying to me, Riley Flynn! I've forgiven it time and again, but today is critical for us and I am finished! Complete honesty! HOW DOES IT MAKE YOU FEEL?!
It is good, what we are doing, what we have to do. It's good. Even the things we may not think we want to do. The hunger, the thirst is good. And that's why we don't feel guilt when we surrender to it. That's why we feel better after. And that's why we share this gift. Think on that warm feeling you have here right now. Think on that, and just answer me this. Do you feel at peace? Your stomach full? Your purpose clear? Your will given over to a higher power? Do you feel at peace?
[Riley reluctantly nods]
Just like that. The wonders you will experience out there, you'll see things you never saw before. Colors, lights. You'll hear things, smell things. The world, it burns brighter. It hums, Riley, with His glory. You'll see, I have faith in you. In their hearts, humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps. I hear him more clearly every day. The more I give myself over to God, the more I hear the voice of His angel, and you will too. That's okay, that's good. Know you will be moved to act, and there will be things you cannot change. But whoever you choose to enter communion with, whoever serves God's purpose for you, as you give of yourself for them to drink, as they eat of your body, and drink of your blood, and you of theirs, and you are in the communion of the saints, remember that it's a gift. And God will tell you who to share it with.
[on a rowboat in the bay] I've been scared by much worse, by much worse, and I don't let that happen anymore. I'm not scared, not of you, my dear, dear you. If you are sick, or if you need help, I'm not scared of that. I'd get you the help you need. I'd do that with you, without judgement and without fear. Just tell me what you need. Tell me why we're out here. Tell me what you want.
I didn't bring you out here to scare you, or to isolate you. I brought you out here so I'd have nowhere to go. I'm not as strong as you; I never was. What do I want? I want you to take this boat and row to the mainland and leave this place, and never look back. But I knew you wouldn't do that. And I knew you wouldn't believe any of this unless you saw. I want you to run. But I believe you're gonna row back there and do everything you can to try and save them. I'm just so sorry you have to see this. [pause] I love you Erin Greene. I've loved you my whole life. One way or another.
I did my best. I did my best.
[The sun rises, causing Riley to burst into flames and burn to ashes as Erin screams]
[about Ignaz Semmelweis, to Erin] He started a mandatory chlorine hand wash. Lo and behold, death rates plummeted. And the scientific community ate him alive. Germ theory was two decades away from acceptance. Ideas in that direction were met with disdain, ridicule, exile. Semmelweis was committed to an asylum. An asylum. By another scientist. In fact, he died there. Oh, and when they replaced him at these clinics, got rid of that crazy, silly hand wash? Mortality rates went right back up again. So yeah, Erin, your story is crazy.
...
[demonstrating a blood sample that bursts into flame when sunlight hits it] He literally combusted in the sun? You're right, Erin. That's crazy. That is batshit, hold the phone, padded room, clozapine insane. Fucking bonkers.
SHSheriff Hassan
You're telling me there's a contagion being spread intentionally at St. Patrick's?
I'm telling you that is what I suspect, even if it sounds...
SHSheriff Hassan
What exactly are you asking of me?
Well, I suppose I'm asking you to look into it.
SHSheriff Hassan
Look into what, exactly? Look into St. Patrick's? On -- and, just to be clear -- on the basis that some of your mother's blood tests got damaged?
It's a lot to ask, I know.
SHSheriff Hassan
Do you? Do you? Did I ever tell you why I moved here?
No. No, I don't think you did.
SHSheriff Hassan
Didn't tell anybody, now that I think about it. It's almost as if nobody asked.
...
SHSheriff Hassan
[about his fellow policemen] And more and more, I realize I've lost their trust. I roll with it. I keep my head high. Dignity. Dignity is a word my wife uses. "Show them dignity." And then she's diagnosed. And she's robbed of her dignity so fast. And then she's gone. And I couldn't... Ali and I get as far away as we can. And I find this-- this gig. This little island. So sleepy, it could be dead. No elections, no staff. Just a tiny room at the back of a grocery store and a bunch of fishermen without a notable incident of intentional violence in almost a century, and I beg for the post. Dignity. Ali is bored to tears, but he's safe. And I still think I could maybe move the world that one millimeter. Y'know, maybe-- Maybe here is where we make a difference. Not in the big city, but in this tiny village. Win over the fucking PTA and call it a victory for Islam. So I don't intimidate. I don't overshare, or overstep, or intrude in any way. I don't even carry a gun. And still. Still, Beverly Keane, and a few others too, look at me like I'm Osama bin-Fucking Laden. And you'd like me to investigate St. Patrick's?
For what it's worth, I want very much, very much to be wrong.
[to the congregation] Tonight is the beginning of a new era. And we are meant to celebrate the Resurrection tonight, and we will more than anyone ever has. [pause] I've lied to you all. I didn't come here to replace Monsignor Pruitt. He isn't recovering in a hospital on the mainland. He's perfectly healthy. He has been blessed. As you all have been blessed. He has been made whole, made young, the same as you. He was healed long before you ever saw this face. He was the first, in fact, and he stands before you right now, asking for your forgiveness. [pause] I was lost and confused, tired and old, on the road to Damascus, when lo and behold, an angel of the Lord appeared unto me and bestowed upon me the healing graces of God. And I was restored, as you all have been restored. I returned to you all, and I brought with me that angel of the Lord so that he might bless us all. And we have, we've seen the miracles. Our new bodies. The resurrection of the body; new and everlasting life. I followed him into the valley of darkness and, like our Lord, I endured death. Mercifully short. A leap of faith, a step out onto the water, was all that was asked of me. And, like Jesus, you will doubt, you will feel fear. But believe me, I promise you, brothers and sisters, if you follow me, if you follow us, if you follow Him, He will raise you again in His glory to eternal life. [pause] There is a price to be paid for everlasting life, as there was for our Savior. And each of us will have the opportunity tonight to pay that price.
...
[as the angel arrives] Have faith, brothers and sisters. I would not make you see what you have seen. I would not ask you to choose what you may choose, without first showing you God's messenger. And remember, brothers and sisters, have faith that in the Bible, every time they mention an angel, when an angel appears to we humans, we are afraid. Brothers and sisters, you are so close to salvation. The miracle is already in you. The blood of the angel is already in your veins. But it is incomplete. The final transformation will not be yours unless you let your earthly body die, so that your divine body can awaken. One moment of faith. That's the price God asks of us. Just one moment of courage. A small step out of the boat. Just onto the water itself. A small moment of discomfort. A small passion of our own. A gift offered up, and then we are reborn.
SSturge
[when the resurrected begin attacking those who didn't drunk the poison] Monsignor said we should close the doors before they wake up. So we can guide them, orient them, so this wouldn't happen.
I love him. I truly do. But look, it happened nonetheless, as it was meant to. You know what they say, "Man plans, God laughs." Those who have been coming to church and taking Communion, they have nothing to fear tonight. As for the rest of them, let God sort them out.
