Light, Realm of Order

Laudare, benedicere, praedicare. To praise, to bless, to preach. This is our motto, by which we measure our worth in the eyes of God.

Contemplare et Contemplata Aliis Tradere. To study and to hand on the fruits of study. This is our creed, by which we measure our worth in the eyes of each other.

Saint Dominic de Guzman, our patron and founder, valued intellect and reason as well as faith and devotion. Our order has always been on the forefront of scientific and intellectual toleration. However, when questions are asked regarding the very basis of faith, toleration gives way to fear, and those questions are shunned and ignored. The man who asks, however, is not.

The Cardinal instructed me to forgo the dreams I’d been having, and “reaffirm my faith.” He suggested an Illumination on the basis of belief. But to discount such visions…how can I, in good conscience, ignore what may be a redefining aspect of how we understand our relationship with God?

In my visions, the armies of Darkness rail against the forces of Light – angelic beings, ordered in rank and file, defend the Gates of Paradise, utilizing bolts from heaven and the earth beneath their feet to drive back the horde. I see the demonic host stealing the Fire of Creation from the domain of God, twisting and perverting it for their own uses.

I see loyal followers praised for carrying out orders. I see obedience rewarded and questions punished. Initiative knows no place among these beings.

And I see the hard edge of the Light’s embrace – the dismissal of any and all philosophy other than their own. Worlds set ablaze in holy fire, their occupants unwilling to fall into rank with their “betters.”

Perhaps these are merely dreams. Perhaps the Cardinal is right, and I would be better served completing an Illumination.

And perhaps knowledge can be its own reward. Contemplare et Contemplata Aliis Tradere. The fruits of study await – be they healthy or rotten, only time will tell.

In nomine Patris et fillii et Spiritus Sanci.

Padre Gasparo Barbarigo
15 Ottobre, 1417

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