... the eyes of faith and see what it can be and then make it so. Through the eyes
of Faith. I can see my future home. The Spyglass by Richard Paul Evans ...
As promised the old man returned two harvests later and he almost could not recognize the castle. The king greeted the old man and told him that he was very grateful for his help in bring prosperity back into his kingdom and wanted to throw a great feast in his honor. But the old man requested to have the spy glass returned and told the king that he would be on his way. The king offered the old man great treasure in exchange for the spyglass. The old man told the king that he had spoken wisely because the spyglass was worth all the gold in the land, but that he could keep his gold because they no longer needed the spyglass. The king pleaded with the old man that there was still so much to be done. The old man agreed with the king but told him that they no longer needed the spyglass because they could see without it. The old man went on to explain that the spyglass only showed what could be if the person only believed, and that it was only faith that he and his people lacked. The king shook his head in disbelief and told the old man that faith was foolishness. “So says the fool,” said the old man. The old man went on to explain that faith is the beginning of all journeys - that it is by faith that the seed is planted, and that the foundation is dug. That it is by faith that each book is penned and each song is written. Only with faith can we see that which is not, but can be. That the eye of faith is greater than the natural eye, for the natural eye sees only a portion of the truth. The eye of faith sees without bounds or limits. The old man told the king that this is why they had failed once, but now through faith, this is why they were now going to succeed. He placed his hand on the king’s shoulder and told him that he had seen what it might be like, now go and make it so. Although the old man and his spyglass were never seen or heard from again, the kingdom continued to prosper and became the great kingdom as it once had been. Yet despite their abundance of food, beautiful buildings, lush gardens and majestic cathedrals, it was ever after said of that kingdom that their greatest treasure was their faith.
We must all do our part when it comes to caring for the needs of our parish. We must always look through the eyes of faith and see what it can be and then make it so.
Through the eyes of Faith I can see my future home.
The Spyglass by Richard Paul Evans
Once there was a great kingdom. The kingdom was know throughout all lands for its splendor. But through time, all that changed. Now the once great buildings were falling down and in need of much repair. The farms were now small and did not grow enough food for the kingdom. The poor villagers would oftentimes go to bed hungry. The people of this kingdom were not just poor by way of things, but they were poor of spirit -for there was not much joy in the village. There were no dances...rarely was music heard. Worst of all, the people had forgotten why their kingdom was once great. To the east of this unhappy land was a beautiful kingdom with great farms and glorious cathedrals and castles. It made the people even more unhappy to look on the wealth of their neighbors, for despite their poverty, the people prided themselves on having once been a great kingdom. The king did not often leave his castle, for he was weary of the complaints of his subjects. One day there came a knock at the castle door. There stood an old man with a large walking stick. The old man said, “I am passing through your kingdom and I am looking for an inn to spend the night.” The servant told the old man that it was not an inn but a castle. The old man replied, “This is not much of a castle”.
old man impatiently that he had already seen the wonders of the eastern kingdom and had heard far too much of them already. The old man told the king that he was mistaken and that it was his kingdom that he was seeing. The king raised the spyglass again and this time he recognized the hills and land as his own kingdom. The pastures were now fields of grain stretching as far as the eye could see and his own people were in the fields working and their wagons were overflowing with their harvest. The king told the old man that it was a trick, but the old man reassured him that it was no trick. When the king put down the spyglass his kingdom looked the same as before he had looked through the spyglass, nothing had changed. The old man informed the king that change requires work, but that one must first see before doing. He told the king that he had seen what might be and now he had to go and make it so, and that after two harvests, he would return for his spyglass.
The servant took the old man to the king. The old man told the king that he did not look like a king...he was a king of a poor kingdom , so he looked quite ordinary and poor himself. The king frowned and told the old man that he was a king of a poor kingdom, with farms that do not grow, buildings that are falling down, and people who weary him down day and night with their complaints. He told the old man that they were once a great kingdom, but that all since had changed.
The king went out into his kingdom on horseback and encountered many areas that were not being used and overrun with weeds and not fit for use. The king stopped at a garden, a farm, and a crumbling cathedral. Each time he stopped to speak to the people and showed them through the spy glass what it could be like and told them to get to work and make that vision a reality. Day by day the king went out until he had visited all the people in the kingdom and had shown them what it could be like. There were those who looked through the glass and refused to believe, but the greater part of the villagers looked with wonder and hope.
The old man asked the king why don’t they just change back to how they once were. The king replied that they lacked all the knowledge of what once made his kingdom great. The old man lead the king to the castle balcony and took out a spyglass. He raised the spyglass to his eye and looked out over the lands until a smile crossed his face. Then he handed the spyglass to the king and asked him to do the same. The king looked through the glass and he could see great farms and gardens, magnificent castles and cathedrals. He lowered the spy glass and told the
That same year there was a plentiful harvest and the farmers filled their wagons and barns with grain. But not just the farmers prospered, but the wagon builders were busy building wagons to carry all the grain, and the millers were busy milling the grain into flour. For the first time in a long time, for as long as the villagers could remember, there was more than enough to eat. Music and dancing filled the streets, old buildings were repaired and new buildings arose, including the beginning of the most majestic cathedral in all the land.
