I had written this some years ago and mailed it to a very dear relative who was unwell and feeling quite miserable. I am happy to report that she is well and happy now. I would like to share this essay with you.
A
letter from God.
by Bill deMello
Author of: Anthony deMello SJ, The Happy Wanderer.
Preface
There
is so much religious unrest, animosity and hatred in the world today. I often
wonder whether it’s always been like this.
I
was born into a Catholic family; but as soon as I was old enough and free to
make my own decisions, I distanced myself from the Church. I have never been
tempted to seek divine intervention through any other religious organisation.
I
do however respect the fact that every human being has the right to practise
their faith in whatever manner they choose.
When
I was a child, I was taught by my mother and later by religious instructors, on
methods of prayer. I was encouraged to ‘read’ from my prayer book and to
repeatedly recite the rosary. A priest once asked me when I was very young,
whether I ‘read’ my daily prayers. My reply got me into big trouble. I said,
“No, I talk directly to God.”
Throughout
my adult life I’ve employed the direct approach. I find communication with God
is quicker, easier and more efficient. Going through intermediaries, takes ages
and rarely produces the desired result. At times, when God doesn’t answer his
phone, I write to Him!
A very dear Aunt, (bless her departed soul), firmly believed in the power of
prayer. She believed that the power of the Almighty was inscribed in her
prayer book, never missing a day of ‘reading’ her prayers. She also enlisted
reinforcements from time to time, requesting everyone she knew, to pray along
with her. Some years ago she asked me to pray for the recovery of her
grandson’s fiancée Marie who had been diagnosed with a very serious illness.
God’s line was busy, so I wrote to Him. Here is His reply:
My
dear Bill,
It’s
so good to hear from you and to see you are happy, content and getting on with
life. I wish there were more like you. I see that you have requested my
intervention for a dear relative named Marie, who is quite ill at the moment.
Bill, right now I am involved with so many pleas for help from so many quarters
that I am run off my tired old feet.
Yesterday,
Mary, Jesus’ dear mother, came to me with a plea from Mexico. There are so many
places on Earth that lay claim to her name. She is referred to as Our Lady of
Lourdes, Our Lady of Fatima, Mary of this and Mary of that. They even quarrel
about which ‘Our Lady” is the most efficient and effective when submitting
petitions and prayers. It appears the people in Mexico, are appealing to our
lady of Guadalupe for help with failed corn crops. They don’t realise that the
rains WILL come and they will survive this trial.
Gabriel
reminded me the other day that I had to attend to the state of affairs in Africa. There is an alarming rate of suffering and
anguish among the poor folk in that continent. I had to remind Gabriel that in
due course all this would change for the better. Right now, matters would just
have to run their course.
Peter
of late has been pestering me to attend to the terrible state of affairs in the
Middle East. There is so much hatred and
conflict there at the moment. Peter reminded me that Jesus
was born in that now miserable region and he is recognised as Jewish.
Well, I reminded Peter that Jesus could have been born anywhere he pleased.
It’s true, I did offer my Commandments to Moses and this somehow gives the
Israelis the impression that they are the ‘chosen people.’ So they disregard
the plight of others and then complain about the ramifications. I reminded
Peter that these “chosen people” crucified Jesus. And to top it off, he asked
me to forgive them! When I wonder, will humankind realise that when I created
the world, I intended equality for all? If any one group of people think they are superior to others, they’ll just have to
deal with the consequences.
Funnily enough, with or without religious connotations, my Commandments are
incorporated into people’s daily lives through their respective governments and
upheld by common law. Dictatorships of course are another matter; but even in
these countries, the folk conduct themselves more or less with dignity and
respect for one another.
Jesus and I were discussing the state of affairs right now, in some affluent
‘Christian’ countries. It amazes me to
see self-righteous Christians adopting a high moral ground. Quite a number of
them are causing much grief to other religious communities, treating them like
sub-humans. There is such a lack of empathy and love these days. Christians it
appears think that I approved of
Jesus’ crucifixion for their salvation alone. This is not
at all the case. Jesus, like all the other prophets before him, volunteered to
try and improve things for the betterment of all humankind; it’s the religious hierarchy
that twisted and misinterpreted things to make it look like he died for
Christians alone. All my children have my blessings no matter whether they
belong to a religious group or not.
We
called an urgent meeting of all the prophets the other day to evaluate the
current religious state of affairs on Earth. It’s not just the Christians who
are behaving badly. The prophets unanimously
agreed that over millennia religion has changed. Rituals have been added or
omitted, new off-shoots, sects and religious groups have arisen and they refer
to me by different names but the concept remains constant. I forgive humankind
for their weaknesses. I understand that
wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust and gluttony are all part of human nature.
They quarrel and kill one another in my
name, insisting that their religion
is the only true one. To justify this behaviour in my name saddens me immensely. The meeting concluded without a
resolution
Mother
Teresa disturbed my peace this morning, lecturing me about the poverty and suffering in her precious slum. She told
me she had everything under control there until I called her up to join my
advisory committee. She is proud to have converted scores of non-believers to
Christianity and is now concerned that the situation there will revert to its
previous status. I reminded her that I never asked her to convert anyone in the
first place. Gabriel warned me against appointing Teresa to the board of
advisors up here. But it’s too late for that now. I’ve asked Gabriel to take
her aside and remind her that I’m the Boss and I see that poverty and suffering
exist all over the world. I leave it to people to sort things out themselves.
Your
dear brother Tony sends his love. He was doing such wonderful work down there,
enlightening and inspiring so many people.
Mind you, he did upset a few high ranking ‘officials’, by encouraging
people not to believe in dogma and blind faith alone. I know you felt he was
too young to die but these things are pre-destined and there is very little I
can to do to change destiny.
By
the way, your aunty has been pestering me with messages via Jesus for a couple
of weeks. Jesus is busy, so his diligent secretary Mary Magdalene has been
coming to me with requests for Marie’s recovery.
That’s
all Mary is you know- his secretary. (That mischievous fellow Dan Brown really
set tongues wagging with his book)
Would
you please tell your aunty that I have received all her messages?
I’ll
try and give Marie my urgent attention but I could be called away at short
notice to attend to some other worldly problem and then her case will be put on
hold. May I suggest a quicker path to her recovery? Marie should live one day
at a time and stop worrying. I know humankind finds this very hard to do. They
are constantly reviving the past or living in the future. How much happier
their lives would be if they realise that everything, good or not so good,
passes with time. I can assure you, everything happens for a purpose and for
the best.
My
dear Bill, as you well know, I can’t do everything. That’s precisely why I gave
everyone a free will. My advice to Marie is to make good use of hers right now
and will herself better. Having said
that my dear boy, rest assured I will do all I can (when time permits), to
ensure a speedy recovery.
I
have to run along now and attend to with a multitude of things.
Don’t worry, all shall be well.
I
send you love and blessings.
Your
dear friend and father,
God.
Footnote:
Marie recovered from her illness, is married and has an adorable baby girl.
