The Mountain Monastery

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The Mountain Monastery  

By Paul McCann

 

 

Sam loved riding bicycles with his friends Dick , Gerry  and Bobby . They liked the mountain roads as they always had great views and challenging climbs to test their fitness .

The bike rides always included a stop at the Chapel door of the mountain monastery where the were given a feed with the warm smiles of those who lived there in a semi contemplative life where visitors were few ,

Another reason Sam and his friends stopped was to buy a few bottles of the tonic wine that monks made which had miraculous properties .

 

Brother Dennis always shared stories about some of the cures people had received in their sickness after drinking their tonic wine .  The brothers at the mountain monastery were always gentle and kind  in their greeting when ever the lads arrived unexpectedly at their door . They also looked so happy as if they hadn’t a care in the world .

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When Sam and the lads arrived at the monastery gate there one of the monks saw them and rushed came over in a hurry .

“Welcome back to our mountain home ‘“

They all got off their bikes and walked along the path lined on both sides with green

Hedges until they came to the chapel door .

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The parked their bikes and went inside to share a few prayers before making their way inside the monastery where the monks were getting ready to have lunch .

Sharing lunch with the brothers brought peace and happiness to all . It felt like as if they were all part of a family . After lunch there was time to pick wild mountain  blackberries that were used in jam making that was also known to have healing properties as well

The monks worked hard to provide enough wine and jam to meet the demand from orders that arrived every week in the post . It wasn’t easy work especially as the grapes were squashed by the bare feet of the Monks who prayed and chanted as they worked  , At the back of the monastery there shed were the wine was bottled and once a month a truck arrived to bring crates of the tonic wine down to the mountain to be shipped and delivered to all of the customers who had orders placed .

In the grounds of the monastery there were some very special birds with many bright colours who filled the air with songs of wonder that echoed all across the mountain and the monks called the birds Chorus Christies .

Some of the monks had recorded the sounds they made and added music to that which were also sold to people .  

 

After a few hours Sam , Dick , Bobby and Gerry said farewell and each bought a bottle of the tonic wine which was called Mountain Fast .

Those happy faces all waved goodbye as the group of cyclists got on their bikes to make their way back down the mountain . As they all made their way down through the bends , a truck crossed over to the wrong side of the road and smashed into the bikes sending bodies flying everywhere . One of the monks who was returning from town passed by and saw the carnage . He immediately went to assist and when he saw who it was he contacted the monastery .

Everyone had been killed except for Sam who had been taken by helicopter to the hospital and placed into ICU . Months had passed before Sam with discharged from hospital .

Sam was able to walk slowly using crutches but thy said he would never be able to ride a bike every again . this was devastating for Sam and on top of that he had also lost all his friends on that awful day on the mountain road .

One of the biggest issues Sam had to deal with was his angry outbursts that came from time to time . He couldn’t control  his behaviour and was under therapy for that problem . 

One of the monks thought it might be a good idea for Sam to spend some time in the monastery with the silence and beautiful surroundings .They offered Sam accommodation  and  food at no cost during his stay . At first Sam refused but Brother Dennis persisted and eventually Sam agreed and accepted the offer .

 

The day Sam arrived at the Monastery the monks were standing in line to welcome him home . Sam was brought to his room and settled in well to his new environment

at the monastery . In the evening Sam made his way on a pair of crutches  to the dining room where a group of Monks surrounded him and told him that everyday since the accident they had been praying for him and that for some reason God had kept him alive .

Suddenly Sam responded with anger and in a fit of rage he started screaming and shouting and insulted the monks who were gathered around him there .

 

The superior who was in charge approached Sam and placed his hands on Sam and began to pray intensely . The other Monks joined in with the prayer and some started chanting .  Sam became unconscious and fell to the ground .

When he woke he was assisted to sit up on the ground and given a drink of tonic wine before he got to his feet .

As soon as San swallowed the tonic he felt an explosion in his chest and something had happened in that moment that was miraculous .

When one of the Monks picked up the crutches , he handed them to Sam who  looked puzzled and asked the Monk .

 

“What are you giving me those for ?

 

“You need them to walk Sam ”

Came the reply .

 

“Give them to someone else I don’t need them .”

He burst out laughing and when he stood up and walked away all the rest of the Monks started laughing as well .

 

That night prayers of thanksgiving were offered for the miracle healing that had happened .

Sam’s behaviour was now also in order and for everyone there at the Monastery they were positive a miracle had happened .

 

When news of the miracle began to spread processions of people made their way up the mountain to the monastery gates in the hope that they too could receive a miracle

Sam was now a part of the community and would always say ,
" This is my home now ."
The day he rode a bike for the first time people had come from everywhere to witness for themselves this amazing and awesome moment .

TV and newspaper cameramen took pictures and footage of this very rare event and people everywhere saw for themselves how Sam had been healed  .

 

They erected a monument on the side of the mountain road that honoured the bike riders who had lost their lives when the driver of that truck had a stroke as he sat behind the wheel .

Sam’s life had been spared for a reason which soon became evident when he was able to tell the world about his miraculous healing . This resulted in many people finding a new hope with their illnesses and for some it even restored their faith in God again .  During the years that followed many pilgrims made their way up the mountain . Prayerful processions brought people in hand carts hoping to be healed.

The Monastery had been redeveloped to cope with the huge number of visitors who arrived everyday .

Sam remained there at the monastery and lived a reflective life in contemplative prayer .  He worked wit the other monks squashing the grapes . The demand for tonic wine was so great that they could not supply enough themselves and had to go commercial with the process of wine making .

Another miracle happen one evening with Mary, a sister of one of the bike riders who was killed . She was brought in to the monastery on a stretcher and after having some prayers and a drink of tonic wine she also stood up and walked on her own accord .. People began to build their homes on the mountain side to be close to the monastery of miracles .

Sam was looked after in his old age by the younger monks and they said towards the end that Sam often spoke to unseen visitors who Sam said were always present in his room . After he passes away there was a smell of roses that remaining in his room for a week even though no  flowers were present .

 The End

 

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