“Let us cross the river and rest in the
shade.”
--The final words of General Jackson.
* * *
His eyes opened slowly, his body resting
Upon grass that was greener and softer
And springier than any seen before
In his own bonny land of Virginia,
Beneath trees, towering and majestic,
Whose iridescent white flowers set amidst
The silvery green leaves were sending down
Showers of petals upon the forest floor,
And also upon him. He rose from the grass.
His left arm, surprisingly, was whole
again.
A stream, pure and unclouded, ran nearby.
The air about him seemed fresh and vibrant.
All the objects in his sight glowed, he
noticed,
With a beautiful light that seemed to shine
From within. He surveyed the scene as he had
Countless others in recent times, his
soldier’s
Instincts still very much alive: Yet even he,
Though veteran of many battles, started
At the sight of another man, in ancient
Roman uniform, a soldier like himself,
From whom an even brighter light poured
forth.
“Hail Thomas!” The radiant man’s greeting,
Full of warmth and love, embraced him,
calmed him.
Yet as he approached, the General felt
An instinctive need to bow his face to the
earth,
In honor of the awesome holiness
That this man possessed. “Rise fellow soldier
Of Christ.
I the lowly one have been sent
By the Holy Trinity, Who is blessed
Forever, amen! – by your God and my God,
To escort you to your resting place here
In Paradise.” “Paradise,” Stonewall answered,
“Is that where I am?” He got to his feet;
The man’s light was less intense. “It is, dear man.”
“Thanks be to God for His mercy to me a
wretch!
But, if you will pardon me for asking,
Who are you, Sir, who have come to do this
Kindness for an undeserving sinner?”
“I am unworthy George, a simple soldier.”
“Nay, Sir, there is more to you than
this. What
Is the cause of this great weight of Grace
and joy
That I feel in your presence?” “All of Christ’s
Witnesses and Confessors bear this Grace;
What you find in me is only ordinary.”
“Witness?
A martyria? Art thou a
martyr?”
“I will not deny it; yes, martyred for
Christ –
Glory to Him! – at His behest outside
The walls of Nicomedia during
The cruel reign of Emperor Diocletian.”
“A saint?
Can it be? I was told you were
all
Fantasies and fairy tales, gross inventions
Of the imaginations of evil men!”
“It is true: Christ has bestowed this crown
Upon me, though I have suffered but little
For Him.
You will find that there are other
Things which differ some from what you were
taught.
But you lived well according to what you
knew,
Obeying your conscience. And you likewise
Suffered without grumbling at the end of
your
Life, losing thine arm after your victory
At Chancellorsville. Therefore, the Lord says,
“Well done, good and faithful servant! Enter
Into the joy of your Lord and Savior!”
“These words of yours bring me powerful
great joy
That I can scarce contain within me, Sir
Saint!
May God be adored and exalted forever,
Amen!”
And he bowed himself upon the ground
Again.
Rising, the General spoke once more:
“Sir Saint, Sir George, I perceive deep
inside
That, despite the humble effacing of
Yourself, you are a mighty man before God.
Tell me if you would, for it troubles me
Greatly in my soul: What will be the outcome
Of the war in which my fellow Southrons
Are engaged? I asked the Lord to take my life
If it were to end in failure. Will it
Be so?”
Saint George closed his eyes for some moments,
Standing still and silent. He opened them
At length and said, “I felt the pain in
your heart
And have besought the Lord on your behalf.
Because of our Savior’s generosity,
He has granted you to know: The South will fall.”
Tears immediately began to fall
From Stonewall’s eyes. Saint George spoke consolingly:
“Be not dismayed. All is not as it seems.
The Father is far-seeing. In future times
A terrible menace will arise in
Eastern lands, a furious persecutor
Of Christian folk in Russia and round
about.
To contain the extent of that demonic
Force, Christ the God-man will require the
strength
Of all the States of your old league, North
and South,
And of others that do not yet exist.
Together, they will battle the Beast and
serve
As a haven to those persecuted
By it.
After its defeat and downfall and
The resurrection of the Church in those
lands,
The hold of the Blessèd Trinity upon
The States will be released, and they will
begin
To separate again. At this time, your people
In Dixie will be introduced to the true
And undefiled Christian Faith in large
numbers,
Which to most of them has been a thing
unknown.
How they choose to respond to this highest
gift
And invitation of the Holy Ghost
Will determine how the future unfurls
For them.
But come, let us be on our way
To your dwelling. There is much else to speak of
And to show you as we go. Sing with me
The hymns of Paradise as we begin.”
