The Book of Love (29 page)

The second letter was to Patricio, advising him that Conn was going to personally deliver the letter to Godfrey and negotiate terms on her behalf. Failure was not an option in this mission, and she never allowed the thought of it to enter her consciousness. She assured Patricio that the ark and its most precious contents, the Libro Rosso, would be returned to his care immediately. She would then have it transferred to her for its trip across the Alps, back home where it belonged, in Lucca.

Godfrey of Lorraine was highly intimidated by the Celtic giant who threatened war under Matilda’s signature, but to his credit, he refused to show it. He demanded the return of his wife in exchange for the artifacts he had confiscated from Orval.

Conn laughed in his face, reminding the hunchback that his personally selected servant had attempted to assassinate a helpless Matilda in her own bed after she had just suffered the greatest possible tragedy, the loss of a child. He deliberately used the term
assassinate
rather
than
murder,
as the political connotations weakened Godfrey’s legal position. The duke was trapped in a mire of his own making, and he knew it.

Conn delivered the remainder of the terms. Matilda wasn’t entirely unreasonable in her demands, as at the moment she wanted to accomplish two primary goals above all: the return of the Order’s most sacred possessions, and her secured and unmolested exit from Lorraine. Once she was safely back in Tuscany with her advisers, her mother chief among them, she would deal with her marital circumstances. She hoped that Godfrey would acquiesce quickly and quietly to what she was demanding now, as she was not proposing to divorce him—not yet, anyway, given that the prenuptial document gave her legal grounds to do so for cruelty. He would retain his titles in Tuscany, so long as he didn’t interfere with the administration of her lands in any way that she found offensive. This included supporting Henry from any of her territories. She had even told Conn to insinuate to the hunchback that, given time to heal, she might be willing to consider returning to their marriage bed if he would show good faith at this trying time by returning her property.

Hell would freeze over and the Alps would crumble before she ever allowed Godfrey to touch her again, but she hoped he was too stupid to know that. His obsession was still her most valuable bargaining chip in the war with her husband, and it worked. Godfrey agreed to return her possessions, including some of her personal items that had been left behind. The most valued of these was the treasured ivory chest that had been a gift from Bonifacio and her statue of Modesta. In exchange, Godfrey would give Matilda six months to visit her lands and her mother, before demanding her return as his wife. Conn agreed to the terms, knowing full well that Matilda would find any number of strategies to avoid returning to her husband. He kept Matilda’s irate demand letter in his own possession. Better not to leave anything as incriminating as the threat of war in the hands of the enemy, as such a thing could be used against her later. And there was the issue of that heretical signature. He would return it to Matilda.

Perhaps, he thought somewhat absently, the future might someday hold use for such a letter.

Conn escorted the ark and its sacred contents back to Patricio for inspection, and he rested for a night at Orval. With the Calabrian scribes, Patricio verified that the copies were complete, including the drawings and diagrams, and that the original was intact and unharmed. After each man kissed the gilded and jeweled cover with reverence, the Libro Rosso was returned to the ark and placed in the protective keeping of Conn of the Hundred Battles, who swore a vow to protect it with an unexpected and extraordinary fervor.

The Celtic giant praised Patricio for the magnificent work as he toured the grounds of Orval. He had truly built a golden abbey, a place worthy of housing the most sacred scripture, the true word of the Lord and the prophecies of his holy daughter. The arches of the nave, as they had been sketched by Matilda’s own hand, were of a height and majesty that he had never seen, soaring to heaven. The stonework throughout was meticulous and artistically brilliant. The entire structure was a masterpiece built by the power of love. Conn, most impressed by the enormous labyrinth that extended across the garden, asked for leave of privacy that he might walk it on his own.

After spending the day with Conn, Patricio was shocked and more than a little dumbfounded by Conn’s intimate understanding of the contents of the Libro Rosso. To his knowledge, the big Celt had never been a member of the Order, and Patricio wondered how he knew so much about their traditions. Certainly, Matilda had not shared this information with him, as he knew she would never violate her vows of secrecy by speaking outside the initiated. He wondered now, did Matilda even know that Conn could quote extensively from the Book of Love? That he also knew exactly how and why to walk the labyrinth, with no prompting from Patricio?

Here was a mystery to be investigated, but the man himself wasn’t
giving away any clues to his history. Patricio considered sending a Sator Rotas letter to Matilda on this subject, but he couldn’t take the risk that the Celt might know that code as well. Better not to offend him. He was clearly an ally who viewed himself as something of a holy defender of their precious Expected One. This man would die for Matilda, without a moment’s hesitation. Patricio decided that Conn was likely one of God’s chosen, and it was not for him to interfere with what he knew or how he knew it. The treasure of the Order of the Holy Sepulcher would be safe traveling under Conn’s sword, and Matilda’s. The Libro Rosso and the Ark of the New Covenant would find its way safely back to Italy, where it belonged. For now.

Exactly six months later, Godfrey began to send messengers with letters to Mantua, demanding that his wife return to Verdun no later than June of 1072. Matilda ignored him. His letters came more frequently and softened in tone, which she also ignored. Over the course of eight months, Godfrey of Lorraine was eventually begging his wife to at least see him to discuss the future of their marriage. When she refused to even answer his letters, he marched into Tuscany to assert his rights as duke and to hold court in Mantua. Again, he pleaded with Matilda to join him, to sit at his side as his duchess and rule with him in Italy. She simply moved to her hilltop fortress in Canossa to avoid him.

Beatrice was left to apply salve to the wounds of the tormented Godfrey, imploring his patience and forgiveness for Matilda’s refusal to see him. A placated Godfrey was a benign one, and Beatrice was determined to neutralize all potential dangers to Matilda’s inheritance. She explained in hushed tones that her daughter had not been the same since she had lost her child, and that her husband merely needed to give her a little more time. This tactic worked for a while, but eventually the scorned and offended hunchback returned to Lorraine in a state of high agitation. Shortly thereafter, he took his woes to Henry IV, who was only too happy to uphold Godfrey’s claim as the only ac
knowledged ruler of Tuscany—in exchange for the sworn allegiance and military might of the province of Lorraine. Henry declared Matilda in violation of the Salic laws that gave women no rights of inheritance, and stripped her of everything. With the king’s support, Godfrey took a further step to infuriate his estranged wife: he named his nephew, Godfroi de Bouillon, as his sole heir to the fortunes of Lorraine. And Tuscany.

Matilda ignored this too, flagrantly. She answered to no master but God, and it was by God’s grace that she held her lands. She thought less of Henry than she did of the hunchback and had long since determined that neither of them would ever steal from her again. Possession
was
the law in her eyes, and she possessed Tuscany: the land and the people. She continued to tour her kingdom with her mother, passing judgments and holding councils not only in her chief territories but also in the smallest hamlets. She was entirely visible as the leader of her people and completely adored by them. Her reputation for justice and compassion spread across Italy as the great Matilda continued to implement programs that brought relief to the needy and rebuilt those towns and villages that had been reduced to rubble during the schismatic conflicts. She funded architectural projects to rebuild and beautify the monasteries and churches for the glory of God and the spiritual benefit of his flock. Charity programs were administered from the monasteries and convents, where food was supplied to the poor on a regular basis.

Her base in Canossa was called “the New Rome” and it flourished as a center of thriving commerce and learning. She fortified and restored the monastery in San Benedetto Po outside her home in Mantua, built by her grandfather in the memory of her sainted grandmother. She had developed a true love of inspiring architecture, one that had begun with the rebuilding of San Martino in Lucca and had reached an apex in Orval. She missed Orval terribly, and Patricio, and all that they had created there. It was her sole regret about leaving the nightmare of the north. As a result, she set out to turn San Benedetto into the Italian Orval, and here she brought members of the Order to maintain her own studies from the Libro Rosso. The Master was firmly ensconced in the
Order’s headquarters in Lucca and not inclined to travel, so Matilda did not see him as often as she would like. However, Anselmo visited frequently. While in residence, the bishop of Lucca spent his days studying with Matilda, and his nights with his beloved, Isobel.

Tuscany was thriving under her reign, as it had in the days of her father. A canny and charismatic young general from a noble Tuscan family with ties to the Order, one Arduino della Paluda, commanded her garrisons and implemented a series of strategies that eradicated piracy and made the price for robbery too high for anyone to commit such a crime in Matilda’s lands. He ensured that taxes were collected from foreign merchants in exchange for the restored peace and safety of the trade routes. Bridges were built to enhance travel, some drawn and designed by Matilda herself, and commerce was thriving with even greater strength than it had when Bonifacio was alive.

Peace and prosperity returned to Tuscany under the countess, who was known to sit at table with the poorest of her vassals and break bread with any who invited her. These were her people and she loved them all and loved them equally. For this was the teaching of her most beautiful Lord, from both canonical scripture, as Matthew twenty-two, and from the Book of Love: to love thy neighbor as thyself. And Matilda understood that all her people were her neighbors, each and every one of them, and she taught this commandment through example. No feudal leader in memory had ever behaved in this fashion.

As a maturing leader, Matilda had developed her own strategy, one in keeping with her deeply held spiritual traditions. She not only selected loyal, strong, and intelligent advisers, she ensured that everyone within her intimate circle was someone she loved. She surrounded herself with those souls who she was certain were her “family of spirit” as defined in the Book of Love. They had made promises long ago, to each other, to themselves, and to God, to be here in this place and time.
The time returns.
Her friend Arduino captained the armies that kept the Tuscan people safe, while Conn, who was closer to her than a blood brother, retained control of her personal guard. Bishop Anselmo of Lucca maintained the soul of Tuscany, supporting all the reforms of his
uncle, who was Pope Alexander II, while secretly protecting the Order and their goals. Isobel, her most trusted confidante, remained the mistress of her household, and Beatrice was her social and political mentor in matters of public importance.

The greatest concern of this extended feudal family was keeping Henry and Godfrey at bay. They had become a de facto Tuscan government essentially controlling the territories that extended from the Alps nearly all the way to Rome. Then, in April of 1073, their much-loved ally and leader, Pope Alexander II, died very suddenly.

Vatican City
present day

F
ather Peter Healy walked through St. Peter’s Square, awed by the beauty of Gianlorenzo Bernini’s masterpiece of architectural design. He didn’t think he would ever be immune to the magnificence of this place. While his eyes had recently been opened to the ruthless politics of the Church he had dedicated his life to, he remained committed heart and soul to the vocation that caused him to take vows in the first place. For him, St. Peter’s was still a holy place, the seat of the first apostle and his successors.

The spring sunshine warmed his dark hair, which was just beginning to gray at the temples. Funny, he hadn’t had this much gray hair until he relocated to the Vatican. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the credentials that would be necessary to bypass the Swiss Guard and access Cardinal DeCaro’s exalted office. He was dressed in full collar today and breezed through the security measures quickly and without incident.

There was a meeting of the Arques Gospel committee at the end of the week. Peter was here to discuss with his mentor how they would approach what promised to be something of an ordeal.

He hated the committee. It was the bane of his existence, and yet
it was also his reason for being. Thus, his current life in the Vatican resembled the seventh level of Hell. The committee was created not only to authenticate the Arques Gospel of Mary Magdalene, discovered by Maureen in the south of France, but also to place the controversial issues contained in it within a Catholic perspective that could be easily digested by the faithful. This was proving to be an impossible task.

The committee of twelve had become a combative and difficult environment, populated as it was by elder, conservative clerics. Peter and Cardinal DeCaro were the only obvious supporters of the truth at any cost. There were a few members who appeared to be on the fence and engaged in internal struggles over the issues, but the others were clearly in favor of keeping this material out of the public eye forever. Peter was being challenged on a number of important points in his original translation, which he was going to have to defend at this week’s gathering. In preparation for this particular battle, he had begun to make notes on the primary points of controversy that were found in the Arques Gospel of Mary Magdalene.

Peter was going to have to come up with strong and cogent arguments as to why all these points did not contradict the current traditions of Catholicism. Whether or not these were the truth was, sadly, not the point. Peter had learned over the last two years that the truth was highly subjective everywhere, but nowhere was this more true than in Rome. And the truth mattered far less than preserving the status quo. Peter often thought, while strolling through Vatican grounds, that they should hang banners from the porticos that read Tradition Over Truth. He was quite sure that some of the elder clerics on the committee had this motto tattooed over their hearts.

This was going to be an uphill battle, but one he would have to fight with as much vigor and commitment as he could muster. He had created this terrible dilemma, and now he would have to live within it. At least he was not alone.

“Come in, my boy.” Cardinal Tómas Borgia DeCaro welcomed Peter into his office, which was as elegant and Italian as was the man him
self. As his name implied, Cardinal DeCaro was related to one of the wealthiest and most aristocratic families in Rome. He moved with the grace that comes with privilege and noblesse oblige. It was precisely his powerful Italian heritage that allowed him to hold such an exalted position in Rome, despite the fact that his own theology was considered radical by the current conservative hierarchy.

“Thank you, Tómas.” DeCaro was Peter’s mentor and closest friend in a world where friends were as important as they were rare. While he was on a first-name basis with him in private, he would have never called him Tómas had he known they were not alone. Peter startled when he realized that there was another man in the room, as Cardinal Marcelo Barberini rounded the corner from the antechamber.

“Father Healy, a pleasure to see you.” Cardinal Barberini held out his hand to Peter, who shook it warmly. Barberini was a leader on the committee, one of those few who maintained silence most of the time, a listener who appeared to be struggling with some of the larger issues. He was also a very high-ranking member of the papal inner circle. Peter was suddenly very nervous.

“Sit down, my friends, sit down.” DeCaro closed the doors on both sides of the room, ensuring their privacy, before joining them in one of the soft leather armchairs that made up his meeting space. “Peter, for the moment what happens in this room has to be absolutely confidential. But I have brought Marcelo here to talk to you today about some recent activity in the Arques case.”

DeCaro had been involved in the Arques Gospel case since the beginning, had even come to the château after the discovery to meet with Maureen and to provide support and counsel to her. He was completely convinced of the authenticity of the Magdalene Gospel. More than anyone, Tómas DeCaro had reason to understand the importance of these documents. With the authority of his rank, he had access to materials in the Vatican that most of the world could not even dream about.

“As you are more than aware,” DeCaro continued, “there are members of the committee who are not aligned with the idea that this gos
pel could be authentic, regardless of the evidence that proves it to be so. While your presentations have been excellent and thorough, in many ways they served only to remind the more conservative members of our committee just how controversial and potentially dangerous this version of events may be.”

Peter nodded but didn’t comment. Best to see where this was heading before making any statements in front of Barberini, who was still an unknown quantity.

Barberini, a pudgy little man with a pleasant, ruddy face, sat forward in his seat. “Father Healy, I am very distressed at the current turn the proceedings are taking. There is far more focus on how best to shield this material from anyone outside the council than there is on authenticating it.”

Peter spoke carefully. “And you mean by shielding it…”

DeCaro leaned toward Peter reassuringly. “You may speak freely here, son. Marcelo is…one of us.”

Peter was grateful for the confirmation and continued his thought. “That they want to bury it.”

Barberini nodded. “I’m afraid that’s true. I am gravely concerned that this most important document may never see the light of day. Worse, I believe that there are those among us who may even be willing to destroy it completely and claim it never existed.”

Peter ran his hands over his face in exasperation. This was his greatest fear come to life.

“Don’t despair yet, Peter. This isn’t over,” Barberini said.

DeCaro continued the thought. “But the three of us have to determine, right here and right now, who our master is. Do we serve a council of fallible human beings who are allowing their earthly concerns to dominate their decisions, or do we serve our Lord Jesus Christ? And if we serve our Lord Jesus Christ, and his truth, do we not have an obligation, no matter what the odds, to fight for that truth? Any way we may have to?”

Cardinal Barberini surprised Peter as his speech became more impassioned. “These men whom we call our brothers cause me to
weep for them. They wear the garments of their power and they stand for spiritual authority. But somewhere, for all that they are good men, they became lost. They claim their holiness, and yet embody none of the love, none of the understanding. I sometimes think to myself, when we are in committee, ‘What would our Lord say to these men if he were in this room with us today?’ And I have no answer. Only sorrow.”

The three of them contemplated in silence for a moment. Each of them had felt this same growing sense of sadness over the last year. Peter broke the moment to ask a question that had been on his mind since his meeting at the Confraternity of the Holy Apparition. “Where is Girolamo de Pazzi in all this?”

“Well, as you know he isn’t a part of the committee, nor would he want to be. He is an old man, Peter, and one with a very specific vocation, which is to celebrate the apparitions of our Lady. He can’t be bothered with committee business, although I believe he is interested in Maureen because of her visions. That is his passion and his expertise.”

“Do you trust him? Should I?”

DeCaro shrugged. “He has never given me a reason not to trust him, for all that he is a conservative. I believe him to be perfectly harmless. But that said…I’m not sure that I entirely trust anyone who isn’t in this room.”

“This may become the ultimate test of faith for all of us,” Barberini said softly. “We will have to be very careful and canny about the steps we choose to take to protect the Arques Gospel. It may require us to participate in…guerrilla tactics.”

Peter was shocked to hear such insurgency from this little man with the sweet face whom he had always viewed as quiet and unassuming. He said nothing but looked to DeCaro, who added, “We may be forced to take the originals out of the Vatican. And if we do, we will not be welcome here.”

“For Tómas and myself,” Barberini said with a sigh, “this life is all that we have ever known.”

“And yet,” DeCaro added, “in many ways we have always known that this day and time would come. We were prepared for this from the time we were boys. We just didn’t know what course it would take. But we all chose our destinies, long ago when we made our promises to God. Now comes the time to remember, for all of us.”

In Alexandria, Joseph brought the holy family to shelter in the home of a great man, a Roman who was called Maximinus. Joseph had known him many years from their shared business in the tin trade and trusted him. Maximinus was an exile from Rome, a refugee in his own way. He knew the dangers of Roman persecution all too well and had great compassion for those who had suffered from it.

Madonna Magdalena and her children arrived at his home exhausted by the journey and nearly overcome with distress. He welcomed them with kindness and ensured that the great lady knew only comfort in her days of confinement.

Maximinus had learned much from the mystery schools in Egypt, and he was a man hungry for learning, for wisdom, and for the truth. He developed a deep friendship and understanding with our Lady during this time, as the Nazarene Way of Love had many traditions that had come from this rich land. They had much to talk about and to learn from each other, and the bond that formed between Magdalena and Maximinus would become unique and enduring.

Maximinus had endured great tragedy and suffering in his life, as his own wife and baby had perished from childbed fever when they were forced to flee Rome and live in exile. Thus it was that he ensured that the finest midwife in Alexandria was brought in to care for Magdalena at the time of delivery. Sarai, the Egyptian priestess, delivered the holy infant, who would be known as Yeshua-David in safety and health and by the grace of God.

Both Joseph of Arimathea and the Roman Maximinus provided care for this infant, as well as for the other holy children. During their time in Alexandria, Maria Magdalena began to instruct Maximinus directly from the Book of Love, and he became the most devoted convert to the teachings of the Way.

When the time came for the holy family to leave Alexandria for their destiny in Gaul, Maximinus insisted on accompanying them. This he did, and he never left. For the remainder of Magdalena’s long life, he was her protector and companion, a
man of extraordinary devotion and an example of paternal love for her children. It is said that the love of Maximinus knew no limits, and yet it was by necessity purely of spirit.

Maximinus wrote poetry in praise of Our Lady’s extraordinary grace, celebrating his love for her in a chaste and honorable form. The great poets in France whom are called troubadours are the heirs of this tradition, singing their songs of courtly love to the sanctified woman they can never touch because she has been promised in the hieros-gamos to another. But love for such a perfected woman lasts until death and beyond. It was thus that Maria Magdalena became the greatest artistic muse, and Maximinus the first troubadour poet.

For in the French, the word
troubadour
means “to find lost gold.” It is in understanding the mysteries left to us through the teachings of the Book of Love that we will find this blessed treasure.

His greatest poem endured among the people, preserved in French by these troubadours, as it contained one of the treasured truths of our teachings, the truth about the return of love which is a gift from God:

Maximinus became a great leader of the Way in his time, giving the holy sacraments to Magdalena upon her earthly death. He asked to be buried at her feet when his own time came, and this was done. They rested together for many years in the region now named for this great and holy man, Saint Maximin.

For those with ears to hear, let them hear it.

T
HE STORY OF
M
AXIMINUS THE
R
OMAN AND
HOW HE BECAME THE BLESSED
S
AINT
M
AXIMIN
,
AS PRESERVED IN THE
L
IBRO
R
OSSO

Rome
April 1073

O
F THE SEVEN FABLED HILLS
of Rome, the Esquiline was the highest. Below its western slope were seedy and overcrowded slums; to the east were the villas of prominent citizens, advisers to the Caesars. There were houses in between that belonged to mid-ranking Roman nobles and politicians. It was in these private homes that Christianity flourished in secret during the first century as key citizens were converted by no less than Saint Peter himself. By Matilda’s time, these early centers of secret Christianity were recognized as the oldest churches in Rome.