"Take me to Church" Hozier

February 1, 2015 (Chicago, IL) - As Jon looked in the mirror, delighted how his beard had taken shape in the past few months (but not as delighted by the ease with which his image appeared in the mirror - he could get too used to not having to try...), he checked the calendar again.  Perhaps it was the crucible that made time seem to flow so slowly, or maybe it was being away from the hustle and bustle that made every night seem the same.  Either way he had resisted the temptation of even opening his computer to check on the conversations - focus and study always comes first, now.

Like many nights before, he put pen to paper in a vain attempt to chronicle his every shifting thoughts.  How to phrase it...an apology...a conceit...an explanation.  Nothing was going to be good enough.  How does the cancer that reveals the birth defect explain to the immune system that what was done was done for the good of the Covenant...for the good of his friends.  He had never been a hero, but in the end, isn't that what a martyr is supposed to be - the one who stands for the principles no matter the cost.

"But how have you suffered," they would say.  "A slight rest, a little nap, and you wake with all of your enemies missing, dead, or on the run.  How have you suffered?"  Because he could never again look them in the eyes without knowing their sins.  Pride, the greatest of all sins, had wormed its way into their hearts and he missed it.  He watched for the Wrath of the Scarlet, and turned the other cheek when it came upon him.  He watched for the Gluttony of the Sable, and cut off his pound of flesh when they came to eat.  He watched for the Sloth of the Azure, and inspired them to action, but not Pride.  Pride was his sin.  It was his to suffer, not theirs.  But they, like all good students, learned from him.

No more.  No more Pride.  No more Gluttony.  No more Sloth.  No more Wrath.  Virtue would drive them from this point forward.  And with his dying breath, or the last drop his Vitae, he would restore God's glory to Chicago.