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The Spear of Destiny

Author: Michael Hichborn, President, Lepanto Institute.

In 1485, a book attributed to Sir Thomas Malory titled, “Le Morte d'Arthur” was published.  The book, drawing heavy symbolism from the Church, was a compilation of the stories of King Arthur, Camelot, Merlin, and the Knights of the Round Table, and serves as an allegory for man’s struggle against sin, death and the world.

In one part of the story, we read about the Fisher King and his unhealing, dolorous wound.  According to the story, the Fisher King, who is called King Pellam, falls into a certain sin, which leads to a battle with Sir Balan.  During the fight, Balan strikes King Pellam with the Spear of Destiny, which is the spear used by St. Longinus to thrust into the side of Christ at the Crucifixion.  From that point forward, King Pellam was cursed with a mystical wound that would not kill him, but neither would it be healed.  And while he languished in agony, his kingdom would also suffer becoming a complete wasteland.

And what was this sin which would bring about such a curse?  In truth, it wasn’t anything that Pellam had done directly, but what he allowed to happen.  King Pellam had a brother, who was a knight, named Garlon.  Garlon possessed the power of invisibility, which he used to kill other knights.  It is suggested that Pellam knew about Garlon’s murderous deeds but said and did nothing about it.  What’s more is that two of the knights killed by Garlon happened to have been companions of Sir Balan.  The result is that due to King Pellam’s neglect in performing his duty as regent, he received the dolorous wound which could only be healed by the Holy Grail.  Living, yet stung by a mortal wound by which he did not die, this is a metaphor for a mortal sin which could only be healed by the Blood of Christ.

While not articulated in the story, there are two essential sins which lead to King Pellam’s wound.  The first is that he turned a blind eye to the murderous deeds of his brother.  The second is that while Garlon fought his assailant, Sir Balan, Pellam rose to defend Garlon.  So, not only was Pellam complicit in Garlon’s wickedness, but he then defended Garlon as he faced the just sentence for his crimes.

But the aspect of this story which intrigued me the most was the idea that the sins of the king befall the kingdom.  Or, put another way, “The king and the land are one.”  As King Pellam suffers what is mystically to be understood as a self-inflicted wound (even though it was Sir. Balan that delivered it), so does his kingdom.  The nature of the wound is often referred euphemistically as a “wound in the thigh,” which is commonly understood to be a wound in the genitals.  Such a wound would obviously prohibit King Pellam from producing any children, and as a reflection of this, the land in his kingdom no longer produces a bountiful crop.  It is a wasteland.

There are many different versions of the Fisher King legend, produced by several different authors, but I focused on these aspects because they illustrate a connection between the king and the land which can be observed in the Church as well. 

Currently, the Church is undergoing an intense crisis, much of which is brought about by our own version of the Fisher King.  Like King Pellam, Pope Francis has also turned a blind eye to the wickedness of his own cardinals, bishops and priests.  He elevated the sodomy-promoting Jesuit, Fr. James Martin to a Vatican communications post and wrote a congratulatory note to him on his conference promoting sodomy.  He says nothing about the blasphemous and outright satanic performances permitted by Cardinal Schonborn in the Cathedral in Vienna, but he targets and attacks those who adhere to the Traditional Latin Mass.  He invites and meets with abortion practitioners, homosexual advocates, and population control enthusiasts of the United Nations – even allowing them to meet IN the Vatican – but he has no time to meet with Cardinals who would ask five simple yes/no questions on moral matters made murky by a document he wrote.
 
And the most supremely scandalous thing he did was to preside over the worship of a wooden idol that represents “mother earth” in the Vatican Gardens, and then rose up to defend the event and those conducting it against the faithful who were scandalized by this act.
 
If King Pellam turned a blind eye to his brother, who murdered knights, then Pope Francis turns a blind eye to his brothers who murder souls; and both rise to defend the murderer.

When this happened, the world was struck with calamity that has devastated personal health, national economies, and the production and distribution of food.  Charity, too, fell victim to the rise of rebellious hatred, which led to riots, looting, and violence.  And with it all came political upheaval, which is rapidly escalating to international crises on several different levels.

Pope Francis has been dealt a dolorous wound, and the world is now laid waste as a result.  The land and the king are one, and we suffer the sins of the king.

As with the story of the Fisher King, it is the blood of Christ which both heals the king and restores the land.  But it takes a quest by good and faithful knights to bring this about.  And as baptized and confirmed Soldiers of Christ, all of us are knights on this quest.  Our Armor is the sacraments.  Our Sword is the Rosary.  Our Shield is fidelity to Christ and His Church.  And our quest is to beseech Our Blessed Lord, through the intercession of Our Lady, to heal our Church, to restore spiritual health and order to Her leadership, and to cleanse the land of heresy and rebellion.

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Thank you to all who have been praying for my health and for the restoration of our website. I am continuing to recover and our website is back up and fully functional! 
 
As always, please pray for the Church, for our bishops, priests, deacons, and for Lepanto's mission as we continue to unearth the truth and "restore all things to Christ." (Col. 1:20)

Christus Vincit!

Michael Hichborn
President, Lepanto Institute

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