The Firebird Story | Fr. Ron Rolheiser, OMI

Firebird Western European okay once upon a time once before a time once under a time and once before time was captured by people and put it through clocks at that time when there was still magic on the planet and God and the angels could walk around here more freely in that time there was a king and the King had three sons that the King lived in a castle as Kings do and the castle was a huge castle it had rooms for everything there were rooms for the king there are rooms for his sons there were rooms for visitors their rooms for his courtiers there were rooms for his soldiers rooms for his horses there were rooms for eating rooms for sleeping and rooms to just sit and look out at the kingdom in the center of the king of the castle there was a courtyard and the courtyard there was a garden in the center of that garden it was a tree there was an apple tree but he wasn't an ordinary apple tree it drew golden apples they were gold and flaming and their beauty took your breath away and they weren't apples for eating there were apples to be looked at to be admired and sometimes the king and his son would touch the apples gently and just massage them and they would look at these apples but the apples were counted and every night before he went to sleep the king would carefully calculus and note in a ledger how many apples there were and one night when he counted the apples there was one missing and the king became very agitated and he immediately called everyone together and his three sons and he said someone has stolen an apple and immediately his oldest son came forward and said father I will keep watch I will keep watch tonight it's obviously a thief who comes at night and I will keep watching tonight nights where is your son on oath no one will ever steal an apple from you again so that night he took a blanket and he said by a tree and all night sat in his eyes scanned to Horizon back and forth and nothing happened and just before dawn he was overcome with sleep his eyelids foul just for several minutes when he woke up the dark was just giving way to light and he counted the apples and there was one missing and the king was again agitated they called his court together and his sons and the second son came forward as his father obviously your older son has failed you did give me the permission I will watch tonight and I promised you an oath as your son no Apple will never disappear from your tree again so he took a blanket and that night he said under the tree and all night he watched and his eyes scanned but his eyes became heavy and just towards morning he fell asleep just for a few minutes when he woke up another Apple is missing and the father was agitated and he began to become very upset he said somebody is stealing his apples and then his youngest son the youngest Prince came forward said father but we watch obviously my two brothers have failed but I won't fail I swear the oath is your son I will watch a no Apple will disappear tonight and the father said no instead of all my sons you're the least reliable and you're too young I won't give you the premises permission but he begged and pleaded and finally the father but reluctantly gave him permission to sit by the tree so he sat with a blanket all night his eyes were surveying back and forth and just towards morning his eyes became very heavy but in order to stay awake he took tiny sticks and he put him into his eyelids that they were impossible to close and then just as the dark was giving way to light he saw a great flame as if a ball of fire but more gold and fire and he realized was the great Firebird and the Firebird came and plucked an apple in its mouth he took his arrow and he shot straight into the breast of the Firebird and a single feather fell to the ground and the Firebird flew off with the Paul and he picked up the feather and he realized that this feather is the most beautiful thing he had ever seen in his whole life it was flaming gold as that something had never seen before in his life and he realized this feather was truly truly valuable and he took it to his father they took it to the court and the exam of the feather and its beauty and its worth and then the King said I must have the bird somebody needs to bring this bird to me and immediately the oldest son came forward he said father I will find you the bird and he was given the blessing he was given the permission and he set out on his horse crossed the drawbridge through the woods and into the clearing and he looked down he saw a small fox he pulled his bow and arrow to shoot the Fox and the Fox spoke the Fox that sir don't shoot me if you don't shoot me I will give you a counsel and the son thought himself animals don't talk he said and besides what could I a prince learned from a small creature of the ground and he released his heir all but the Fox stiffens his tail and disappeared into the woods and he rode on and at night just this delight was giving way to darkness he entered a small village and he wrote to the center of the village and to his right there was an inn and in the end he saw people dining he saw people drinking he saw he heard music he saw dancing he was drawn to the light and to his left he saw an inn of darkness of quiet but he has drawn to the end of darkness of light and he entered the end and he stayed there that night and he fact he stayed there for a long time after he never left the end and then after a long time or a short time whatever time it takes for them to realize he's not returning the second son came forward and told his father father obviously your older son has failed you give me the permission the blessing and he was given the blessing and he set out just as his brother cross the drawbridge through the woods into the clearing and there was a fox and he immediately drew his bow and arrow the Fox spoke that sir don't kill me and I will give you a council like his brother he thought animals don't talk besides what could a creature if the ground ever tell me a prince and he released his heir all but the Fox different his tail and disappeared into the woods and then like his brother he wrote on and at night just when darkness light was giving way to darkness he entered the village of the two ends and like his brother he came to the center of the town and he saw to his right the end of light with the dancing with the music with the food with the wine and to his were left he saw the darkness to quiet at the end and like his brother he was drawn to the end of light and he went there and he stayed that night and he stayed on never lefty and again then after a long time or a short time whatever time it takes for people to realize that he's not coming back the youngest son went to the his father is his father he said obviously my two brothers are not returning give me the permission and his father said no of all my sons are the least reliable you're too young I will not give you the permission but he begged and pleaded and pointed out to his father was him but got the scene the Firebird and gotten the feather so finally but reluctantly the father gave him permission and like his brothers he set out rode out the castle through the woods came to the clearing and he saw Fox the Fox spoke the Fox said sir don't kill me and if you don't kill me I will give you a council and like his brothers he thought animals don't talk and besides what could a creature of the ground teach me but he fought even soul maybe he will have some advice so unlike his father brothers he didn't shoot an arrow at the Fox he got off they know please throw at the Fox the Fox said I know what quest you are on and I can give you guidance he said you're to do this today you ride all day and at night you will come to a town and you will ride to the center of the town and you will stop your horse between two ends and to the right you will see an end full of light and music and dance and your two brothers you're not to go into the end to the left you will see an end which is dark you're to go into the end of darkness sleep that night for you're on a pilgrimage sure in a quest said and then in the morning you will get up and then you need to ride to a distant Kingdom and you can get there and when you get there it'll just be nightfall and you're to wait there'll be a castle and there'll be soldiers it'll be many rooms you're to wait till midnight and when all the soldiers are fast asleep and they will not wake when you walk past them you're to walk through the castle through every room and when you get to the very last room you will open a door and there will be the firebird the great bird of fire and its beauty will take your breath away they'll stop your breath said but the bird will be in a cage made of old sticks and torn pieces of leather you're to take the cage and the bird and bring it back to your father but there's one thing he said when you turn to leave you will see behind the door which you didn't see coming in a gilded cage of gold and emeralds which is so beautiful it'll take your breath away you're not to touch the cage and the younger son prince thanked the Fox and he rode off the Fox stiffens his tail disappeared into the woods and he divisions brothers he wrote into the town but that night he stopped but he didn't after the enough light he entered the dark e'en and he slept and he slept peacefully and in the morning he got up and he began to ride towards this distant Kingdom not lowing and knowing how long it would take and the Fox appeared the Fox says this is a very distant Kingdom and it'll take you a long time to get there so Bandhan your horse sit on my back and I will take you there so he got on the fox's back the Fox stiffened his tail in no time or whatever time it takes to get to the end of the world they were there and it was just night and it was that's the Fox said there was a grand castle and many soldiers they waited till midnight when everyone was asleep and he walked between the soldiers none of them woke he walked through the castle through all the rooms and finally he got to the room who was the Firebird he opened his beauty took his breath away and the bird was caged in old leathers and sticks and he picked up the cage to walk back and his eyes saw the gilded cage and he took his breath away and he couldn't resist it he reached out they touched the cage and immediately the bird began to be agitated and make great noises and the soldiers woke up and they came and he grabbed and they said because you were arrogant tried to steal the Firebird tomorrow you'll be brought before the king and you will die and they took him and they threw him into a deep dungeon where we're gonna leave him temporarily ok ok you got the story up to now ok that's the chapter 1 ok the other chapters are a little shorter ok but notice some of the repetitions a little long time short time whatever time and all this Fox stiffening his tail and so on and just think what the image of the Firebird and notice in this story you'll only know at the end no femininity has a period yet notice there was a king he had sons what about daughters what about a queen and so on they're not there yet you know ok now let's go back he's in a deep dungeon he's gonna die so in the morning they bring him before the king and the King said because you tried to steal the Firebird you will die and you will die now said my sword we'll find the space between your neck and your shoulders but there's one way you can save your life except there exists on this world in a distant Kingdom something that is more awesome than the bird of fire and that is the black horse of power the exists a horse whose power so great that it's the greatest thing on this planet said if you could bring me the horse of power I will give you Firebird and the gilded cage said but if you don't you will die so now choose so of course he chose to save his life he leaves the castle but now he's dejected there tears in his eyes he's walking in the road aimlessly not knowing where to go when he sees the Fox he's in overjoyed to see the Fox and he sits down he tell us the Fox immediately what happened and the Fox didn't exactly offer sympathy the Fox said I told you not to touch the cage he said but because you didn't try to kill me not all is lost he said I'll give you another console he said you can hit you can find the horse of power and you can bring it back and I will show you how he said you're to travel now to a further Kingdom that's more distant than this Kingdom and you will get there at night and there will be a castle a larger castle than this one there'll be more soldiers and you're to wait to the middle of the night and then when everyone's asleep you were to walk through the castle and beside it at the end of the castle there's a stable and inside of there will be the great horse of power said but he'll be tied up with a bridle made of sticks in old leathers you'd take the horse of power and bring it back to this King he said but there's one thing he says them when you turn to leave you will see a bridle whose beauty is not such as you have never seen you're not to touch the bridle and then he said because the kingdom's distant he said get on my back and I will take you there and he sat on the horses other Fox is back the Fox stiffened his tail and then in a long time or a short time whatever time it takes to get to the far far kingdom they were there and it was night and he waited till the middle of the night he went through the castle has the Fox that directed with the soldiers none of them waking as he walked past them and he opened the door of the stable and there's took the horse and his beauty stopped his breath it was more beautiful than anything and more powerful he had ever seen in his life but he was tethered but an old bride sticks and an old leather and he untied the horse in the end to lead a doubt and he saw the gilded bridle and its beauty took his breath away but he realized he should obey the Fox and he knew what happened last time but just that he was leaving thought you know a horse that's this beautiful shouldn't have a bridle made of old sticks and stuff it deserves this bridle and he reached out and he touched the bridle the horse began to become very agitated whoa call the guards they came they took him and he said because he tried to steal this horse of power you'll be brought to the king tomorrow and tomorrow he'll die they threw him into a deeper dungeon and before ok you're all good so far ok ok chapter three then after a long time or a short time whatever time it takes you know before you're brought before a king to be executed they bring him before the king of the king was upset the king was angry the king was murderers the king said because you had the arrogance to try to steal this horse you will die and you'll die now and my sword will find the space between your neck and your and your head so there's one thing you can save yourself so if there's one thing on this whole earth and it's at the end of the earth that's more valuable than the horse of power and that is the beautiful princess if you would go to this Kingdom and bring back this beautiful princess I will give you the worst of power and I will give you the gilded bridle so but if you don't you will die it'll be my sword that kills you choose so of course he chose to live but now he comes out and again his disorient he's wandering aimlessly there's tears in his eyes he realized he should have listened to the Fox and is just looking down he sees the Fox he tells the Fox what happened and again the Fox didn't offer sympathies all said I told you not to touch the ride all said but not all is lost because he didn't try to kill me I'll give you another counsel I know where is the princess I can take you to the princess and the princess will agree to come with you she will come willingly but it said the furthest kingdom on the planet said and when you get there there will be soldiers and they'll be guards but if he wait just at midnight in the moonlight the princess comes out to take her back to bathe in the moonlight here to wait well when she comes to take her bath you're to go forward and kiss her then she'll come willingly with you but there's one thing okay she don't want to go back to kiss her mother and father good goodbye but you can't allow that so he fetched the Fox and the Fox that it takes a long time to get to the furthest place on earth he said go on my back and the Fox step in his tail and then whatever time it takes to get to the end of the earth they were there the furthest Kingdom on this whole planet and he waited till midnight on a beautiful moon and the princess came out and her beauty was such as he had never seen and she began to this roll to take her bath and he went forward a kissed her and she immediately said I'll go with you said I'll go with you wherever you go but just one thing she said I need to go back and kiss my mother and father goodbye because it's not right I'm going away for a long time perhaps forever it's not right that I should go without kissing my mother and father goodbye he said no it's not allowed it cannot be she said that why can't it be this would be cruel this to be heartless if he can't be and then she began to cry and he was moved by her tears okay go he said but do it quickly and try not to wake them and you know where this is going okay so the princess goes back in to her mother and father's bedroom she goes by their father's side kisses him he doesn't awake she comes to the mother's side kisses the mother and the mother wakes and immediately she Intuit's she in towards everything she grabs her she holds her it wakes the father they wake the soldiers they go and find the young prince they said to him nobody has ever had such arrogance before and tomorrow you'll be brought to the king and tomorrow you will die and they throw him to get a deeper dungeon and he's ever at em before and they leave him there telling him it tomorrow you will die okay now he's in dungeon three already okay you know usually when you with a group these are good times to stop and discuss and so on but we don't have enough time to get the story finished inside to camp so let's pick him up again he's in a dungeon so after a long time or a short time or whatever a time it takes them okay they bring him before the king and the king said because you were arrogant to try to steal my daughter you will die and you will die now and my sword will find the space between your shoulders and your head except there's one thing you can do you can save your life he said my daughter must indeed marry somebody but it must be somebody who's worthy it must be somebody who's like a god and so I offer you this there's a mountain one mile from here he said I'm gonna give you eight days if you can move that mountain in eight days I will give you my daughter gladly since then I'll choose so of course he chose to save his life so he left and immediately he went to the village and he bought shovels and wheelbarrows and all kinds of axes and picks and Fox carts and for the next seven days and seven nights he worked and worked at this mountain and we got to the night of the seventh day he saw that he hadn't even made a dent ollie you couldn't even see what he had done and he realized this is truly over and he sat down and realizing his life was now over he saw the Fox and he explained to the Fox and the Fox that I told you not go back is it been now because you didn't try to kill me I'll give you one last cost I said just sleep you're a very tired fall asleep we'll see what the morale will bring and he fell asleep he slept peacefully and he woke up and the mountain was gone and the king was overjoyed and the king said you truly are a man who's worthy of my daughter did I give you my daughter I give you my daughter's hand take her back to your father and you may marry my daughter she will be your queen and they're overjoyed and they're walking back and they see the Fox and the Fox says to them well he said there's a new plan now he said this is the plan he says the princess is for you said but so is the course of power and so is the bird of fire he says what you do is this you will go back to the king who asked for the horse of power and pretend you're going to exchange the daughter for her and that's the align up and they bring out the horses of power put the put the princes last and as you give her an embrace shake her hand take her on the horse and you will ride away because the horse of power no one will catch you said and then you come to the kingdom of the Firebird and there's one hour every day where the Firebird is put into the golden cage and it's brought out and it's shown to the people you're to sweep down with the horse of power and to grab the golden cage and the Firebird and then take him both back to your father they liked that plan okay but he said now there's one last thing he said I've done many things for you and it's now time that you go on you're all do you won't always see me sit but I'm asking you do this now I'm asking you take your arrow your bow and arrow shoot me kill me and then I want you to cut off my paws and keep them in your pockets and the prince said we can't do that what kind of gratitude would this be and the Fox that no you don't understand them but you really need to do this he said I can't do it Fox that well they'll give you an F one last counsel he says don't go near gallows and don't ever sit on the edge of a while and he stiffened his tail and disappeared and now both the prince and princess thought this is weird and he thought you know the Fox he was good for a while but these days last command said that this is pretty weird and they talked about this among themselves but it is the Fox instructed they went back as if to exchange for the horse of power and the course of power was brought with the gilded bridle and as he's seeing goodbye he grabbed the princes they rode off he swept down on the village and grabbed the bird of fire and his golden cage and now they're riding back to the castle and they have everything and their last night they came to the town of the two engines and just as they got there was morning they saw there was some commotion on the town square they stopped and asked what's happening and he said there's to be a hanging two men wrote in to his town a long time ago and they're bad men and now they're to be hung and he recognized the two men as his brothers so feeling very gracious he went to the mayor and said whatever the cost is if you spare my brother's and they agreed on a price and the mayor released the brothers and now on the brothers saddle horses and they're all riding back to the castle and there's great joy and he keeps telling his brothers this story about meeting his Fox and how this Fox gave him this this wonderful instruction and how he got the Firebird and then the princes and the poorest of power and the brothers kept singing indeed indeed and funny to get to a clearing and they're tired and stopped and there's an old well they spider said when he's 70 edge of this well and tell us that story again as he sits on the edge of the well they run up with a flip them into the well and as he's falling this deep deep delicately well he hears his brothers laughing and he realizes that he will die in the well they will take the parentheses and the horse and they will go to their to their father and he will die in the well so he's in the bottom of the well he hears them go off and he realizes there's no way of getting out the well was dry full of leaves but deeper than any of the dungeons he had been in as he looks down he sees the Fox the Fox said I told you to stay away from gallows and I told you not to sit at the edge of a well but because you didn't try to kill me he said hang on to my tail and the Fox stiffened his tail and pulled him out of the well he said but now there's a new situation said your brothers have turned your father against you your brothers have lied your oldest brother is to marry the princess the wedding feast is being prepared even now and they have sent our lookout should you come close to the castle the soldiers will kill you he said so this is my new counsel he said when you get to the edge of the woods before the castle don't be a beggar and you're to exchange clothing with the beggar and you put on his bigger clothing and you give him your royal clothing and they will not recognize you you can walk straight into the castle where the feast is they will take you for a beggar and he said and then see what happens so he did this he exchanged clothes for the beggar and as the feast was being prepared and musical instruments for strumming up for the wedding he walks right into the center of this and nobody recognizes him except the princess and the prince had grown strangely silent and solemn since Stalin since she had come to the castle she had said nothing and the Firebird refused to sing and the horse of power refused to eat and when the princess saw him she gathered her courage and she went to the king and told him what had happened and the horse of power let out a magnificent sound that could echo right through the kingdom and the bird Firebird began to sing and then the king believed the younger Prince and then he said there'll be a wedding but this young prince is going to marry the princess and then they had a magnificent wedding celebration for three whole days he married the princess and now that all the wealth of the Firebird the horse of power his father's blessing and they married and they lived happily ever after no that's not what you started so they married and they lived happily for a while they lived happily with the beauty of the bird but the power of the horse but the power of their love for each other was the princess's great beauty but strangely there was they always felt there was a happiness that was escaping them there was a melancholy they couldn't explain there was a restlessness that they couldn't fathom and one day the Prince walking in that manner as men walk when they're trying to ponder something they can't ponder when men halt men walk when they're pondering why they're unhappy and he can't explain why and he's looking down in that way and he saw the Fox he was overjoyed and he bent down and he told the Fox I'm not happy I have everything but there's something missing the Fox that I can tell you what's missing did remember a long time ago I asked you to do something for me you asked you to kill me and to carry my applause with you and he said I can't do this Fox that you must do it then in great sorrow costing everything to himself he released his arrow and he shot it straight into the heart of the Fox the Fox began to ride on the ground and in great pain and agony and a0 was writhing suddenly it began to transform it to something it transformed it to a young man who was who had a wonderful countenance he couldn't even call it handsome it's just there was something wonderfully and in this young man and his bearing and the young man looked at him and Prince said who are you who are you he said well I'm the princess brother under brother of the princes and I'm your brother too he said take my hand and he led the the young man to the princess and he says I'm bringing you my brother and she recognized him and she embraced him and she said he will live with us and then he moved into the castle and then afterwards strangely they lived happily ever after it's the story folks you know there's different versions of the story it was sometimes I've heard this story told where it's three princesses the same story but the oldest princess youngest princess so on you know and and and and so Queen and there's no masculinity and she finds the prince you know I wish I had an hour just to do that just some of the story with you this story has been around for some thousands of years there's a lot in this story but just who's the Fox it's God you know and notice they know at the end I mean just to give away some of the stuff like you know they can't be happy until this third person is living with them you know and also like in its own way the Paschal mystery that somehow the Christ has to be killed or even Buddha if you meet the Buddha on the road kill him and so on but but also we need would be good to go good to ask yourself like why did why does he consistently not obey the Fox what you know and notice there's a little progression the first time it's just he can't help himself the second time it's a rationalization for the horse the third time it's sympathy you know then the fourth time is how can I kill you when you thought all this for me and so on and then you see there's an inflation as he gets rich Fox not that smart you know so on but but anyway just by just the story I'm sorry I'm not a professional storyteller but [Applause]

Channel: Oblate School of Theology

Views: 3,331

Rating: 5 out of 5

Keywords: Ron Rolheiser, Missionary Oblates, Oblate School of Theology, Bible

Id: B_lMybQ4Tt0

Length: 32min 58sec (1978 seconds)

Published: Thu Apr 23 2020