Revelation (4. the divine or supernatural disclosure to humans of something relating to human existence or the world – it’s got to be the CAT!) This cave is the place where purportedly God appeared and spoke to St. John, giving him the content for the book of Revelations in the Bible. Was there a revelation at the cave the day we were there?
At the entrance to the pathway that lead to the Cave of the Apocalypse a tiny kitten was sitting…. He was a tiger cat, the same color as me…. He/She had chosen a spot in the hot sun on the rock (or was it placed there by someone?) Animals always attract my attention…. I noticed that the kitten didn’t seem “right”, and when I looked closer I realized that it had no eyes, and it’s eye sockets appeared to even be grossly infected. It would let out an occasional weak meow….. into the sun. We approached and bent down to take a closer look. It was not afraid, it could not see us, but maybe it felt the shade from our shadow. It was visibly frail, I wondered if it was being fed somehow, and how it ended up at the doorstep of the Cave…. I reached out to pet it with a gentle finger on the back of the neck. It felt my touch and instinctively began purring and leaning into my finger.. I could feel it’s pain and it could feel my gentle love. I didn’t know of anything I could do for it and I wondered how long it would live…. in that state of pain and disorientation.
The kitten left a scar on my heart – because I could do nothing. I was a tourist on a scooter. I could not scoop him up and take him home… feed him, get him water – – or anything. I wondered how he got there….. someone must have dumped him. Why dump this poor kitten at St. Johns Cave of the Apocalypse?? Hoping God would take care of it?? God is not in that building….. As I stood there pondering the meaning of the cat I noticed other tourists that were photographing it!! Seriously – they want to save this memory?? It is all I can do to wipe it from my memory, in fact I can not… It must mean something! Obviously those snap happy tourists could not see what I saw.
So my mind goes to work in it. What was Symbolic about this kitten? It could not see – it was 100% helpless. It was young, without fully developed instinct. If it had been brought there it was by a human – perhaps another human like me – one that didn’t have the resources to help it. What did it need? It needed eyes. It needed healing. It needed to be safe. It needed to be loved. Lets see…. as far as I know we can not give it eyes. Potentially the eye sockets could be healed, but this kitty would never see. In a familiar place it could live in safety without eyes, but it would need lots of love. Maybe it only needed love.. If the human that dumped it there had love they could have given it…. Instead they dumped the kitty at a place where they perceived God would take care of it. But God is Love…. The problem here is that God is not this building. God is not even at this building. Buildings do not have emotions, the emotion or force of Love.
Rob and I travel all over the world and we always step into churches! Churches are built by humans with the maximum amount of money they can come up with. I think that is why the Architecture is Beautiful, because churches are built with maximum money (tangible love) combined with human energy (the force of love). We have been in hundreds of churches and we have not seen God there yet! Because God is Love. What we see in the Architecture is beauty, the result of a force that lived within the people that built the building – “Love”. But you always find pain in people looking for love at Church…. like the blind kitty.
So someone who couldn’t see that they had what the kitty needed – LOVE – dumped it there as a helpless creature…. I will always wonder what happened to the kitty and most likely will never know.. If the kitty found Love, it may be living. If it didn’t, most likely it died.
Is that what happens to all of us? When we can’t find any LOVE we die? Are we looking for Love in all the wrong places? Can’t find any because you can’t see LOVE? Try to feel it instead…. think of the blind kitten that leaned into my finger and began to purr… Think of a baby you once held in your arms…. or just let yourself receive love from the air you breath that gives you life………
Revelation: Maybe everyone who goes there has the capacity to receive a message from God…. a revelation at the cave – if only we were paying attention…….
Rob and Lynn Belles are seasoned travelers and Cruises Inc. Travel Agents
Gathering up the best experiences on Earth to share with you
for the purpose of inspiring you to go into the world with peace and kindness and learn all about the rest of humanity………..
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