The young dove – a parable by Mgr. Mirkis

On the roof of the Temple, a dozen white doves were balking in the first rays of a lovely morning sun. A pair of fledglings enjoyed the gorgeous view from the place and they loved to hear the cooing of the large pigeons, jealously courting along the rosy tiles…

One day, the beautiful calm suddenly ceased: a deafening din filled the space. «I’m afraid, we shall have to go», Mother Dove sighed, «big work is going to be done within the Temple these days.»

All in a white flutter, the doves took off and flew towards the spire of a Church in the city. They alighted on the old stones of the tower and went happily exploring their new abode.

Days went by; Autumn came, and again a gang of workmen appeared in the street, armed with loud trucks and roaring engines, and they circled round the Church. «Dear ones,» Father Dove exclaimed, «we cannot stay here; I see the workers are going to make an awful noise for days and weeks ahead. Let’s go somewhere else!»

And the doves once again fluttered away. They landed on a Mosque, that stood in the suburbs of the town. As they alighted on the roof of the Mosque, the fledglings asked their parents: «Why do we have to move from place to place like this?» Mother Dove replied: «Indeed, we were on the Temple, then we perched on the Church, and now we sit on the Mosque. But you see, dear, we do remain doves, all the time.» The young dove then put another question: «But Mom, the people who pray in the Temple, and those who go to the Church, and those who gather in the Mosque, why don’t they agree to pray together in one single place?»

«Ah!» Father Dove answered, «that is because they are human beings, you see; they live down below, whereas we fly above and we see what they cannot see; they are human being, just as much as we are doves. And we see the world from on high, like God.»

«Oh,» the young dove remarked thoughtfully: «Then these human beings should realize that before belonging either to the Temple, to the Church or to the Mosque, they all are human beings, all the same, shouldn’t they?»…

Fr. Dominique+