Midnight Mass – S01E03 – Book III: Proverbs [Transcript]

Original release date: September 24, 2021

Crockett Island begins experiencing a religious revival after Leeza’s sudden recovery, which the residents are convinced was a miracle. Leeza visits Joe, who witnesses her recovery for the first time, and tearfully expresses the years of hatred she has harbored towards him for causing her life-ruinous injury, only to ultimately forgive him. A moved Joe decides to attend an AA session with Riley and Father Paul. Sheriff Hassan, whose Muslim faith puts him at odds with the town’s largely Christian population, discovers that his son Ali is studying the Bible, and unsuccessfully attempts to convince Bev at a town meeting to stop handing out Bibles to public school students. Father Paul collapses in front of Bev and the Scarboroughs, and dies after coughing up a stream of blood, only to suddenly spring back to life. In a flashback taking place the night before his first sermon on the island, Paul sits in a confession booth and reveals the true story of Monsignor Pruitt: near Jerusalem, Pruitt was caught in a sandstorm and discovered an ancient ruin, where he was attacked by a winged, vampiric creature (which Pruitt asserts is an Angel) that fed him its lifeblood. Pruitt awoke the next morning and found that he was young again, revealing Father Paul to in fact be a young Monsignor Pruitt.

* * *

[Paul] Bless me, Lord, for I have sinned.

No, that’s not right.

[inhales]

Bless me, Lord, for I am going to sin.

Tomorrow morning, I’m going to introduce myself to the parish and lie to them about Monsignor John Pruitt.

A lie directly, not a lie by omission.

I won’t tell them that John Pruitt was a lot sicker than they thought when they sent him on that trip.

Monsignor? Monsignor Pruitt? Where are you going?

We’re this way. The group’s this way.

[Paul] And he wandered from his tour group frequently.

He spent hours lost in Jerusalem that first day, and that he was terrified.

[men praying indistinctly]

[Paul] This wasn’t a sort of odd senior moment.

No, this was a man in the grips of dementia, more advanced than anyone in the parish had admitted even to themselves.

A man who had… overstayed his allotted time on this Earth.

[breath trembling]

[Paul] I’m not gonna tell them any of that.

I’ll say he’s recovering in a hospital on the mainland.

That things may still go back to normal, that he may yet be the same as they remember.

That he may yet be the man, the leader, the shepherd they have grown to love over so many years.

I am going to tell them this lie for their benefit, so that when it starts, they’ll be ready.

For what’s to come.

For the miracles that are to come.

[inaudible conversation]

[coughs]

[sobbing]

Father?

Father!

[Paul coughs and retches]

[groans]

[breathing heavily]

Father? Are you all right?

Should I call Dr. Gunning?

[exhales]

It’s a miracle. A true miracle.

Isn’t it? A miracle, I mean.

It’s amazing, of course.

I mean, her reflexes are weak, but they are there.

Had you felt anything?

Had you had any sensations prior to this morning?

I don’t know. I mean, even when I couldn’t feel them, I could feel them. Like we talked about, the phantom–

Phantom limb syndrome, right. But nothing new? Nothing different?

[Leeza] No.

[Sarah] Well, I…

You are standing, you are walking, that’s the most important thing.

I’m very happy for you, Leeza.

Your muscles are a little underdeveloped, which is understandable. Let me…

I want you to use this cane, even for short distances, for the time being.

Put your weight on it and put it one step in front of you.

Does that make sense?

[Wade] Have you ever…

Have you ever seen anything like this?

I mean, it’s a miracle, isn’t it? A real one, like a gospels real one.

Before today? No, I haven’t seen anything like this before today.

But now I have. Spinal injuries, they can heal themselves over time.

It’s exceedingly rare, but it does happen.

I would love to get Leeza to the mainland for some advanced testing.

I don’t know.

The more we know about what’s happened, the more we can help other people suffering–

No, I know, it’s not that. It’s just that, over the years, all the appointments and the specialists and the experimental treatments that we tried–

[clears throat] Truth be told, Sarah, um…

Well, we pay rent on a house we used to own.

[Wade exhales]

Half the food we eat is bought on SNAP benefits and the other half is donated from the church.

Oh, we are not complaining, honey. No.

You are worth every penny we’ll ever have, and so much more.

But without a CT scan or a spinal tap, we’re in the dark about what’s happening–

[Wade] She’s walking and she’s standing. And we’re grateful.

It feels wrong, doesn’t it? To interrogate a miracle?

Second guess a gift from God?

[Sarah] Where did you wander off to?

[muffled thudding]

Mom? Mom, how did you get up here?

My room is… This is my room.

-[Sarah] Yeah, Mom, but not for–

[Mildred] It’s different.

-You cannot do stairs. You just can’t.

My room is…

Do you know my daughter, Sarah?

She’s a doctor.

I don’t know how I’ll get you down.

[Mildred] She can tell you, have a bad hip.

If he could… My wife.

-If he could pray over my wife.

My husband, he’s been so sick.

Calm down, all of you. You know that isn’t how these things work.

Let’s not overreact. God does not seek glory, not like that.

Let’s pray.

“Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good.”

“For His steadfast love endures forever.”

“Give thanks to the God of gods, for His steadfast love endures forever.”

“Give thanks to the Lord of Lords, for His steadfast love endures forever.”

“To Him, who alone can do great wonders.”

“Whose steadfast love endures forever.”

The fourth step can be very difficult, but I know you can do it. I really do.

We really not gonna talk about it?

No, we can talk about it.

[scoffs]

Whole town’s buzzin’.

A miracle at St. Patrick’s. You’re gonna have every resident with a bum knee and a head cold in the pews.

Wouldn’t be surprised if you get a call from a reporter on the mainland.

Might wanna do a human interest story on little Leeza’s recovery about the priest who healed her.

This isn’t about publicity. I’d turn that down.

As Matthew says, you know, “If you give something to someone in need, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.”

And Dolly and Wade, you know, they’re not looking to exploit their daughter or sensationalize anything.

I just can’t actually imagine that it’ll summon that much interest outside of Crockett, and that’s okay.

It’s for the best.

The important thing is Leeza.

Yeah.

See, I’m a pretty rational guy, and you know that all our myths, our religions, come from natural occurrences that we can’t explain.

So I can pretty easily see my way through that.

Good for you.

I can wrap my head around a misdiagnosis.

I looked. It happens. It’s rare, but it does.

So, like, her body could have been slowly healing this whole time.

I can explain all of it. If I’m honest, it’s all explainable.

-That sounds wonderful, frankly.

Except one thing.

You had to know.

You had to know that she could walk.

I mean, you went back up the stairs. You beckoned her. If she hadn’t, what would’ve happened to you?

What would this community have thought of you if she hadn’t?

Well, but she did.

And you had to know that.

Okay. What are you asking?

I’m asking, how did you know that?

I really don’t have an answer that’s gonna satisfy you.

Not you.

I mean, if I told somebody else that I could just feel it as she wheeled past me on that ramp, that I could almost see it, that I could almost hear her voice inside my head.

I felt so connected to her at that moment.

That might be good enough for someone, but not for you, is it, Riley Flynn?

I suppose I’d want more.

Yeah, and I’ll always wish that I could give you more.

But that’s all I got.

[Riley exhales]

Does it hurt?

No.

Do you want me to carry your backpack or something?

Sure, thanks.

[indistinct chatter]

-[girl 1] Does it hurt to walk?

[girl 2] How do you feel?

Come on. Leave her be.

Good morning.

Morning, Miss Greene.

Morning, Miss Greene.

[indistinct chatter continues]

[sighs]

[Ed clears throat]

[sighs]

[exclaims]

[song starts on record player]

What are you doing?

What about your back?

Just dance with me.

[Annie] All right.

[Ed chuckles]

What? [laughs]

[song continues]

[knocking at window]

[song continues]

[inaudible conversation]

[inaudible singing]

[inaudible] The body of Christ.

[inaudible conversation]

[inaudible conversation]

[inaudible singing]

[inaudible conversation]

[song continues]

[song stops]

[Ed chuckles]

[Paul] Fill up the extra cruets this week. There’s quite a crowd out there.

[Ooker] It is very crowded.

[Warren] Do we have another bottle?

We had some lying around, but I haven’t seen them recently.

Uh, you boys line up. I’ll take care of it.

I don’t think it’s lit.

Shit, my bad.

Uh…

Lighter.

Let’s go!

Three weeks ago, when we began this journey of repentance, I asked those of you who were here that day to keep a few words in mind.

Rebirth, second chances, eternal life.

[chuckles] That’s a lot to wrap your head around, isn’t it?

I can barely visualize next week, let alone eternity.

But, I mean, for most of us, eternity, it’s an abstract.

It’s a metaphor, a colorful exaggeration.

When we’re waiting for something we want, it takes forever.

We sit in traffic for an eternity.

Abstracts, metaphors, colorful exaggerations.

To us, maybe, but not to God.

Not to Him. And it shouldn’t be for us, either.

Communion, the transformation of bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ.

A metaphor? No. God tells us.

Miracles, walking on water, rising from the dead. Abstracts?

No. God tells us. Eternal life, a colorful exaggeration?

[Wade] No.

No? That’s right. You call it out.

God’s gifts are as tangible as the ground beneath our feet.

[bangs pedestal]

And His covenant, it’s not abstract.

No. It’s a contract, scrawled in flesh, inked in the blood of the martyrs.

And yet, try as we might, we cannot visualize, we cannot mentally picture the rewards promised.

Well, if you’re here seeking to know answers to the unknowable, it’s incumbent upon me to tell you that I have none.

And if you want to know why or how God’s will shapes the world, brothers and sisters, so do I. I don’t have all the answers. Nobody does.

What I do have though, and what God gives us plentifully, are mysteries.

God gives us miracles very rarely, here and there, but mysteries?

Sorry. Um…

As… adults, we tend to dislike mysteries.

We… We feel uncomfortable not knowing.

[chuckles] No. To be a child.

To look with awe and wonder, and live with staggering honesty.

To be guiltless, light as air.

To bend softly as the word of God sweeps…

I’m very sorry. I’m…

Sorry, I’m just a little bit tired today.

A tiny dizzy spell.

It’s passed. I’m fine. Sorry. I’m very sorry.

Um…

The more that we know, the less we bend.

The more brittle we become, the easier to break.

Like some would say this island broke. Was broken.

But I am here to tell you…

the resurrection, body and soul, the redemption, body and soul, the miracles waiting for us here on Crockett Island.

Not metaphors, not abstracts, not colorful exaggerations, no.

Rebirth, second chances. Eter… [groans]

[all gasp]

[Wade] Go get Dr. Gunning!

Please give him some room.

[Paul] The conversion of Saul took place on the road to Damascus.

Saul was a persecutor of Christians, an enemy of the Church, heading to Damascus to round up believers, take them prisoner.

But as you know, as he neared Damascus, he saw a light so bright it knocked him to the ground.

And he was blinded. And then Jesus spoke to him.

Days later the scales fell from his eyes and Saul became a follower of Christ and then became the Apostle Paul.

It was on the same road outside the city that Monsignor Pruitt, bewildered and confused, wandered from his tour group for the last time.

They must not have noticed he was missing.

First his failing mind didn’t help him, and out he wandered, out into that desert.

No, Monsignor…

Lost, confused, lost in the world, lost in his mind, separated from his group, certain to die out there in that desert, on the road to Damascus, when a horrible sandstorm overtook him.

There had been, recently, horrible storms in the area.

He’d heard this. These astonishing storms, seismic storms.

Storms that had, he’d heard, even unearthed ancient ruins in the desert, that churned the ground, stirred the earth, and pulled from it the mouths of structures and buildings from long ago.

Ruins long sealed in the earth.

And so as Monsignor Pruitt wandered, lost in the storm, the sand scratching his eyes, cutting into his face, he saw before him, there was a darkness in the dunes.

Mouth of a cave, perhaps.

A door to some ancient ruin.

And his failing mind only sought shelter, so in he went, eagerly, into the darkness of the thing.

The cave-like entrance that had just opened up in front of him.

Until all light went…

It’s just a dizzy spell.

Maybe so.

Still, let me listen.

[Paul grunts]

Deep breath in.

[inhales] I promise that I’m all right.

And out.

[Paul exhales]

Your heart rate’s elevated, and your body temperature is too.

It’s like your body is fighting a virus, but nothing jumps out as too alarming.

So he’s okay then?

He’ll live.

You are dehydrated though, Father. So cut out all the salty foods, drink lots and lots of water, get some rest, and let this work its way out of your system.

Thank you.

[tap turns]

Just doing my job.

No, it’s more than that. You take care of people.

Me and your mother, this whole island. You are a comfort to people.

I’m proud of you.

Thank you.

You heard the doctor. Drink up.

And I’m canceling all your afternoon appointments.

Oh, Bev.

You need rest and you will get it.

[sighs]

Not all. There are some I will not miss.

Lunch is ready.

[Ali] Be right there!

[knocking at door]

[indistinct chatter on TV]

[knocking continues]

[Joe] Fuck off.

Fuck you want from me?

You won’t leave a guy alone. Fuck you want?

Hello.

Is that the one?

Is it?

No.

Is it here?

I’d like to see it if it’s here.

No, that’s my grandfather’s gun.

The other one, that one, I threw it into the bay right after.

I couldn’t look at it anymore.

It’s just like I pictured it.

So here goes.

I was walking with my dad, and we weren’t going anywhere special, it’s just something we did.

It’s when he’d talk the most to me, so I’d ask him, since I was a little girl.

And we’re walking, like any other evening, and then there it is.

Like a clap of thunder, and I was just on the ground.

But I didn’t feel it.

And my dad is screaming, like an animal.

Never heard his voice like that, I never have since, but I didn’t feel it.

I didn’t feel it at all.

And it was when I realized just how much I couldn’t feel, that’s when I got really scared.

[exclaims]

I hate you.

Honesty is important, so we’ll start there.

I hate you, Joe Collie.

[Joe whimpers]

I’ve hated you for years, and the things I’ve imagined doing to you… I want you to hurt.

I want you to suffer.

[voice breaking] I want you to make those noises my dad made when he put his hand over the bullet hole in my spine.

I want you to beg for my forgiveness so that I can tell you no.

I want you to live in complete, absolute misery.

So when I say this place is just like I pictured it, what I really mean is it’s just like I hoped it would be.

I’m sorry.

Damn right, you’re sorry!

[sniffles]

You stole from me.

Not just who I was, but who I could’ve been.

You stole from me things I didn’t even have yet.

You reached through time, Joe Collie!

You reached through time and you stole…

[sobs softly]

All of that is true, and all that is still in here, but that’s not why I came here today.

I came here today… I came here today…

I forgive you.

[sobs]

I forgive you, Joe Collie.

I forgive you, and I see you now.

I see you. And I’m still angry with you.

But it’s different. Even now just saying it, it’s different.

Do you wanna know why?

Yeah.

Because the only thing standing between you and a better life is you.

The only thing standing in my way was hate.

The only thing standing in your way is you.

“Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty.”

“And he who rules his spirit than he who takes the city.”

That’s Proverbs 16:32, Joe. Do you know what Proverbs means?

What the Book of Proverbs is?

It means wisdom.

Wisdom and knowledge. So… if God can forgive you, and He says He can, all over the place, He says it… then I can forgive you.

[exclaims]

And if I can forgive you, Joe Collie, then anyone can.

[sobbing]

[Bev] I understand that a few of you are upset, but let me be the first one to help calm you down.

No one is taking a single thing away.

All of the required lessons are still being taught.

We haven’t touched the curriculum, so we get that off the table right now.

Respectfully, that’s not the issue–

I understand given your religious affiliation, you might find the fact that your son is interested in the Bible offensive…

Not at all.

…I suppose.

But I would say that if he’s interested in Jesus, why not allow him to learn a little about it?

That’s so not the issue, and thank you for this opportunity to clarify.

Uh, he knows all about Jesus.

Well, I imagine not quite all.

[Hassan] Muslims believe that Jesus is a prophet of God, and that the Injeel, the Bible, was revealed to him as the Torah was revealed to Moses before that.

See, we love Jesus. And we love the message that was revealed to him.

Well! [laughs]

I suppose we learn something new every day, don’t we?

[Hassan] But we also believe, after the time of Jesus, thanks to the interference of men, there were deviations in Christianity.

People altered the message. Priests, popes, kings.

That’s why there’s so, so many versions of the Bible.

People got in there, made their changes.

I don’t think this is relevant.

Okay, we do though believe that the Bible contains some of the original word of God.

That’s very generous of you.

[Hassan] But we also believe that God revealed the Quran as the final message.

Never to be altered.

To reassert the original revelations of the previous prophets.

I don’t think that this is the place to discuss where our beliefs about scripture might diverge.

Exactly.

There it is. That’s the issue.

That’s why I think some of the people in this room, including myself, are a little concerned.

See, Muslims encourage everyone to seek knowledge, so I am more than comfortable with my son studying a Bible.

Thrilled, actually. I’ve done it myself.

But where I think there’s an issue is that this is a public school.

That’s the thing.

And I think what’s concerning some of us is not the Bible itself, but that it was handed out. Distributed to the kids here.

I just ask you to consider how you’d feel, if you sent your child to a public school…

Sheriff.

…and they came home with a copy of the Quran, asking about the Prophet Muhammad. You’d feel it was an issue.

If I went around handing out copies of the Quran to the children on this island, purely in the interest of the pursuit of knowledge, I’d expect you chase me out of town, Miss Keane.

If I may, um…

This is a public school.

And he’s absolutely right.

And I belong to the same congregation as most of you, so you know where I fall, but reading scripture in homeroom–

Why, Sheriff, of course, I wouldn’t run you out of town.

And it makes me sad that you would think that of me.

People of faith, any faith, well, we’re all of the same cloth.

Cousins, really.

And it was never my intention to disrespect anybody.

Never, in the least. It’s just…

[sighs]

Having a Bible present in the room, why, it’s just a book in the room like a science book or a history book–

It’s actually very different.

Kids can take them or leave them.

Sure, I may read an inspiring passage during homeroom from time to time, but I am not evangelizing.

I am simply sharing my faith with the children in the hopes that they might be inspired.

If we had a Muslim faculty member, and they quoted the Quran to the kids, I would be fine with that so long as the text wasn’t offensive, which, forgive me for saying so, a good deal of that text can be, at times.

[scoffs]

That is not an attack, Sheriff.

I certainly admit that the Holy Bible, the Old Testament in particular, has passages that are not suitable for children.

Invaluable to adults, of course, but I would never read the tale of Lot and his wife to a group of kids.

Anything that I quote, I vet beforehand.

That’s not the point he’s making–

And what is education, if not providing a student with the option to learn.

Why be afraid to let them read a particular text?

What, are we gonna burn books we find even a smidge controversial?

And in this case, current events, local events, well, they beg further study, don’t they?

I’m just gonna say it, there is no point in pretending there isn’t an elephant in the room.

We are living in a miraculous time. Right here, right now, on Crockett Island.

There are actual bona fide miracles happening before our eyes at St. Patrick’s.

And this community… Sheriff, you should know this, you are responsible for observing this community.

This community is in the midst of a full-blown religious revival at the moment.

And if the children of this community cannot discuss that in their local school, well, I just don’t know what that is.

[applauding]

I couldn’t stay in that room listening to her bullshit one more minute.

It’s like this particular brand of self-righteousness that is exclusive to a certain breed of religious.

I’ve never liked that.

Never.

Sorry, that was…

No.

[sighs]

How are you? How’s it going?

Slowly. I guess I’m having trouble approaching people directly for my amends.

So Father Paul said I should write letters, so I’m writing letters. Lots of letters.

That’s difficult.

Writing them is hard.

Delivering them, that’s gonna be harder.

That I’m not looking forward to.

I did my fearless moral inventory, and I found out that, man, I am a coward.

Don’t do that.

Don’t talk about yourself like that.

If anyone else talked about you like that, I’d…

You’d what?

I’d kick their ass.

Oh, yeah?

Yeah.

You’d kick their ass?

I’d kick it, just like this. [exclaims]

That was actually my thigh, so…

So I’d kick their thighs.

Yeah.

All right, Mom, time for a bath before…

God, Mom.

We’re gonna have to start tying you down unless you want to shatter both hips.

Sarah.

Don’t know why I bother telling you this. It’s like I’m speaking in German.

Sarah, honey.

Mom.

I’ve been…

Where have I been? Somewhere… somewhere dark?

But just now… it’s like I woke up, and… there you are.

My beautiful…

Mom?

[Mildred sobs softly]

When did you move me into the living room?

Sorry I’m late.

Told you he’d catch on. We’re a trio now.

[exhales]

Hey, Joe.

So much for the anonymous part, eh, partner? [chuckles]

And after she left, I didn’t even want to drink.

I mean, I did, but I didn’t want to.

If that makes any sense. I mean, I don’t know.

I don’t fucking know. I walked up the length of the whole goddamn island, and I figured, you know, what happened for her, it happened here, at St. Patrick’s.

That’s what everybody’s saying, right?

So I figured fuck it.

And I came here and then Father Paul tells me you guys have this meetin’.

So Leeza’s forgiven you.

And I heard your confession today, and God forgave you.

Who does that leave?

I guess I’m not as quick to forgive as they are.

All right. What do you think, Riley?

I think I’m not really in a position to say anything to anyone about their drinking.

That’s bullshit.

No, I’m sorry, it’s bullshit. That’s bullshit. I’m sorry.

You’ve been coming here once a week, sometimes more, if we’re honest, isn’t it?

That’s all you have to say? Remember that first time?

Remember that Riley who walked in here, arms folded, walls up? I remember him.

Think about him for a minute, then talk.

Because I think there’s somethin’ you can say to Joe that I can’t, that nobody else can.

And that’s what this is for. So don’t bullshit me and just do it.

Okay, Riley?

Um…

You showed up, Joe.

You’re here, that’s… that’s enough.

It won’t be forever, but for tonight it is.

For tonight, it’s everything.

[Paul] All right, I got it from here, gentlemen. You two go on ahead.

You sure? We can help you with the coffee–

Absolutely. I’ll see you both at the next meeting?

Yeah.

Yeah, of course.

I’ll be there. Good night, Father.

Good night.

[Riley] Good night.

Night.

[coughing]

[Joe] “Pruitt Recreation Center,” what a fucking legacy.

I mean, why not just name it “Bev Keane’s Money Laundry”?

That’s all it really was. Hmm?

“Bev Keane’s Coin Laundry.” [chuckles]

Or “Bev Keane’s Con Laundry.”

Or “Beverly fucking Keane’s Queen Evil Bitch Emporium, Embezzlement “R” Us Incorporated, L-L-fuckin’-C.”

Well, you’d need a bigger sign.

[Joe laughs]

But the point is that I… I never thought I’d step foot in that building.

Never.

Thought I’d die on this island before I ever saw the inside.

But then being in there with you and Father Paul, and talking like that, under this fuckin’ circumstance, where I feel like…

maybe my life might be worth…

I mean, after… all that…

Well, it just shows to go you, don’t it?

Never assume.

Words to live by, them.

Never assume.

I’m glad you were there, Joe.

[Joe laughs]

Wait, you really are, aren’t you?

It’s… What a fucking trip.

Only person that ever gave a damn about me was my sister.

She left Crockett ages ago.

-She never understood why I stayed.

Well, why did you?

I don’t know. It just seemed…

It just felt too easy to leave. Like, I shouldn’t be able to just leave.

I guess I’m a glutton for punishment.

She died a few weeks back.

I’m so sorry.

Her kids buried her on the mainland.

She didn’t want to come back here, not even in death.

I just wish I’d gone to see her.

You know, made the effort. I just… I couldn’t. I couldn’t then.

But I think I could now.

[exclaims] And that just… Well, that’s…

It just fuckin’ sucks.

[sighs] Well, I’ll let you get to it.

Does it ever get any different?

For people like us?

I don’t think so.

Nothing around us changes.

I mean, maybe if we work really hard, then maybe we become different.

Then maybe at least it feels different?

I don’t know.

Here’s to becoming different people.

Good night, Joe.

Night, Riley.

[praying in Arabic]

[sighs]

[Ali in English] Can I talk to you?

Sure.

I wanted to go to St. Patrick’s Sunday, just to check it out.

Why?

Everyone from school goes there, so I–

No. No, they don’t.

Well, a lot of them do, so I thought it’d be cool to go see what it’s about.

No. No, I don’t think so.

There’s no good reason for me not to.

There’s an excellent reason. You’re not a Christian.

Well, that wasn’t up to me, was it?

None of this has been up to me.

You didn’t ask me if I wanted to be a Muslim.

You are a Muslim.

You didn’t ask me if I wanted to move here.

I know.

You never ask me about anything.

You’re the one who decided to become Muslim for Mom, and you decided to move here because your precinct was too fucking racist.

You couldn’t take it–

Hey!

It’s always been up to you, Dad. You make the decisions. You.

But now that we’re here, and these things are happening, these–

What things?

You know what things.

Son, I know Leeza Scarborough’s recovery, her misdiagnosis, okay, I know that’s a compelling thing.

Dad, I know Leeza, pretty well actually, and her case is…

It’s a miracle, okay? It just is.

No, that isn’t how it works, Ali.

That isn’t how Allah…

Do you know what it does?

What pancreatic cancer does to someone?

Would you like me to tell you?

Because I don’t want to.

I never, ever want you to know what she went through.

I bear that for both of us, and that’s right.

She kept her faith. She honored Him to her last moment, and if…

If God really worked that way…

If He decided that He was gonna heal some people and not others, if He chose to spare some and not others, if He handed Leeza Scarborough a miracle, but let a child die of a brain tumor across the way in the mainland…

No.

No, that’s not how it works, Ali. It’s not.

That’s not how God works.

No matter how exciting the stories are at St. Patrick’s.

Or the Buddhists or Scientologists. It’s not magic. It’s not.

Kiss your mother.

Tomorrow, we can talk about it more if you’d like.

Fuck!

[Ali] What happened?

Nothin’. Um…

I’m seeing things. Oh.

Good night.

Will we be able to turn the water on before the Father returns?

[man] Almost done, Miss Keane.

Thank you again for the dish.

Gonna start putting things in the deep freezer.

People have been so generous.

Well, Father Paul deserves it.

[Bev] Yes, he does. And that’s why I wanted you to help me plan this.

I was thinking a community dinner to show our appreciation.

Nothing too extravagant.

But we could fill the rec center, no doubt.

And I thought you two could give the primary address.

Well, we’d be happy to.

Sure.

Given what he’s done for your family, and your standing in the community, Wade, it would mean a lot as a father, as a…

Hey.

[Bev] Father?

Oh, God, not again!

[Dolly] What’s wrong with him?

[Bev screams]

[Paul gasps]

[shrieks]

[gurgles]

[Bev screams]

[Wade] Father?

He’s…

[Wade] Father Paul? Please…

[voice trembling] I don’t…

I don’t understand. I don’t understand.

[Wade gasps]

I don’t understand.

[Paul] Darkness. It was darkness in those ruins.

No light. Every step forward, a step into nothing.

[groans softly]

[breathing heavily]

[wind howling]

[gasps]

[matches rustling]

[breath trembling]

[metal sliding]

[breathing heavily]

[gasps]

[matches rustling]

[growls]

[Pruitt shrieks]

[creature sucking]

[gulping]

[Paul] And the pain, pain, pain.

Pain, yes.

And then the fear was drained from his body.

Drained from his body was all the fear, pain…

It was just drained. Drained.

[creature growls]

[smacks lips]

[voice trembling] Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven.

[Paul] Those eyes.

Eyes and skin and hands, but also wings.

A sense of great wings enfolding him, and his mind finally found the word.

The word was unearthed by his fear like the tomb was unearthed by the storm.

And the word was “angel.”

Angel.

And he was so afraid.

As a hand in the dark, a hand outstretched, stigmata, the wound of the Lord, and from the angel’s wrist, the blood of life flowed, and a new word took shape.

“Drink. Drink.”

“Take this, all of you, and drink from it. This is my blood.”

“The blood of the new and everlasting covenant shed for you and for all so that sins may be forgiven.”

These words in the old man’s old mind again and again and again and again as he drank.

Monsignor John Pruitt woke the next morning.

The storm had passed.

The sun was coming in through the cave’s entrance, and he walked to it. He walked to it.

And he raised a hand to shield him from the sun.

His hand was young again.

The decades washed away.

Behind him, the entrance of the church, I thought it must’ve been a church.

It was an ancient church hiding an angel behind me.

An angel of the Lord, afraid of the light.

Hiding in shadows. And I bowed, and I wept.

I knew the journey would be long.

But I knew where this angel was needed, and so I’d travel and I’d wait, and the angel would catch up.

I’d travel and wait in fear, Lord, fear that someone would discover it or that one night it wouldn’t be there, it wouldn’t fly to me.

Uh, and when it did, I knew I’d have to hide it.

And so I’d hid it in earth, and packed it with antiquities, and I’d leave the rest to God. Leave it to God that I might bring it safely home to the people who needed it most.

And by Your grace, I did.

[clears throat]

And I knew all the while that I’d have to lie…

Lie to the very people I’m here to save.

To the dear souls of this island, so that we may bring them Your love and Your mercy and Your miracles.

So…

Forgive me, Lord, for the small lies I must tell in Your service.

Oh, my God. I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, and I detest all my sins because I dread the loss of Heaven and the pains of Hell. But most of all because they offend Thee.

Oh, my God, who are all good and deserving of all my love.

I firmly resolve with the help of Thy grace to confess all my sins, to do penance and to amend my life. Amen.

[sobs]

[Paul gasps]

[all exclaim]

Monsignor! Oh, thank God!

It’s a miracle!

Oh, thank God! Oh, thank God!

It’s a miracle.

[breathing heavily]

Thank God. Thank God for you, Monsignor.

It’s a miracle.

It’s okay. It’s okay.

[Bev shushes]

It’s okay.