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Heaven, Earth, and the Alchemist

 Every Lent and Easter period I rededicate and affirm my Catholic faith. 

This year during my period of reflection a strange amalgamation occurred which I hope will not seem as blasphemous if I can explain it properly. 

Some truths were revealed to me through the simplicity of the Lord's Prayer and Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist. 

I, through baptism and profession of the Creed, am a follower of Christ. 

I know it is my mission to become like Christ, to be granted admission into heaven. Part of my role as a Catholic is to create a better world on Earth until I meet God in Heaven. 

This Lent and Easter period I have had the thought that the world would be a better place if everyone followed the Lord's Prayer.

“Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven.”

There was a time in world history where eighty to ninety percent of the population professed to be followers of Christ. Now that number is at thirty percent and dropping in the Western world. 

I ask you is it a coincidence that in that time treatment for anxiety and depression has increased? 

To me it is no coincidence that without the belief in God and the comfort and peace that used to provide would lead to an increase in anxiety and depression.

I believe it is human nature to do what is good and in line with God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 

For half my life I have called myself a devout Catholic but after listening to the Catholic Saints podcast, in particular the episode about St Perpetua and St Felicity, I know I have a long way to go in my devotion to Christ and I pray, should it ever be God's will, that I have the same amazing courage of those two women. 

While going through my Lenten journey I also reread Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist and I couldn’t help noticing the parallels between faith in God and the soul of the world and a pilgrim's journey with a person's personal legend. 

God has given each one of us unique gifts to fulfil a purpose that only He is aware of. 

Do not be afraid to follow what God has written on your heart. 



Heaven and the Alchemist


Do not be fooled by the goal of the alchemist;

Heaven cannot be reached by checking off God's list.

Let love open up an angry fist.

The Holy Spirit is as gentle as a surrounding mist.


I profess to be a follower of Christ but the pain my disability gives me 

Doesn't come close to what He sacrificed.

My life I give to God so it is no longer mine to barter.

As I listen to the stories of the saints, I pray I would have the courage of a martyr. 


Easter brings new joy which is not something to be thrown away like an abandoned toy.

Lent is a time that God reinvites us into His tent.

Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done.

If we stick to this, the world can live as one.


Chris Van Ingen | 12 April 2023



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