The Tree of Life

My dearest children, I am here to tell you a story. A story of a place where miracles occurred and dreams were destroyed. It began many years ago the town of Libertyville, New Hampshire, where the people had little faith in God our Father. Nestled in the hills that surrounded Libertyville sat a mansion known to the towns people as Mercy House, where one Alexander Becker dwelt with his wife, Sandra, and his three children, Alexander, Anne, and Matthew. It was rare in those days for the Beckers to come down from Mercy House, except to go shopping at the Libertyville General Store and attend Sunday mass. And for that our Lord was pleased. Any other day the children were taught by their mother inside the mansion while their father spent many an hour in his study, hunched over his desk, pen in hand waiting for the right words to come.
When the weather was nice and the afternoon sun shone bright, the children could be seen playing on the grounds, particularly underneath the willow tree that resided on a hill one hundred yards from the house. Here their father had hung a swing from one of the branches where Alexander would push Anne-Marie while little Matthew played on the grass. But the children grew, and with them their faith grew as well. Soon it was time for Alexander to go out into the world to start a family of his own. When that time came he took one final walk up to the willow. To his surprise, on the swing that hung from it’s strong branches sat our lady, the virgin Mary. Stunned, Alexander froze in his tracks staring at the beauty before him. With a smile, she motioned for him to come to her and said:
“My dearest child, do not be afraid for I seek no injury, only your help.” Alexander moved closer as the Queen of Heaven unveiled her plan to him. “In this world full of so much evil even the most loved of children, like you, sometimes feel that God is not truly with them. I want you to built a home, a shelter for my children, a safe haven from all of the evils in this world. I want it to be a place where they can be nurtured and grow in their faith, where they may be filled with new spirits full of faith in God, love for one another, and hope for the future. Give them a place where they will not only find comfort in their peers, but in the company of my son. For it is only then that they will achieve salvation.” As he knelt at her feet, they prayed a decade of the rosary, and, when Alexander opened his eyes after a moment of silent prayer, she was gone. Deeply moved and saddened, he began to weep, his tears being absorbed by the ground that Our Lady stood on.
The next morning Alexander walked back up the hill and stood under the willow hoping that he might see Our Holy Mother just one more time. But instead he found something much more profound. In the ground where his tears had fallen, a seedling had started to grow. Convinced that he had witnessed a miracle, Alexander stayed at mercy house, not sharing with anyone what he had seen the previous day on the hill. There he watched that seedling grow into a beautiful rose bush that never seemed to grow weak for it blossomed once during each of the four seasons and during the months of Mary.
Days turned into weeks, weeks to months, months to years, and while his brother and sister moved on Alexander remained at Mercy House, taking care of his parents until the days they died. Both were buried with Our Lady’s roses placed in their hands, a symbol of their faith and love of our Lord. It was only then that Alexander saw it fit to begin Our Lady’s work.
Three years later, he reopened Mercy House’s doors as “The Tree of Life Christian Youth Community Center” simply known to the towns people as The Tree of Life. At first, only 50 or so of Our Lady’s children came, but as word spread more and more came to experience that which was The Tree of Life. Thus, hundreds of children came to grow in faith in our Lord, hope for the future, and love for one another in the shelter of the Tree of Life and in the arms of Our Lady.
As time passed, Alexander took a wife whose name was Judith and together they had four beautiful children: Jeffery, Michael, Luke, and Elijah. He raised his children in much the same way his father had raised him, and they knew little outside of the Mercy House and the children of the Tree of Life. As they grew older, Alexander sent them down into Libertyville to attend JFK high school and it was there that his son, Luke, met musician, Evan Martin. On most days after school, Evan and Luke, could be found at the Tree of Life, making up silly songs and praying with the children. They eventually became counselors, and when he felt he could no longer care for the children of the Tree of Life, Alexander left the Mercy House in the hands of Evan and Luke. In their care, the children were better able to understand their faith and thus mature in their love for Our Lady.
Alexander’s remaining children were jealous of the love that he felt for Luke. Sure, he loved them all, but there was something about the way that he looked at Luke that made their blood boil, especially his oldest son, Jeffery. One day that April when Alexander fell ill and had to be placed in the hospital, Jeffery, Michael, and Elijah decided to get even. For, you see, Alexander did not have a will, believing that our Lord would take care of everything when it was time for him to leave this physical earth. Knowing this, Jeffery had Alexander give him the power of attorney, and had a will drawn up dividing up all of Alexander’s assets among Michael, Elijah, and himself, leaving Luke with practically nothing.
Sadly, on May 21 of the same year Alexander was taken safely to Heaven in the arms of our Lord and Lady. The day after he was returned to the ground the will was read, leaving Luke and Evan with the sad task of telling the children that at the end of June the Tree of Life was to close it’s doors for good. And as they began cleaning up the house and saying their goodbyes, the rose bush that had miraculously blossomed year round began to wilt. An infinite number of tears watering the soil could not bring it back to it’s state of once absolute beauty.
On that last day in June all of the children, past and present, that had grown in the shelter of the Tree of Life gathered near the rose bush under the willow for one last time for a candle light vigil. Many tears were shed as Luke spoke to the crowd. He reminded the children of what his father had been sent to do and that through them his mission was complete.
As he finished, Evan began to play one of the children’s favorite songs. As he sang the line Good is good, bad is bad, just remember all the friends you've had. Peace depends on you, take it now and go my friends the last petal was shed from Our Lady’s rose bush, and from the purple sky lingering over head, lightening crashed ans a steady rain began. The gathering prayed one last time together before leaving the Tree of Life for good.
Brayden O’Shea lingered on top of the hill. From a distance she could be seen kneeling by the rose bush, cradling it’s fallen petal near her heart. This is the story of how she grew in the shelter of the Tree of Life