Portrait of the Son

Book excerpt: "An allegory about The Holy Trinity, the role of Mary of Nazareth in Their divine designs, and the meaning of the acceptance of Jesus Christ as the centre of one's life. The richest man with the best art collection in the world shares his consuming interest with his superlatively good son, who is ably assisted in his benefiscence by their Kindly female estate keeper, who is more than mother to him. The son is called to war, and dies saving his comrades, mirroring the redemptive action of Christ's sacrifice for humanity. The father grieves his son, but is heartened when the estate keeper wheels in the chair of a wounded soldier from the foreign war. The young man presents the father with a portrait depicting the suffering son. As the soldier relates to the father all the insights the son has revealed about the art collection, which actually represents the created world, and especially, his great love for human beings, the pieces are transformed with potential and possibility for restoration to their intended ideal. The father decides to offer his art at auction, but stipulates that the first piece to be on the auction block is to be the portrait of the son. None of the learned bidders condescend to bid on the portrait, but a poor old man who had often been the recipient of the fathers and son's beneficence bids on it and wins. The auctioneer ends the auction, informing the irked would-be bidders that, according go the wishes of the father, the person who takes the portrait of his son wins his entire, vast collection"--