Total Submission to His Group

Yet, even as a monk of the Opus Dei, the memories of his past still haunt him from time to time and whenever that happens, Silas always tries to suppress it by performing corporal mortification. At the moment, though, in his room at the residence hall, it was his fathers disappointed voice that whispered to him from the past. Tu es un désastre. Un spectre. you are a disaster. A ghost Kneeling on the wooden floor, Silas prayed for forgiveness. Then, stripping off his robe, he reached again for the Discipline p. 181. He feels that the Discipline can erase the violent memories of his past and clean his soul from his past sins, and enable him to rebuild his new life as a part of Opus Dei. His application of the Discipline is extremely harsh, so much harsher than what is required of an Opus Dei monk, because he feels that the blood that is resulted by his version of the ritual can free him from his memories of past violence, cleanse his past sins and enable him to fully became the Silas of Opus Dei. Five hundred miles away, the albino named Silas stood over a small basin of water and dabbed the blood from his back, watching the patterns of red spinning in the water. Purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean, he prayed, quoting Psalms. Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Silas was feeling an aroused anticipation that he had not felt since his previous life. It both surprised and electrified him. For the last decade, he had been following The Way, cleansing himself of sins... rebuilding his life...erasing the violence in his past p. 34. Silas is also willing to let go of many of his life aspects, including his sex life. He does really have sexual desires, but he is willing to leave all his indulgence and choose to live a celibate life in order to follow Opus Dei. For ten years now, Silas had faithfully denied himself all sexual indulgence, even self-administered. It was The Way. He knew he had sacrificed much to follow Opus Dei, but he had received much more in 39 PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI return. A vow of celibacy and the relinquishment of all personal assets hardly seemed a sacrifice p. 79. Silas’s total dedication to The Way causes him to give his entire self to be used for any purposes of his organization. He sees his leader as the only one who has the right to determine his path. Therefore, when Manuel Aringarosa asks him to be a “soldier of God” to get the keystone in order to save Opus Dei’s power, Silas easily obeys it. For Silas, the bishop’s command is the same as a command from God and it is his duty to make any necessary sacrifices. The bishop had seemed hopeful for the first time.”Silas,” he whispered, “God has bestowed upon us an opportunity to protect The Way. Our battle, like all battles, will take sacrifice. Will you be a soldier of God?” Silas fell to his knees before Bishop Aringarosa—the man who had given him a new life—and he said, “I am a lamb of God. Shepherd me as your heart commands” pp. 212-213.

2. Blind Obedience to His Leader

A fanatic is the one who sees the leader of his group as a person who has ultimate status. He sees his leader as the one who has equal position as God Himself and it is a must to obey all the leader’s words without reasoning, because for him, the leader’s words is as absolute as the word of God Himself Mirdal, 2002, http:www.psy.ku.dkmirdalterrorisme1.htm. This characteristic can be seen clearly through Silas. Silas considers his leader, Bishop Manuel Aringarosa – a person who had saved him from his miserable life – as God Himself. Therefore, he is willing to obey all the bishop’s commands without questioning and this attitude that soon will lead Silas to be a blind obedient monk. The writer can say that Silas is blind obedient because he just obeys his leader’s command without 40 PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI questioning and considering the consequences and the effects behind his action of obeying the command fully. To begin this analysis, the writer will point out the cause of Silas’ blind obedience. As mentioned in the previous analysis, Silas has a very horrible past. People are cruel to him and he always finds himself rejected by the people around him. It is Manuel Aringarosa who saves his life. Manuel Aringarosa is the first and the only person who is really kind to Silas. He is not only his caretaker but also the only person who considers Silas a friend. Not only being a very good person to Silas, Manuel Aringarosa also gives him name. Silas is the name that the priest gives after being considered a ghost – fleshless – by people for a very long time. In a sense, it is Manuel Aringarosa who gives Silas flesh – an identity as a human being, education, and purpose of life. It is also Manuel Aringarosa who builds Silas’ self confidence, teaches Silas to appreciate himself for what he is – an albino – and tells him that God will use Silas to do His work, just like He used Noah of Ark, who was also an albino, to save all of life on the entire planet. Over time, slowly but surely, Silas begins to learn to appreciate his life. He learns to see himself as precious; an angel and not a ghost. “My friend,” Aringarosa had told him, “you were born an albino. Do not let others shame you for this. Do you not understand how special this makes you? Were you not aware that Noah himself was an albino?” “Noah of the Ark?” Silas had never heard this. Aringarosa was smiling. “Indeed, Noah of the Ark. An albino. Like you, he had skin white like an angel. Consider this. Noah saved all of life on the planet. You are destined for great things, Silas. The Lord has freed you for a reason. You have your calling. The Lord needs your help to do His work.” Over time, Silas learned to see himself in a new light. I am pure. White. Beautiful. Like an angel p. 181. 41