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that threatened to destroy his empire. As president-general of Opus Dei, Bishop Aringarosa had spent the last decade of his life spreading the message of Gods Workliterally, Opus Dei. The congregation, founded in 1928 by the Spanish priest Josemaría Escrivá, promoted a return to conservative Catholic values and encouraged its members to make sweeping sacrifices in their own lives in order to do the Work of God. Opus Deis traditionalist philosophy initiall ray ban sidestreet y had taken root in Spain before Francos regime, but with the 1934 publication of Josemaría Escrivás spiritual book The Way999 points of meditation for doing God ray ban sidestreet s Work in ones own lifeEscrivás message exploded across the world. Now, with over four million copies of The Way in circulation in forty-two languages, Opus Dei was a global
the trucks load. Langdon hoped Sophie was not thinking what she seemed to be thinking. Sophie, theres no way Im jump Take out the tracking dot. Bewildered, Langdon fumbled in his pocket until he found the tiny metallic disk. Sophie took it from him and strode immediat ray ban sidestreet ely to the sink. She grabbed a thick bar of soap, placed the tracking dot on top of it, and used her thumb to push the disk down hard into the bar. As the disk sank into the soft surface, she pinched the hole closed, firmly embedding the device in the bar. Handing the bar to Langdon, Sophie retrieved a heavy, cylindrical trash can from under the sinks. Before Langdon could protest, Sophie ran at the window, holding the can b ray ban sidestreet efore her like a battering ram. Driving the bottom of the trash can into the center of the window, she
box where he kept many secrets. Langdon felt a chill to imagine what kind of secrets a man like Jacques Saunière might keep. What an ancient b ray ban sidestreet rotherhood was doing with a futuristic key, Langdon had no idea. The Priory existed for the sol ray ban sidestreet e purpose of protecting a secret. A secret of incredible power. Could this key have something to do with it? The thought was overwhelming. Do you know what it opens? Sophie looked disappointed. I was hoping you knew. Langdon remained silent as he turned the cruciform in his hand, examining it. It looks Christian, Sophie pressed. Langdon was not so sure about that. The head of this key was not the traditional long-stemmed Christian cross but rather was a square crosswith four arms of equal lengthwhich predated Christianity by fifteen hundred years. This
earlier that the Rose is a symbol for the Grail? Exactly. In Priory symbolism, the Rose and the Grail are synonymous. Sophie furrowed her brow. Thats strange, because my grandfather always told me the Rose meant secrecy. He used to hang a rose on his office door at home when he was having a confidential phone call and didnt want me to disturb him. He encouraged me to do the same. Sweetie, her grandfather said, rather than lock each other out, we can each hang a r ray ban sidestreet osela fleur des secretson our door when we need privacy. This way we learn to respect and trust each other. Hanging a rose is an ancient Roman custom. Sub rosa, Langdon said. The Romans hung a rose over ray ban sidestreet meetings to indicate the meeting was confidential. Attendees understood that whatever was said under the roseor sub rosahad to
Green Knight, ray ban sidestreet King Arthur, and Sleeping Beauty were Grail allegories. Victor Hugos Hunchback of Notre Dame and Mozarts Magic Flute were filled with Masonic symbolism and Grail secrets. Once you open your eyes to the Holy Grail, Langdon said, you see her everywhere. Paintings. Music. Books. Even in cartoons, theme parks, and popular movies. Langdon held up his Mickey Mouse watch and told her that Walt Disney had made it his quiet lifes work to pass on the Grail story to future generations. Throughout his entire life, D ray ban sidestreet isney had been hailed as the Modern-Day Leonardo da Vinci. Both men were generations ahead of their times, uniquely gifted artists, members of secret societies, and, most notably, avid pranksters. Like Leonardo, Walt Disney loved infusing hidden messages and symbolism in his
a placeholder for the vowel sound O! Sophie again looked at the letters, attempting to sound them out. S...o...f...y...a. She heard the sound of her voice, and could not believe what she had just said. Sophia? This spells Sophia? Langdon was nodding enthusiastically. Yes! Sophia literally means wisdom in Greek. The root of your name, Sophie, is literally ray ban sidestreet a word of wisdom. Sophie suddenly missed her grandfather immensely. He encrypted the Priory keystone with my name. A knot caught in her throat. It all seemed so perfect. But as she turned her gaze to the five lettered dials on the cryptex, she realized a problem still existed. But wait... the word Sophia has ray ban sidestreet six letters. Teabings smile never faded. Look at the poem again. Your grandfather wrote, An ancient word of wisdom. Yes? Teabing
approached the Opus Dei building, the rain began to fall harder, soaking his heavy robe, stinging the wounds of the day before. He was ready to leave behind the sins of the last twenty-four hours and purge his soul. His work was done. Moving across a small courtyard to the front door, Sil ray ban sidestreet as was not surprised to find the door unlocked. He opened it and stepped into the minimalist foyer. A muted electronic chime sounded upstairs as Silas stepped onto the carpet. The bell was a common feature in these halls where the residents spent most of the day in their rooms in prayer. Silas could hear movement above on the creaky wood floors. A man in a cloak came downstairs. May I help you? H ray ban sidestreet e had kind eyes that seemed not even to register Silass startling physical appearance. Thank you. My name is