Mary honors a bishop devoted to her
A certain bishop, who held Blessed Mary in the highest reverence and
piety, was on his way in the middle of the night to a church of the Virgin,
to make a visit of devotion. And lo! The Virgin of virgins, accompanied
by a great chorus of virgins, came to meet the bishop, received him with
high honor, and began to lead him toward the church to which he was going.
Two of the maidens from the choir led the chant, and sang:
Cantemus Domino, sociae, cantemus honorem,
Dulcis amor Christi resonet ore pio.
The whole chorus of virgins took up the chant, repeating the verses, while the two leaders sang the next two in time:
Primus ad inn mit magna de bee superbus,
Sic homo eum tumuit, primus ad inia ruit.
Thus they led the man of God in procession to the church, the two leaders always intoning the verse and the rest responding.
Mary consoles a woman who lost her son
A woman who had lost her husband had her only son, whom she loved tenderly,
for consolation. It happened, however, that the son was captured by enemies
and imprisoned in chains. When she heard this, she wept inconsolably, and
prayed incessantly to the Blessed Virgin, to whom she was much devoted,
to obtain her son’s liberation. Then, seeing that her prayers were not
answered, she went alone into a church where there was a sculptured image
of Blessed Mary, and, standing in front of the image, she addressed it
in these terms: “0 Virgin blessed, I have often asked you for the liberation
of my son, and so far you have not come to the aid of this pitiable mother.
I have sought your patronage for my son and see no return for my prayers.
Therefore, as my son has been taken away from me, I will take your Son
away from you and hold him in custody as a hostage for mine.’ She then
went up and took the image of the Child from the Virgin’s lap, went home
with it, wrapped it in spotless cloths, and hid it in a cupboard, which
she locked carefully. Thus she could rejoice at having a good hostage for
her son and guarded it closely.
The following night the Blessed Virgin appeared to the young man and
opened the door of the prison. She told him to get up and leave, and said:
“Son, you will tell your mother to give my Son back to me as I have given
hers back to her.” The youth walked out, went to his mother, and told her
how the Virgin had set him free. Overjoyed, she took the image of the Child,
went to the church, and returned her Son to Mary, saying: “I thank you,
my lady, for restor-ing my only son to me, and now I return your Son to
you, because I acknowl-edge that I have received my own.
Mary saves at thief who is devoted to her
There was a thief who committed many robberies, but had deep devotion
to Blessed Mary and often greeted her with prayers. Once, however, he was
caught in a robbery and sentenced to be hanged. When he was hanged, the
Virgin was immediately at his side, and for three days, as it seemed to
him, she held him up as he hung, so that he sustained no injury. But then
the men who had hanged hint passing by and finding him alive and cheery
of mien, thought that they had not adjusted the noose properly and prepared
to finish him off with the sword, hut the Blessed Virgin held hack the
swordsman’s weapon and they could do the criminal no harm. They learned
from him how Blessed Mary had come to his aid. Wondering, they took him
down and, for love of the Virgin, let him go free. He went off and entered
a monastery, where he spent his remaining years in the service of the mother
of God.
The Cleric who forsakes Mary for a wife
There was a cleric who loved the Blessed Virgin devotedly and recited
her hours faithfully. When his parents died, having no other offspring
they left their whole estate to him. His friends then pressed him to take
a wife and manage his heritage. On the appointed day he was on the way
to his wedding and was passing a church, when he remembered his service
to Mary, went into the church, and began to say her hours. The Blessed
Virgin appeared to him and, as if angry, said: “0 foolish, unfaithful man!
Why are you leaving me, your friend and spouse, for another woman?” The
cleric was filled with remorse at this, but he returned to his companions,
hiding his distress, and went through with the wedding. At midnight, however,
he left everything behind and fled from his house, entered a monastery,
and devoted himself to Mary’s service.
Mary rebukes a bishop who opposes her faithful priest
The priest of a certain parish, a man of virtuous life, knew no other
mass than the mass of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which he celebrated day
after day in her honor. This was brought to the bishop’s attention, and
he called the priest in immediately. The priest told bins that be did not
know any other mass. The bishop scolded him harshly, called him an impostor,
suspended him from his parish duties, and forbade him to celebrate Mary’s
mass. The following night Blessed Mary appeared to the bishop, rebuked
him severely, and asked why he had treated her servant so badly. She added
that he would die within thirty days unless he reinstated the priest in
his parish. The bishop, shaken, summoned the priest, begged his pardon,
and ordered him to celebrate no other mass than the one he knew, the mass
of the Virgin Mary.
Theophilus
In Sicily, in the year An. 537, as we have the story from Fulbert of
Chartres, there was a man named Theophilus, who served a bishop as his
administrator. Theophilus managed the Church’s affairs so ably that when
the bishop died, the whole populace acclaimed him as worthy of the episcopate.
He was content to remain as administrator, however, and preferred to have
someone else ordained as bishop. But in time this new bishop deprived Theophilus,
all unwilling, of his office, and Theophilus fell into such despair that,
in order to regain his honora-ble post, he sought the advice of a jewish
sorcerer. The sorcerer summoned the devil, who came immediately. Thereupon
Theophilus, at the demon’s command, renounced Christ and his mother, repudiated
the Christian faith, wrote a statement of his renunciation and repudiation
in his own blood, signed and sealed the script, and gave it to the demon,
thus pledging himself to his service. The next day, by the devil’s manipulation,
Theophilus was taken back into the bishop’s good graces and reinstated
in his dignities of office.
In time, however, the good man came to his senses and regretted what
he had done, and, with all the devotion of his heart, had recourse to the
glorious Virgin. At a certain moment Blessed Mary appeared to him, upbraided
him for his impiety, ordered him to renounce the devil, and made him confess
his faith in her and in Christ, the Son of God, and in the whole Christian
doctrine. So she brought him back into her favor and her Son’s, and, in
token of the forgiveness granted him, appeared to him again and returned
the scroll he had given to the devil, placing it on his breast as a sign
that he need not fear he might still be in the demon’s service, and that
through her intervention he was a free man. Theophilus, having received
this gift, was overcome with joy. He went before the bishop and the whole
populace, and gave a full account of the above events. All were filled
with admiration and gave praise to the glorious Virgin and Theophilus,
three days later, fell asleep in the peace of the Lord.
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