Sunday, March 22, 2009

Madonna of the Rock


As the Holy Family was fleeing Herod, they happened to stumble upon a cave belonging to a thief and his family. The robber and his wife had an infant son the same age as Jesus. Sadly, the baby had leprosy. The Blessed Mother took pit on the poor child and his mother. In gratitude for the shelter and food the robber's family had provided, She, through Jesus, performed a miracle.

Our Lady told the mother to place her son in the bath water that had been used to wash the Christ Child. As soon as the robbers son was bathed in the water, his skin was completely restored and renewed.

Many years passed, the two boys grew to manhood. The cured boy grew into the trade of his father and became a thief. One fateful and terrible day the two men met again, this time not in a cave, but on a hill. The leprous baby boy was now the thief who hung on the cross at the right side of Jesus and said, "Lord, remember me when Thou dost enter into Thy Kingdom". Jesus' Mother's kind deed of long ago had won the thief the grace of faith and repentance.

[H/T:Patricia] Seton Press Homeschool

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