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| Mary's Mountain Home | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 |
Good St. Dominic's Cat
by Ed Noonan Illustrated by Leslie Cobb
CHAPTER SIX
The First Church in Old Mexico  As the cat and the two saints slept, Mary came to them in a dream. She still looked like the young girl the cat had seen in the garden so long ago, but now she was the Queen of Heaven. She was dressed in blue and gold stars. She signaled to the cat and the saints to be quiet and watch her.They saw her begin to pray. She humbly bowed her head as she said the name Jesus. Prayer by prayer, she slowed her heavenly speed down until she was no longer in Heaven. She was on Earth in the land of Mexico. It was the year 1531. Her colors became the land and the sky of Mexico. She flew across the land and she visited many homes of poor Indians. Many were sick. Many were hungry. They had recently been defeated by the Spanish. They had been a proud and mighty people and the conquering Europeans had reduced them to slavery. Mary wept with the Mexican women and their tears became a flood of prayers. She hovered in the sky above Mexico with sun behind her. She was looking for someone, someone who knew and loved her son Jesus. Too many Indians felt only anger towards her son. The Spanish were too busy with their building and planning to have time to think about her son. Finally, in an old Indian city near a mission in central Mexico, she found a poor and humble man named Juan Diego. She followed him. She prayed with him. She spoke to him and suddenly she began to glow brighter than the sun. The saints and the cat knew the Spirit was upon Mary, and poof! roses grew at Juan Diego's feet and poof! Mary became a picture on Juan Diego's serape. From all across Mexico the Indians came to look at the picture. They recognized the sun behind the Indian woman. They saw the image of a red serpent at her feet. The Indians felt that the woman understood their problems, and the picture showed that she was mightier than the sun and mightier than the serpent. Juan Diego told them that the woman had said she was Jesus' mother. So they built a church for Jesus and they put his mother's picture above the altar. Many came with flowers and tears and prayers for her. At this the cat awoke, went "Meyawn" and began grooming itself as the two saints also awoke.
To be continued . . .
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| Mary's Mountain Home | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 |
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