Saint Elizabeth of Portugal had a very virtuous and pious page whom she entrusted with distributing her alms. Another page, who coveted that position and was very envious, accused him before the king of a serious crime, of a very shameful sin. The king believed the lies of the wicked page and decided to have the young page of the holy queen put to death.
He ordered a man who owned a lime kiln to throw into the fire the first servant who came to ask whether the king’s orders had been carried out.
Then he sent the young page to deliver a message to the owner of the kiln. The boy set out immediately; but as he passed by a church and heard the bells calling to Mass, he decided to hear it before continuing on his way.
While he was attending Mass, the king, impatient to know whether the boy had died, sent the slanderous page to ask the man at the kiln whether he had executed the king’s order. He ran so fast that he reached the kiln first, and after delivering the message, the man immediately threw him into the fire.
He was already burning when, shortly afterward, the queen’s young page arrived, having attended the entire Mass, and asked whether the king’s order had been carried out.
Having received an affirmative answer, he ran to the palace to report it to the king.
When the king saw the boy, he was astonished and understood the hidden designs of Divine Providence, which had allowed the punishment of the guilty and the salvation of the innocent.
A boy named Renato, whose father told him this story, was so deeply impressed that he not only wished to hear many Masses, but also to become a priest, so that he might celebrate the holy Sacrifice for others
Nenhum comentário:
Postar um comentário