In the small town of Ostra Brama, Poland, there stands a beautiful church where, for centuries, a revered image of Our Lady of Sorrows has been venerated.
In March 1896, a stranger, speaking Polish with a strong Russian accent, approached the church sexton carrying two large candles. He explained that he wished them to burn before the miraculous image until they were completely consumed.
“I made a vow,” he said. “I want them to remain lit until tomorrow, after Mass, without going out. I have a very important matter that will be decided tomorrow, and this is the only time I have left to entrust it to Our Lady. If you wish, I will go with you to place them in the church.”
“I shall gladly do so,” replied the sexton. “The only difficulty is that whenever candles are left burning overnight in the church, I must remain there because of the danger of fire.”
“I understand,” answered the stranger, “and for your trouble I will pay you two rubles right now.”
The sexton's daughter prepared his supper and warm clothing, and the Russian accompanied him to the church. Together they lit the candles. The stranger prayed for a few minutes and then departed.
Left alone, the sexton rang the evening Angelus bell, locked the church doors, said his night prayers, sat down in a chair in the sacristy, and soon began to doze.
Suddenly he heard a voice crying out:
“Put out the two candles! Put them out!”
Startled, he jumped to his feet and looked all around, but saw no one. Thinking he had been dreaming, he went back to sleep.
A little later the same mysterious voice awakened him again:
“Put out the candles! Put them out!”
Still seeing no one, he thought it might be better simply to extinguish the candles to put an end to these strange dreams. But remembering the promise he had made and the money he had received, he instead began to pray the Rosary. Overcome by sleep, he fell asleep once more.
For the third time the voice awakened him, now even more urgently:
“Put them out! Quickly, put out the candles!”
Finally convinced that the voice came from Heaven, he immediately extinguished the candles and was at peace.
At daybreak he rang the Angelus bell again, prepared the altar for Mass, and the faithful began to arrive, including his daughter.
After Mass she asked her father why he had extinguished the candles.
Once she had heard the whole story, they decided to examine them, for they had noticed that the candles were extraordinarily heavy.
Using a knife, the sexton carefully cut away the wax. Inside he discovered that the wick passed through an iron tube.
Suspecting a sacrilegious plot, they immediately placed both candles into a barrel of water and hurried to notify the parish priest and the local police.
It was then discovered that the two iron tubes had been filled with dynamite and timed to explode precisely during Mass.
One can easily imagine the profound gratitude of the people of Ostra Brama toward Our Lady, who, through her providential intervention, had delivered them from that dreadful attack.
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