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Cantiga 151 of the Cantigas de Santa Maria of Alfonso X

The Priest who Renounced his Mistress
A priest greatly revered the Virgin; he fasted on the eve of her feast days and observed Saturdays.

Nevertheless, he was very lustful and carried on with all kinds of women. One night he visited one of his concubines. He was just about to lie down with her when he looked out the window and saw a church dedicated to Mary.

He went out in the courtyard and then returned to the woman. When she asked him why he had left her, he explained that he had caught sight of the church. He ordered her to close the windows to hide it from view.

She fastened the windows and lay down with the priest, but a great gust of wind blew them open. The priest saw the church once again. He left the woman, confessed his sins, and joined a monastery.

Later, he was falsely accused of a robbery.

The abbots assembled to judge the case. When the accused monk knelt and said “Ave Maria,” the Virgin appeared beside him and everyone saw her. Consequently, the monk was cleared of the charge and the abbots begged his pardon.


Source: upenn.edu



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