al-maslub 4

Three months later, desirous of seeing her brother, she leaves her uncle and seeks to travel with a former Muslim house servant going to Nazareth to find him.

For his part, the young man encouraged Mariam to reveal her personal troubles, and became outraged at her uncle’s treatment of her. Playing upon her mind and feelings, he introduced conversion to Islam as a remedy to Mariam’s problems. 

She however denied his advances, and loudly proclaimed her faith in the Church of Jesus: “Muslim, no, never! I am a daughter of the Catholic Church, and hope by the grace of God to persevere until death in my religion, which is the only true one.”

Her protector, furious at being rejected, became violent. Eyes flashing with hatred, he lost control and kicked her to the floor. He then drew his sword and slashed her throat. 

Believing her dead, he wrapped her bloody body in a cloak, and with the help of his wife and mother, deposited her in a dark alley. It was the feast of the Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary, September 8th, 1858. 

-

What followed was a strange and beautifully moving story...

told years later by Mariam to her Mistress of Novices at Marseilles, France:

"A nun dressed in blue picked me up and stitched my throat wound. 

This happened in a grotto somewhere. 

I then found myself in heaven with the Blessed Virgin, the angels and the saints. They treated me with great kindness. In their company were my parents. I saw the brilliant throne of the Most Holy Trinity and Jesus Christ in His humanity. There was no sun, no lamp, but everything was bright with light. 

Someone spoke to me. 

They said, that I was a virgin, but that my book was not finished."

-

She then found herself once again in the grotto...

with the nun dressed in blue. 

How long did Mariam remain in this secret shelter? 

She later spoke of one month, but she was not sure. 

One day, the unknown nurse prepared some soup for her, that was so delicious that she greedily asked for more, and all her life she was to remember the taste of this heavenly soup. 

On her death bed she was heard to say tenderly, "She made me some soup! Oh, such good soup! There I was a long time, looking, and never ate soup like that. I have the taste in my mouth. She promised me that at my last hour, she would give me a little spoonful of it."

Toward the end of her care, the nurse outlined her life’s program:

"You will never see your family again. 

You will go to France, where you will become a religious. You will be a child of St. Joseph before becoming a daughter of St. Teresa. 

You will receive the habit of Carmel in one house, you will make your profession in a second, and you will die in a third, at Bethlehem."

-

The scar, marked the whole front of her neck... 

and measured 10cm in length and 1cm in width. Doctors later attested that several cartilaginous [kraakbeenachtige] rings of the tracheal artery [slagader] were missing.

The Mistress of Novices was to write: "A celebrated doctor at Marseille, who had taken care of Mariam, had confessed that, although he was an atheist, there must be a God, for from a natural point of view, she could not have lived."

As a result of this deep cut Mariam`s voice was always hoarse. 

The martyrdom of the little Arab had not been a dream. 

It remained inscribed in her flesh.

-

Mariam herself later wrote:

“After my wound was healed, I had to leave the grotto, and the Lady took me to the Church of St. Catherine served by the Franciscan Friars. 

I went to confession. 

When I left, the Lady in Blue had disappeared.”

-

Years later when in ecstasy... 

- on September 8, 1874, the anniversary of the attack and the feast of our Lady’s nativity - 

Sr. Mariam said, “On this same day in 1858, I was with my Mother (Mary) and I consecrated my life to her. Someone had cut my throat and the next day Mother Mary took care of me.”

Once again, in August 1875, when she was on a boat going toward Palestine, she recounted what she remembered to her director, Father Estrate, and she stated precisely, "I know now that the religious who cared for me after my martyrdom, was the Blessed Virgin."

[bron]