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The students at Mt. Carmel were trained as to physical exercise, first; trained as to mental exercises as related to chastity, purity, love, patience, endurance. All of these would be termed in the present as persecutions, but they were actually tests for physical and mental strength, given under the supervision of those who also cared for their nourishment.
In the diet, they drank no wine; no fermented drink was ever given. Special foods, yes. These were the manners and the way they were trained, directed, protected. Mary had been studying at the school for eight years, when something wonderful happened.
The Angel Gabriel
The sun shone upon the steps that led to the altar - called the temple steps - when during the first period of the morning the maidens were going to the altar for prayer, as well as to burn inscense.
On this day, as they mounted the steps, all were bathed in the morning sun - which not only made a beautiful picture, but clothed them all as if in purple and gold.
The elders and teachers watched the girls that morning. Mathias and Enos were there, as was Judy, the recorder and teacher who would one day teach Jesus.
Soon the girls appeared and began to climb the steps to the altar. Mary led the procession. Now nearing her 13th birthday, she was becoming a lovely young woman with chestnut hair and blue eyes that danced with merriment. Behind her came her friend josie, who had become like a sister to Mary; and next, jenife, a year younger than Mary. Jenife's gray eyes were watching Mary s bright hair as though following a beacon that day.
Then there were the others: Andra, Sophia, and the other Mary, who remained friends with Mary and Jesus all their lives. Farther back in the line, Edithia walked with her dark head bent, deep in thought and prayer. Edithia and jenife were sisters, the daughters of an innkeeper who kept an inn near Bethlehem.
As Mary reached the top step there was thunder and lightning. She stood still, her eyes looking up in radiant wonder and awe. A great halo of light formed around her, and within the light, the angel Gabriel appeared, taking the child by the hand before the altar. Wide-eyed, Judy stood still. Mathias drew in his breath sharply, and Enos stifled a cry. This was the manner of choice; this was the showing of the way, for Mary had led the others on this day!
After a moment, the vision ended, and Judy directed the girls to take their usual places. Josie and jenife were stunned by what had happened to Mary. It would be three more years before Mary would conceive the Christ-Child, and longer still before she would join Joseph. But as that time approached, the famed Wise Men had already begun their journey, and Mary's teacher, Judy, had begun to play a role in what would now unfold in the land.
[Jesus story] [Immaculate] [Birth of the Master] [Virgin Birth page 2] [Virgin Birth] [Ruth] [Mary/s Children] [Journey details] [Last Supper] [The Passion] [Mary Magdalene] [Angeles] [Melchizadek]
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