OUR LADY OF THE THREE EARS OF CORN

Day 355: May 03

Our Lady of the Three Ears of Corn, Trois-Epis, Colmar, Haut-Rhin, Alsace, France



On May 3, 1491 at 10 am, as described in the chronicle of Thann, Thierry Schoéré, a blacksmith from Orbey, on his way to the market of Niedermorschwihr, (a French commune of 580 inhabitants located in the department of Haut-Rhin in the Alsace region) near Colmar, passed in front of a large oak tree where he observed a holy image deposited, according to the local custom, to invite passers-by to pray for a man who had died a few days earlier. Dismounting from his horse, he knelt before the pious image and began to pray fervently for the soul of the unfortunate man, when he was suddenly blinded by a ray of light, in the midst of which appeared a delicate and vaporous form. It was the Virgin Mary, wrapped in white transparent veils, who had three ears of corn in her right hand and a small piece of ice in her left hand.

"Get up, good man," said the Virgin gently, "and listen. My son, the people of this country have angered heaven with their sins; go to Niedermorschwihr and preach repentance. Everyone must do penance as soon as possible, otherwise the crops will be lost. Proclaim it to the clergy, priests and people; if sinners are converted, God will bless their crops.

Do you see these ears of corn? They are the symbol of the abundance of beautiful crops that will come to reward virtuous, generous beings and to bring well-being and joy to the homes of faithful Christians.

As for this icicle, it means that hail, frost, flood, hunger and all their consequences of desolation and evils will come to punish the unbelievers whose gravity of sins has been able to overwhelm divine mercy. Go, good man, go through the villages, and proclaim to all the inhabitants the meaning of these prophecies."

The miraculous image vanished, Thierry Schoéré resumed his journey, but suspecting that he was being mocked, he decided to keep it a secret. When he arrived at the market, he bought a sack of wheat, but, strangely, neither he nor anyone else could lift it. The bag seemed to be made of lead and fixed to the ground. The villagers around were worried about that magical force that held the sack on the ground. This inexplicable phenomenon tormented the people and some began to accuse the unfortunate blacksmith of occult power.

Then Thierry Schoéré understood the meaning of that warning spell. He had disobeyed the Blessed Virgin and had not fulfilled the mission she had entrusted to him at all.

In front of the crowd, suddenly silent, that surrounded him, Schoéré knelt, asked Our Lady for forgiveness and, finally fulfilling his sacred mission, confided the heavenly apparition to the astonished inhabitants and fervently explained the symbolism of the ice and the three ears of corn. Amazed and admiring, the inhabitants listened to the story with great respect. The onlookers were deeply moved, and no one dared to question the sincerity of Orbey's honest blacksmith. The most unbelievers were conquered, manifested sincere repentance, and swore to repent. Then, relieved and happy, Thierry Schoéré returned to the mysterious sack. As soon as he had caught it he could lift it as easily as if it had been a sack of feathers and loaded it on his horse.

After that, to the delight of the onlookers, Thierry Schoéré, the messenger of the Virgin, happily returned to his native village.


St Justin Russolillo Writes...

"We desire in the divine grace, to grow in our heart, by every gift that the Lord has given to you, as a rose of love, to offer it to you so that you may offer it to the Most Holy Trinity and may help us so that all may bear in our life fruits of the Holy Spirit in your filial imitation."

(Justin Russolillo, Devotional, Vocationist Editions, Pianura, 2009, p. 233)

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