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MATER ADMIRABILIS and the Criminal
High on the mountain summit stands the shrine
Surrounded by the foothills of the chain
Of verdant alpine pastures, but the mine
Of salt id deep below in rough terrain
The Duerrnberg salt of sparkling element
Has to be mined in shafts deep in the pit,
It miner’s job to well supply the land,
Of Salzburg,(salt burgh) and to pleasure it.
Salt! - precious salt! that turns vapidity
And staleness into spicy tang and zest,
And gives the plainest meal due pungency
That satisfies fastidious palates’ quest
Thanks to the miners Salzburg relishes
Salt crystalline and sparkling, fine and pure,
That does enhance with flavor plainest dishes
While brine is used to oft provide a cure
St. Rupert is the miners' patron saint,
Holds salt barrel and shepherd’s staff in hand,
As miners’ strong protector he does stand
In every church throughout the Salzburg Land.,
But I digress, - I’ll speak now of the shrine
Built from the marble hewn from reddish veins,
The artful lake that turns the salt to brine
And quartz and marble quarries in the plain.
The ancient Celts too practiced arts saline
And too used marble for their worship’s place
But Christians later built from it a shrine
In honor of the Virgin full of Grace.
The sanctuary’s aspect is severe
Won by hard labor and great sacrifice,
They built and worked on it for many a year
A shrine erected at the highest price.
Above up high, the glory of the shrine
And nature’s gifts of beauty all around,
Below the pit, the darkness of the mine,
And toil and labor grim deep underground.
They quarry marble and then polish it,
Till it is smooth to touch and gleams and shines,
As is for cenotaph memorials fit,
Or to adorn basilicas and shrines.
But while they built the shrine, a criminal
Sat in the District dungeon all alone,
Expecting soon to hear the hangman’s call,
To expiate his crimes and to atone.
The fellow whittled well his jailors said,
He’d carved for them some useful implements,
Cups and long-handled ladles too he made,
He was adroit and clever with his hands.
He carved fine bowls and objects of this sort,
And as condemned a man they let him be,
Released him from the shackles, for so short
His time, - the gallows loomed, - his destiny.
Meanwhile he was permitted implements,
And tools to work with, for he whittled well,
He busied now his blood stained felons hands
To carve and chisel in his dungeon cell.
The guards let him alone to work in peace
Respect for the condemned is Salzburg’s law,
And they permitted carving tools wherewith
To work and even gave him plane and saw.
He labored hard, he labored feverishly,
The wardens were aware of it and knew,
They set him for his work from shackles free.
But what he made,- they had not got a clue.
The murder criminal worked night and day,
But no one paid attention what he made,
They only knew he had for crimes to pay
The final prize, and hanging was his fate.
The felon's industry intensified.
Wood shavings flew within his cell‘s confine,
He worked by candle or through cracks of light,
And spoke of untapped salt within a mine..
One night a guard did fling the cover off,
Inquisitive enforcer of the Law,
Then gasped and thought he saw a hoax or bluff,
Or fanciful illusion what he saw.
But no - no bluff,- She sat in splendor high,
Upon a throne, magnificent and tall,
The Second Eve, - her infant on the thigh,
The hand work of the felon criminal.
The town folk heard, and then arose a stir
All cried: “Hear All! Hear All”- go, let the fellow free,
His wondrous gifted hands created Her,
Our Blessed Mother of benignity” !.
The man was pardoned after that indeed,
And changed a man, repented of his past,
So all the records and the archives read
He found redemption and his weal at last.
And miracles and healings soon took place
And people flocked now to the shrine to pray
Unto their Blessed Mother full of Grace,
And plans for feasts went quickly underway
The bishop came in haste to dedicate,-
In greatest haste, - for people could not wait,
For his arrival and to consecrate
The holy image that a felon made.
This image Duerrnberg‘s joy and blessing is,
Looked to with reverence and thankful pride,
They call it “MATER ADMIRABILIS”
And Mediatrix of Eternal Light.
This Blessed Mother as the centerpiece,
Surrounded by small cherubs’ bright galore
,Smiles down at pilgrims praying on their knees.
From every country and from every shore.
