A bankrupt husband who denied Christ and befriended Satan, who promised him great wealth, but was stopped by the Virgin Mary in his wife's guise

Summary

In a certain city, there was a rich man whose wife devoted herself to Mary. God tested this couple’s faith by causing their many possessions to disappear. He went before an icon of Mary and explained that he’d lost faith. The man then went into the wilderness. There he encountered Satan, who promised to make the man richer than ever if he followed his instructions. Satan told him to travel along a road until he met a black dog, which would lead him to a gold-filled cave. The man followed Satan’s instructions, and he returned home laden with gold. His wife didn’t believe the story he told about a friend giving him the gold, so she refused to touch it. But when he offered to take her to his friend, she agreed. Along the way, they passed a church. The man refused to enter, so she went in alone and prayed to Mary. The woman fell asleep, and Mary, having assumed this woman’s form, joined her husband outside the church. As the couple approached Satan, he grew terrified and told the man that the woman with him wasn’t his wife, but rather Mary. Satan fled, and the man trembled. Mary told him to rejoin his wife and renew his faith. He did as she instructed, and he and his wife rejoiced.

Translation

Translated by Jeremy Brown & Dawit Muluneh with Ekaterina Pukhovaia from EMML (HMML) 8970, ff. 115v–117v, in 2022.

A miracle of Our Lady Mary Mariham, Holy Virgin, the Mother of God. May her intercession be with us, amen.

There was a very rich man in a certain city with numerous riches and possessions. His wife feared God and loved Our Lady Mary Mariham, the Holy Virgin. She would bow before her icon and put faith in her all the time.

After a long while, God wanted to inspect and test [the man and his wife] to see if they were firm in faith. And so all their possessions disappeared. They could not find anything to eat or to wear. That man lost hope and wanted to deny his faith.

One day he went to the church and arrived before the icon of Our Lady Mary Mariham, the Holy Virgin. Standing before it, he said to her, “I have denied you, and I have denied Jesus Christ your son, because you have not listened to me when I pleaded with you every day. And you did not rescue me from this severe affliction that has come upon me.”

After this, he went out to the wilderness and arrived at a desolate place. There, he encountered Satan in the likeness of a man.

The foolish man said to him, “Who are you?”

And he replied to him, saying, “I am Satan, the hater of good things.”

That man said to him, “I indeed have denied Mary Mariham as well as her son, and I have come to be your servant. I will serve you in every way you desire if you rescue me from this affliction that has come upon me.”

Satan said to him, “If you do what I wish and what I like, I will feed you and will make you even greater than before. Now, travel on this road and you will find a black dog. Follow it, and it will lead you to a great cave with a lot of gold. Take as much gold as you can carry to your house.”

At once that foolish man journeyed on the road as Satan had commanded. He found that black dog, just as Satan had told him.

Having arrived at the cave that Satan pointed out to him, he found a lot of gold. He picked up as much gold as he was able to carry and, having returned home, he joyfully rejoiced.

His wife said to him, “From where did you bring this much gold?”

He said to her, “My friend gave it to me so that I may rejoice in it instead of the money that has disappeared.”

She said to him, “I do not believe [what] you [say] about this money. It is either stolen wealth or it is plunder. I will not touch it with my hands.”

After this, the man said to her, “I will take you to my friend so you can see his face and believe me that he is my beloved [friend].”

He left his house, taking his wife. He rode upon a mule, and he sat her behind him on the mule’s back.

While they were traveling, they came upon a church by the road. His wife said to him, “Come on, let’s go to the church and bow before the icon of Our Lady Mary Mariham, the Holy Virgin, so that she might make our road prosperous.”

Her husband said to her, “I will not enter the church. If you want, you go and enter, and I will wait for you here.”

He then sat down outside of the church. His wife, having entered the church, bowed to the icon of Our Lady Mary Mariham, the Holy Virgin, and prayed with abundant tears for the forgiveness of her sins.

As she was intensely pleading, a great weariness came upon her. She lay down underneath the icon and slept a little bit.

Our Lady Mary Mariham, the Holy Virgin, lover of humanity, glory of the righteous, the converter of sinners, compassionate toward transgressors, assumed the likeness of that woman, [resembling her] in her stature, complexion, even down to her eyes and hands.

Then Mary [in her assumed form] left the church and went to that man who was outside the church. She said to him, “Come, let us go, lead me to your beloved [friend], just as you said to me.”

He lifted her and carried her on the mule. They arrived at the place where he had made an agreement with Satan.

When Satan saw Our Lady Mary Mariham, the Holy Virgin, he was terrified and trembled, terribly disturbed. He said to that man, “Who have you brought to me? Who is that woman who is with you on the mule?”

The man said to Satan, “She is my wife, and behold I have brought her to you so that she can see your face.”

Satan said to him, “She is not your wife, but rather she is Mary Mariham, the queen of all women, and behold I am now unable to stand before her, for she is burning me by the greatness of her majesty.”

Having said this, Satan disappeared before their very eyes and did not receive his tribute.

When that man saw this great wonder, he knew that she was Our Lady Mary Mariham, the Holy Virgin. He was afraid, and he trembled; a great terror fell upon him.

He descended from his mule and bowed down before her. Our Lady said to him, “Why have you denied me and denied my beloved son? Do you not know that death and life are in his hands? Wealth and poverty come from him. Now go and enter the church, and you will find your wife sleeping under the icon. Return to your faith and listen to the advice of your wife, because she is beautiful and good, and she loves me a lot. I know that by her prayer you are saved.”

Having said this, Our Lady Mary Mariham, the Holy Virgin, disappeared before his very eyes.

The man stood up immediately, he entered the church and found his wife sleeping under the icon. She woke up at once, and he reported to her everything that Our Lady Mary Mariham, the Holy Virgin, had done for him. They rejoiced together. They left the church, praising God Most High.

Afterward, the man repented on account of his many sins. He became a good man. He continued to love the Praised and Most High God and to serve Our Lady Mary Mariham, the Holy Virgin, wholeheartedly.

The husband and wife became even richer than before, and they gave alms to the poor and the needy. They pleased God for the rest of their days. They passed away and entered the kingdom of heaven by the intercession of Our Lady Mary Mariham, the Holy Virgin, lover of mercy, performer of miracles and wonders.

May her prayer and blessing be upon Mar'ata Tensa'e as a help and with all of the children of this assembly forever and ever, amen.

TO CITE THIS TRANSLATION

Jeremy Brown & Dawit Muluneh with Ekaterina Pukhovaia. 2022. "ID 32: A bankrupt husband who denied Christ and befriended Satan, who promised him great wealth, but was stopped by the Virgin Mary in his wife's guise." From EMML (HMML) 8970, ff. 115v–117v. Täˀammərä Maryam (Miracle of Mary) Stories, edited by Wendy Laura Belcher, Jeremy Brown, Mehari Worku, and Dawit Muluneh. Princeton: Princeton Ethiopian, Eritrean, and Egyptian Miracles of Mary project. https://pemm.princeton.edu/stories/32.