Saturday, April 4, 2009

Two legends

The legend of Panthera: that Jesus was conceived when
the teenaged Mary went with a Roman centurion, and
that Joseph—an older man in this version—married her
to give the child legitimacy. It was only when Mary
approached the cross on Golgotha that Panthera,
guarding the crucifixion site, recognized her and realized
who Jesus was.

The legend of St Brandan, Benedictine abbot of Clonfert,
Galway, who, in the course of a seven-year search for the
Land of the Saints, came to the polar regions. There he
met Judas Iscariot, who, because of a single act of
generosity when he was alive (he gave his cloak to a leper),
was freed from the fires of hell for one hour every
Christmas.

No comments: