Sunday 21 March 2010

Sunday Blessings; The Miracle of the Carpenter

I got this beautiful true story in a Max Lucado newsletter I am sure it will bless your heart.
The Miracle of the Carpenter
by Max Lucado
Loretto Chapel took five years to complete. Modeled after the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris, its delicate sanctuary contains an altar, a rose window, and a choir loft.The choir loft is the reason for wonder.Were you to stand in the newly built chapel in 1878, you might see the Sisters of Loretto looking forlornly at the balcony. Everything else was complete: the doors had been hung, the pews had been placed, the floor had been laid. Everything was finished. Even the choir loft. Except for one thing. No stairs.The chapel was too small to accommodate a conventional stairway. The best builders and designers in the region shook their heads when consulted. “Impossible,” they murmured. There simply wasn’t enough room. A ladder would serve the purpose, but mar the ambiance.The Sisters of Loretto, whose determination had led them from Kentucky to Santa Fe, now faced a challenge greater than their journey: a stairway that couldn’t be built.What they had dreamed of and what they could do were separated by fifteen impossible feet.So what did they do? The only thing they could do. They ascended the mountain. Not the high mountains near Santa Fe. No, they climbed even higher. They climbed the same mountain that Jesus climbed 1,800 years earlier in Bethsaida. They climbed the mountain of prayer.As the story goes, the nuns prayed for nine days. On the last day of the novena, a Mexican carpenter with a beard and a wind-burned face appeared at the convent. He explained that he had heard they needed a stairway to a chapel loft. He thought he could help.The mother superior had nothing to lose, so she gave him permission.He went to work with crude tools, painstaking patience, and uncanny skill. For eight months he worked.One morning the Sisters of Loretto entered the chapel to find their prayers had been answered. A masterpiece of carpentry spiraled from the floor to the loft. Two complete three-hundred-sixty-degree turns. Thirty-three steps held together with wooden pegs and no central support. The wood is said to be a variety of hard fir, one nonexistent in New Mexico!When the sisters turned to thank the craftsman, he was gone. He was never seen again. He never asked for money. He never asked for praise. He was a simple carpenter who did what no one else could do so singers could enter a choir loft and sing.See the stairway for yourself, if you like. Journey into the land of Enchantment. Step into this chapel of amazement and witness the fruit of prayer.Or, if you prefer, talk to the Master Carpenter yourself. He has already performed one impossible feat in your world. He, like the Santa Fe carpenter, built a stairway no one else could build. He, like the nameless craftsman, used material from another place. He, like the visitor to Loretto, came to span the gap between where you are and where you long to be.Each year of his life is a step. Thirty-three paces. Each step of the stair is an answered prayer. He built it so you can climb it.And sing.
Wouldn 't it be a wonderful place to visit? If you are near the area do go to the Chapel.

14 Fertilize my soul:

Holly, the Old Western Gal said...

Been there, Amrita, when I lived in Santa Fe! Also, Las Cruces, down in the southern part of New Mexico, has a mystery associated with its church, San Albino, too! A black man came out of nowhwere to be the bell ringer! Lots of strange things at work!

Grayquill said...

I saw the movie that was made about this staircase. Max did a fine job re-telling it. Thanks for sharing it.

Simply Shelley said...

Thanks for sharing this story...what a blessed story to read on the Lord's day...the power of prayer is very awesome indeed...blessings to you dear Amrita....

Felisol said...

Dear Amrita,
This wonderful story is just the right reading for the last days of lent.
I think about the words from the Bible. Jesus told them a parable, so they should pray and never get tired.

Anonymous said...

Max Lucado is a very good author and those are some great photos.

God bless you and have a great week, Ron

David Edward said...

this can now be added to my list of things to see before I die

Amrita said...

Dear DavidMay the Lord grant you your heart 's desire.

Mel Avila Alarilla said...

Yes, that's the miracle of prayer. The sisters did not give up. They prayed until their prayers were heard. The answer was a spiral staircase. If we are earnest with our prayers, God will always make a way to answer our fervent prayers. Thanks for the post. God bless you always.

Debra said...

Amrita, this is a wonderful post. I had not ever heard of this chapel. And now I will have to find out the movie that Grayquill was referring to. I would love to watch it!

Thanks for sharing this.
Blessings

Marie said...

What a beautiful spiral staircase :)

Sita said...

So encouraging for us who have the 'impossible' hurdles facing us...climb that mountain of prayer..persevere...same message in Spurgeon this morning...thank you, AMrita...beautiful...
Love, Sita

Amrita said...

I would love to see the movie and visit the chapel too

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Amrita said...

Dear lester, thank you visiting my blog and commenting.

My garden is very humble and nothing by what you have in the US.

A whole lot of accesseries are available here but I can 't afford them, so mother nature has her way (smile).

May God bless your garden.