“Who is that?” asked the Romish priest, not guessing whom she could mean.
“The Lord Jesus Christ, who died on Calvary that I might be washed from my sins by His precious blood there shed for me,” answered the young girl, promptly.
“Ah! but you love the Holy Virgin, the immaculate Mother of God, too, do you not?” asked the priest.
“Yes, indeed, I do love the Holy Virgin, for she was blessed among women, and nurtured and brought up the dear Jesus, who died for me and for her too, that we might be saved,” said Doña Leonor, without hesitation.
“Ah! what! do not you pray to the Holy Virgin, little maiden?” asked the priest, looking at her sternly. “This must be looked to,” he muttered to himself.
“Why should I pray to her, when I have the gentle loving Jesus, to whom I may go in prayer at all times and in all places?” she asked with simplicity, and with a tone of surprise that the priest should not agree with her.
“And you do not pray to the saints either, then, perhaps?” he asked, before the girl had finished the last sentence.
“Oh, no! they are dead and cannot hear me. I pray only to the good Jesus, who always is ready to hear me; for He loves me more than my dear father did, or even than my mother can,” answered Doña Leonor.
“These are not Catholic doctrines, young lady,” said the Bishop in a tone of harshness he had not yet used. “Who taught them to you? They smack strongly of heresy.”
“I do not know what heresy means,” answered Doña Leonor, in an artless tone. “My dear father taught me what I know about the loving Jesus—that He is the only friend in whom human beings can really trust. It was the sure knowledge of this which comforted him through his illness, and made his deathbed so happy and glorious. He told us to meet him in heaven, and I do hope to meet him there some day. The thought of that makes me extremely happy, whenever it comes to my mind.”