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Saint Joseph had to go to the mountains of Hebron, where he had a piece of wood set up, and he had dilated it day after day until he could gather all the money; But it was in vain. The things of the poor, their accounts are made and almost never come out as they thought, Joseph had not collected more than half the money and the case is that he could not wait any longer; it was necessary to serve the parishioners and therefore go for the wood.
-If it seems good to you, said the Blessed Virgin Mary, I will ask the relatives.
- I will go – Joseph answered.
“No, my husband,” Maria pleaded; You have to make a long journey and you should not get tired – and covering your head according to custom, you left home. When he returned, he said:
-There is no money. I have asked for it in several houses, and all have been excused; Undoubtedly, they do not have, because if they had had, how could they refuse to give it? But I thought of one thing, “Maria continued, trying to hide behind a sweet smile the feeling her heart felt,” … I thought you would leave the cloak as a pledge and with that the owner of the wood will be satisfied.
“You have not thought badly,” said St. Joseph, lowering his eyes, because his wife did not see them in tears.
“Goodbye, my husband,” said Maria, dismissing him. The God of Abraham be with you and your angel direct you.
-Bye my wife; I will try to return soon.
And the saint left with half the money and the new cloak that Maria had given him on the day of his wedding.
-God keep you, Ishmael, said the Holy Father of Jesus courteously when arriving in the presence of the owner of the contracted trunks.
- Are you coming for the wood? -it was the answer to Jose’s greeting-; you could have come before; It has been in little that you stay without any.
Ismael had a bad temper, he was a miser without guts, in his house he had never seen peace, his passion was money and all this Joseph knew since he was treating him, so we can boast the little confidence and fear that he had to declare the state of his pocket. He chose the logs, setting them aside, and when he was about to leave for Nazareth, when the supreme moment came, he called Ishmael aside and spoke to him in this way:
-Excuse me that I do not bring more than half of the money; You know that I have always paid you cash. Wait for me and be patient and I will pay you until the last quadrant; stay with this cloak in garment.
Ismael wanted him to take half of the logs, protested and protested again, in such a way, that he was about to ruin the contract, but eventually yielded but not very willingly, keeping the wedding cloak of Saint Joseph.
The miser Ishmael had eyes with ulcers for some time, and in spite of investing in doctors and medicines he had not achieved health; I had almost lost hope of healing; so he was filled with surprise the next morning when he found that his eyes were healthy as if he had never suffered.
-What is this? -it was said-. Yesterday sick with incurable ulcers, according to the opinion of the doctors, and today healthy without any medicine!
He did not give Ismael with the cause and when he arrived at his house he told his wife the prodigy. Eva, that was her name, was a true basilisk, had a fierce temper, and since she had married Ismael, she had never had peace, happiness, tranquility, or pleasure in marriage; but that night she was a lamb. What sweetness in his words! What meekness! What a joy in his face, before dark and wrinkled with anger: “What is this? What variation is this? Who will have brought this change? ” the husband asked himself. < br>
“Take this cloak and keep it there,” he said to Eva. It is from Joseph, the carpenter of Nazareth, and he has to come and take it with him; This mantle must be the one that has brought the peace and tranquility of this house, “said the husband almost thinking. Since I put it on my shoulders to bring it, I feel in me such a change, such affections and such desires, that the cause can not be another. Then they heard noise in the barn and, cutting off the conversation, he pulled the Ismael bed and went to see what it was.
A cow, the best, the thickest, writhed on the ground in a horrible pain. Poor animal! Despite the remedies that both spouses lavished upon him, he did not improve; on the contrary, it seemed that it was going to expire. Ismael remembered Joseph’s Mantle and told Eve his thoughts; nothing lost. But if the cow healed, they would know that the Mantle was the cause of their happiness and the well-being they enjoyed.
It was nothing more than putting the cloak on him and the animal rose from the ground where it had previously twisted by the force of the pain. The cow began to eat as if nothing had happened.
-You see it? said Ishmael, this cloak is a treasure. Since he is in our company, we are happy. Let’s keep this garment from the heavens; do not let go of it even if they gave us all the gold in the world.
-We will not return the same owner? – Eva said uneasily.
“Not the same owner,” Ismael answered resolutely.
“Then,” said Eva, “we’ll buy you a better one than this, in the Jerusalem market, and if it’s all right with you, we’ll both go and take it with you.”
“Yes,” said the husband. I forgive him the debt and I am also willing to give him all the wood he needs from now on.
-Did you not say that you have a son named Jesus? Eva asked. I will take you as a gift a pair of white lambs and a pair of pigeons like snow, and to Mary oil and honey. Do you think well, my husband?
“Everything looks good to me,” he said. Tomorrow we will go to Jerusalem and from there to Nazareth.
When the camels were ready for the trip, Ismael’s younger brother came panting, saying that his father’s house was burning and the Carpenter’s Mantle had to be worn in order to put out the fire. There was no time to lose. The two brothers rushed to the father’s house and when they arrived, they cut a piece of the miraculous cloak and threw it into the fire. There was no need to spill a single drop of water; that was enough to stop the fire and turn it off. The people were surprised to see the prodigy and blessed the Lord.
-What was it? – Eva asked when she saw them arrive – has the fire gone out?
“Yes,” replied the husband, full of satisfaction; a piece of the mantle has sufficed to perform the miracle.
Days later they got off their camels at the door of the Carpenter of Nazareth. Ishmael, the former usurer and Eva his wife, came full of humility to prostrate themselves at the feet of Joseph and Mary and to give them several gifts. When they saw them, Saint Joseph and the Blessed Virgin Mary believed that they would come claiming the debt and they were filled with sadness because they still did not have the money collected. But entering the house where Joseph, Mary and the Baby Jesus were, they both got on their knees, and taking the word Ishmael, said:
- My wife and I come to thank you for the immense goods that we have received from Heaven since you left me the mantle as a pledge; and we will not get up from here without getting your consent to stay with him so he can continue to protect my house, my marriage, my interests and my children.
“Stand up,” said Joseph, holding out his hands to help them.
-I Oh, holy Prophet! replied Ishmael in a spiritual rapture; let you speak to your servant on his knees and listen to these words: I was sick of the eyes and through your mantle have healed; he was a usurer, haughty, spiteful, and a man without guts, and I have turned to God; my wife was dominated by anger and now she is an angel of peace; they owed me large amounts and I have charged them all without costing me any work; the best of my cows was ill and has suddenly healed; my father’s house caught fire and the fire went out instantly when a piece of your cloak was thrown in the middle of the flames
-Loate be God for everything! said Saint Carpenter, lowering his eyes. Get up, it’s not right that you’re on your knees in front of a man as miserable as me.
“I have not finished yet,” said Ishmael. You are not a man like the others, but a Saint, a Prophet, an angel on earth. I bring you a new cloak, of the best that are woven in Sidon; to Mary your wife, we bring you oil and honey, and to Jesus, your son, my wife gives him a pair of white lambs and a pair of pigeons whiter than the snow of Lebanon. Accept these poor gifts, dispose of my house, of my cattle of my forests, of my wealth, of all that we possess, and … do not ask me for your mantle! - Stay with him, in good time! said the Holy Carpenter; and thank you, thank you very much for your offerings and gifts.
And as they rose from the ground and brought the presents near, Maria said to them:
- Know, good husbands, that God has determined to bless all those families that put themselves under the protective mantle of my holy husband. Do not be surprised, then, by the prodigies wrought; others will see you; love Joseph, serve him, keep the mantle, divide it among your children, and let this be the best inheritance you leave in the world.
… And it is known that the spouses faithfully kept the advice of the Blessed Virgin Mary and were always happy, as well as their children and the children of their children.