Sunday, April 28, 2019

"Did you know that the gauntlet of Thanos is so powerful because it is a replica of the relic of the hand of St. Teresa de Jesus?"



From a visit to the relic:
The nuns of the Nuestra Señora de la Merced in Ronda are keepers of a treasure; one of the most important holy relics in Spain, the hand of Saint Teresa of Avila. Stolen from the convent in 1937, Franco seized possession of the hand and slept with it beside his bedside until his death in 1975. It is now back in its rightful home, housed in a darkened, locked room, set inside a silver glove that’s covered in precious stones.

My friend had assured that if we were to arrive at 5pm, a sister would be waiting for us. I rang the bell and approached the rotating hatch as the sister welcomed us with a customary “Ave Maria”. I panicked and then remembered the response, “sin pecado reconcibido” (without preconceived sin). The hatch swivelled, revealing a key. “Please go through to the door on your right and wait.”
And another:
Antonio first ushered us into the foyer next to where the relic is contained. This convent is for a cloistered order of nuns. Antonio said that he was going to “talk to the wall ” but that what would be more surprising was that “the wall would speak back”.

This is exactly what happened.