Hail, Virgin most glorious, you are sweeter than honey. Glorious Mother of God, you are brighter than the sun.

Standing outside a small adobe home in Chimayo, New Mexico, a small girl was confronted by a snake. The rattler was aggressive and charged her. The girl, Rosalba, was bitten 4 times on her right leg. Her 68 year old grandmother, hearing the screams immediately said a prayer in Spanish for the girl to slow the deadly poison.

"And when I passed by thee and saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I said unto thee [when thou was] in thine own blood, LIVE; yea, I said unto thee [when thou was] in thine own blood, live!

Ezekiel 16:6 (translated from the original by the author, any mistakes a my own)

Rosalba was getting pale and the evil bites were changing to black around the edges. Her breathing was getting shallow. The grandmother was screaming for help, thinking God had abandoned her granddaughter, when the Virgin appeared. She was dressed in a red cape with silver fur around the collar. She was brighter than the sun. There was a sweet smell of honey and roses and lilies all about her and the grandmother, upon inhaling the fragrant perfumes, became quiet and calm.

The Blessed Virgin picked up a handful of the dirt and rubbed it gently on the snake bites on Rosalba's right leg and speaking these words, "Child, get up for thy work has not yet begun", kissed the girl gently on both of her eyes. And then suddenly was gone.

Rosalba leapt to her feat and told her grandmother that she would build a church on the site of her healing and that the dirt from that spot would be forever sacred because the Mother of God had touched it. She dedicated her life from that moment on to healing others.

Watercolor and gold on paper. Copyright 2010 Kelley Vandiver