Translation:Explanation of the Doctrine composed by Cardinal Bellarmine/Chapter 3

by Gregorio de Movilla

IIII.
Of a child that pulled out of Purgatory the soul of his mother.

As a Holy Bishop was in prayer, he was shown by God a child that was fishing in a well. The line with which he was fishing was of silver and the fishhook, of gold. Seeing this with much contentment, he saw that from the well was taken a most beautiful woman, and richly clothed. After this, the Bishop went to the Church, and found the child, who was there over the grave of his mother, in front of an image of Our Lady the Virgin Mary. The bishop asked the child what he was doing, and he responded that he was praying the Our Father and Hail Mary that his Mother taught him, and when she wanted to die, she prayed, and bade him to pray for her everyday. And so the Bishop realized that this child with his prayers pulled the soul of his mother out of Purgatory. May Fathers and Mothers learn of this, and go teach their boys and girls well, and make them go everyday to the Church to pray for them, and sprinkle holy water over their graves.

A bishop was living there praying, and it was desired for him^[1] by God that this be so:^[2] He gave to him a child in a well. And from a string of white metal, and a gold^[3] fishhook as well, this was taken out: he took out a woman, living there and made very beautiful by the clothes she was wearing. He^[4] saw this and was very happy. That bishop, seeing it, marvelled, then he went into the house of God. Seeing that the small child's mother died and after that burial he sat there and prayed, he said to him, "Why are you sitting here?" That small child was sitting near the Blessed Mary, honored mother of God. What is said is the Our Father, and the short Holy Mary^[5] as well. "My mother had taught this to me, and feeling she was dying, she had told me, 'Every day, pray for me,' and I pray," he said. That bishop saw that the small child, by his prayer, brought out his mother's soul living in Purgatory, and they say^[6] as well, "What a great miracle!" Christians, when you have children: everyday, tell them and teach them to pray in the house of God.

Notes

1  mani-si-ni-qe (want-BEN-PASS-DS): This uses the passive, which also serves an honorific function toward God, the agent of the verb "desire".^[1] In addition, it keeps the bishop as the subject for this sentence.

2  Due to the suffix -qe, the different-subject marker in the Timucua switch-reference system,^[2] the next sentence should not have the bishop as the subject, but God, by context and comparing the Spanish.

3  oro (gold): Spanish loanword.

4  Due to the DS marker in aco-le-ta-qe (very-COP-PART-DS, corresponding to "very happy") and mentioning the bishop directly after, the subject here would be someone else, the boy.

5  In Catechismo, y breue exposicion de la doctrina Christiana (1612), the Hail Mary and the Hail, Holy Queen have a very similar incipit in Timucua: Sancta Maria Dios anohiocomo [pueno]nela (Holy Mary, God comes to greet you). Therefore, it is likely that huru (short) is used here to refer to the former, shorter prayer mentioned in the Spanish.

6  mo-ta-ma-la (say-PART-PL:ERG-DECL): Despite the clear change in subject from ene-ta (see-PART), which is the bishop, -qe is not used.

1. Broadwell, G. (2019). "Honorific usage in Timucua exempla". p. 286. Archived from the original on 8 April 2024. 
2. Broadwell, G.; Dubcovsky, A. (2022). "Hearing a faint voice: Timucua words in a Catholic miracle story". p. 23. Archived from the original on 8 April 2024.