Rozvoda and the Midnight Mass

Rozvoda, once sacristan at Our Lady in the Puddle — a church likewise abolished and pulled down — had his poor dwelling here. The first night he was to sleep here it occurred to him that it might be a sin to live on consecrated ground, deconsecrated though it was and stripped of everything sacred; for apart from the walls only the altar stone remained. So he rose, stepped up to that stone and kissed it. And at once an old priest in black vestments stood beside him, candles and all manner of ornaments appeared on the altar, and there were cruets of wine and water as well. The priest began to read holy mass. Rozvoda took heart and served at it. After the mass the priest said to him: “You have released my soul. I once forgot to say a mass for a dead man, though I had taken money for it, and I had no rest in the grave. I was bound to say mass here at midnight until someone should be found to serve me. For your service you will prosper.” The prophecy came true, and the poor sacristan became a man of means.