Turning a bushfire with faith

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My last discussion was about the monastery town of New Norcia in Western Australia. Some of the monks who resided there were incredibly talented in particular areas. One was a woodworker and did elaborate and beautiful wood carvings for the chapels. Another was an artist who painted a number of valuable paintings. A bushfire once threatened the early crops of the mission and the painting seen in the photo was taken into the paddock and held up ahead of the fire with prayers being said by blacks and whites alike. The wind changed at the last instant and the crops were saved. This had a huge impact on those aboriginals who had been fighting the fire and many came forward more willingly to be baptised. After, they called the Virgin Mary ‘the white lady’.