Three young teenage girls across the globe all find themselves in the same position. They see a bright light while walking home at night, have no recollection of a lapse of time and now find themselves pregnant. They are all named Maria or Mary, all three are Catholic, and all are virgins. How can this be?
That's what Pope Celestine IV wants to know too. He is being pushed by a US Cardinal to declare Beautification and Canonization on these three young ladies, although they are not dead which is usually a pre-requisite. He calls his good friend and Professor of Religion at Harvard University, Cal Donovan, into action to interview these girls and give an unbiased opinion regarding the authenticity of their claim and the virginity question. This is not an easy task.
Cal has to fly to Manilla, Philippines to visit the first Maria, then on to a remote area outside Lima, Peru to visit the second. He sends a good friend, Harvard colleague and Irish native, Cardinal Joe Murphy, to Galway, Ireland to interview the Mary. Both men verify the girls' stories and view the doctors' reports verifying that each is indeed a virgin, yet very much pregnant. These findings only lead to more questions about whether this is a hoax or if God is sending a message to the world.
THE TREE MARYS by Glenn Cooper is a dynamic, inspirational thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat, turning pages as fast as possible to see where the story heads next. It is fast-paced and engaging. All the twists and turns in the storyline definitely thicken the plot and reveal even more questions than the most important one. Is this a miracle, or is it science? Cal is a strong, intelligent and resilient character, supported by a plethora of other characters that help to move the plot along and bring even more intrigue. The Marias / Mary are typical teenage girls in the cultures in which they have grown up. They too have questions about what has happened to them. You will not be disappointed in this excellent book about the changes in the Catholic Church and Catholicism in general. Do not miss THE THREE MARYS!
Three impossible births. Three incredible miracles.
One deadly secret.
Once again, Harvard Professor of religion and archaeology
Cal Donovan has been summoned by Pope Celestine to
investigate a seemingly impossible miracle. Three Catholic
teenage girls, from different corners of the world, have
fallen pregnant. All three girls are named Mary, and all
three girls have been proven to be virgins. Are they really
all bearing the son of God?
Before Cal has a chance to visit all three girls, one of
the
Marys disappears โฆ and then another. As he struggles to
uncover the truth, Cal realises that much more than his own
and othersโ lives are at stake: could this apparent miracle
really cause the collapse of the Catholic faith?
EXCERPT
ONE
Tugatog Public Cemetery, Manila, Philippines
Tuesdays were clinic days at the cemetery. To an outsider
it might have seemed odd that a mobile health clinic would
choose a municipal burial ground as a base of operation,
but to the slum residents of Malabon City in metro Manila,
Tugatog was something of a safe zone. At least during the
day. At night druggies scaled the walls and hung out among
the concrete graves stacked in the air like condominiums,
shooting up, smoking, snorting, doing deals. But daylight
ushered in tranquility, and the poor and the sick felt
protected and cloistered among the dead and their gentle
mourners.
The Health In Action mobile van was parked in its usual
spot near the main gate on Dr Lascano Street. The small
staff of humaniยฌtarian volunteers โ doctors and nurses
dressed in the organizationโs light-blue polo shirts โ was
midway through a six-hour clinic when a teenage patient
wearing thick glasses made it to the front of one of the
lines. She was accompanied by her mother who looked so
young she might have passed for a teenager herself. The
girl was given a plastic chair under the vanโs shaded
canopy where she sat listless, a little on the floppy side,
wilted by the heat.
The nurse โ a Tsino, a Chinese Filipino โ glanced at the
long line of patients leaning and squatting among the
graves. She didnโt have time for niceties.
โWhatโs your name?โ
The girl was slow to answer.
โCome on, child, do you see how many people are waiting?โ
โMaria Aquino.โ
โHow old are you?โ
โSixteen.โ
โWhatโs the matter with you?โ
Maria was slow off the mark again and her mother answered
for her. โSheโs been sick in her stomach.โ
โHow long?โ the nurse asked.
โTwo weeks,โ her mother said. โSheโs throwing up all the
time.โ
โAny fever? Diarrhea?โ
Maria shook her head. Her hair looked like it hadnโt been
washed for a while. Her t-shirt was dirty.
โWhat time of day does she vomit?โ
โMostly in the morning,โ her mother said, โbut sometimes
later.โ
โAre you pregnant?โ the nurse asked, looking the girl full
in the face.
โSheโs not pregnant!โ her mother said, offended.
โI asked her,โ the nurse said.
The girl answered strangely. โI donโt know.โ
The nurse got testy. โLook, have you had sex with a boy?โ
Her mother pounced. โSheโs only sixteen! Sheโs a good girl.
She goes to the church school. What kind of a question is
that?โ
โItโs a question a nurse asks a girl whoโs throwing up in
the mornings. When was your last period?โ
The girl shrugged.
โWhen?โ her mother asked.
โI donโt pay attention.โ
The nurse went to a shelf and took down a plastic cup.
โMaria, go inside the van and pee in this cup. Bring it
back to me and wait over there. Next patient!โ
The nurse blitzed through three more patients before
rememยฌbering the cup of urine. She took a plastic testing
stick, the kind that pharmacies sell to people who can
afford them, and dipped it. Seconds later, she called Maria
and her mother over.
โOK, youโre pregnant.โ
โShe canโt be!โ her mother said angrily.
โYou see the blue stripe. Pregnant. Remember having sex
now, honey?โ She didnโt say โhoneyโ sweetly.
The girl shook her head and that made the nurse shake hers
too.
โLetโs have one of the doctors see you. Christ almighty,
Iโm never going to make it through the whole line.โ
Inside the van, behind a privacy curtain, the doctor,
another Tsino, glanced at the nurseโs note and asked Maria
to hop on to the small table. After a minute or two spent
trying to see if the girl understood how one got pregnant,
he gave up and raised the stirrups.
โWhatโre those for?โ Maria asked.
โPut on this gown and take off your underpants. You put
your feet in those and you spread your legs. That way I can
examine your reproductive organs.โ
โI donโt want to.โ
Her mother told her it was all right. It was what women
did.
The doctor put on gloves and a head lamp. He had to almost
force her legs open wide.
Peering under the gown he grunted a couple of times then
raised his head.
โOK, you can get dressed.โ
โWhat? Thatโs it?โ her mother asked. โThatโs not a proper
exam.โ
โThereโs no point in doing a manual exam or using a
speculum,โ he said. โSheโs a virgin. Her hymen is intact.
Thereโs enough of an opening to let out her menstrual flow
but this is a virginal hymen.โ
โSo sheโs not pregnant?โ
โShe canโt be. It must be a false positive. Weโve got a
rapid blood test I can do.โ
โI donโt like needles,โ the girl whined.
โItโs just a pinprick. Donโt worry.โ
Five minutes later, the doctor parted the curtain and came
back in with the nurse. Both looked puzzled.
โThe test was positive,โ the doctor said. โYouโre six to
seven weeks pregnant.โ
Her mother almost jumped out of her chair. โBut you saidโโ
โI know what I said. Iโm afraid this is beyond me. Iโm
going to send her to the Jose Reyes Medical Center to see a
specialist. Thereโs got to be a good explanation.โ
When mother and daughter left the van clutching the paper
to present to the hospital, the nurse asked the doctor what
he really thought was going on.
He confessed his complete bafflement and laughed nervously.
โItโs been two thousand years since the last Virgin Mary.
Maybe you and I just saw a goddamn miracle.โ
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