Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust, nothing begins without coming to an end, every beginning comes from some ending. Mary was puzzled and asked him, What does that mean, but the beggar simply replied, Good woman, you have a child in your womb and that is man’s only destiny, to begin and to end, to end and begin, How did you know I’m with child, Even before there is any swelling, a child can be seen shining through its mother’s eyes, If that is true, then my husband must already have seen his child in my eye, Perhaps he’s not looking at you when you look at him, Who are you who knows so much without hearing it from my own lips, I am an angel, but tell no one.
Just then his shining robes turned back to rags, the giant unexpectedly shrivelled up as if licked by a tongue of fire, and this wondrous transformation was enacted just in time, thanks be to God, for no sooner had the beggar quietly disappeared than Joseph emerged in the doorway, his suspicions aroused by whispering voices and Mary’s prolonged absence. What else did the beggar want, he asked, and Mary, at a loss for words, could only repeat, From Earth to earth, from ashes to ashes, from dust to dust, nothing begins without coming to an end, nothing ends without having a beginning. Was that what he said, Yes, and he also said that a father’s child shines through its mother’s eyes, Look at me, I’m looking, I can see a gleam in your eyes, said Joseph, and Mary told him, It must be your child.