Many years ago in Ireland there was a lady who was a very devout Roman Catholic.  She always went to church and prayed, but did not have peace in her heart.  She became very troubled about her sins.  She went to the priest and confessed them all, but her trouble of heart only grew worse.

At last she went to the priest and told him of her great distress.  He told her that she needed something to make her happy, and as there was a comedian in town, she should go and hear him.  The lady decided to go and hear the comedian, but she went to the wrong place.  She found a group of people in a hall, but instead of a comedian, a preacher stood up and began to preach.  His subject was "The Forgiveness of Sin".  The lady wanted to leave the meeting at first, but she was shy and did not want to make a noise in leaving.  So she decided to stay until it was finished.

The sermon was the very message she had wanted to hear.  Afterwards she asked the preacher what book he had been reading from.  He told her that it was a Bible and gave her a copy.  She went home and read and read the Bible and she trusted in Christ.  The burden of her sin was taken away and she was wonderfully saved.

Some weeks later the priest visited her and asked her why she had not been attending church.  She told him that she had found forgiveness and peace with God.  When the priest saw the Bible, he was very angry and grabbed the Bible.  He shouted at her, saying that she would go to Hell if she read that book.  He took the Bible and left in anger.

The lady bought another Bible and continued to read it diligently.  A month later she decided that she should go and talk to the priest.  When she arrived at his place, a nun opened the door and said in an angry voice, "Come in and see the priest".  When the lady went in,  she saw a coffin with the dead body of the priest in it.  The nun said, "He died very upset, and he cursed you for having that book, the Bible."

Though the lady left the house very sad and upset, she continued to read her Bible.  Some weeks later, late at night, there was a knock at the lady's door.  When she opened the door, a lady stood there with her head covered.  She asked her inside.  When the lady took off her veil, it was the nun.  She said, "I have come to tell you that I am very sorry for telling you a dreadful lie about the priest."  She told her how the priest had begun to read the Bible, and when he died he was praising God for His mercy and forgiveness.

The nun told the lady how she had begun to read the Bible after the priest was buried, and she also had found the Lord and His mercy.  Now she was running away from the Convent and fleeing to England.  She had found Christ and salvation through reading the Bible, just as the priest and the lady had done.