St Gemma Galgani

Saint Gemma Galgani

2025-10-12T09:59:00.196-04:00

St Gemma Galgani
"The Gem of Christ"
1878-1903
Saint of the Passion of Jesus

Welcome to this website which is devoted to Saint Gemma Galgani, the "Passion Flower". I hope that you will find in Gemma a friend in Jesus and a very special advocate before our loving God.

We can learn so much from Gemma, but perhaps the most important thing is the desire to love God with all our hearts. Gemma was not a person of half measures. She loved God with all her being. Her heart was all on fire with the love of God, and God was everything to her. To know Saint Gemma is to love her. It is impossible to read her writings and not be touched by the fire of her extraordinary love for God, which she expresses so well in her writings. Just one example of her remarkable love for God would be the numerous times that the name of Jesus occurs in her writings. In fact we find in her writings that the blessed Name of Jesus occurs 1,982 times in her Ecstasies and 1475 times in her Letters, as her devoted Biographers point out.

So, let us learn from Gemma to "love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind and with all our strength." (Mark 12:30)

"She bore in her flesh the wounds of Christ" -Pope Pius XI

Born: March 12, 1878

Extraordinary Mystical Experiences begin: 1898
Miraculous Cure: Friday, March 3, 1899 -1st Friday of the month (Sacred Heart devotion)
Received Stigmata: June 8, 1899 -Vigil of the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Died: Holy Saturday, April 11, 1903
Beatified: May 14, 1933 by Pope Pius XI
Canonized: May 2, 1940 by Pope Pius XII
Patroness of Pharmacists, loss of parents, those suffering back injury or back pain, those suffering with headaches/migraines, those struggling with temptations to impurity and those seeking purity of heart.
Feast Day: April 11th (or May 16th for those in the Passionist Congregation).

"All Your works shall give thanks to Thee, oh Lord, and all Your Saints shall bless Thee. Your friends make known, oh Lord, the glorious splendor of Your Kingdom." (Holy Bible, Psalm 145: 10-12)

Latest Articles: The heavenly help of St Gemma -Two true stories and also Drawings of the life of St Gemma and also The Most Popular Saints List and also St Padre Pio's devotion to St Gemma, Part 2 and also A letter of St Gemma on Christmas eve and also A grace given to St Gemma on Christmas & Gemma's New Year resolutions and also The spirituality of St Gemma and also Updated: Gemma's desire for heaven and also Crucified with Christ- Gemma suffers in union with Jesus and also The Little Victim of Divine Love & her heavenly help and also Another recent grace through the intercession of St Gemma and also St Gemma assists at the deathbed of an Archbishop and also A recent grace through the intercession of St Gemma and also American Mystic Marie "Little Rose" Ferron and her devotion to St Gemma and also Heavenly graces in the world today through the intercession of St Gemma and also Some Photos of Gemma's personal belongings and also New Gemma Galgani booklet offer ---Click on the links to the right for more articles--->>

Also please visit our Website devoted to the lesser known Mystics of the Church and also our other websites devoted to the Miracles of the Saints and also the Miracles of the Church and also our brother site devoted to St Paul of the Cross, the founder of the Passionists
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Quotes of St Gemma Galgani:

On loving God: "Oh love, oh infinite love! .....Oh love of my Jesus! ....Let Your love penetrate my all; from You I want nothing else. My God, my God, I love You. But, perhaps I love You too little, oh Jesus?....Oh, if all were to know how beautiful Jesus is, how loving He is! They would all die of love. And yet, how is it that He is so little loved?" Click here for more.....

On devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary: "Oh, how I love my Mother! She knows it; and then Jesus Himself gave Her to me, and told me to love Her so much. And what great goodness this Heavenly Mother has always shown me! What would have become of me, if I had not had Her? She has always helped me in my spiritual wants; She has preserved me from countless dangers; She has freed me from the hands of the devil who was ceaselessly coming to molest me; She pleaded my cause with Jesus when I sinned, and She soothed Him when I moved Him to anger by my wicked life; She has taught me to know Him and to love Him, to be good and to please Him. Ah, my dear Mother, I will love Thee always and forever!" Click here for more.....

"Whoever could have imagined, that this evening my dear Mother would have come to see me? I would not have even considered it because I believed that my bad conduct would have prevented it. Yet She had compassion on me. Her presence quickly put me in a state of recollection, and then, as often happens, I lost my senses, and I found myself, I think, with Our Lady of Sorrows. Oh, what happiness! What sweetness of heart I felt during those wonderful moments! Let whoever can, explain it. It seemed to me, after some moments of emotion, that She took me in her lap and made me rest my head on Her shoulder and kept it there for a short time. My heart during that time felt perfectly happy and contented without any other desire." Click here for more...

On receiving Jesus in the Eucharist: "Is it possible that there are souls who do not understand what the Blessed Eucharist is? Who are insensible to the Divine Presence.....to the mysterious and fervent effusions of the Sacred Heart of my Jesus? O Heart of Jesus! Heart of love!" "Yesterday, in the presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament I felt myself burning so fiercely that I had to go away. I felt stunned that so many could stay so close to Jesus and not be reduced to ashes. I felt that I would be consumed. Jesus is such a sweet and irresistible Lover; how can one fail to love Him with one's whole heart and soul? How can one not wish to be wholly united in Him, and consumed in the flames of His holy love?" Click here for more..... "

….What would become of me if I did not dedicate all my affections to the Sacred Host? Oh yes, I know it Lord; that in order to make me deserve paradise in heaven, You give me Communion here on earth!" "….I am Yours, oh Jesus. You have good reason to complain about me, yes, because I have offended You. And, undeserving as I am, I should be obliged to give back to the Altar so many stolen Breads, and so much precious Blood. But I promise You that I will make amends." Click here for more.....

Gemma pleads for the conversion of a sinner: “.....You have not measured the Blood that You have shed for sinners, and now do You wish to measure the enormity of our sins? Do You not listen to me? And I, to whom must I turn? You have shed Thy Blood for him as well as for me. Will You save me and not him? I will not rise from here. Save him. Promise me that You will save him. I offer myself victim for all, but particularly for him. I promise not to refuse Thee anything. Will You grant it to me? It is a soul. Remember, oh Jesus, it is a soul that has cost You so much.” Click here for more.....

On praying: “....Let us go to Jesus. He is all alone and hardly anyone thinks of Him. Poor Jesus!” "....See, oh Jesus, even at night, those hours, those hours! I sleep, but Jesus my heart does not sleep. It watches with Thee at all hours." ".....Can You see that as soon as the day breaks I think of You? As evening comes, I am near You.....I am near You at every moment.......I love You, Jesus....." Click here for more.....

On humility: “.....Oh Jesus, do not let me do things that are above me. I am good for nothing. I do not know how to return all these great graces you have given me. Seek someone else who will know how to do better than I.” “.....Oh Jesus, if people knew me, they would not come and ask for my prayers." To her adoptive mother and friend, Cecilia Giannini, she wrote: “I was so astonished that you asked me to pray for that lady. If you did not know me you might be excused; but you know me well enough! I say no more…What can you expect to obtain through a sinful soul that is full of defects and that is so little, if at all concerned about Jesus? And yet I obey, but do not trust me, for I am good for nothing.” ".....Gemma alone can do nothing. But together Gemma and Jesus can do all things!" Click here for more.....

Her miraculous cure: "...Just before the cure was granted, Jesus said, embracing me, 'My daughter, I give myself entirely to you and you will be entirely mine.' I saw clearly that Jesus had taken my parents from me and sometimes this made me discouraged, because I believed myself abandoned. That morning I complained to Jesus about this and He, always so good and tender, said to me: 'My daughter, I will always be with you. I will be your Father and She (indicating our Mother of Sorrows) will be your Mother. He who is My hands can never lack fatherly help. You will never lack anything, even though I have taken away from you all earthly consolation and support. Come, draw near to Me, you are my daughter. Are you not happy to be the daughter of Jesus and Mary?'

The overwhelming affections to which Jesus gave rise in my heart kept me from answering. After about two hours had passed I arose. Those in the house wept for joy. I too was happy, not because I was cured but because Jesus had chosen me to be His daughter. Before leaving me that morning Jesus said to me: "To the grace that has been given you this morning there will be added many more, and even greater ones." And this has been so true because Jesus has always protected me in a special way. I have treated Him only with coldness and indifference and in exchange He has given me only signs of His infinite love." Click here for more.....

Union with God and desire for heaven: "I live on this earth, but I seem to dwell here like a soul who has lost it’s way, because never for a moment do I cease looking towards Jesus, apart from whom I despise all things." “I greatly rejoice that time flies so quickly, because that means so much less time to spend in this world, where there is nothing to attract me. My heart goes incessantly in search of a Treasure, an immense Treasure that I do not find in creatures; a Treasure that will satisfy me and console me, and give me rest." Click here for more.....

Gemma receives the Stigmata: ".....At that moment Jesus appeared with all His wounds open, but blood no longer came out of those wounds. Rather, flames of fire issued forth from them and in an instant these flames came to touch my hands, my feet and my heart. I felt as if I would die. I fell to the floor, but my Mother supported me, keeping me covered in Her mantle." Click here for more.....

Jesus teaches Gemma the value of suffering: “…Jesus in His infinite charity continued His graces and favors to me. One day He said to me lovingly: 'Daughter, what should I say to you, when in your doubts, your sufferings and your adversities, you think of going to others rather than coming to Me, and you seek alleviation and comfort other than Mine.'

"I knew that I deserved these reproofs, nevertheless I continued as usual, and Jesus rebuked me again saying, "Gemma, do you realize that you are offending Me when in your great need you come to Me last, after other creatures who cannot give you consolation? I suffer, My daughter, when I see that you forget Me.'

This last reproof sufficed and served to detach me from every creature in order to turn myself to our Creator." "It is true Jesus, if I think of what I have gone through as a child and now as a grown up girl I see that I have always had crosses to bear; But oh! how wrong are those who say that suffering is a misfortune!" Click here and also here for more.....

Quotes from her Letters: “.....Oh, when I see Jesus in tears it pierces my heart. I realize that I, by my sins, have increased the suffering which overwhelmed Him while He prayed in the garden. At that moment, Jesus saw all my sins, all my failings, and He saw also that place I should have occupied in hell, if Thy Heart, oh Jesus, had not pardoned me” Click here for more.....

"My spirit is willing but my flesh is weak, weak because I am so lazy. What would I not do for Jesus! For anyone who had just one of His glances, it would suffice; what force, what vigor he would feel! I feel that I would do anything for Him to see Him content; the greatest torment would seem to me easy to bear supported by Him, every drop of my blood I would give willingly, and all to satisfy Him, to prevent poor sinners from offending Him. My God, what do I say? I should wish my voice to reach to the uttermost ends of the earth; I should wish to have all sinners understand me. I should want to cry out to them: 'Rather than insult Jesus, prefer to be insulted yourselves.' If you knew, Father, how Jesus is afflicted in certain moments at certain times! Oh, it is not possible to bear the sight of Him longing and, yet, how few are those who suffer with Him? Very few, and Jesus finds Himself almost alone. It is so sad to see Jesus in the midst of sorrows! But how can one see Him in that state and not aid Him? Click here for more....

"Jesus continues to make me aware of Himself several times a day; in the evening, the morning, and at all times and in all places . . . And what strength it takes for me to hide this from others, especially when I am in the Church, outside, or even when I find myself alone." Click here for more....

From her recorded ecstasies: "My God, open Your heart to me. Oh Jesus, open Your sacred breast to me, so I may place all my affections there. And you, oh Jesus, You said many times that You would welcome me generously: is that true my Jesus? How much I love You, oh Jesus! I thank you; but why do You behave so lovingly while I offend You with such ingratitude? This thought alone should make me become a flame of love, if only I could understand it well ... I love You, oh Jesus. What a fine love is mine, loving someone who does not get angry with those who offend Him!...... Oh Jesus, if I were to consider attentively the great cares You show me, how I ought to excel in so many virtues!" Click here for more.....

Attacks by the devil: "....Today I thought I was to be entirely free from that nauseous animal, and instead he has knocked me about greatly. I had gone to bed with the full intention of sleeping, but it turned out otherwise. He began to beat me with such blows that I feared I would die. He was in the shape of a big black dog, and he put his "paws" on my shoulders, hurting me greatly. I felt it so much in all my bones that I thought that they were broken. Also, when I was taking holy water he wrenched my arm so violently that I fell to the floor from the pain. The bone was dislocated, but went back into place because Jesus touched it for me, and all was remedied." Click here for more.....

From her Diary: ".....Jesus, as soon as he arrived on my tongue (the cause so often of so many sins), made Himself felt immediately. I was no longer in myself but Jesus was in me; He descended to my breast. (I say breast, because I no longer have a heart; I gave it to Jesus' Mom.) What happy moments I spent with Jesus! How could I return His affections? With what words could I express His love, and for this poor creature? Yet He did deign to come. It's truly impossible, yes, it is impossible not to love Jesus. How many times He asked me if I love Him and if I truly love Him. And do you still doubt it, my Jesus? So, He unites ever more closely with me, talks to me, says He wants me to be perfect, that He too loves me very much and I should reciprocate." Click here for more.....

From her Autobiography: "....I began therefore, to make the Holy Hour, but I felt myself so full of sorrow for my sins that it was a time of continual martyrdom. However, in the midst of this sorrow there was one comfort, namely, weeping. This was both a comfort and a relief to me. I spent the entire hour praying and weeping. Finally, being very tired, I sat down but the sorrow continued. I became entirely recollected and after a little bit, all of a sudden, I felt my strength fail. (It was only with great difficulty that I was able to get up and lock the door to the room.) Where was I? Dear Father, I found myself before Jesus Crucified. He was bleeding all over. I lowered my eyes and the sight filled me with pain. I made the sign of the cross and immediately my anguish was succeeded by peace of soul. I continued to feel an even stronger sorrow for my sins and I had not the courage to raise my eyes and look at Jesus. I prostrated myself on the floor and remained there for several hours. "My daughter," He said, "Behold these wounds. They have all been opened for your sins. But now, be consoled, for they have all been closed by your sorrow. Do not offend Me any more. Love Me as I have always loved you. Love Me."

This He repeated several times. The vision vanished and I returned to my senses. From that time on I began to have a great horror for sin (which was the greatest grace Jesus has given me). The wounds of Jesus remained so vividly impressed in my mind that they have never been effaced." Click here for more.....

There are over 70 articles on this website, including St Gemma's entire Autobiography and Diary, along with many of her Letters and recorded Ecstasies. Please use the menu options on the right to view the articles that interest you. --->>

Click here for free St Gemma holy prayer card
Click here for St Gemma holy card package with relic card
Click here for 4 St Gemma holy prayer cards
Click here for St Gemma Medal

-Click here for St Gemma website complete holy card, medal and booklet package <---as shown in the photo to the left

-St Gemma, pray for us!

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Fire! Fire in my heart! This morning it is burning...... Dear Jesus, I love you so much! I shall endeavor always to love You; I shall live to love You; I shall die to love You!....Give me wings oh Jesus, so I can fly to Your throne! ".....Can You see that as soon as the day breaks I think of You? As evening comes, I am near You.....I am near You at every moment.......I love You, Jesus....." "Jesus is the owner of my heart, and belonging to Him I find that I can smile, even in the midst of tears." "....Oh Jesus, it is you alone that I wish to love! I no longer belong to myself. I am Yours...." -St Gemma Galgani

The heavenly help of Saint Gemma

2012-01-28T19:39:00.010-05:00

Two recent true stories of St Gemma's heavenly intercession

This past week I received two emails--just three days apart--that gave beautiful testimonies to St Gemma's remarkable heavenly intercession in the lives of many in the world today. Since both true stories are very inspiring and edifying, I thought to post them together here, and those concerned kindly gave me permission to do so, with my assurance to keep their names and other identifying information private.

Here is the first email:
On Sat, Jan 21, 2012 at 9:42 PM, Lisa [Last name withheld for privacy], [email address withheld] wrote:

"Dear Glenn,

I must commend you on your website to St. Gemma; it is a beautiful testament to her. I have to admit I am new to St. Gemma, and I have to thank your website for learning more about her.

A little bit about myself, I was brought up Catholic, but became lapsed for
the past couple of years. I had suffered physically through four spinal
surgeries that left me, disabled, going through a separation and
reconciliation of my marriage and the loss of three of my close family
members. While I still prayed, I had found it difficult to sit in mass and
eventually retreated to a Holiday catholic. Recently, I had been told of
the need for a fifth surgery, I was in tremendous pain and exhausted and
worried that I was failing to be the mother and wife I wanted to be. In
November, a friend had told me about a healing mass and encouraged me to go.
During that experience, I was in a back brace and hunched over a walker, and
the priest came to me and said, "I heard there was a young lady here who was
a big mess", I left and after my blessing I had a vision of a beautiful
woman, who told me her name was Gemma.

I asked my friends if there was a St. "Gemma" or "Jemma" known to them. My
friend said she didn't know of a saint by that name and we left it there. I
also felt held and heard "Welcome, home.' -a truly life changing experience.

The next day, I was talking to my friend that attended the same mass and
decided to check on the computer for a St. Gemma or Jemma, and was directed
to your site. I was speechless and began crying, for lo and behold, the
picture of St. Gemma was an exact replica of the vision I had. I also
identified with many of her life experiences.

Since then, I have been discerning my path and reading about and praying to
Gemma. I am constantly amazed at her obedience and purity, while
understanding her emotions. I tend to be all or nothing myself.

I thank you for your site because it has helped me restore my faith and work
to include St. Gemma more fully into my life.

Thank you and God Bless,
Lisa"
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Having read this extraordinary and beautiful testimony I emailed Lisa back seeking some further information:

From: Glenn Dallaire [mailto:gdallaire1@gmail.com]
Sent: Sunday, January 22, 2012 8:52 AM
To: Lisa [Last name withheld]
Subject: Re: Your blog and my miraculous introduction to St. Gemma

Hi Lisa,
It is really nice to meet you---thank you for your kind email and especially for sharing the story of the heavenly grace that you recently received.

While reading your story, my strong impression is that if Jesus has revealed St Gemma to you in this remarkable manner, it is because you are to have a special relationship with her---so I am glad to hear that you are reading about her holy life and her extraordinary love for Jesus and Mary, and that you are trying to spiritually follow in her footsteps and her holy example.

And, of course you know from the website how Gemma is the patroness of those who suffer with back and spinal illnesses, injuries and pain, so obviously she is a special patroness for those, such as yourself, who suffer with severe back problems and pain, especially given all that she herself suffered in this regards.

While reading your story I was wondering a few things, if it is not too personal, and you don't mind responding---and of course I always keep these private matters to myself---anyway, the first thing I was wondering was that while it is obvious that you were reinvigorated in your spiritual life and your faith through this experience, and may God be fervently blessed for this, but I was wondering about your severe back pain/problem---has there been any improvement in this regards? And the other thing that I was wondering is have you had other visions prior to this, or is this the first time you have had such an experience? And the third thing that I was wondering is did Gemma say anything else to you other than her name? If you are not comfortable answering either of these questions, that is fine....I was just wondering.

Anyway, thank you once again Lisa for getting in touch with me. Your story inspires me and makes me love Gemma all the more. For, the website is really a "work of love" so to speak, as Gemma's holy life and virtues speak to my heart and soul like none other, and she herself has lovingly helped me in so many ways.

May God bless you, your family and your loved ones.
~St Gemma, pray for us!
Glenn Dallaire
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Soon afterwards Lisa kindly replied to my questions and comments:
[I will leave out numerous personal parts of Lisa's email which do not pertain to the subject of this article)

From: Lisa [Last name and email address withheld]
Date: Mon, Jan 23, 2012 at 12:45 AM
Subject: RE: Your blog and my miraculous introduction to St. Gemma
To: Glenn Dallaire

"....My back problems began at the age of fourteen, when I had scoliosis surgery with a spinal fusion, and I remember my parents praying novenas to St. Anthony of Padua and St. Jude, as well as St. Therese of the Little Flower....[Lisa then goes onto to explain the several spinal surgeries that she eventually had to undergo]..

...So, I am finally leading to Gemma. I had been upset because my daughter and I both had nightmares of being attacked by a serpent, and I broke the news to my friend that invited me to the healing mass. I attended two nights. Visions I saw besides Gemma, and being held by Jesus, I felt, with the "Welcome Home", I received a message from my friend's mother who passed away and my friend confirmed the message was from her mother.

On the second night, I felt that Gemma wanted me to pray for the priest who did the healing because he was having spinal difficulties. I did talk to Fr. [name withheld] and he told me he needed Spinal Surgery. At the second mass, when I closed my eyes I saw the Sacret Heart of Jesus and rays reaching through different people. It felt like a sharp stab in the heart and then like the capacity of my heart was able to grow a little. I also couldn't get over the electrical currents within the church. The priest also told me I was in pain because I cared too much. I was left with one word repeating in my self-conscious: discernment.

Now, I did order Gemma's books, though I need to read them and I am wearing a medal of Gemma's. She appeared to me after second hand in a dream. I had dreamt I saw a vision of Jesus, but something was off. I felt someone start saying the hail mary in my head and I had a quick flash of Gemma. I felt this vision morph into a black vaporious sludge like being, who became angry at me and created the severe feelings of nerve pain . I woke up and I couldn't move and tried to speak. I felt like I was being choked and the only thing was the litany of Gemma saying the "Hail Mary" in my mind until I was finally able to speak the "Hail Mary's" out loud and this thing disappeared. In my head, I had a thought, "good for nothing"-I think from Gemma- I hope about this thing and not about me :).

When I have asked about discernment, a priest came along to answer....."

It has seemed when I have asked for a book on discernment in a book store, I found all these other books but that. I asked Gemma's help and what is waiting for me at the register- a book called "Discernment". Since then, I have also been feeling the need to pray to not only Gemma, but Teresa of Avila and Padre Pio. I did have a dream with Padre Pio. It is pretty amazing because I have spent the past year and a half living in gluttony and hedonism of the mind, and it just speaks to the power of God's forgiveness.

As for my back, it has improved. I was going to have a fifth surgery in March and now, I am contemplating putting it off. I still have a fusion that is moving, but miraculously my stenosis and nerve damage as diminished. I also have this feeling when I am pain of holding a calm admist a storm. In the past year, my stress and state of mind would increase the pain. I also now wonder about some of my pain and where it was coming from. In one of my dreams, I had Gemma and the Holy Spirit help to get rid of this entity or negativity that attacks from 2:49 unti 3:40 every night and I chased it down and had a vision unmasking the source. Once knowing this, it explained not only my negative year, but the attitudes and difficulties of my family, as well. That is another wacky story for another time, but I would never be able to come to these answers without Gemma. She is still helping me discern truth from lies.

I am both amazed and intimidated by her power. I think I have lacked her obedience and self-discipline and I hope she continues to shed light into those areas. It sounds like she has given you a beautiful sign of her appreciation- it is very special that you have a relic of hers. I have always been amazed at the saints and awed by their dedication. I'm sure I don't have what it takes, especially all their trials. I do know that most of the time having pain can be abnormal at a fairly young age; it is also a blessing in many ways. I hope it has made me more empathetic and sympathetic, but on other days unfortunately, it has also made me narcissictic. I do admit to being mostly flawed:}, but I guess that's part of being a Christian.

I hope and pray that you and your family are having a Happy New Year....
Thank you and Good night. May God Bless You and your loved ones,

Lisa"
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I sincerely thank Lisa for sharing her story. May God bless and reward her, and may Saint Gemma continue to be her heavenly friend and advocate!

The Second Story of St Gemma's heavenly intercession
The second story came in an email just three days after Lisa's and I am very grateful to Sr. Veronica for getting in touch and sharing the inspiring story below [Once again, last names and other identifying information has been withheld, for privacy. Also, some information not pertaining to the subject of this article has been removed]

From: Sr. Veronica [Last name and email address withheld]
Date: Tue, Jan 24, 2012 at 6:22 AM
Subject: Gemma Galgani
To: gdallaire1@gmail.com

"Dear Sir,
I am a carmelite sister [location withheld]. I must tell you of the help and comfort my brother and his family are having from St Gemma:

Over three years ago a presbytery owned by the Rosminian Fathers in England was closing down so they were disposing of things to prepare the house for sale. Among these things was a relic of St Gemma. The rector gave this to a man who was living in the house at the time saying "you might meet someone who would need this"

The man returned to {....} Ireland and went to see my brother, giving the relic to my brother he said, "Dan, you might know someone who could do with this." His dear wife had just recently been diagnosed with cancer.

Sometime later Dan opened the little box to find that the relic had gone! Then it came to Mary's last stage of cancer and she was to go for a lumber puncture. Being a nurse herself she knew what this entailed and dreaded it. Dan went out to their agricultural shop to lock it up before bringing Mary to the hospital. While locking the door he looked down and there was Gemma [relic] looking up at him. He found this hard to believe as we had been through some very harsh weather, rain, hail and snow, not to mention the storms, since the time he received the relic. He pinned it onto Mary's clothes and she had it with her in the hospital and then under her pillow at home until God called her home in August last. There was also a lady who helped Dan and Mary through her illness with her prayer and little images.

Mary died, and then a month later we had the Month's Mind (this is a custom we have in Ireland). Rose (the other lady) was at the Mass and just before the Mass began she was aware of some people going up the aisle, she looked over and there she saw Mary and two other ladies. She knew Mary and Mary looked over at her and gave her a big smile. At this stage she didn't recognise the other ladies - they seemed to disappear as they reached the altar. Rose then looked over to where Dan and his family were and saw a very bright light overshadowing them.

Then came the Consecration of the Mass and the three ladies came out again and prostrated themselves before the altar. At this stage she recognised all three ; Our Lady, Mary and a lady called "Gemma"! She knew nothing about Gemma but when she told Dan later about what had happened he got his boys to 'google' Gemma and there they found Gemma Galgani and the web site. They also discovered that Mary and Gemma shared the same birthday! I have since given them the book to read, the book written in 1913, just ten or eleven years after Gemma's death - so that should be quite authentic....

Another interesting thing is the fact that my Italian relatives live in Lucca (Carignano)/Viareggio....

God bless you and may Gemma be good to you as she is to Dan and Family,
Sr Veronica"
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I wrote a reply to Sr Veronica wanting to thank her for sharing this story and also seeking some further clarifications and information about the edifying intercession of St. Gemma in the life of her brother and his family and their friend Rose:

On Tue, Jan 24, 2012 at 10:44 PM, Glenn Dallaire wrote:

Dear Sister Veronica,
It is really nice to meet you.

Firstly, I wanted to thank you for getting in touch with me, and for sharing this wonderful story of the heavenly intercession of St Gemma in the lives of your brother Dan and his family. While I sorry to hear of the loss of his wife Mary, the Rose's vision of Mary smiling joyfully is surely a great consolation for your brother and his children.

When I was reading your description of the story, I was wondering what Dan and Mary knew about St Gemma---I mean, since he was looking for the lost relic and eventually found it, and then she wore it and kept it under her pillow until her death---I was wondering what they knew about Gemma? just that she was a holy person? Also I was wondering if Rose knew about the relic and if she knew about St Gemma?

[........] May God bless you and your loved ones. And please pray for my family and I---my wife and I have 6 children, ages 8-18---thank you!
-St Gemma, pray for us!
Glenn Dallaire

Additionally I sent Sr. Veronica another email asking for permission to publish her story
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And Sr. Veronica kindly replied:

On Fri, Jan 27, 2012 at 4:22 PM, [Last name and email address withheld] wrote:

"Dear Glenn,

Thank you for your emails! We have no objections to you making known the wonders of God through Gemma! and I have one or two details to correct:
Dan was crossing the yard, over to his house when he found the relic. He placed it in an envelope which he placed under Mary's pillow and was there until she died - he has never found it since!

No, Dan never heard of Gemma. I did and so did some other members of the family but that was possibly because of my religious background and also from my aunt who lived in Lucca.

No, Rose never heard of her either!

There was quite a bit of devotion to her in Ireland especially where there were Passionist priests. One of my companions went to a Cross and Passion school (nuns) and they had a dormitory called St Gemma's!

I was at a Carmelite meeting over the past few days and I told the sisters about Gemma/ my family and the other stories. they were all surprised and have suggested that we intercede with St Gemma for new Vocations - please join with us in this prayer and ask your wife and children to do the same (there are very few vocations in Ireland now).

[.....]

God bless you,
Sr Veronica"
-------------------------------------------------

Once again, I would like to thank Lisa and Sr. Veronica, along with Dan and his family and their friend Rose for kindly sharing their inspiring stories of Saint Gemma's heavenly intercession. And I join them in thanking and blessing God for the kindness and love that He shows us through the intercession and intervention of His Saints. -Blessed be God in His Angels and in His Saints!

-St Gemma, pray for us!
------------------------------------------------
"For the last eight days I have felt something mysterious in the area of my heart that I cannot understand. The first couple of days I disregarded it, because it gave me only a little trouble. But today is the third day, and this fire has increased, oh so much, as to be almost unbearable. I should need ice to put it out, and it hinders my eating and sleeping. It is a mysterious fire that comes from within, then goes to the outside. It is, however, a fire that does not torment me, rather it delights me, but it also exhausts and consumes me……Father, Jesus will make you understand everything about it. My great God, how I love You! Oh, how love You!" -St Gemma Galgani

Artwork and drawings of the life of Saint Gemma by a Passionist nun at St Gemma's Monastery

2012-01-20T10:58:00.027-05:00

Those who appreciate artwork/drawings will certainly appreciate the photos below. This artwork comes from and old book entitled "A Lover of the Cross -St. Gemma Galgani" published in 1940 by the Monastero-Santuario di Santa Gemma Galgani, Lucca Italy. The drawings are by an unnamed Passionist nun, and they beautifully depict the holy life of Saint Gemma.

Here is an brief explanation of each drawing:
Drawing #1 -The birth of Gemma
Drawing #2 -One day for fun, Gemma's teacher had the students draw lots to see which one "would become a Saint". And Gemma herself drew the desired lot of the one who would become a Saint.
Drawing #3 -The miraculous cure of St Gemma
Drawing #4 -St Gemma is rejected entry into several convents
Drawing #5 -Gemma is given the Stigmata
Drawing #6 -Father Germano C.P. becomes Gemma's spiritual director
Drawing #7 -Gemma becomes a victim soul
Drawing #8 -The Pope blesses Fr. Germano when he asks for a new Passionist Monastery in Lucca (as requested by Jesus to St Gemma--Gemma sought and prayed fervently for this new monastery, but it was only to come after her death and was built in her honor and named after her, and is where her her relics are kept beneath the main altar of the monastery Church.
Drawing #9 -"The humble shall be exaulted" -This depicts the time when a Monsignor came to visit Gemma because he had heard of her holiness, and when she was called to meet him in her great humility she suddenly grabbed the housecat and began acting foolishly with it, to the dismay of the Monsignor, for Gemma of course wanted no one to think that she was holy, devout or special in any way.
Drawing #10 - Alone with Jesus alone -in her final illness, for fear that her disease in contagious, Gemma is moved out of the Giannini family home and into an apartment by herself, to suffer her last illness alone.
Drawing #11 -The heavenly lily -Jesus prepares Gemma for heaven
Drawing #12 -As a dead body- Gemma is taught to forget herself and to suffer for others.
Drawing #13 -Gemma is childlike in her love for Jesus
Drawing #14 -Gemma's guardian Angel guides and directs her
Drawing #15 -"The Mother of orphans" -The Blessed Virgin Mary appears to St Gemma and becomes her heavenly Mother
Drawing #16 -"Crucified love" -Gemma bears the stigmata and the crown of thorns
Drawing #17 -"I will call all sinners" -Gemma telling Jesus that she will suffer for the conversion of sinners.
Drawing #18 -"With Jesus in heaven" -the holy death of St Gemma.
Drawing #19 -"And the humble shall be exaulted" -St Gemma's entrance into heaven.

For those interested, the photos themselves are actually very high resolution, but this is apparent only if they are downloaded (right click on photo and choose "save as").

-St Gemma, pray for us!
___________________________
"Why did you suffer for me dear Jesus? For love!...The nails, the crown, the cross--all for the love of me!
For You I will sacrifice everything willingly. I offer to You my body with all its weakness and my soul with all its love". -St Gemma Galgani

Most popular Saints

2012-01-14T18:12:00.021-05:00

What's wrong over at Catholic Online? -Most Popular Saints List

Catholic Online has recently published their "Popular Saints" list. Now, I normally love Catholic Online, but there is some serious problems with this list! I recognise that Saint Gemma is not very well known, so setting aside my own personal opinion I had not expected her to place in the top 25 most popular saints, but I thought for sure that she would be listed in the top 75...Or, at least the top 100.

So where exactly did Gemma place in the list? Number 196! But how is that possible when in just 3 1/2 years this website has received over one million visitor page loads? (see page hit counter at bottom right corner of page). And so it is that Gemma continues to be the "hidden" Gem of Christ!

And while St Therese the Little Flower is in the top 10 (#7), yet how is it that St Padre Pio is listed only as #30 when a 2006 survey by the Catholic magazine "Famiglia Christiana" showed that more Italians pray to St Padre Pio than to Jesus or the Virgin Mary! And speaking of our Blessed Mother, can you guess where the Mother of God placed? Number 48 of course! SHEEEESH! How is it that the Saint of Saints places #48? And St Faustina Kowalska places #82? I demand a recount!....Seriously though, something has really gone wrong when our Blessed Mother places #48 on a popular Saints list. Yes, something is very, very wrong when that happens! I mean, even apart from due devotion, isn't "Mary" one of the most popular saint names? How many "Mary's" do you know? Even one of my own kids is named Mary! And St John the Baptist is ranked #27! Surely we have all heard of "John" Doe and "Mary" Smith---shoudn't "John" (after St John the Baptist or St John the beloved Apostle) and "Mary" should be on top of a "popular Saints" list? So why is it that St John the Apostle is #71 on their list?

And so, shaking the dust from my feet I have decided to vindicate my favorite Saints and make my own Most Popular Saints list.

Most Popular Saints

1) The Saint of Saints -The most Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God.

2) St John the Baptist (after all, Jesus did say that "I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John the Baptist" -Luke 7:28). And after all, how many "John's" do you know?- Its a popular saint name for sure!

3) St Joseph -The foster father of Jesus and who can count how many are named after him!

4) St Padre Pio -and you thought I would have placed Gemma at #4! (actually she is at 4.5!) But really, St Pio was the only priest-Saint to have ever borne the stigmata--and for 50 years at that!

4.5) St Gemma Galgani (this is, after all, my most popular Saints list!)

5) St Peter -since Jesus chose him to be the head of the Apostles and the first Pope.

6) St Paul -since Jesus chose him to be the apostle to the gentiles--he was imprisoned several times, shipwrecked twice, whipped, stoned...-seriously!, ever look at a map of his many travels in preaching the Gospel? It looks like an air traffic controllers flight map with lines everywhere! This is why he is known as the "indefatigable" prophet.

7) St John the Apostle -He was, after all, Jesus' beloved apostle!

8) St Mary Magdalene -the "sinner from whom Jesus had cast out seven demons” (Mark 16:9) turned penitent saint at the foot of the Cross, and whom the risen Christ first appears on Easter Sunday, making her the “apostle to the apostles”, and the first messenger that Christ has conquered death. She is an extraordinary example of great sinner turned Saint, and therefore a remarkable encouragement for us all.

9) St Therese of Lisieux -Honestly, how can you not love her?

10) St Michael the Archangel -After all, he is the Prince of the heavenly Host!

And surely other popular Saints would include the holy founders and reformers of the Religious Orders in the Church, such as St Benedict, St Dominic, St Augustine, St. Francis, St Paul of the Cross, St Ignatius, St Anthony, St Teresa and St Clare to name just a few...

Now, would you like to add your own popular Saint to this article? Well, this is an open forum, so please feel free to add your favorite Saint in the comment section below.
______________________________________

"You know, oh Jesus how ready I am to sacrifice myself in everything. I will bear every sort of pain for You! I will give every drop of my blood to please Thy Heart and to hinder the outrages of sinners against You." -St Gemma Galgani

St Padre Pio's devotion to St Gemma -The Communion of Saints, Part 2

2012-01-05T17:34:00.043-05:00

The Communion of Saints -The extraordinary spiritual friendship between St Padre Pio and St Gemma Galgani (Part 2)

Part 1 of this article began to document and explore the special spiritual friendship between Saint Padre Pio and Saint Gemma using as it source the excellent book "Nella Comunione dei Santi -Santa Gemma Galgani San Pio Da Pietrelcina" by Luca Lucchini, Citta de Vaticano:Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2005, more info here. In this present article we will continue to explore the spiritual relationship between St Pio and St. Gemma using the above book as our source.

I would like to give special thanks to Mrs. Angelica Avcikurt who kindly provided the translations, chapter synopsis, and many of the commentaries below. May God bless and reward her for her efforts.

The basic premise of the book is that St. Pio of Pietralcina modeled his mystical life on St. Gemma Galgani. Upon comparing the letters and ecstasies of St. Gemma Galgani to the letters that St. Padre Pio wrote to his spiritual directors, especially between the years 1910-1913, the author found that St. Pio was using similar, if not identical, expressions found in the writings of St. Gemma, without making a reference to her.

We will begin exploring the spiritual friendship between St Pio and St Gemma with the book's Introduction, by Fr. Giandomenico Mucci, S.J.:

“It is as if the young religious (Padre Pio), propelled by the same desire for holiness as his model (St. Gemma), found in the words of the saint (St. Gemma)the most adequate expression of his own interior world and did not bother to clarify that the words he used were not all his.” (p.XVI)

“The phenomenon of the copied letters possibly originated from the young Capuchin’s need to make his own a human and spiritual experience more advanced than his, to identify himself with it and make it a part of him…He reports with very few modifications the typical passages of the spiritual development of Gemma, and finds in them the right words to express what he is feeling at the moment, and uses them without quoting the author (Gemma).” (p. XVII-VIII)

Irregardless, this "holy plaguerism" of Gemma's writings by Padre Pio was investigated during his cause for canonisation in the late 1990's and was highlighted in several articles (see part one of this article for more info). When we consider that Padre Pio was being drawn along the same spiritual path as Gemma -that of a "victim soul", and that he had also begun receiving the same mystical graces as Gemma (stigmata, ecstasies and heavenly visions, battles with the demons etc) thus we can easily understand Padre Pio's affection and devotion to Gemma as a "spiritual friend" who understood well what he himself was experiencing.

In the preface, the author (Luca Lucchini), describes how his love for Padre Pio was in part due to his friendship with Fra Modestino Fucci da Pietralcina, a humble doorman at the convent of San Giovanni Rotondo who spent many years together with Padre Pio and who, according to Luca, was continuing the mission of Padre Pio.

“It was Fra Modestino himself who confirmed to me the esteem and devotion that tied Padre Pio to St. Gemma Galgani, when I went to her tomb in Lucca for the first time on October 9, 1999, being invited by my friend Brunella Carrari di Pescia. When I told Fra Modestino that I was struck by the holiness of the beautiful virgin from Lucca, he, with his unmistakable accent from Piertralcina that made him resemble Padre so much, told me: ‘Guaglio’ (man), look, this meeting has been a grace from Padre Pio who wanted to make St. Gemma known to you, one of the saints that he loved the most.” (p.XXIII)

Fra Modestino was a close companion of St Pio and served as a secretary and porter alongside St Pio at San Giovanni Rotundo, and he was one of Padre Pio's 'spiritual sons. On his deathbed, Padre Pio gave him a crucifix, which he kept with devotion until his death this past August, 2011 at age 94. Throughout the years he often greeted the many visitors to St Giovanni Rotundo.

To continue with this study, chapter one of the book compares the many simlarities in the lives of Sts. Pio and Gemma:

"Chapter 1: A Comparison of Two Saints

"Gemma had to leave the Giannini House on January 24, 1903 because of TB and died after 3 months of suffering on April 11. Just two days before, on January 22, 1903, the young Francesco Forgione (Padre Pio) took the Capuchin habit and began his novitiate in Morcone, changing his name to Fra Pio da Pietralcina. Thus, the beginning of Padre Pio’s religious life coincides with Gemma’s last agony. Gemma died with physical suffering and spiritual desolation. She told Eufemia Giannini when she was dying: “I don’t ask anything anymore. I have sacrificed everything and everyone.” This spirit of abandonment and immolation is what Padre Pio was called to, just like Gemma, to take part in a co redemptive vocation. Padre Pio in a letter he wrote to his director Padre Agostino on October 10, 1915, confirms that his celestial visions started soon after he entered the novitiate."

Next the book explores the common spirituality that exsisted between St Pio and St Gemma:

"Chapter 2: Identification with the same Spirit

"Padre Pio’s identification with Santa Gemma, as can be seen in his writings and ecstasies, started between the years 1910-1913. During these years Padre Pio had been sent home to Pietralcina due to illness. In October of 1911, Padre Pio was sent to a convent in Venafro where he spent a month and a half. He had several ecstasies during this period. The following ecstasy transcribed by Padre Agostino has much in common with the ecstasies of St. Gemma.

Padre Pio’s ecstasy of November 28, 1911 “Jesus, you want to go away….stay a little more….it is so sweet to be with You!......Oh, how well one is (Come si sta bene)… I love You…..a lot…..I want to be completely Yours…..don’t You see that I am burning for You?...We are..we are alone, I with You alone, You alone with me.”

Gemma (ecstasy #49): “How well one is with Jesus! (Come si sta bene con Gesu)

Words of St. Gemma when leaving the Giannini house on January 24, “Alone with Jesus alone.” (Sola con Gesu solo.”)"

The years that Padre Pio spent in Pietralcina were years of suffering. He suffered because he longed to be a monk in a monastery and because of his illness; he had to live at home, just like St. Gemma longed to be admitted to a convent and suffered rejection. Another coincidence noted by Luca, is that when Padre Pio was at the height of his identification with Gemma in 1912, he was 25 years old, the age at which St. Gemma died.

Another similarity is that during that time, Padre Pio was suffering from the scandalous behavior of his sister Pellegrina. Gemma had her sister Angelina, “the black sheep of the family.” To both Padre Pio and Gemma the moral conduct of their sisters was cause of suffering. Finally, like Gemma, Padre Pio was experiencing extraordinary visions and ecstasies during this period.

Padre Pio requests the writings of St. Gemma:

On May 2, 1912, Padre Pio wrote the following to Padre Benedetto: “I ask a favor of you. I would like to read the small book entitled Letters and Ecstasies of the Servant of God Gemma Galgani; also the other one of the same servant of God entitled The Holy Hour. I am sure that she, finding my desire right, will obtain them for me. I send my regards and ask for your blessing.Your Fra Pio.”
If we notice the date of this letter (May 1912), in which Padre Pio requests the books by St. Gemma, we realize that this is after the period where he heavily quotes from the writings of St. Gemma (1910-and after). Therefore, we may assume that Padre Pio had already read these books in the monastery as a novice and at this time was requesting s copy of his own. It seems exceptional that the life and holiness of St. Gemma seem to be so widely known just nine years after her death, especially considering a time period where the media was not what it is now.

Chapter 3 studies the Passio-centrism in Gemma and Pio

Evident Similarities: That which is really relevant is the similarity in the human and spiritual journey which allows us to understand more easily why Padre Pio chose Gemma as a point of reference at the beginning of his ascetical and mystical journey. Not only are their life experiences similar but also their mystical experiences. They both had to fight with the devil; they had similar devotions, including supernatural manifestations of Baby Jesus, Mary as Mother of Sorrows, and the guardian angel. The presence of the angels, especially the guardian angel, constitutes a basic element in the mystical experience of Gemma and Padre Pio. Their guardian angels would take letters and carry messages, instructed them in the ways of the spirit, and helped them understand the Will of God for them.

It is important to emphasize that the similarity in their letters is not only a matter of copying. Padre Pio was well aware that it was Christ who made him have this spiritual closeness with Gemma. As evidence we can compare Gemma’s letter 85 to Fr. Germano to Padre Pio’s letter 118 to padre Agostino. In these letters, Jesus gives the same revelation to Padre Pio that he had given to Gemma 12 years earlier. In these letters, both Gemma and Padre Pio tell their confessors that Jesus complained to them about the ingratitude and sinfulness of humanity, the sacrilegious Communions and He also expressed His sadness that creatures do not respond to His love. Jesus ends with similar requests to both:

Gemma reports Jesus’ request in letter #85 “Daughter, I need many souls that may bring me as much consolation as others bring me suffering. I need victims, strong victims. In order to calm the just and divine wrath of My Father, I need souls that with their suffering and tribulations and discomforts can make up for the sinners and the ungrateful.”
Padre Pio’ reports Jesus’ request in letter #118: “My son, adds Jesus, I need victims to calm the just and divine wrath of My Father, renew the sacrifice of your whole self and do it without any reservations.”

More on the Mystical Symbiosis between Pio and Gemma ("Symbiosis" is defined as living together in a close and intimate relationship or union):

“One could dare say in light of the writings analyzed in this book that God had realized in them (Gemma and Padre Pio) a spiritual twin relationship that as its climax has their uniformity of thought, lived and written, almost in symbiosis.
This expression is used in mystical hagiography when, as in our case, there exists a relationship of identification between individuals belonging to the
Church Militant, that is to say, us here on Earth, and those belonging to the
Church Triumphant, that is, the saints in Heaven” (p.28) According to Padre C.
Naselli, who wrote the book “Sorella mia..Santa Gemma Galgani e San Gabriele
dell’Addolorata tra il visibile e l’invisibile” (My Sister…Santa Gemma Galgani
and St. Gabriel of Sorrows between the visible and the invisible), this was the
relationship that existed between St. Gemma and St. Gabriel.

The devotion that St. Gemma had for St. Gabriel of Sorrows is another element that Padre Pio had in common with her. Both of them got to know him and admire him by reading his biography. Perhaps Padre Pio after reading that Gemma had read the life of St Gabriel so many times, felt that he wanted to get to know this young Passionist saint better. On October 1, 1910 Padre Pio wrote to Padre Benedetto: “Please do me the favor of sending me any devotional book. I would also greatly like to read the life of Blessed Gabriel, Passionist.”

Their amazement regarding the spiritual gifts given to the both of them:

Both Gemma and Padre Pio were confused by their spiritual gifts and wanted to hide the supernatural graces as they felt ashamed. They both would have preferred the ordinary life.

Gemma wrote to Fr. Germano: “I pray so much, you know, that Jesus will put me in the ordinary way (via), and I want this grace because it seems to me that things are starting to be known.”

Padre Pio wrote to Fr. Benedetto: “You know, Father, I don’t give any importance to my extraordinary state, and this is why I don’t cease to ask Jesus that he lead me through the ordinary way as well as all souls.”(p.36)

Next, Chapter 4 explores the supernatural gift of the stigmata which both Saints shared

Crucified with Christ

St. Gemma and Padre Pio have in common the fact that they were the first and the most famous stigmatics of the XX century that were canonized by the Catholic Church. Both saints had the typical signs of the Passion of Christ in their bodies, wounds in their hands, feet and side, wounds made by the flagellation, the crown of thorns, the sweating of blood and the transverberation. Their experience of the transverberation (the mystical piercing of the heart usually by an angel with a burning arrow) was extraordinarily similar because of the burn on the skin where the wound was.

Reactions of the Church: A Reciprocal Influence

Both Gemma and Padre Pio had to suffer from negative reactions from scientists and the Church. Gemma was often regarded as a fool or a hysteric. Padre Pio was forbidden for two years to hear confessions and celebrate Mass in public.

During the 1920’s and 30’s in Rome, there was probably some connection between the Aposotolic Process of Gemma and the rehabilitation of Padre Pio, which took place on July 16th, 1933 just 2 months after the beatification of Gemma, on May 14, 1933. Surely those overseeing the 'punishments' and sanctioning of Padre Pio must have reconsidered because if the stigmatic Gemma could be beatified based on her heroic virtue, then Padre Pio’s case certainly deserved better consideration.

Next, Chapter V explores St Pio’s Specific Devotion to St Gemma

Direct Testimony:

Fra Modestino Fucci da Pietralcina confirmed to the author that the most common name Padre Pio used to refer to Gemma was "the great saint" (la grande Santa) or "the big saint" (la Santona).

Enzo Bertani, a spiritual son of Padre Pio and a witness in the beatification process told the author that Padre Pio was very devoted to St. Gemma and often when he spoke about her in their conversations, Padre Pio would be moved to tears. He also advised many persons to name their daughters, Gemma.

Next we have the testimony of Sister Vittoria Vanossi of the Congregation of the Missionary Sisters of St. Gemma Galgani. She said that sometimes Mother Gemma Eufemia Giannini, founder of the institute, had sent pilgrims to Padre Pio, and that Padre Pio would tell them, “What are you doing here asking me for a grace, run to Lucca that is closer to you, because there is St. Gemma, who is a great saint.”

Madre Eufemia Giannini also told Mario Tomaino that in numerous occasions that she went to San Giovanni Rotondo that Padre Pio confided to her that he received frequent “visits” from St. Gemma, meaning that Gemma was appearing to him.

Note that those familiar with the life of St Gemma will recognise Mother Eufemia Gemma Giannini as Gemma's close friend during the last 3 years of her life. In fact, Eufemia was present at Gemma's death, and kneeling at Gemma's bedside she held Gemma's hand pressed to her own breast at the last moments of Gemma's holy life. She has since been declared "Venerable" by the Catholic church and for those interested I have written an article about her here.

Padre Pio often after hearing the confession of his spiritual children would give them something as a souvenir, a piece of tobacco, a little flower, or a holy card. To some he gave a holy card of St. Gemma recommending devotion to her.

Cleonice Morcaldi, a spiritual daughter of Padre Pio once asked him: “You have told me that a grace doesn’t depend on you. Jesus, however, has made me feel that I’ve been heard. Am I delusional?” To which Padre Pio replied, “Now, was St. Gemma’s desire to enter a convent an illusion? The Church does not raise to the altars someone who is not healthy in mind and heart. God placed that desire in her heart so that she would live in the standard of cloistral life.”

In his book "Un esorcista si confessa: Un'obbedienza e un mandato al Santuario di santa Gemma: confessore ed esorcista" Padre Alfredo Pallotta writes:
"During exorcisms, I have noted the presence of St Michael the Archangel, and the presence of the guardian angel of the exorcised, as well as that of St Gemma, St Padre Pio of Pietrelcina and the Madonna"

Sts. Gemma and Pio -Accomplices together in a Miracle? -The extraordinary case of Gemma di Giorgi

(Photo left: Gemma di Giorgi on the day of her First holy Communion)

In the holy and remarkable life of St Pio there is also the famous miracle attributed to him of the girl born blind without pupils, named Anna Gemma di Giorgi (who was named after St Gemma, and therefore Gemma was her patron Saint). Anna Gemma, known to everyone simply as "Gemma" was born on Christmas day in 1939, in the Sicilian town of Ribera. Almost immediately, her mother realized that her eyes were different, and this was soon confirmed by the family physician. However due to finacial circumstances and her young age, some years would pass until they knew the true extent of her vision impairment. Eventually, two specialists in Palermo determined that Gemma had no pupils in her eyes and after numerous tests they determined that she was what we would call today "legally blind". Without pupils, Gemma could not see clearly at all--everything was exceedingly blurred and foggy.

Gemma's family were devout Catholic's, and together they often prayed to the Blessed Virgin Mary and also they offered many prayers and a novena to St Gemma Galgani, Anna Gemma's patron Saint, asking for a cure. One day a relative who was a nun suggested that they seek the intercession of Padre Pio, so Gemma’s grandmother asked the nun to write a letter to Padre Pio on Gemma’s behalf. Not long after writing the letter the nun saw him in a dream. Padre Pio asked her, “Where is this Gemma for whom so many prayers are being offered that they are almost deafening?” In her dream, the nun introduced Gemma to Padre Pio and he made the sign of the cross on her eyes. The next day the nun received a letter from Padre Pio in which he wrote,“Dear daughter, rest assured that I will pray for Gemma.I send you my best wishes.”

Struck by the remarkable dream and the letter that followed the grandmother took 7 year old Gemma on a pilgrimage to San Giovanni Rotondo to see Padre Pio. On the trip to San Giovanni Rotondo Gemma’s eyesight mysteriously began functioning, and she excitidly and very joyfully saw the ocean for the first time.

Arriving at San Giovanni Rotondo, Padre Pio called Gemma by her name before she was even introduced to him. He heard her confession, and even though she made no mention of her blindness, he touched her eyes with his stigmatised hand, and traced upon her eyes the sign of the cross.

(A closeup of Gemma di Giorgi's eyes can be seen in the photo to the left)
When Gemma returned to Sicily her eyes were again examined by her specialist. To test her eyesight, the doctor held up various objects in front of her and she was
able to see each one of them. Further she was able to count the doctor’s fingers at a distance of sixteen feet. Gemma, even though without pupils, could now miraculously see, yet dumbfounded the doctor declared that Gemma’s eyes were in no condition to see, as there was no medical explanation for it.

A full account of the extraordinary cure of Gemma di Giorgi can be read here.

Whether this miracle can be attributed to St Padre Pio only, or his intercession in collaboration with St. Gemma, is in the end up to the Church to decide. However given the families prayers to both Gemma and Pio, and knowing of the close spiritual friendship that exsisted between these two Saints, it is easy to conclude that the prayers and supplications of both together likely played a part in this extraordinary miracle.

~St Gemma Galgani, pray for us! ~St Padre Pio, pray for us!
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The book "Nella Comunione dei santi. Santa Gemma Galgani a San Pio da Pietrelcina" can be purchased through www.deastore.com with free shipping to the USA. For more information see this online book catalog from the publisher, Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Click here for more information. -Note: This book is only availible in Italian.

Christmas Eve letter of St Gemma & website news

2011-12-31T09:01:00.009-05:00

Letter of Saint Gemma on Christmas Eve to her spiritual director, Father Germanus C.P.

24 December, 1900
My dad, when you recieve this letter, baby Jesus will be born. Be sure that today, Christmas day, I pray to Jesus to make me hear from You more often.

Do you know what I would do myself, my dad, with Jesus? I would like to do what the angels do with Him; but since I can't, I would like to offer Him the warmest affections of my devotion; and I pray to my Mom [Blessed Virgin Mary] to offer to Jesus, just born, these little sacrifices and affections that often come to me. I often cry, you know, and I have stopped [offering her sacrifices to Jesus] but I promise again not to complain anymore; and do you know why? This morning after Holy Communion I thought what great pain my Mom had after Jesus was born; to know that they would crucify Him! What agony She must have always carried in Her heart! How many sighs to heaven and how many times She was obliged to cry! And yet She never complained. Poor Mom! Then when She really saw Him crucified, that poor Mom was pierced by so many arrows, because I know that any harm done to the son in the presence of the father or mother also injures the parents.

Therefore this Mother of mine was crucified alongside Jesus. And yet She never complained. And after these reflections I did not complain anymore about my way of living....
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In website news, thanks be to God this website has just surpassed 1 million page visits! -May God be blessed and honored in everything.

Also for those interested, there is an article here about a mausoleum in the Holy Name Cemetery in Jersey City, NJ. which has just installed a large mosaic dedicated to the Holy Name of Jesus in the mausoleum chapel. Saint Gemma was one of the 12 Saints chosen for the large mural "because of her devotion to Jesus".

Concerning this new mosaic the article goes on to explain: "It was designed and executed by The Rambusch Company, a renowned, international liturgical arts and art studio located right in Jersey City. Martin Rambusch, 45, and his brother, Edwin, own and run the company. He described the mosaic “as a group effort.”

"Monsignor Richard Groncki, who at the time was the Rector (now retired) of Sacred Heart Cathedral in Newark and associate director of the archdiocesan liturgy office, helped Rambusch design the concept. “I guided them through the preparatory art work,” said Monsignor Groncki, who was inspired by a stained glass at Holy Name Church in Garfield....

"The chapel was named the Holy Name of Jesus so he thought it would be important to depict art with saints who had devotions to the name of Jesus.

The mural is very large, 21-foot long and 7-foot wide, and eight people in Tuscany, Italy (in the region where St Gemma is from) fashioned over a million tesserae (small tiles or ceramic rich glass) for the entire piece, which was then cut into one square foot patches that were shipped to the U.S. and then pasted together in the mausoleum.

Those interested can read more and view additional photos here.

-St Gemma, pray for us!

A grace given to St Gemma on Christmas

2011-12-24T13:41:00.005-05:00

Wishing You A Blessed Christmas & Happy New Year

I would like to wish everyone who visits this website a Blessed Christmas and New Year. Below are some words of Gemma in honor of this holy season. May Saint Gemma help us to penetrate and contemplate the gift of the Child Jesus at Chrristmas.

On Christmas day, 1902 Gemma writes to her spiritual director Father Germanus:

"Yesterday evening at midnight Mass [Christmas], when the priest came to the Offertory part of the Mass, I saw Jesus, Who offered me as a victim to the Eternal Father. I was very happy. He pressed me to Himself; then He led me to our Mother and presented me to her, saying, "This dear daughter of mine you must regard as a daughter of My Passion”. Father, my heart still continues the violent palpitation."

The Child Jesus appears to Gemma
(This is a letter from Saint Gemma to her Confessor, Monsignor Giovanni Volpi, the auxiliary Bishop of Lucca)

"Monsignor,Yesterday evening in the usual hour of vigil, a curious thing happened to me: scarcely had I begun to make it [the holy hour] than I suddenly seemed to fall asleep. I seemed to have in my arms a beautiful child of three; He kissed me and caressed me and asked me whether I knew Him and whether I loved Him. I embraced Him ardently and told Him that I loved Him very much. He told me that if I wished to be all His that He would espouse me. I was very happy....."

Gemma's New Year resolutions:
On New Years eve, 1895-1896 Gemma writes:
"So I resolved to change my life, because Jesus had given me clear lights to the effect that I should be a religious. I had a good occasion to do this, for we were about to begin the year of 1896. I wrote in a little notebook: "During this new year I resolve to begin a new life. I do not know what will happen to me during this year. But I abandon myself entirely to you, my God. And my aspirations and all my affections will be for You. I feel so weak, dear Jesus, but with Your help I hope and resolve to live a different life, that is, a life closer to You."

Some of Gemma's other resolutions:
Writing to her spiritual director Gemma says:
“Father, do you know the latest idea that has come into my head? It is to become a saint at all costs. I made this resolution yesterday evening. During my meditation I was thinking that one lives only once, and it is certain that one is going to die; then one will have to answer to God.”
-St Gemma, pray for us!
___________________________________________
"My heart is always united to Jesus Who more and more consumes me. Oh my most sweet Jesus, I would wish to be all dissolved in the midst of the flames of Your Love. Oh, how can I correspond, my God, since You have given me so much? Who will help me in this? To Your Mercy alone I owe the little love that there is in my poor heart for Thee." -St Gemma Galgani

The Spirituality of St. Gemma Galgani, the Passion Flower of Lucca

2011-12-02T10:03:00.021-05:00

The Spirituality of St. Gemma Galgani, the Passion Flower of Lucca

(This excellent article exploring the fervent spirituality of St Gemma is an assignment paper written by Edward B. Abdallah for a Christian Spirituality class at a University that he is attending. I would like to gratefully thank Edward for sharing his dissertation here. -Glenn Dallaire, webmaster.)

By: Edward B. Abdallah

Christian Spirituality, 22 November 2011

St. Gemma Galgani was a mystic and victim soul from Lucca, Italy, who lived from 1878-1903. Her very distinctive spirituality is centered on her burning love for Jesus in the Holy Eucharist and her intense and passionate Marian devotion which is particularly focused on Our Lady as the Coredemptrix suffering uniquely with Jesus at the foot of the Cross. Both of these qualities lead to Gemma’s Eucharistic and Marian self-offering of love which derive from her burning thirst to share in the Passion of Jesus and the Compassion of Mary. Her virtues are ultimately the most remarkable aspect of her spirituality, however; it is especially important to keep in mind throughout this entire examination of her holy spiritual life of union with God that her main emphasis is extremely simple. She is not principally attracted to rote prayers, as much as she values them; as a great Saint her purpose is found in doing the will of God and can be easily summed up in her own prayer:

‘Oh, if all were to know how beautiful Jesus is, how loving He is! They would all die of love. And yet, how is it that He is so little loved? Oh, it is time lost to be with creatures! Our heart is made to love one thing only, our great God….Fire! Fire in my heart! This morning it is burning...... Dear Jesus, I love you so much! I shall endeavor always to love You; I shall live to love You; I shall die to love You!" ....Give me wings oh Jesus, so I can fly to Your throne! …“I am happy in every way that Jesus wills, and if Jesus wants the sacrifice of my life, I give it to Him at once. If He wants anything else, I am ready. One thing alone is enough for me; to be his victim, in order to atone for my innumerable sins, and if possible, for those of the whole world’[1-SEE FOOTNOTES].

What distinguishes Gemma's Eucharistic spirituality is its intensity and sheer pentecostal fire-like quality. In her prayers she frequently mentions that in the presence of Our Eucharistic Lord she feels herself "burning so fiercely" and felt "almost stupefied that so many could stay near Jesus and be reduced to ashes" [2]. Her extreme humility is such that in her own particularly Eucharistic fervor she cannot imagine any other soul not having just as intense, if not more so, an experience of Christ's Real Presence; she is utterly impervious to her own exalted state of spiritual union with Jesus. She pleas with Him: "'My God, if you cause all to feel thus on fire, they will all be burnt up before You, they will be unable to resist and You will be left all alone'" [3]. Her constant emphasis is towards the universality of the love of Christ towards all poor sinners, of whom she as a great Saint considers herself the worst. In her inimitable self-effacing love of God, even as we saw in the above prayers, she could not possibly imagine anyone not loving Jesus as she does – or even more so because she considered that she lacked the love and devotion which Our dear Lord deserves. The fire-like quality to her prayers is such that she bursts out that at times she is “constrained to exclaim: ‘Where am I? Who is near me? Without any fire at hand, I feel myself burning; without any chain, I feel myself bound to Jesus; by a hundred flames that make me live and make me die, I feel myself destroyed…To all I wish to cry: Love Jesus only’”[4].

The fire in her heart is so burning with love and passionate fervor for her Eucharistic Jesus that she cannot but burst forth her enthusiastic excitement. The depths of her love are inexpressible; words cannot contain the joy she has known and continually experiences through her heart’s intimate union with the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus. She referred to the Holy Eucharist as “a school of paradise where one learns how to love…The school is the Supper room, Jesus is the Master and the doctrines are His Flesh and Blood”[5]. In writing to her spiritual director, who himself is now a venerable, Fr. Germanus, C.P., she explains the mystical Eucharistic sharing in Christ’s life, in which her own heart, which she readily admits is frail, weak, and sinful, seems to be spiritually united to the Sacred Heart of our Eucharistic Savior:

Father, Today I have had Jesus, and now I possess Him entirely in my miserable soul. In such moments my heart and the Heart of Jesus are one. Oh, if I could make it remain so always! It would mean that I would not commit any more sin. Oh, what precious moments are those at Holy Communion! Communion is a happiness, Father, that it seems to me cannot be equalled by the beatitude of the Saints and Angels. They admire the Face of Jesus and are sure of not sinning and of never being lost; and I envy them those two things, and I should like to be one of their company, but indeed I have reason for exulting, for Jesus enters every day into my heart. Jesus gives me all Himself, though I give Him nothing of worth. I ask Him always for many things, and to tell the truth, I am afraid of wearing Him, but He says no. Blessed be Jesus! Is it not true, Father, that to be united to Jesus always is almost to taste the joys of Paradise? I know, I have been weak, ungrateful...to Jesus; I know myself to be without merit, because I squandered the graces Jesus gave me, I see myself full of fault because of my useless thoughts and useless words; I do not know at all how to mortify the eyes. Who is worse than I? And I have the courage to say, what makes Jesus weep? I will humble myself but I will not despair. When Jesus is disturbed, I will got His Mother an dwill beg her to tell Jesus that I will be good and that I will not make Him weep any more.[6]

She was once asked what she did while in the presence of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, to which she responded so beautifully: “’What do I do? When I am with Jesus Crucified I suffer, and when I am with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, I love’”[7]. She counts all else as nothing besides Our Lord because she experientially has such an intense attentiveness to the Catholic truth that it really is the infinite God who is there present before our very eyes. She prays during an ecstasy, affectionately telling Our Lord that He “ha(s) not given (her) temporal and perishing riches, but the true riches, the nourishment of the Eucharistic Word”, to the point that she cannot imagine what she should be “had (she) not dedicated to the Sacred Host all (her) affections” because the “Spirit of the Word reigning in the womb of the uncreated Faith has come and made (her) a partaker of His tenderness”[8]. Her spectacular consciousness of Catholic doctrine is prevalent throughout all of her mystical experiences. Here in particular she testifies to the depth of the Church’s teaching that by the Sanctifying Grace we receive through the Sacraments, especially the reception of the Holy Eucharist, we come to participate in the very life of the Incarnate Word Who by becoming Man has given us a share in the life of God. Her desire is continuous and relentless: “Come, come, Jesus, for I long for You day and night. Yes, I want You every hour and every moment, I want none but You. You alone Jesus can satisfy me”[9]. Gemma’s Eucharistic zeal leads to her having no other desire but for Him, for she knows and believes with all her being that He alone can truly satisfy her heart.

The Virgin of Lucca's extraordinary love and devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary was an outstanding aspect of her unique spirituality. Interestingly, because her own mother died when she was eight years old from tuberculosis, she would “If God has taken away my mother”, she would often say, “He has left me His own”[10]. Her undeniable coredemptive spirituality of victimhood in union with Jesus and Mary Coredemptrix plays out not only in her Marian devotion, but just as much if not more in her experiential relationship with the Mother on Calvary. Her experience of Mary as the universal Mediatrix of all graces leads her to beg Our Lady to "reestablish peace between Jesus" and herself, in light of the fact that frequently She has "been able to restrain Jesus when He was on the point of abandoning" her, continuing by calling the Mother to "come between Jesus" and her", clearly emphasizing her uniquely mediatorial role[11].

Her distinctively Eucharistic focus is markedly Marian as well, as she notes in a letter that particularly “delightful is Communion received with Mother Mary”, such that she lovingly prayed to Our Lady: “Mamma, how much I enjoy calling you Mamma!”, to which the Blessed Mother responds by reciprocating that she “enjoy(s) calling (her) daughter”[12]. Her acknowledgement that the Blessed Mother’s place is entirely unique is revealed when she expresses finding “so many times that the feast of my Mother is for me a day of greater peace, greater love, and of sanctification”[13]. This little Saint explicitly notes that Our Lady, because she has been given such a “beautiful the crown of glory”, around which “are many gems, which are all her virtues; there are many, many pearls”, that therefore “She had also a sign in the beautiful crown which means that she is the dispenser of the treasures of Paradise”[14]. Without any theological training, she expressly understands the depths of Catholic Mariology and the significant strain in the mystical Tradition which maintains that each and every grace is personally dispensed by our Heavenly Mother.

The Marian dimension which is fundamental to the Passion Flower’s spirituality emphasizes how not only do the lives and experiences of the Saints attest to their notional, intellectual assent to the articles and dogmas of Faith, but that so often their experiences themselves in increasing union with Our Lord and Our Lady result in their experiential confirmation of the Truths of the Faith. How true this is when it comes to the Marian doctrines and dogmas of the Church; St. Gemma in her prayer in a real way experienced Church teaching that Our Lady is the uniquely immaculately conceived Mediatrix of each and every grace won on Calvary, where She stood with Jesus as the exclusive Coredemptrix in union with the Redeemer. When she receives what she considers a “little gift” of having to go to confession to a priest other than the confessor whom she desired, she acknowledges that she does “not know whether it was Jesus who gave this gift or the Mother of Jesus”, making it clear her instinctive recognition that Our Lady has such power with God[15]. Her love for Mary is so connatural to her spiritual life of love of God that she knows instinctively things biblical facts which generally we learn from reading the Sacred Scriptures themselves.

In declaring her fervent love for Our Lady, Gemma expresses ardent joy: “(H)ow I love my Mother!...Jesus Himself gave her to me, and told me to love her so much. And what great goodness this Heavenly Mother has always shown me!...She has always helped me in my spiritual wants…she pleaded my cause with Jesus when I sinned, and she soothed Him when I moved Him to anger by my wicked life; she has taught me to know Him and love Him, to be good and to please Him. Ah, my dear Mother, I will love thee always and forever”[16]. Her ecstatic love for Mary leads her to recognize the pattern which recurs in the lives of all great Saints and mystics: that it is only by devotion to Mary that we can truly come closely and intimately united to the Heart of Jesus, the Heart of love – which Catholic theology means by the doctrine of Our Lady as the Mediatrix of all graces and Advocate. The amazing profundity of her experiential knowledge, clearly given in an infused way through her own mystical experiences, of the union of Our Lord and Our Lady during the Passion is intensely theological and at the same time so childlike in love. She intuits that by sinning, those who have sadly freely rejected friendship with God are in their very piercing of the Wounded Heart of Jesus, are simultaneously piercing the Sorrowful Heart of Mary. In a prayer to the Blessed Mother, she asks her “Mom”, where she is, rhetorically responding “(a)gain at the foot of the Cross of Jesus?”[17]

Her understanding of the uniquely coredemptive sorrows of Our Lady is so explicit in that she expresses her profound sadness and shock of exclaiming “what a sight” Mary “saw…when Jesus died! When You placed Him in the tomb! And you could not be with Him anymore? How is it possible that You suffered so much because of me? How did You do it? Poor Jesus!...Tell me, how did You stand seeing Jesus being crucified to the Cross? My Mom…let me know the cross”[18]. Arguably these are one of the profoundest meditations and clear references to an experiential grasp of some immersion into the depths of our Blessed Mother’s seven sorrows which pierced Her Heart and led to her ultimate title as the Coredemptrix. She goes so far as to describe the union of the Two Hearts as so inseparable that she does “not see anymore one sacrifice” but that she “see(s) two: one for Jesus and one for Mary! Oh Mother, if one could see You with Jesus, one would not be able to say who will be the first one to die: You or Jesus!’”[19]. In another burst of meditative prayer on the Passion and Compassion, she describes not seeing “only one Victim any more but two”, such that unless Jesus is removed from the cross, by sinners repenting and ceasing to crucify Our Lord through their rejection of His love and mercy, “otherwise my Mom will die”[20]. Her spirituality is to a great extent based on her deep meditative reflection and personal prayer experiences of the Sorrows of Our Lady; her unique contribution to the spirituality of Mary’s Sorrows seems to be the profound appreciation she had for how much the Coredemptrix must have suffered when Our Lord was still young because of the Blessed Mother’s infused knowledge of future events:

This morning after Holy Communion I thought: ‘Oh, what a great sorrow must have been for the Madonna after the birth of Jesus when She thought that they were to crucify Him! What a heart ache! How many sights, how many times She must have cried! However, She never complained. Poor Mother! Then when She saw Him really crucified, that poor Mom was pierced by so many arrows. I know very well that when a person hurts the son in the presence of a mom or dad, the pain hurts the son and also the parents. Therefore my Mom was crucified together with Jesus. And She never complained. Poor Mother!” “Tell me, Mom, what did you do when you saw Jesus crowned? What did You do, what did Your heart feel?...Ah! I understand it is a sorrow so great…what a difference between Your heart and mine!...It was a great sorrow…What shall I do here today?...Jesus has died, and You, my Mom, are crying. What will I do? To whom will I talk; who is with me?...I am not worthy, my Mom, that You remain with me…Why are you crying? What causes Your cry? If You cry because they offend Jesus, oh my Mom, then be consoled!...I will do all I can so that He will not be anymore offended. I will do all I can so that they will leave Him be…do not worry my Mother, I will sacrifice everything: words, thoughts, sacrifices, so that He will be less offended…Oh, wicked sinners stop crucifying Jesus, because at the same time you pierce His Mother!’”[21].

Consequent upon her deep Eucharistic love coupled with passionate Marian coredemptive fervor, Gemma was led to the ultimate sacrifice of her life in union with Jesus our Redeemer and Mary our Coredemptrix. On June 8, 1899, she first received the Sacred Stigmata, a major crowning point in her life of ultimate union with Our Lord on the Cross. From that point on, every Thursday around 8 p.m. she would weekly receive this redemptive experience which would remain until Friday around 3 p.m. The other horrendous experience which she also received was His Crowning with thorns, such that once Christ “appeared to her crowned with thorns, and, taking the crown from off His own head, He placed it on hers…This wonderful phenomenon recurred regularly for some time from the Thursday to the Friday of each week, and even continued after the stigmata in the hands, feet, and side had ceased…Sometimes, when at supper…drops of blood appeared upon her forehead, which…trickled down her cheeks and neck”[22]. This very unique sharing in the sufferings of Christ came about through her sweeping, overwhelming desire to be united intimately with Jesus, particularly His Agony and Passion in which as Christians we find our hope, fulfilled in the Resurrection.

She expresses her yearning to be Our Lord’s “Spouse of Blood”, most of all by “enduring numberless sufferings and crosses’”, explaining that she “’will never abandon Jesus alone on the way to Calvary’” but instead “’accompany Him not only to Calvary, but also the cross and death’” – because by constantly “’think(ing) of the infinite love with which Jesus embraced (the Holy Cross), we firmly resolve never more to withdraw from (it)’”, emphatic that if she “’refuse(s) the cross (she) also refuse(s) Jesus”, praying: “’Holy Cross, with you I want to live, with you I want to die. I love the cross, because I know the cross is on the shoulders of Jesus’”[23]. Because she experienced the Agony of Our Lord on Fridays, she has such a profound awareness of the reason for this unique grace of sharing in His Passion as being, as all God’s works are, out of His infinite love and mercy, that Jesus “proved anew His love toward me by giving me His crown of thorns until the following day; Jesus loves me most on Friday”[24]. She passionately describes that when she made “a visit to Jesus Crucified…there came to (her) a strong desire to suffer and with all (her) heart”, such that she “asked it of Jesus. And Jesus that evening made (her) have a very violent pain in the head, and blood almost came; but (she) was almost overcome and afraid that (she) might not be able to endure it”[25].

What is striking about her extreme urge to suffer is that, as a legitimate mystic she comes from the authentically Catholic point of view which sees suffering not as the end in itself – but, as with all true mystics, we see prevalent in her entire short life of victimhood the undeniable focus on suffering as paradoxically redemptive exclusively when united to the Redemption won by Our Lord on the Cross. She gives herself totally and completely to Jesus, holding nothing back: “’Well, Jesus here are once again my hands; my feet, all my being. Do what you like with them, I am yours”[26]. All of her self-offering leads to her bold prayer which expresses the mentality of each and every genuine Saint: “For you, Jesus, I willingly sacrifice everything; I give all to you, body and spirit; my heart with all its affections, my body with all its frailty, but now? I am not mine any more, Jesus, I am yours”[27]. There is nothing left for Gemma to give but all of her being, for all is a gift from God; therefore, to He alone is due all that we are, all that we have. It is not in the great mystical gift of receiving the Sacred Stigmata in order to unite in the sufferings of Christ physically in order to coredeem and participate in the subjective Redemption, nor in any of the other astonishing supernatural phenomena which occurred so frequently in the life of the Virgin of Lucca; no, she readily acknowledges and wants us who desire to imitate her life of union with God to continually recognize, that it was in her giving up of self in undying love for Christ that is the reason for her great holiness.

Being the genuine Saint that she was, Gemma understood everything in the light of authentic love, and obviously this overall outlook of love includes in a special unique way the great gift of sharing in the Passion of Christ and cooperating in the subjective application of the Objective Redemption through the Stigmata and crowning with thorns. “(H)er love gave higher words still to her lips; a strong, sweet song like the Psalmist’s: ‘I wish my heart might bear, live, sigh but for Jesus. I wish my tongue might utter but the name of Jesus, my eyes look but at Jesus, my pen write but about Jesus, and my thoughts fly only to Jesus. I have often thought if there might be on earth an object to which I could turn my affection, but I find no object, either on earth nor in Heaven, but my beloved Jesus”[28]. This love is so amazing that it leads her to realize that it would be so much better, in line with the biblical thought expressed by St. Paul himself, to die and live in the Beatific Vision rather than to remain in this world of sin. She begs that Jesus “liberate (her) from the body” because “it seemed imprisoned” and “asked Him to free (her) that (she) might go to Him”, to which Jesus “playfully said…’And where would you fly?’ ‘To You!’ And then Jesus answered: ‘Let Me come a little while longer to you and then, when I shall free you, you will come to Me’”[29]. This unitive expression reveals how closely she was immersed in the Passion of Christ, so that she no longer even had any real interest whatsoever in remaining in this world where we are, because fallen, separated from full communion with God. She is so fanatically in love with Jesus Who reigns in Heaven that she cannot but wait to be with Him forever – this longing of hers will never be fully satisfied until her death, and thus it is solely out of love, as with all things she does and desires, that she has this zeal for death which will mean the beginning of eternal union with Jesus the Lover of souls. In another prayer of ecstatic union she reveals ever more fully her heart’s deepest desire:

‘O love, infinite love! Strip me off this flesh and take me out of this body because I can no longer endure them. My body cannot bear this continual longing. Then take me from this world…O, love, infinite love! I will never divest myself of your love! O, love! Delight of Love! O, love, which delights and never torments me! O love, o love of Jesus, I will never yield you to anybody! This love which I possess I will not yield to the saints in heaven, nor to creatures on earth. This love is mine. I will have no one excel me in loving my Jesus. O love, infinite love! You see, o Lord, your love penetrates even my body so vehemently…When, when shall I join you, who keep me close to you by such strength of love here on earth?...Let me die, and die of love! What beautiful death, oh Lord, to die a victim of your love, a victim for you!’”[30].

Above all was her zealous plea and craving to use all of her suffering to save souls, as this was all understood in the light of Our dear Lord’s mercy and infinite love. She always offered the suffering and pain for the redemption of the world; this formed the basis for her spiritual apostolate of coredemptive suffering out of a share in Christ’s saving love for poor sinners who are in danger of dying rejecting His infinite love; for these she would do anything possible: “’There is no torment or suffering that I would not bear for Jesus. I would give every drop of my blood, and I have desired martyrdom….I would be strong enough to try and prevent so many poor bad people from offending Him”[31]. In outlining her spirituality, it is good to risk exaggeration in emphasis on her focus on souls out of undying love; all of her mystical gifts and extraordinary graces she herself wants us to view in light of this one fundamental goal and purpose of loving God with her whole being; her suffering is a share in Christ’s suffering, and her obsessive ardor for souls to be saved is a share in Christ’s vehement fanaticism of love for all poor sinners in need of His love and mercy: “’Oh Jesus, do not abandon poor sinners; think of sinners and me. I want them all saved’”[32].

She goes to no limits, as did Christ Himself, in her radical attempts to help even the most seemingly helpless and hopeless sinners. In this it is noteworthy that the virtues of faith and charity, as well as in a predominant way that of hope, are manifested so shiningly in the life of this humble virgin; the Catholic theology of salvation, outstandingly marked by the desire of God for all men to be saved with the stress on hope, is present in such a living and real way in this Saint’s life. She so intensely thirsted to save souls that even in the midst of sharing so remarkably in the sufferings of Christ, throughout her share in His Scourging and Holy Wounds, her focus is on quenching His divine thirst:

‘Oh Jesus to what a state Thou art reduced! Oh, the holy Person of Jesus has become a plaything for all! They blaspheme Thee, my Jesus, they treat Thee roughly, they curse Thee…Oh Jesus, I am surprised that although I see Thee in the midst of these humiliations, I do not wish to hear them spoken of. Oh, if I were able, Jesus, with my blood I should wish…I should wish to wash with my blood all those places where I see Thee outraged!...No more blows on Thee, o Jesus. Thou hast not deserved them; I, yes; Thou, no. It is I who am the sinner, Thou art innocent…Tonight, oh Jesus, I wish to suffer all; if You also wish to suffer, then let us suffer together. Let me be one victim with Thee. Are You pleased oh Jesus? Strengthen me for this, o Jesus; I do not ask Thee anything more. Poor Jesus! What a terrible number of blows, poor Jesus! Those men are not sparing Thee, but Thy patience is not exhausted. Leave Jesus alone, beat me! Why revenge yourselves upon Jesus; revenge yourselves upon me. More still, o Jesus; more, oh God!...Still more, Jesus – and more, Jesus, more!’[33]

Even in her sharing in Christ’s sufferings, it is striking that her thoughts and desires are centered not merely on experiencing this extraordinary grace of sharing in the physical sufferings of our Redeemer – but instead on satisfying His thirst for souls and suffering specifically in union with Christ. She sympathizes greatly with Christ, imitating our Blessed Mother in Her compassionate love at the foot of the Cross. It is not strictly in the sufferings themselves, but in her admirable hunger to take the pain which she knows she herself, as a poor sinner, deserves rather than our innocent Savior. She is beautifully adamant that her obsession is really “’to bathe with (her) blood all those places where Jesus is outraged’” and that she “’would wish all sinners to be saved, because they have been redeemed by the Precious Blood of Jesus’”[34]. All of her meditations, prayers, united with her coredemptive suffering, is all centered on the main goal of ardent love of Jesus, and out of this love comes what becomes practically a need to save souls whom He so tragically suffered in order to redeem.

In one specific case this is remarkable and seems unparalleled even amongst other great Saints. In her ecstatic dialogue with Jesus concerning the soul of a wretched sinner, she begs Jesus for his salvation. In response, Our Lord seemed rather “disposed to deal as a just Judge with this man”, to which Gemma responded all the more fervently with requests to “(s)ave him, Jesus, save him…In Thy mouth, Who art Mercy itself, that word ‘abandon’ sounds bad. You must not say it’”[35]. She is so single-mindedly concentrated on the love of God and His inexhaustible mercy that she comes to share so beautifully in Christ’s thirst on the Cross for souls. The special way in which Gemma seems to have such a passionate thirst for souls makes it almost humanly seem as if she is somehow ‘fighting’ with Christ to save souls, so beautiful is her love and share in the compassion of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary. She accentuates that she is “’not seeking (His) Justice’” but “’imploring (His) Mercy’”, begging Him to “go in search of that poor sinner” at which point Our Lord actually showed her the many sins that this great sinner had committed in his life[36]. Finally, she prayed all the more feverishly: “’I know, Jesus…that he has offended Thee thus grievously. But I have done worse and, for all that, You have shown me Mercy…Use with my sinner, I implore of Thee, all those delicacies of Infinite Love that You have used toward me’”[37]. In spite of how horrendously sinful this man had been, Gemma was so in touch with the purity of Jesus and could so closely see her stained fallen soul in the light of the infinite holiness of God that she sincerely considered herself even worse than this poor sinner in the eyes of God. Such humility is astounding and a characteristic of all the Saints – they recognize in the light of the Truth Who is Christ that the grace which has brought them to such heights of holiness is purely done out of the infinite mercy of God much more than any goodness to be attributed to them.

When it continues to seem as if her sighs for Mercy are not being answered, she seeks recourse in the Mother of Mercy: “’I am unworthy that You should listen to me. But look, I present Thee another advocate for my sinner; it is Thine own Mother who asks You to forgive him. Oh, imagine saying no to Thy Mother! Surely Thou canst not say no to her. And now answer me, Jesus, say that Thou hast saved my sinner’”[38]. Her great humility has her realize so instinctively that if her own prayers are not seeming to have a real effect on Jesus’s attitude towards this poor sinner, surely the all-efficacious prayers of the Mother and Mediatrix of mercy will aid her cause. Shortly thereafter, miraculously, the sinner was recorded to have called a priest and confessed his sins, receiving the undying mercy which Gemma had so strongly hoped would be given him! The radiating hope which she had in God not just for herself, but truly for all sinners no matter who horrendously they had grieved the Pierced Hearts of Jesus and Mary, all demonstrate the heroic virtues of faith, hope, and charity which all came together to make Gemma the great Saint that she is.

To even begin to adequately describe St. Gemma’s spirituality, it is necessary to finish with more insights into the virtues which she lived – for while we have seen the outstanding characteristics of humility, faith, hope, and love, amongst all of the virtues, throughout the accounts of her Eucharistic, Marian, and victimhood emphases, as a genuine Catholic it was these virtues which dynamically allowed her to live the life of grace that made her a great Saint. When she initially made her own holy hour, which is now available to pray so as to imitate this victim soul’s spirituality of the Passion, she noted that in prayer that she “began from that moment to have a deep horror of sin”, which she makes clear “is the greatest gift Jesus gave” to her”; she maintains that we must remember the most important aspect of her life is the great hatred she increasingly had of offending the Wounded Hearts of Jesus and Mary, not any extraordinary mystical gift such as her miraculous sharing in the very Wounds of Christ among other supernatural phenomena[39]. She is adamant that the point of all her mystical experiences was that Jesus impressed on her the growing hatred of sin, with the consequent desire that her heart become more and more filled with the love of God.

She had such a deep level of purity that she “shrank from being touched by others and from the most innocent caresses”[40]. Her reason was because out of dear love for God she wanted to be, not just spiritually but also physically, the property and possession of God alone. She had such horror of sin, particularly in the area of chastity: “’I would rather die than be guilty of the least sin; I would rather be blind than ever offend the least against holy modesty; I would rather be deprived of all my senses than that they should in even the slightest way become the occasion of sin’”[41]. She was so simple that she always would wear the same outfit and would declare: “’I have nothing…I am poor, poor, poor for the love of Jesus’”[42]. It could seem not entirely necessary to include discussion of the virtues when emphasizing the distinctive spirituality of Poor Gemma; to the contrary, the life of grace manifested in the lives of authentically Catholic mystics – and in a special way those great victim souls such as the Virgin of Lucca - abundantly shows that the spiritual life is always inseparably connected with the moral life. She begged Jesus that He would “so…deaden in her the sense of taste that she could no longer discern any flavor in what she ate or drank”, shortly after which “the organs of taste at once lost their sensibility; and she never after perceived any particular flavor whatever in food or drink”[43]. This great height to which she went in order to be all for Christ, that she would desire to be deadened to the worldly sense of taste and drink shows how much her prayer life simply was based on loving God alone - clearly not on any sort of selfish desires or pleasures, which she so intensely strived with all her being to overcome and purge herself of, in order to give God everything.

All of the mystical experiences, as Gemma validates in her prayers and seemingly unending growth in virtue and love of God and neighbor, are not isolated from ordinary life as a Christian but are meant to awaken the genuine mystic more and more to the life of grace. The mystical experiences are never mere feelings, much less ends in themselves – but are always for the purpose of greater union with the Heart of Jesus; the more union with Christ there is, the more the mystic shares, as exquisitely confirmed in the life of Gemma, in the burning thirst for souls and greater suffering in intimacy with the Sorrowing Hearts of Jesus and Mary. The hatred of sin which she felt was a natural outgrowth and logical consequence of her spiritual experiences of increasing intimacy with Jesus on the Cross.

Even for Saints, Gemma is undoubtedly unique as a Saint who, even as her spiritual director attested, “’had never been guilty of one deliberate sin” and who “preserved her baptismal innocence unsullied till death’”[44]. Her phenomenal self-abasement would get her to continually beg for the prayers of others. She expressed this in many of her letters to friends as well as her own prayers: “’Pray Jesus for me, and tell this also the others: it is a great charity to pray for me’…’If you only knew Jesus’ ways to mortify my pride!...Oh how bad I am!...Pray and make people pray Jesus for me, so that in a short time He may help me to make amends for my many faults, and clear my mind and let me know the horrible darkness of my soul’”[45]. The depths of her purely self-transparency are made clear in her own knowledge of herself in the radiance of God – she sees that she herself as worthless though dearly loved with infinite tenderness by Our Lord; she expresses her sincere feeling that she is “’a sinful soul full of defects and little or nothing concerned about Jesus’ and simply “’good for nothing’”[46]. One day, she was “returning from church…she happened to meet one of the household, who, in a fit of uncontrollable rage…broke out into shocking blasphemies. She tried to reprove him, but her strength failed, and she fell swooning to the ground. Her heart beat violently…it drove the blood so forcibly through her veins that it exuded from every pore in her body”[47]. Remarkably, when asked if this was the first time she had heard blasphemy, she in her self-effacing way replied, “’It is not the first time I that I have heard them, and they always affect me in the same way, unless I succeed in escaping or diverting my mind to other things’”[48]. This sort of experience of radical hatred of sin shows us the radiance of her deep union with God that led her to not specifically seek extraordinary experiences, but to solely invest herself and all her desires in love of Christ; the extraordinary experiences which miraculously occurred so frequently throughout her short life of love were beautiful outgrowths of her fundamental interior desire to love Jesus.

A simple victim soul who gave herself completely to God, Gemma’s spirituality is just as simple while clearly much harder to live than to describe! Her focus of Eucharistic love, united with constant meditation on the Passion of Christ, is typical of any authentically Catholic spirituality. What makes Gemma unique is her not only her truly pentecostal, burning thirst for Christ in the Holy Eucharist, which is unbelievably incomparable – but also the fact that this leads her to a special sharing in the redemptive suffering of Our Lord, through the mystical gifts of the Sacred Stigmata and other sharing in the physical and bodily experiences of Jesus, particularly what he went through during His Passion. The Marian dimension of her spirituality is another general principle which is found in all genuine Catholic mysticism; what distinguishes Poor Gemma is her emphasis on our Heavenly Mother’s Sorrows as the Coredemptrix, who was uniquely crucified spiritually, mystically but really, with her dying Son Jesus at the foot of the Cross. As with her Eucharistic focus, the mystical Marian experiences of the Passion Flower lead her to not only meditation on these beautiful mysteries of the Faith, but also real life sharing as a coredeemer in union with Jesus and Mary. Throughout her entire life of heroic victimhood, it must be made clear in any study of this great Saint that her experiences, as genuine as they undeniably are, were all never the focus in and of themselves – but they always expressed her inner desire of complete and utter abandonment to the Holy Will of God…and this not out of fear but sincerely and solely out of the incredible love she had in her heart for Christ that was always centered on the Love of the Cross; this final prayer of Gemma unites all of these unique characteristics of her spirituality in the way of this little soul with a heart of love for God:

‘You are an abyss of Love – I am an abyss of iniquity. O God – O God! I am overcome – My Mamma, how excited I am – Your love is so powerful, Jesus, Jesus – my heart dilates – sustain me….And why do I contend so with Your love? It makes me suffer, oh, Jesus, but what does that matter? You are the center of my life. Now let me tell You something, Jesus. You are indeed mighty but, nevertheless, for all Your greatness, my soul can make You more exalted. Yes, Jesus, it is true! You see, Jesus, my soul can make You more noble because in its misery You triumph by Your mercy. You are so kind as to remain with me, Jesus – but my mind is too insensible to give thought to You…What happy moments I pass with You! You are an abyss of love! I value all my favors, but I know my weakness. Oh, what a beautiful hour we have passed together – from the same chalice to which Your lips have approached I wish to drink – I thank You, Jesus, Who holds me thus upon the Cross – increase my sufferings – do you think I call You sometimes because I want You to ease my sufferings?...Indeed, if I must stay in this world and not suffer, I tell you, let me die, now!’[49]
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BIBLIOGRAPHY

http://www.stgemmagalgani.com/, Saint Gemma Galgani, Glenn Dallaire.

A Lover of the Cross: St. Gemma Galgani. Monastero-Sanctuario di S. Gemma Galgani: Lucca, Italy. 1940.

Devotion to St. Gemma Galgani. Msgr. G. Bardi. Daughters of St. Paul: Boston, MA. 1986.

Gemma Galgani: A Child of the Passion. Philip Coghlan, C.P., R. & T. Washbourne, LTD.: London. 1914.

Gemma of Lucca. Benedict Williamson. Alexander-Ouseley Limited: London. 1932.

Portrait of Saint Gemma: A Stigmatic. Sister Saint Michael, S.S.J., New York: P.J. Kennedy & Sons. 1950.
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FOOTNOTES:
[1] Prayers and sayings of Saint Gemma Galgani. from The Life of Saint Gemma Galgani by Venerable Fr. Germanus, C.P., http://www.stgemmagalgani.com/2008/09/prayers-and-sayings-of-saint-gemma.html.
[2] Benedict Williamson, Gemma of Lucca (London: Alexander-Ouseley Limited, 1932), 148.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Sister Saint Michael, S.S.J., Portrait of Saint Gemma: A Stigmatic. (New York: P.J. Kennedy & Sons, 1950), 164.
[5] The Eucharist and St. Gemma. http://www.stgemmagalgani.com/2008/09/eucharist-and-st-gemma.html.
[6] Sister Saint Michael, S.S.J., Portrait of Saint Gemma: A Stigmatic (New York: P.J. Kennedy & Sons, 1950), 158-160.
[7] Benedict Williamson, Gemma of Lucca (London: Alexander-Ouseley Limited, 1932), 151.
[8] Ibid., 148-9.
[9] Ibid., 149.
[10] Life of St. Gemma Galgani. http://www.stgemmagalgani.com/2009/01/life-of-st-gemma-galgani.html.
[11] Msgr. G. Bardi, Devotion to St. Gemma Galgani (Boston, MA: Daughters of St. Paul, 1986), 41.
[12] Sister Saint Michael, S.S.J., Portrait of Saint Gemma: A Stigmatic (New York: P.J. Kennedy & Sons, 1950), 171.
[13] Ibid.
[14] Ibid.
[15] Ibid., 130.
[16] The Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Gemma Galgani. http://www.stgemmagalgani.com/2008/10/blessed-virgin-mary-and-st-gemma.html.
[17] Ibid.
[18] Ibid.
[19] Ibid.
[20] Ibid.
[21] Revelations to St. Gemma on the Coredemption of Mary. From La Povera Gemma by Padre Enrico Zoffoli, C.P., http://www.stgemmagalgani.com/2010/08/revelations-to-st-gemma-on-coredemption.html.
[22] Fr. Philip Coghlan, C.P., Gemma Galgani: A Child of the Passion (London: R. & T. Washbourne, LTD, 1914), 75.
[23] Monastero-Sanctuario di S. Gemma Galgani, A Lover of the Cross: Saint Gemma Galgani (Lucca, Italy, 1940), 151.
[24] Saint Gemma and the crown of thorns. http://www.stgemmagalgani.com/2008/12/saint-gemma-and-crown-of-thorns.html
[25] Jesus teaches St. Gemma the value of suffering. http://www.stgemmagalgani.com/2008/11/jesus-teaches-st-gemma-value-of.html
[26] Monastero-Sanctuario di S. Gemma Galgani, A Lover of the Cross: Saint Gemma Galgani (Lucca, Italy, 1940), 152.
[27] Ibid.
[28] Ibid., 148-9.
[29] Sister Saint Michael, S.S.J., Portrait of Saint Gemma: A Stigmatic (New York: P.J. Kennedy & Sons, 1950), 163.
[30] Monastero-Sanctuario di S. Gemma Galgani, A Lover of the Cross: Saint Gemma Galgani (Lucca, Italy, 1940), 148-9.
[31] Msgr. G. Bardi, Devotion to St. Gemma Galgani (Boston, MA: Daughters of St. Paul, 1986), 28.
[32] St. Gemma and the conversion of sinners from The Life of St. Gemma Galgani by Venerable Fr. Germanus, C.P., http://www.stgemmagalgani.com/2008/10/st-gemma-and-conversion-of-sinners.html
[33] Revenge Yourself upon me – Gemma suffers in union with Jesus. From Blessed Gemma Galgani Blessed Gemma Galgani by Padre Amedeo. http://www.stgemmagalgani.com/2010/10/revenge-youself-upon-me-gemmas-suffers.html
[34] Gemma – A Little Victim of Divine Love. From Gemma Galgani – Some Glimpses into the Life of a Little Victim of Divine Love by Rev. John P. Clarke, http://www.stgemmagalgani.com/2011/11/gemma-little-victim-of-divine-love.html
[35] St. Gemma pleads for a sinner and obtains his conversion from The Life of St. Gemma Galgani by Venerable Fr. Germanus, C.P., http://www.stgemmagalgani.com/2008/10/st-gemma-pleads-for-sinner-and-obtains.html
[36] Ibid.
[37] Ibid.
[38] Ibid.
[39] Msgr. G. Bardi, Devotion to St. Gemma Galgani (Boston, MA: Daughters of St. Paul, 1986), 19.
[40] Benedict Williamson, Gemma of Lucca (London: Alexander-Ouseley Limited, 1932), 136-7.
[41] Ibid., 137.
[42] Ibid., 138-9.
[43] Fr. Philip Coghlan, C.P., Gemma Galgani: A Child of the Passion (London: R. & T. Washbourne, LTD, 1914), 43.
[44] Ibid., 131.
[45] Monastero-Sanctuario di S. Gemma Galgani, A Lover of the Cross: St. Gemma Galgani (Lucca, Italy, 1940), 86.
[46] Ibid.
[47] Fr. Philip Coghlan, C.P., Gemma Galgani: A Child of the Passion (London: R. & T. Washbourne, LTD, 1914), 91-2.
[48] Ibid.
[49] Sister Saint Michael, S.S.J., Portrait of Saint Gemma: A Stigmatic (New York: P.J. Kennedy & Sons, 1950), 229-30.

Novena A Santa Gemma Galgani en Español

2011-11-30T11:16:00.021-05:00

NOVENA A SANTA GEMA GALGANI (Santa Gemma)

ADVERTENCIAS PARA HACER ESTA NOVENA

El modo y tiempo más a propósito para hacer esta Novena es el día 16 de Mayo, día que la Iglesia ha destinado al culto de Santa Gema Galgani; pero debe advertirse que esto no priva de hacerla siempre que la devoción lo dictare o la necesidad lo pidiere. Y para alcanzar con más seguridad lo que en ella se pide será bueno purificar la conciencia recibiendo los Santos Sacramentos de la Confesión y Comunión, lo que podrá hacerse el primer día o en cualquier otro de la Novena, para que de esta suerte, limpios de corazón, sean más eficaces las peticiones y Dios las conceda propicio por intercesión de Santa Gema Galgani, ofreciéndolo todo a la Santísima Trinidad, y puede asegurarse que con estas diligencias se logrará la gracia que se pretende alcanzar en esta Novena, si es que conviene para nuestra salud espiritual y corporal.

MODO DE HACER LA NOVENA
Puestos de rodillas delante de una imagen de Santa Gema, se santiguará y luego dirá todos los días el siguiente

ACTO DE CONTRICION
Señor mío Jesucristo, Dios y hombre verdadero.
Ante vuestra divina presencia reconozco que he pecado muchas veces y porque os amo sobre todas las cosas, me pesa de haberos ofendido. Ayudado de vuestra divina gracia, propongo no volver a caer más, confesarme y cumplir la penitencia que el confesor me imponga. Amén.

ORACION PREPARATORIA PARA TODOS LOS DIAS
Omnipotente y sempiterno Dios, que en tu sierva Gema Galgani diste un ejemplar acabado de todas las virtudes cristianas, te rogarnos, Señor, que por su intercesión y méritos, unidos a los de nuestro divino Modelo, Jesucristo, nos alcances una vida virtuosa y santa, para que a su imitación te sirvamos fervorosamente todos los días de nuestra vida y entreguemos en tus manos nuestro espíritu en el seno de nuestra Madre la Iglesia. Amen.

ORACION FINAL PARA TODOS LOS DIAS
(Compuesta por Santa Gema Galgani)
Aquí me tenéis postrada a vuestros pies santísimos, mi querido Jesús, para manifestaros en cada instante mi reconocimiento y gratitud por tantos y tan continuos favores corno me habéis otorgado y que todavía queréis concederme. Cuantas veces os he invocado, oh Jesús, me habéis dejado siempre satisfecha. He recurrido a menudo a Vos y siempre me habéis consolado. ¿Cómo podré expresaros mis sentimientos, amado Jesús? Os doy las gracias. Pero otra gracia quiero de Vos, oh Dios mío, si es de vuestro agrado ... Si no fuerais todopoderoso nos os haría esta súplica. ¡Oh Jesús! Tened piedad de mi. Hágase en todo vuestra santísima voluntad.

DIA PRIMERO
De rodillas, hecha la señal de la cruz, se dirá el acto de contrición y la oración preparatoria para todos los días.

LA FE
La fe esencialmente consiste en creer una cosa sólo porque Dios nos la ha revelado. No hay que creer porque lo entendamos o lo demostremos con evidencia, como sucede con las verdades humanas. Dios nos lo dice y ya basta para que creamos sin buscar ni desear más razón que ésa. ¡Qué confianza en Dios supone el acto de fe!. Piensa la injuria que se hace a una persona cuando dice algo y no se la cree. Recuerda el caso maravilloso de la fe de Abraham. Dios le dice que será padre de una gran descendencia. Pero a la vez le manda que sacrifique aquel hijo único que tiene, Isaac ... ¿Cómo se va a multiplicar su descendencia de este modo? Abraham, sin embargo, cree sin vacilar la palabra de Dios y se dispone al sacrificio ... ¡Que gran fe en Dios tenia Abraham!

Santa Gema desde su más tiernas juventud tenia también una gran fe en Dios. Entregada totalmente a Dios, no pensaba sino en Dios y no vivía sino para Dios. Pidamos, pues, a la gloriosa Santa Gema que ilumine nuestro entendimiento para que nuestra fe cristiana sea una fe viva, alegre y que nunca desfallezca, capaz de hacerme entender en todo momento la voluntad de Dios nuestro Señor.

Rezar tres Padrenuestros, Avemarías y Gloria Patris a la Santísima Trinidad, dándole gracias por los favores y beneficios que hizo a Santa Gema.
A continuación se dirá la Oración final para todos los días.

DIA SEGUNDO
De rodillas, hecha la señal de la cruz, se dirá el acto de contrición y la oración preparatoria como el día primero.

PACIENCIA Y RESIGNACION
Pensamos y estamos convencidos de que no podemos vivir sin sufrimientos. La cruz del sufrimiento nos aguarda donde y cuando menos lo esperamos. Es inútil el tratar de huir, el querer arrojar el sufrimiento de nuestro lado. Penas, dolores, angustias, humillaciones, contratiempos, enfermedades ... nos aguardan en algún momento de nuestra vida. Por ello lo único racional y cristiano es saber sufrir; convertir el sufrimiento en fuente de merecimientos; transformarlo en causa y principio de grandes y verdaderas alegrias.

¡Cuantas lecciones de todos estos sufrimientos puede darnos Santa Gema!. Acudamos, pues, a nuestra Santa para que nos enseñe a tener resignación y paciencia como tuvo ella en las muchas tribulaciones con que Dios quiso probarla, para que de esta manera podamos sufrir resignadamente y sin queja ni murmuración las penas que Dios nos envie.

Rezar tres Padrenuestros, Avemarías y Gloria Patris a la Santísima Trinidad, dándole gracias por los favores y beneficios que hizo que hizo a Santa Gema. A continuación se dirá la Oración final para todos los días.

DIA TERCERO
De rodillas, hecha la señal de la cruz, se dirá el acto de contrición y la oración preparatoria como el día primero.

LA CASTIDAD
La castidad es la virtud de la belleza, de la blancura del alma. Todas las virtudes son ornamento que enriquecen el alma, pero ninguna la adorna con tanta gracia y hermosura como la castidad, Hay una Bienaventuranza dedicada a ella: «Bienaventurados los limpios de corazón ... » Y es que aunque todo pecado, toda falta, es una mancha en el alma, parece que ninguna la mancha como la impureza. Esta es el pecado feo, sucio, vergonzoso, más que ningún otro pecado. La castidad. es la virtud más delicada; cualquier hálito de carne la empaña y marchita.

¡Cómo amaba Santa Gema la pureza! En un mundo como el que nos ha tocado vivir en el que domina por todas partes tanta inmoralidad, pidamos a nuestra Santa que nos ayude a llenar nuestro corazón de sanos y puros pensamientos para conseguir ese estado especial de gracia.
Rezar tres Padrenuestros, Avemarías y Gloria Patris a la Santísima Trinidad, dándole gracias por los favores y beneficios que hizo a Santa Gema Galgani. A continuación se dirá la Oración final para todos los días.

DIA CUARTO
De rodillas, hecha la señal de la cruz, se dirá el acto de contrición y la oración preparatoria como el día primero.

LA CARIDAD Y EL AMOR
La caridad es el amor, y el amor es, esencialmente, la vida de Dios. «Dios es aman" dice San Juan. ¡Qué palabras tan hermosas! En ellas se encierra todo lo que es Dios, con su majestad infinita, con su poder y sabiduría infinita, con su eternidad infinita ... ¡¡Dios es amor!!

Santa Gema amaba mucho a Dios. Lo amaba más que a todas las criaturas juntas, más que a nadie. Y así debería ser nuestra vida, siguiente el ejemplo de nuestra Santa. Si Dios nos ha dado un alma inteligente para conocer su bondad, y un corazón para amar esa bondad ¿porqué no darle todo nuestro amor? El que ama, ya guarda todos los mandamientos, pues, como decía Cristo, «en el amor está toda la ley y todo lo que dijeron los Profetas» San Agustín decía, con sobrada razón: «Ama, y haz luego lo que quieras». En este día de la Novena, pidam-s a Santa Gema que, a través de su intercesión, consiga de Dios nuestro Señor inundamos de caridad y de amor.

Rezar tres Padrenuestros, Avemarías y Gloria Patris a la Santísima Trinidad, dándole gracias por los favores y beneficios que hizo a Santa Gema.
A continuación se dirá la Oración final para todos los días.

DIA QUINTO
De rodillas, hecha la señal de la cruz, se dirá el acto de contrición y la oración preparatoria como el día primero.

LA MODESTIA
La modestia, al igual que la pureza es una virtud agradabilísima a los ojos de Dios y a los ojos de los hombres también. La modestia tiene también tal parentesco con la castidad, que es una parte de la misma, y así se asemeja como ella en la belleza, en la hermosura y encantos divinos que la rodean. A veces confundimos, si comparamos, a la persona modesta como un ser tímido y encogido. Vemos superior a la persona desenvuelta. Pero no es así, al menos no es así siempre. La modestia hace parecer a la persona tímida, encogida quizás, pero envuelta en ese velo celestial de modestia, de sencillez, de pudor y de ru-borosa y simpática vergüenza, es el complemento necesario e indispensable de un alma pura y más aun de un alma virgen. San Pablo nos anima a practicar la modestia, cuando dice: «Vuestra modestia sea vista y conocida por todos los hombres» ... Y añade esta poderosa razón: «Pues el Señor está cerca de vosotros» ... San Francisco de Sales, insiste en la misma razón y dice: que «en todos los actos nuestros debemos ser siempre muy modestos, pues siempre estamos en presencia de Dios y a vista de sus ángeles»

Pidamos a Santa Gema, perla luminosa llena de virtudes, sencilla, pura y modesta, para que, con su intercesión, nos ayude a ser modestos para así poder agradar a Dios y ser merecedor de la gloria eterna.

Rezar tres Padrenuestros, Auemarías y Gloria Patris a la Santísima Trinidad, dándole gracias por los fauores y beneficios que hizo a Santa Gema.
A continuación se dirá la Oración final para todos los días.

DIA SEXTO
De rodillas, hecha la señal de la cruz, se dirá el acto de contrición y la oración preparatoria como el día primero.

LA DULZURA
La dulzura es una virtud bella, bellísima, con tanta relación con la mansedumbre que, ordinariamente, se la confunde, y en la práctica viene a ser una misma cosa. Se ha llamado a la dulzura, «la flor de la mansedumbre", porque viene a ser como su complemento o su corona. Pero sólo el que posea la mansedumbre perfecta y totalmente, al mismo tiempo que sujeta su pasión, sabe poner en sus actos, en sus gestos, en sus palabras sobre todo, esa suavidad que caracteriza a la dulzura. ¡Qué sublime y hermosa es esta virtud, y qué atractivo el suyo tan encantador! La dulzura es una fuerza que arrastra a todo el mundo, algo a lo que no nos podemos resistir. A la dulzura, más que a nadie, la cuadra la bienaventuranza de Cristo: «Dichosos los mansos, porque ellos poseerán la tierra» ... La mansedumbre y la dulzura se hacen dueñas de todos los corazones. No hay nadie que se resista ante su fuerza poderosa.

Gráfica y expresivamente lo decimos en lenguaje familiar: «Mas moscas se cazan con una gota de miel que con un barril de vinagre»

¡Cuanta dulzura destiló en su corta vida Santa Gema! Que su vida sea un ejemplo continuo para nosotros para que la inocencia de su alma, la pureza de su corazón y la dulzura que siempre la adornó se reflejen en nuestra vida y nuestra Santa vea gozosa, desde el cielo, como su vida ejemplar ha contribuido a acercarnos cada día más a Dios nuestro Señor.

Rezar tres Padrenuestros, Avemarías y Gloria Patris a la Santísima Trinidad dándole gracias por los favores y beneficios que hizo a Santa Gema.
A continuación se dirá la Oración final para todos los días.

DIA SEPTIMO
De rodillas, hecha la señal de la cruz, se dirá el acto de contrición y la oración preparatoria como el día primero.

LA PENITENCIA CORPORAL
La llamada penitencia corporal se reduce al castigo de nuestro cuerpo y a la mortificación de sus sentidos. Es esta una virtud tan relacionada con todas las demás, que no es fácil separarla de la inmen¬sa mayoría de ellas. El ejercicio de la pobreza, de la humildad, de la castidad, de la modestia ... ¿no es un ejercicio constante de mortificación interior y de penitencia exterior? La importancia de la penitencia es indiscutible, tanto para preservarnos del pecado, como para satisfacer por los ya cometidos ... ¡Cuántas luces e inspiraciones especiales, cuánta paz y alegría del alma, cuánto amor de Dios, ha conseguido la penitencia a las almas santas! Sin la menor duda, que sin la penitencia, estas almas santas no hubieran llegado a las alturas de amor y santidad que llegaron. Nos preguntaremos: ¿Qué extraño que así amaran y se gozaran en la penitencia saboreándola como una cosa dulcísima!. .. Recuerda a San Pablo castigando su cuerpo y gozándose de llevar en él las señales de la penitencia. Y a un San Juan de la Cruz, que decía: «Aunque viera hacer milagros a una persona, si no era penitente, no la creería» ... y así todos los demás.

Santa Gema sabía esto muy bien. Los instrumentos de penitencia usados por nuestra Santa son conocidos por todos sus devotos que han visitado su Santuario en Luca (Italia). Invoquemos a la Santa en el día de hoy, séptimo de la Novena, para que nos ayude con su intercesión a despertar en todos nosotros ese espíritu de penitencia que tan necesario es para poder llegar a ser merecedores de la gloria eterna.

Rezar tres Padrenuestros, Avemarías y Gloria Patris a la Santísima Trinidad, dándole gracias por los favores y beneficios que hizo a Santa Gema.
A continuación se dirá la Oración final para todos los días.

DIA OCTAVO
De rodillas, hecha la señal de la cruz, se dirá el acto de contrición y la oración preparatoria como el día primero.

LA ORACION
Orar es levantar el corazón a Dios, es ponerse en comunicación con Dios y conversar con Él. Por ello, cuando. oramos, estamos seguros de que hablarnos con Dios, que El nos escucha y atiende, y a la vez El nos habla, nos enseña, nos da luces e inspiraciones para conocer su santísima voluntad. ¿Qué te parece? ¿Puedes imaginarte algo más noble, más digno y ex-celente, más honroso para ti que el ser admitido al trato con Dios, a la comunicación con Dios, a hablar y tratar intima y confidencialmente con Dios? ¡Qué de secretos te va a descubrir! ¡Qué de cosas tan divinas te va a enseñar!. La oración es un abismo de bondades por parte de Dios, de grandeza y sublimidad por parte nuestra, pues nunca podríamos soñar con mayor grandeza y exaltación que la de ser admitidos a la amistad íntima de Dios. La oración es la llave de oro que abre los inmensos tesoros de las riquezas infinitas de Dios. En la oración, la misma omnipotencia de Dios se pasa a nuestras manos y parece que el Señor tiene gusto en dejarnos durante ella el cetro de su majestad infinita. Así es de grande, excelente, omnipotente la oración. Si quieres saber algo de las excelencias de la oración, pregunta a las almas de oración, esto es, a todos los Santos, pues todos los Santos son almas de oración, y todas las almas de oración son Santas ... Míralas, embriagadas en esas dulzuras que no aciertan a dejar. Un San Luis Gonzaga, que llega a orar siete horas segui¬das ... Un San Francisco de Borja, que después de ocho horas seguidas de oración, pedía que le dejaran un poco más ... y así todos los demás.

Santa Gema no fue una excepción, ocupando la oración una buena parte de su corta vida. Acudamos, pues, a ella, buscando su ayuda para que nos alcance de Dios nuestro Señor la luz y claridad necesarias para encontrar en la oración la comunicación necesaria que nos faltaba para hacer nuestras vidas más llenas y más comunicadas con nuestro Señor.

Rezar tres Padrenuestros, Avemarías y Gloria Patris a la Santísima Trinidad, dándole gracias por los favores y beneficios que hizo a Santa Gema.

A continuación se dirá la Oración final para todos los días.

DIA NOVENO
De rodillas, hecha la señal de la cruz, se dirá el acto de contrición y la oración preparatoria como el día primero.

SERVIR A DIOS
Nuestro destino aquí en la tierra es servir a Dios, si es que verdaderamente queremos conseguir el goar a Dios algún día en la gloria. Todo lo que tiene de penoso un servicio cuando se hace a un amo cruel y tiránico, resulta de dulce y agradable cuando se hace por amor. Dios nos pide que le sirvamos, pero esta servidumbre es toda de amor; hemos de servirle con amor y por amor. Pero no quiere forzados a su servicio, sólo admite voluntarios que entren a su servicio, cuándo y cómo ellos quieran. En nuestra mano, pues, está el fijar estas condiciones de nuestra servidumbre para con Dios. Fijémoslas, y sea la primera la prontitud. La prontitud es indicio de interés y de buena voluntad. Cuando alguien nos sirve a nosotros con indolencia y perezosamente, no le aguantamos; es señal clara de que lo hace todo de mala gana. Otra condición es que a Dios hay que servirle no sólo con prontitud, sino sin reserva de ninguna clase. No vayamos a servirle con condiciones o con restricciones. Nuestra entrega y nuestra consagración a su servicio ha de ser total y completa, con toda nuestra alma, con todo nuestro cuerpo, con toda nuestra vida, porque todo es suyo, de Ello hemos recibido todo. Bien sabemos cómo exige necesariamente esta condición. No admite servidores a medias, no quiere corazones partidos .. Y bien claramente lo indica en sus mandamientos. El primero y el más fundamental de todos es "que amemos a Dios y sólo a Él con todo nuestro corazón, con toda nuestra mente, con toda nuestra alma."

Así servía a Dios Santa Gema, con todas sus fuerzas y durante toda su vida. ¡Qué lejos estamos nosotros de servir a Dios aunque sea mínimamente! Desconocemos, quizás, que nuestro corazón es de tal suerte y de tal modo está hecho para Dios, que sólo El le puede llenar y contentar. Acudamos, pues, a nuestra Santa, en este último día de la Novena, para pedir su intercesión para ayudarnos a descubrir la felicidad íntima de sabernos servidores incondicionales de Dios nuestro Señor.

Rezar tres Padrenuestros, Avemarías y Gloria Patris a la Santísima Trinidad, dándole gracias por los favores y beneficios que hizo a Santa Gema.
A continuación se dirá la Oración final para todos los días.

Santa Gemma Galgani, ruega por nosotros!

Gemma -A Little Victim of Divine Love

2011-11-18T11:19:00.022-05:00

St Gemma is made a victim for sin and is crucified with Christ

As mentioned in a previous article, I would like to highlight here some excerpts of the book "Gemma Galgani -Some Glimpses into the Life of a Little Victim of Divine Love" by Rev. John P. Clarke, Benzinger Brothers, 1932. (Photo to the left is from the inside cover.)

The main emphasis of the book is to show how Gemma was called by Jesus to be a victim soul in reparation for sinners--"A little Victim of Divine Love", that is, a victim of love with Jesus, and for Jesus. Gemma's deep love for Jesus and Mary was inflamed by her mission and vocation, which was to suffer and to love in union with Jesus in reparation for sinners, and for the conversion of souls.

A victim for Jesus
It all began with Jesus showing her His holy wounds and asking her to assist Him for the conversion of souls:
"Tell me, My child, do You love Me greatly?" Jesus said to her. "If You love Me, you will then do whatever I want of you....What malice and ingratitude there is in the world! Sinners continue to live in their crimes; weak and heartless souls will not sacrifice to overcome the flesh; those in tribulation lose courage; despair and indifference keeps increasing daily, and no one makes amends. I cease not to dispense heavenly graces and favors to all My creatures, life and light to My Church, virtue and strength to him who rules it, wisdom to those who direct souls in darkness, perseverance and fortitude to those who choose to follow Me; graces of every kind to all the just. I send My light into the dark dens of sinners to soften their hearts, doing all that I can to convert them. But, notwithstanding all that, what little do I gain? What little correspondence do I find in My creatures whom I have loved so much? No one any longer cares for My heart and for My Love. I am forgotten as though I had never loved them, and as though I had never suffered for them. My Heart is always in sadness! I am left almost alone in my Churches. Many, through hypocrisy, betray me by sacrilegious Communions. I can bear no more."

And to Jesus entreaties Gemma bravely replied: "You know, oh Jesus how ready I am to sacrifice myself in everything. I will bear every sort of pain for Thee. I will give every drop of my blood to please Thy Heart and to hinder the outrages of sinners against Thee."
And thus she began to put Jesus desires and her reply into action. His scourging, His sweat of blood, His crucifixion, His wounds, His darkness and anguish -all were to be also her portion, to the extent that she was able to bear. She would not do such things by half measures but would commit her whole self; her whole being in the service and sacrifice offered to Jesus. She would plead to take upon herself the chastisement and punishment reserved for sinners. Like the lightning conductor raised towards Heaven, she would heroically attract the thunderbolt of God’s just anger to preserve others from it. Her love and trust for Jesus gave her the courage to make a complete offering of herself.

"I would wish," she wrote, "to bathe with my blood all those places where Jesus is outraged. I would wish all sinners to be saved, because they have been redeemed by the Precious Blood of Jesus."

And once again Jesus appears to her and she is encouraged by the pitiful plea of the Divine Victim Himself:
"My child, I have need of victims; very strong victims! In order to appease the just wrath of My Divine Father I need souls who by their sufferings, tribulations and difficulties make amends for sinners and their ingratitude. Oh, that I could make all understand how angered My Heavenly Father is by the impious world! There is nothing to stay His hand and He is now preparing a great chastisement for all the world."

And with loving generosity Gemma accepted the call. Jesus had already made it the burning desire of her heart. Beside herself with joy, she exclaimed:
"I am the Victim, and Jesus the sacrificing priest. Act quickly, oh Jesus! All that Jesus wills, I desire. Everything that Jesus sends me is a gift."

Thus out of love for Jesus she ardently desired to suffer for sinners saying with St Paul: "Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s sufferings for the sake of his body, that is, the church" (Colossians 1:24). He had chosen her to be a little victim of Divine Justice, and in her complete self surrender He poured out His infinite desires into her loving heart.

St Gemma’s holy wounds
Gemma once wrote: "Let whoever wishes to contemplate Him on Mount Thabor, but I will contemplate Him on Mount Calvary with my dear Mother of Sorrows"
"Do you wish to love Jesus always?" a mysterious Voice one day said to her. "Then never cease, even for a moment, to suffer for Him. The Cross is the throne of true lovers; the Cross is the patrimony of the elect in this life."

And it was for this that she longed and on the 8th of June, 1899, on the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a very special grace was imparted to her--the Five Precious Wounds of Jesus were imprinted in her body. Concerning this great grace she wrote:
"...Jesus appeared with His wounds open and from them there no longer came forth blood but flames of fire. In an instant, those flames pierced my hands and feet and heart."

Thus she received the holy Stigmata, that she might suffer united with Jesus for the conversion of souls. Like Saint Francis of Assissi and Saint Catherine of Siena and numerous other specially chosen Saints, she bore in her body the marks of the holy wounds of Jesus' Passion. For some time on Thursdays and Fridays this phenomenon was evident. Her spiritual director, Father Germanus wrote: "She was truly His little holocaust. The Agony in the Garden also took possession of her. With her Jesus she, too, experienced the sweat of blood. On these occasions, the blood, pressed from the heart by the vehemence of grief, oozed through the pores of her body, and especially from the left side over the region of the heart, so that she was bathed in blood."

And so it was that Gemma was crucified and united to Jesus, and it was with love and with joy that Gemma offered and surrendered herself to Him. She followed Him on the way to Calvary. Wounded with love, she would live and die a martyr for Him.

Once, while making the Holy Hour in love and reparation to the outraged Heart of Jesus, she found herself "…before Jesus Crucified. He was bleeding all over," she said. "I lowered my eyes at once and the sight filled me with pain. I prostrated myself with my forehead to the ground and there remained for several hours. I came to myself with the wounds of Jesus so deeply impressed on my mind that they never since left it."

The Crown of Thorns
On another occasion, in April, 1899, she beheld Jesus Crucified and heard Him say: "Look, My child, and learn how to love." He then showed her His five open Wounds. "Look at this Cross, these thorns, these nails, these livid marks and lacerations. These wounds are all works of Love; of Infinite Love. See to what extent I have loved you."

An ocean of sorrow and love swept over her soul as she plunged into the depths of these wounds of her savior. Compassioniately and lovingly she said:
"How could I bear to see Jesus suffering and not help Him?" she said. "I begged and entreated Jesus to grant me this grace (to take the crown of thorns from him -editor). He gratified me at once, and drawing near to me, He took the crown of thorns from His own head, placed it on mine, and with His holy hand fixed it on my temples. These are painful moments but happy ones. Thus I passed an hour with Jesus."

On at least several occasions she was also given the wound on the left shoulder from the weight of the Cross, which judging by her movements was obviously very painful, even though she did her best to hide it, as stated by Cecilia Giannini, one of the witness to these extraordinary events.

A Saint, but nevertheless Gemma was very human...
"One Saturday evening" Gemma writes, "I went to make a visit to Jesus in the holy crucifix. There came upon me an ardent longing for suffering, and with all of my heart I implored Jesus to satisfy me. And since that evening He has granted me a ceaseless pain in my head-but such violent pain! And I am almost always crying through fear of not being able to bear it."

Gemma was human and had her human frailties and weaknesses just like the rest of us. She was very much of the same flesh and blood as ourselves. She felt and experienced a natural aversion to pain and suffering. Although she feared at times that she could not stand the pain, she still longed to suffer for Him. "I am happy in every way that Jesus wills," she says, "and if Jesus wants the sacrifice of my life, I give it to Him at once. If He wants anything else, I am ready. One thing alone is enough for me: to be His victim in order to atone for my own innumerable sins and, if possible, for those of the whole world."

Yet while her flesh was weak, her spirit always soared above her human frailty, and although she received many heavenly graces and consolations she once wrote: "Believe me, I willingly renounce all the consolations of Jesus (heavenly graces -ed.). I don't want them. Jesus is the Man of Sorrows, and I wish to be the child of sorrows."

Thus her piety and love for Jesus was true. There was the natural recoil and fear of suffering, the instinctive horror of pain within her, but nevertheless she embraced it. She had given her will to Jesus that He might do with her as He pleased, and she strove not to let her human weakness stand in the way. Reparation for her was a question of will, and not of feeling. It was this essence of true piety that Our Lord confirmed when He said to Saint Teresa of Avila: "My daughter, You ask Me for suffering, and then complain when I send it. Nevertheless, I answer your prayer considering your interior will and desire, rather than the natural repugnance of your nature." And we see for her part that Gemma's will and purpose to please Jesus was sincere and it was very dear to His Heart.
-St Gemma, pray for us!
________________________________________
As stated in the beginning, this article consists primarily of excerpts of the book "Gemma Galgani -Some Glimpses into the Life of a Little Victim of Divine Love" and in closing here is a poem to St Gemma that came from this book:

Let us love this little Angel,
And pleading to her say,
'Dear Gemma Galgani,
Teach us to love always!'

May she be our guardian Angel,
And listen to our plea,
To lead us on to Jesus,
And love eternally.

May the love of this pure Angel
For Mary our heavenly Queen,
Find voice in our hearts longing,
More than it has ever been.

And may her loving song and smiling,
Be with us all until,
We find like little Gemma,
Our peace in God's sweet Will.

May we join in her sweet singing,
And love Him in all our ways,
Do teach us, dear Gemma,
To live for Him always.

May we love the wounds of Jesus,
And as a victim be,
A lover of His Passion,
To love eternally.

May her love and sweet simplicity,
The song she loves to sing,
Draw many little Victims
To Jesus--Victim--King!

May she look with love upon us,
And lead us by His grace,
To love with love unending,
And see Him face to face.

May we listen to her pleading,
And love while we may,
As our dear little Gemma,
would have us love always.

May the number of Victims,
True lovers, increase!
With Gemma of Lucca,
God's will is our peace.

May blessed Gemma,
Lead all who wish to be,
True children of His passion,
To love eternally.

May her pleading for us be powerful,
To draw us to His Heart,
That we may join the Legion,
And choose the better part.

(Poem to Saint Gemma, from the book "Gemma Galgani --Some Glimpses into the Life of a Little Victim of Divine Love")

The Little Victim of Divine Love and her heavenly help

2011-11-13T08:55:00.010-05:00

Thanks be to God I just acquired a very rare out of print book on Saint Gemma entitled- "Gemma Galgani: Some Glimpses into the Life of a Little Victim of Divine Love." by Father John P. Clarke, Benzinger Brothers, 1932.

The Little Victim of Divine Love
And so I hope to use this book to create a new article or two for this website, God willing. And I must say I love the title -"Gemma Galgani: Some Glimpses into the Life of a Little Victim of Divine Love"...for Gemma was very much a "little victim of Divine love", who was not only a remarkable Saint who lived an extraordinary holy life full of love and devotion to Jesus and Mary, but she was a victim soul, who bore the stigmata and the crown of thorns in union with Jesus for the conversion of sinners.

For we can recall the occasion Jesus said to Gemma:
'My daughter, there are a few of your age in Heaven to whom it has been given to share so largely in My sufferings.’
As a victim of Divine love, one by one Gemma experienced all the sorrows of the drama of the Sacred Passion, so that the prayer she had uttered was completely answered: ‘Jesus is the Man of Sorrows, and I desire to become the daughter of sorrow.' -This was always the one desire of her heart, as we can see in one of her heavenly petitions:- 'When will the time come when I can embrace the Cross, and feel the thorns, the nails, the pains . . . and be as it were immersed in the Wounds of my Saviour? . . .'

From the moment that Jesus appeared to her covered with wounds and wearing the crown of thorns Gemma intensely longed to help Him in the conversion of sinners that is, the redemption of humanity. She did indeed become so steeped in the Passion of Christ that she once said: 'I am fruit of Thy Passion, a flower of Thy Wounds."

Gemma, our heavenly friend and advocate
And now, in this present time, she is also a very extraordinary advocate and heavenly friend for those who seek her help and intercession, as the countless emails and letters to my inbox over the past few years can attest, just as a small example.

And so from this very book we read Gemma saying-
"Oh to Paradise! Let us go to Paradise where we shall see God as He is, in all His entirety. When oh my God will You take me to Paradise?" And Jesus answer came on Holy Saturday, 1903, when after suffering her last Good Friday in her bed of pain as a victim soul united with Jesus in the love of souls, the Divine Lover came and called her to Himself. Consumed with love rather than disease, she flew to His loving embrace. And as Little Victim of God's Love, she now sees Him face to face. And her plea and desire for us is that we may learn to love Him like wise." (from "Gemma Galgani" by Rev. John P. Clarke).

Gemma once said "May I die, and may I die of love. What a beautiful death, oh Lord, to die a victim of Your love, a victim for You!"

-And now dear Gemma that you are with Jesus your Divine Love, do not forget us who remain here below in this vale of tears, and obtain for us from Jesus the graces and heavenly help that we need. Teach us how to sacrifice and suffer out of love for Jesus like you did. Guard and protect us from the evil one, and enlighten us against his evil traps and temptations. Inspire and guide us throughout our earthly days, that we may always do God's will, that we may always be pleasing to Jesus and Mary. Help us to love God with all of our hearts, and be with us always, especially in our last moments, and when we breath our last breath, present us to Jesus, and plead His mercy upon us, that we may be united with Jesus, Mary and you for all eternity. ~St Gemma, pray for us!

Stay tuned, because thanks to this book more articles are soon forthcoming.....

***Update: Here is a article with excerpts from the book.
_________________
"...I do not want any to surpass me in the love of Jesus. Oh Love, Infinite Love! See your Love, oh Lord, it penetrates into my very body ... When shall I unite myself to You Who on earth can operate such a union of Love? I can stand it no longer, I am weakening! May I die, and may I die of love. What a beautiful death, oh Lord, to die a victim of Your love, a victim for You!" -St Gemma Galgani

The heavenly help of Saint Gemma

2011-10-28T14:02:00.004-04:00

A recent grace through the intercession of St Gemma

A few weeks ago, I published a couple of very recent stories concerning the heavenly intercession of Saint Gemma. Below is another email that I just received.

On Wed, Oct 26, 2011 at 12:44 AM, Song wrote:

Dear Mr. Dallaire,

I wish to inform you that I had the most extraordinary encounter with St. Gemma Galgani.

You see, I came across her website years back, and since then I have become intrigued by her. I emailed you asking for her prayer card, which you promptly did send me. I was further gladdened me that she and my 7 year old son shared the same birthday (March 12), and so I always entrusted my son under her care and protection. My son knew her from the picture you sent me, which is displayed in our room.

2 weeks ago, my son was confined to the hospital for dengue-like symptoms. His blood count was declining and his fever went on and off. Then his fever got so bad that we was having chills. As I prayed my rosary, I also said a simple prayer to St. Gemma, asking her to intercede for us in helping my son fight off the bug that hit him. This was a Saturday evening.

The following day, I was expecting my husband to disallow me from hearing mass, since we categorize this an emergency and my son needs me to stay by his side for errands. Surprisingly, my husband encouraged me to attend mass at the hospital chapel.

As I was listening to the sermon, I probably dozed off a few minutes. In my dreams I saw St. Gemma in her black garb together with American seer Veronica Leuken! She was talking to me in Italian which I could not understand. She ended her sentence by saying “Passionata! Passionata!”. Veronica must have sensed I did not understand St. Gemma and so she called me by my name and assured me that my son will be alright. That’s when St. Gemma smiled and said in English with a strong Italian accent that “he will be alright”. True enough, my son was well by the time the mass ended. The fever was gone, his blood count improved. The pediatrician could not believe it!

My son had all the manifest symptoms of dengue, but it was negative. All the other tests were also negative. The diagnosis was that he only had sinusitis with allergic rhinitis.

I owe a great gratitude to St. Gemma.

Song (last name witheld- webmaster)

St Gemma at the deathbed of Archbishop Roberto Nogara

2011-10-14T00:41:00.013-04:00

St. Gemma appears at the deathbed of the Archbishop of Cosenza, Italy

Angelica, a friend in St Gemma, recently informed me of a special grace that was given to the late Archbishop Roberto Nogara + (1879-1940). The details of the story are related in the book "The Incredible Life Story of Sister Elena Aiello- The Calabrian Holy Nun" by Rt. Rev. Francesco Spadafora. Incidentally, Sr. Elena Aiello was just recently Beatified on September 14, 2011.

Archbishop Roberto Nogara was instrumental in the beatification of Gemma, and as we shall soon see, Gemma rewarded the good Archbishop with her heavenly presence in his last hours on earth. For it was that the two miracles which had been proposed, investigated, discussed and eventually approved for Gemma's beatification had been wrought by two individuals in the Cosenza Archdiocese, and Rev. Nogara as a well liked priest (and soon to be Archbishop) had enlisted his dynamic energy and fervor for the promotion of Gemma's cause.

And so it was that a little over a year after Gemma's beatification on May 14, 1933 that Rev Roberto Nogara was appointed Archbishop of Cosenza on August 27, 1934. The new Shepherd was welcomed with great enthusiasm and affection. In his "History of the Archdiocese of Cesenza" Father Russo writes as follows:
"Archbishop Nogara was a Shepherd solely devoted to the care of souls. The inscription on his coat of arms read: "Volentem duco, nolentem traho," which translated means: "The willing ones I lead, the reluctant I charm."

"Like St. Paul, he was a restless worker for the Kingdom of God and his only rest was to change from one activity to a different one. He spoke very quickly and, like St. Paul, he mentioned the Name of Jesus to no end in his sermons. He was decidedly upright to the point of looking rather stern and rigid; but he had a great heart, quite ready to grasp the situation, incapable of duplicity and most sympathetic for the needs of souls, of the clergy and of the times. In the course of pastoral visitations, quite a few times he had nothing to eat until he returned very tired to the Bishop's House late at night, because he didn't want to add a new burden to the meagre budget of some pastors. Oh, how many very useful and fine Parish Rectories he established in his Diocese!"

Mention should also be made that it is noted extensively in the book "The Incredible Life Story of Sister Elena Aiello- The Calabrian Holy Nun" that Archbishop Nogara was the great and faithful friend and supporter of Blessed Elena Aiello and her Institute of religious Sisters and their orphanage and ministry in the the care of orphans and needy children during that time period in Cosenza.

The last hours of a holy Archbishop- St. Gemma assists at his death
It came to pass that after some 5 years as Archbishop of Cosenza, His Excellency Roberto Nogara suddenly and unexpectedly fell ill. In his book on Sister (now Blessed) Elena Aiello, Rev. Spadafora quotes Father Vincezo Donnarumma who had recently become the Spiritual Director for Blessed Elena's Institute of religious Sisters. He states: "In September 1939, Sister Elena confided to me: 'About this time next year, His Excellency shall no longer be in Cosenza.'"

"I didn't question her any further, neither did I pay any attention to the meaning of those words. On one of my frequent visits to His Excellency, I related the Sister's remarks. In my excitement I had believed, that, since the Archbishop was Administrator of Reggio Calabria, he might be promoted to that Archdiocese, the more so, because up to that time he enjoyed perfect health."

"The following day, when I said that I had quoted her words to His Excellency as alluding to a promotion to Reggio Calabria, Sister Elena became visibly depressed; then in her usually simple way, she hinted that such was not the case. The first symptoms of a severe illness became apparent in November. His Excellency felt happy for having assisted in the Beatification of Gemma Galgani. The two miracles which had been discussed and approved for that occasion, had been wrought in the Cosenza Archdiocese, and he had enlisted his dynamic energy for the promotion of that cause. He was hoping that Gemma would cure him. However, Our Lord had disposed otherwise. An operation was needed, and by the time it was decided on, it was already too late and it was no longer possible. Sister Elena hastened to visit her great benefactor and friend the Archbishop as he, perfectly conscious, was awaiting the very end.

"She told me that as soon as she entered the room, she saw the Archbishop's sister, Mother Giulia, Superior of the Sister Adorers in Garda on one side of the bed and Gemma Galgani on the other side of the bed. Before expiring His Excellency told Mother Giulia that the only thing he would have very much desired was the approbation and juridical recognition of [Sr. Elena Aiello's] Institute."

Assisted by Gemma, Archbishop Nogara died on April 24th, 1940, just eight days prior to Gemma's canonisation on May 2, 1940! For surely it was God who arranged for him to have a much better view of Gemma's canonisation by joining all of the heavenly court on that joyful day with a blessed view from on-high to celebrate and honor the holy life of Gemma.

And so it was that Gemma showed her heavenly appreciation and thanksgiving to her benevolent friend who sought during his lifetime to have her raised to the altars as a Blessed, and just eight days after his death a Saint of the Catholic church. O blessed and peaceful death assisted in the last hours and moments by a great Saint in the service of the Heavenly King! If only we too could live our lives in such a manner so as to receive the heavenly assistance of the "Gem of Christ" in our last moments, that she, along with our guardian Angel might present us to Jesus, and plead our cause for forgiveness and mercy! May God grant us such a grace! Amen +

Blessed Elena Aiello sees Gemma in another vision

In Chapter 13 of "The Incredible Life Story of Sister Elena Aiello" we read of a vision of Jesus on the Cross, and present at the Crucifixion where the Blessed Virgin Mary, St Mary Magdalen and St Martha. Also present in the vision is St Gemma and a holy friend of Elena's named Vera (Vera had just recently died.) Describing this vision of March 24, 1938, Elena while in ecstasy and suffering the wounds of the stigmata stated:
"Oh! Let Mother (The Blessed Virgin Mary -ed.) shed Her tears in the very side and Heart of Jesus! The Heart of Jesus! Gemma Galgani and Vera are holding two lillies. Vera is now approaching me. She has been sent by God to help me bear all this pain; otherwise I would pass away. Mary Magdalen is at the foot of the Cross; Martha and the Angels are gathering the drops of Blood."

So we see that Gemma, who was so devoted to the Passion of Jesus, is shown as being spiritually present in this vision of Jesus Passion.

-St Gemma, pray for us!
____________________________

“You shall see what I will do when I go to heaven. I will bring you with me at any cost”. -From a letter written by Gemma to her spiritual director, Ven. Father Germanus C.P.

St Gemma's intercession and St Gemma's chapel in Sittard, Netherlands

2011-10-11T20:42:00.057-04:00

Recent stories of St Gemma's intercession and also some photographs of the Saint Gemma Chapel in Sittard, Netherlands

I often receive emails and letters about the heavenly help and intercession of Saint Gemma in the lives of people throughout the world. I just received a couple of these remarkable stories yesterday, along with another email about a pilgrimage made to the St Gemma Chapel, in Sittard, Netherlands, so I thought I would put them together in an article here.

The first part of this article concerns the remarkable intercession of St Gemma in the grace of a healing from a back-spinal problem due to an accident 10 years ago (in 2001). I have received permission from the recipient of this grace (Patricia) to publish her email here. This grace occurred right after a Mass that was part of an all day Church festival in New Jersey in honor of St Padre Pio, and the email was written to the pastor of the Church where this grace occured. (Note: I removed email addresses and last names for privacy purposes -webmaster)

From: (address withheld)
Sent: Monday, October 10, 2011 10:59 AM
To: (address withheld)
Subject: your previous festival

Dear Father,

I have a miraculous story to tell.

My husband and I attended your festival in September. We live in Delaware County, PA; outside of Philadelphia. Your festival was advertised in church bulletins in our area. We decided to come, and we knew about the blessing with relics.

We arrived at your lovely parish as blessings were still going on. We were in line and approached the priest. I do not know the name of this priest, but he was a balding gentleman with some dark hair, and he wore glasses. As you enter from the church's main entrance this priest was in the far right aisle. My husband was in back of me. I told this priest that I have had constant back pain since an accident(in 2001). I had been told I would always have trouble.

The priest took out part of the stole he was wearing; it had an image of Saint Gemma Galgani on it. Father had my husband place and hold the stole on my back with the image against my back. Father said a prayer, and as prayer was said; I felt intense heat on my back where stole was resting. After the blessing, I mentioned this to Father, and he said "praise God". Father also checked if my husband's hand was warm, and it was not; we were also told that Saint Gemma suffered back pain, and was patroness of back sufferers.

Father, I had that heat feeling the rest of that day, it did not leave till late at night. It is now October 10th, and I have had no back pain, I walk better, and my stamina is back. I truly believe Saint Gemma has interceded for me.

Thank you for reading this; I had to share. If you recognize the brief description of this priest, please relay this message. God bless!

Patricia (Last name witheld)
Glenolden, PA 19036
_____________________________________

The second story of Gemma's recent intercession comes from a friend in St Gemma named Jim Dunning. Some might recognise this name as Mr. Dunning wrote an article about Gemma for this website, along with numerous other articles for my "Mystics of the Church" website. Awhile back I had mailed Jim a couple of the St Gemma photo holy prayer cards that I offer, and he gave one to his friend who was in the hospital suffering with cancer. Additionally, he states that he "said 3 Novena's to Gemma" for her intercession. In his email he writes:

"Could you possibly let me have another photo of St. Gemma Galgani? I lent one to a friend who was in hospital for 6 months with cancer. She has made a remarkable recovery (and still has the photo...)! I said 3 Novenas to Gemma, which may account for her cure."

Jim additionally wrote how grateful her husband was for her remarkable recovery.
____________________________________

The last part of this article is simply some photos that were just shared with me from a friend in St Gemma named Bram who recently made a pilgrimage to the St Gemma Chapel in Sittard, The Netherlands.

Note the pictures of St Gemma on the votive candles.

And the words on the plaque are a prayer written by Saint Gemma that translated says:

"Prayer of holy Gemma,

My good Jesus, see me here at your feet,

kneeled down to express to You

the gratitude of my heart for the great continual benefits

from your Goodness that I have received and those that I will receive.

Every time I called upon You, O Jesus, I was heard.

The more I have taken refuge in You, the more You have comforted me.

How can I fully say to You, my Jesus, what my heart feels?

O, how I thank You, but I would like another new grace (mention request........),

only O my God, if this is your pleasure.

If You were not Almighty, I would not ask this favour.

O Jesus, have pity on me,

but in everything may Your blessed Will be done. -Amen +

-Prayer of Saint Gemma

And while we are on the subject of a Chapel devoted to Saint Gemma, I would like to point out something that is very much needed here in the USA; and that is a Chapel or a Church in honor of St Gemma Galgani. The reason for this is that the ONLY Church in her honor, that is Saint Gemma Galgani Church in Detroit, Michigan was recently closed and decomissioned in 2009.

(Photo to the left is of the old St Gemma Galgani Church in Detroit, now closed).

So as of today there are no churches, chaples or shrines anywhere in the USA in her honor. This is truly unfortunate when one considers that there are perhaps thousands of Churches, Chapels and Shrines across the country. Hopefully soon however a new or moving Parish will be inspired to honor St Gemma, God willing, and take her as their holy patroness. This has recently happened for example with the recently canonised Saint (Padre) Pio who already has several Parishes named in his holy honor in both New York and New Jersey where Parishes were moved/combined. Hopefully Saint Gemma will be honored in a similar fashion here in the USA, because I am certain that God will be pleased to grant many more extraordinary graces through her intercession, just like the one given at the top of this article, if only souls sought her heavenly intercession and help, because by her extraordinary example of love and devotion, Gemma always leads souls ever closer to Jesus, her beloved Spouse. And so that He may be loved and glorified through His Saints, Jesus is very pleased to work countless miracles through Saints such as Gemma, the "Gem of Christ".

______________________________

"How affectionate Jesus showed Himself to be today. But how He suffers! I do what I can to diminish His anguish and I would do more if I had permission. He came near today, lifted the crown from my head, and then I did not see Him replace it as usual on his head; He held it in His hands, all his wounds were open, but they did not drip blood as usual. They were beautiful.He usually blesses me before leaving, and in fact He lifted his right hand; from that hand I then saw a ray of light shine forth, much stronger than a lamp. He kept his hand raised; I remained fixed in watching it, I could not get enough of Him. Oh if! could make everyone know and see how beautiful is my Jesus. He blessed me with that same hand He had raised, and He left me. After this happened to me, I wanted to know the meaning of the light that shone from his wounds, in particular from his right hand, the one he blessed me with. My guardian Angel said these words to me: "Daughter, on this day Jesus' blessing has showered an abundance of graces upon you." -Some words from St Gemma's Diary

One persons devotion to Saint Gemma

2011-10-01T16:14:00.015-04:00

One persons devotion to Saint Gemma - The webmasters story

I am often asked about how my devotion to Saint Gemma came to be, and although I have had this website for three years, yet I haven't really shared the story of my devotion to Gemma and how I came to know her, so here it is for those who are interested.

I came to know Saint Gemma around March of the year 2000 because my wife and I were looking for a name for upcoming baby girl (our fifth child) who was to be born in April. We wanted to name her after my wife's mother, Jacqueline, but she did not want us to since for some reason she was not really fond of her name. So we thought maybe we can look to see who her patron Saint was, that is, the Saint whose feast day fell on her birthday, which is April 11th.

So, I went on the internet and searched for the Saint whose feastday is April 11th---and there she was--Saint Gemma! I had never heard of her and I started reading a bit about her, and I remember how enraptured I was while reading about her extraordinary love for Jesus, and how she sacrificed and suffered everything for Him. I immediately came to admire her for her complete giving of herself to Jesus--how she loved Him with all of her heart. And I thought to myself "now THIS is how God is to be loved, not with lukewarmness, but with all of ones soul!"

Befriending a Saint
And so began a fast friendship with my new heavenly friend Gemma. I began reading more and more about her, seeking to try at least a little in some small way to imitate her heavenly virtues and love for Jesus and Mary. And I remember reading the autobiography that she wrote and how I became enraptured with this "Gem of Christ". Then too I remember seeing her photographs for the first time---what love, peace and purity radiate from those eyes and that unforgettable face!

Not long after I first became devoted to her someone mentioned that maybe I should get a 1st class relic of hers, and at that time I did not have any relics at all, and I remember thinking that it seemed strange to keep for oneself a piece of a Saints body. However, little by little the desire for a relic of Gemma grew, and eventually I sought one out by writing numerous Passionists throughout the country, and one very kind Passionist priest offered me not one relic, but two!----and they arrived precisely on St Gemma's birthday, March 12, literally right at the time that my family and I were saying a rosary! This was, I believe a heavenly birthday present from Gemma, and since then I have been wearing one of the relics in a locket on a necklace, so in this way Gemma is always very close to me in a special way, I believe.

Heavenly admonitions through the intercession of St Gemma
The thing one soon discovers though about having Gemma as heavenly friend is that she will often inspire one's conscience and correct one faults by pointing out in ones mind what is displeasing to Jesus in one's thoughts, words or actions. These "admonitions" as I call them take place in one's conscience--in one's thoughts---its difficult to explain precisely, but it is a sense of knowing what is pleasing (and especially displeasing) to God in ones thoughts, words or deeds. What happens is that at times when one is committing a particular sin, or is tempted to, suddenly one area or another of Gemma's life pertaining to that sin will be brought to one's mind as an example to combat the particular sin or temptation involved.

While the source of all good inspirations and heavenly admonitions is God, the "instrument" or "intermediary" through which one receives these heavenly inspirations can be for example one's guardian angel, the Virgin Mary, or one's patron Saint. And those who are "captured" by the Gem of Christ and seek her heavenly friendship will soon discover that have befriended a Saint who will seek to lead one closer to Jesus firstly and primarily through the correction of ones faults. And without a doubt Gemma will also obtain the necessary graces from her Jesus for her clients spiritual and material needs. And surely along with one's guardian angel she will also protect her clients from the snares of the demons. But first and foremost it seems that through the grace of God Gemma will lead one closer to Jesus by guiding and inspiring ones thoughts in the correction of sinful behaviors. Again what often happens is that one area or another of Gemma's life will be brought to one's mind as an example to combat the particular sin or temptation involved. This at least would be my experience with Gemma's heavenly intercession anyway.

A personal example? --I will use one that happened just this afternoon. I reluctantly went to confession with my wife and children--I say "reluctantly' because there were two different sins of impurity that I had committed since my last confession that I was extremely embarrassed to have to confess before the priest. I thought perhaps that I would just omit them, since sins of impurity are a subject of such a sensitive nature and are very difficult to discuss. While without a doubt the grace of God and also one's conscience both play a role in such circumstances, but I know that there is also the intercession of ones heavenly "guides" in circumstances such as these. It is almost as if I can "hear" Gemma admonishing and encouraging me to confess what I had made up my mind not to confess. What to do? I knew I didn't want to walk out of the confessional knowing that I displeased both God and also my heavenly friend Gemma....and so it was that Jesus an Gemma won the day, and I confessed that which I was not planning to.

I know that those who have besought Gemma as their heavenly friend know well what I am saying. And for those who have just discovered this "Gem of Christ", be assured that you have been led to a Gem of great price--a heavenly friend and advocate who will lovingly inspire, guide and protect you, and tenderly lead you ever closer to Jesus, her beloved Spouse.

-St Gemma, pray for us!
_________________________
"Yes, Jesus, very urgently do I recommend this poor sinner to you .... He is mine, Jesus; imagine how I wish to save him! I know it, Jesus, I know it, he makes You weep: but believe me, Jesus, at present You must no longer think of his sins; You must think only of the blood which You have shed. How merciful have You not been towards me! All these loving delicacies which You have had for me, I beg of You, have them also for my sinner. Remember that I wish You to save him with me. He is Your child, he is my brother, save him, Jesus!" -Words of St Gemma Galgani

Novena to St Padre Pio -Padre Pio Novena

2011-09-29T21:44:00.013-04:00

St Padre Pio Novena -A Novena to Saint Padre Pio seeking his intercession for a special grace.

Day 1
Preface: Oh most Holy God, we humbly prostrate ourselves before Thy Infinite Majesty, and we adore Thee and dedicate to Thy glory the devout prayers which we now present to Thee, as an act of devotion to your servant, St Padre Pio, whose intercession we are now imploring.

Oh holy Saint Padre Pio, throughout your entire life you sought always to love Jesus and Mary with your whole heart. Help us that we too may always seek to know, love and serve God with all of our hearts, and help us to seek His holy will in all things. And for the love of God we ask the following grace (mention your request). Beloved St Padre Pio, we give this request to you, seeking your heavenly intercession, and we ask you to make this request in our name before the throne of God.

Recite one Our Father, one Hail Mary and one Glory Be...

May God hear and answer our prayer according to His holy will and for His greater glory. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord, AMEN. +

-St Padre Pio, pray for us!
___________________________________
DAY 2

Preface: Oh most Holy God, we humbly prostrate ourselves before Thy Infinite Majesty, and we adore Thee and dedicate to Thy glory the devout prayers which we now present to Thee, as an act of devotion to your servant, St Padre Pio, whose intercession we are now imploring.

Oh beloved Saint of God, Padre Pio, you were especially chosen by God to bear the holy stigmata in union with Jesus for 50 years, sacrificing and suffering all for the conversion of souls. What intense suffering these holy wounds caused you! But your bore this constant pain for the love of God and for the love of souls. We ask you to place this request (mention request) into your stigmatised hands, and present it to Jesus in our name.

-Recite one Our Father, one Hail Mary and one Glory Be...

May God hear and answer our prayer according to His holy will and for His greater glory. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord, AMEN. +

-St Padre Pio, pray for us!
__________________________________

DAY 3

Preface: Oh most Holy God, we humbly prostrate ourselves before Thy Infinite Majesty, and we adore Thee and dedicate to Thy glory the devout prayers which we now present to Thee, as an act of devotion to your servant, St Padre Pio, whose intercession we are now imploring.

Oh most loving Saint Padre Pio, you offered your life to become a holy priest of God, giving yourself completely to Jesus through the intercession of His Mother, the most Blessed Virgin Mary. We ask you to join with our holy Mother in heaven, and to present this request to Her holy Son, (here mention request), and we ask our beloved Mother in heaven to join you and obtain this grace for us.

Recite one Our Father, one Hail Mary and one Glory Be...

May God hear and answer our prayer according to His holy will and for His greater glory. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord, AMEN. +

-St Padre Pio, pray for us!

DAY 4

Preface: Oh most Holy God, we humbly prostrate ourselves before Thy Infinite Majesty, and we adore Thee and dedicate to Thy glory the devout prayers which we now present to Thee, as an act of devotion to your servant, St Padre Pio, whose intercession we are now imploring.

Oh blessed Saint Padre Pio, you were a priest after the Heart of Jesus, seeking always to love and please Him in all things. We ask you to place this request before the Sacred Heart of Jesus (mention request). And through the love that you bore the most Sacred Heart of Jesus, may God hear and answer our poor prayers.

Recite one Our Father, one Hail Mary and one Glory Be...

May God hear and answer our prayer according to His holy will and for His greater glory. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord, AMEN. +

-St Padre Pio, pray for us!
___________________________________
DAY 5

Preface: Oh most Holy God, we humbly prostrate ourselves before Thy Infinite Majesty, and we adore Thee and dedicate to Thy glory the devout prayers which we now present to Thee, as an act of devotion to your servant, St Padre Pio, whose intercession we are now imploring.

O God, Who fashioned thy servant Saint Padre Pio into a likeness of Thy Crucified Son, grant us through his intercession the favor that we humbly request (mention request), and through the Passion Death and Resurrection of Thy Son, may we be united with You for all eternity. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Recite one Our Father, one Hail Mary and one Glory Be...

May God hear and answer our prayer according to His holy will and for His greater glory. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord, AMEN. +

-St Padre Pio, pray for us!

DAY 6

Preface: Oh most Holy God, we humbly prostrate ourselves before Thy Infinite Majesty, and we adore Thee and dedicate to Thy glory the devout prayers which we now present to Thee, as an act of devotion to your servant, St Padre Pio, whose intercession we are now imploring.

Most devout priest of God, Padre Pio, you spent countless hours in the confessional seeking always to reconcile sinners to God. We present ourselves to you, sinful and in sorrow for our sins. Help us to recognise and repent of our sins, and to be always faithful to the teachings of Jesus. Pray for us that God may not look upon our sins, but upon the desire in our hearts to please Him. Plead for mercy for us before God, and especially pray for the intention that we are presenting to you (mention request).

Recite one Our Father, one Hail Mary and one Glory Be...

May God hear and answer our prayer according to His holy will and for His greater glory. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord, AMEN. +

-St Padre Pio, pray for us!

DAY 7

Preface: Oh most Holy God, we humbly prostrate ourselves before Thy Infinite Majesty, and we adore Thee and dedicate to Thy glory the devout prayers which we now present to Thee, as an act of devotion to your servant, St Padre Pio, whose intercession we are now imploring.

Beloved St Padre Pio, you had a most tender devotion to the Mother of God and were known to recite many rosaries and prayers in Her honor each day. Plead for us then before the Holy Mother of God, that She may join us in prayer before Her most Holy Son Jesus, that we might obtain the request we are asking (mention request).

Recite one Our Father, one Hail Mary and one Glory Be...

May God hear and answer our prayer according to His holy will and for His greater glory. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord, AMEN. +

-St Padre Pio, pray for us!
___________________________________
DAY 8

Preface: Oh most Holy God, we humbly prostrate ourselves before Thy Infinite Majesty, and we adore Thee and dedicate to Thy glory the devout prayers which we now present to Thee, as an act of devotion to your servant, St Padre Pio, whose intercession we are now imploring.

Oh most pure and chaste Saint Padre Pio, during your life on earth you gave a most beautiful example of purity and love of God, and was found worthy to bear in thy flesh the marks of our Lord's Passion. Have pity on us who are so much in need of God's Mercy, and obtain for us through thy merits and intercession, the special favor which we now fervently implore (mention request).

Recite one Our Father, one Hail Mary and one Glory Be...

May God hear and answer our prayer according to His holy will and for His greater glory. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord, AMEN. +

-St Padre Pio, pray for us!

DAY 9

Preface: Oh most Holy God, we humbly prostrate ourselves before Thy Infinite Majesty, and we adore Thee and dedicate to Thy glory the devout prayers which we now present to Thee, as an act of devotion to your servant, St Padre Pio, whose intercession we are now imploring.

Oh most loving Saint Padre Pio, you were very devout in the service of God, always encouraging others to obey Gods laws and the teachings of the Catholic Church. Obtain for us, we beg you, not only the grace that we are asking, if it would be God’s will (mention request) but most importantly obtain for us the conversion and salvation of our souls, so that someday we may be untied with Jesus, Mary and you for all eternity. Finally, help us to accept God's will in all things, even if it runs contrary to our own likes or desires.

Recite one Our Father, one Hail Mary and one Glory Be...

May God hear and answer our prayer according to His holy will and for His greater glory. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord, AMEN. +

-St Padre Pio, pray for us!

_______________________________
"Prayer is the best weapon that we have. It is the key that opens the Heart of God." -St Padre Pio

Those devoted to St Gemma will be happy to know that the extraordianary Saint Padre Pio was himself devoted to Saint Gemma. He had read her biography and many of her writings and he at times would exort people to pray to her, encouraging them to seek her holy intercession. In fact there is even a book written about the holy friendship between Padre Pio and Gemma. Those interested in St Padre Pio's devotion to St Gemma can read more here.

Little Rose Ferron and her devotion to Saint Gemma

2011-09-23T18:20:00.012-04:00

The American mystic Marie "Little Rose" Ferron and her devotion to Saint Gemma

One of St Gemma’s many devotees was the American mystic and stigmatic Marie Rose Ferron (1902-1936) who lived in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. And like Saint Gemma, Marie-Rose, who is better known as “Little Rose”, lived a life of love and reparation as one of Our Lord's victim souls. Her vocation was one of suffering and her mission was that of reparation - "to fill up those things that are lacking of the sufferings of Christ ... for His Body which is the Church." (Col. 1:24)

In the photo above we see Little Rose in ecstasy, she is beautifully radiant and smiling at the heavenly vision that she is seeing. On the dresser behind her we see her statue of Saint Gemma which is the statue bathed in sunlight on the far right (as stated in the caption below the photo. -Note also that you can click on the photo to enlarge it). This photo comes from the excellent booklet "Marie Rose Ferron -A Photo Documentary" by Eugene N. Szynkowski.

Marie Rose was very devoted to Saint Gemma, who during much of the lifetime of Rose was not yet a Saint---for Gemma was declared a "Servant of God" in 1908, then declared "Venerable" in 1922 when Rose was 20, and later declared "Blessed" on May 14, 1933, almost exactly 3 years before Rose's holy death on May 11, 1936. Yet although Gemma was not yet officially declared a Saint by the Catholic church, Rose knew in her heart that Gemma was close to her Jesus in heaven, and she earnestly sought to befriend this heavenly "Gem of Christ" of whom she knew would help her to love Jesus with all her heart.

Little Rose felt a great attraction and affinity to Gemma because like Gemma she too was called to suffer the sacred stigmata, the crown of thorns and the scourging in union with Jesus for the conversion of souls. In other words, just like her spiritual friend Gemma, Rose too was called to be a “victim soul” and to suffer in reparation for sinners. And because of this in her trials and sufferings she felt very close to Gemma, and often prayed to her seeking her heavenly friendship and spiritual assistance.

A short Biography of Marie Rose Ferron
Little Rose was born in Canada. Her family moved to the United States when she was three years old. At about this time Our Lord appeared to her in a vision for the first time. Later when asked about this vision Rose said, "I saw the Child Jesus carrying a cross and He looked at me with grief in His eyes."
-From that time on Jesus visited Rose and spoke to her and she spoke to Him.

Rose wanted to become a nun, but in her teen years she became partially paralyzed and was confined to her home. These were very difficult years for her, yet she did not become discouraged; she accepted everything as coming from the loving hands of God, and she offered it all up to God for poor souls who were in some kind of need. After a while Rose made up her mind to do the Holy Will of God; she accepted her illness as her vocation in life, and then she rejoiced and was glad that she was found worthy to suffer with Christ for the ransom of souls. Thus Little Rose's life as a victim of God's love began. It was a life full of sufferings and trials, but also a life full of love and faith in which virtue blossomed and bloomed ever more beautiful as time passed.

In 1926 and 1927 Rose received the stigmata along with the crown of thorns, and on Fridays she suffered the Passion in honor of His Sacred Wounds. Often when she spoke to Jesus her family heard her asking Our Lord to spare others and pile on her their miseries and sufferings.

During the last ten years of her life she was confined to her bed and she had to lie on her back on a quilt-covered plank or board. She went to her reward on May 11,1936 at the age of 33. And like her spiritual friend St Gemma, Little Rose’s life, sufferings and death were all for the same reason; for the love of Jesus and for love of souls.

For those interested, I have written a 2-part article on the holy life of Marie Rose Ferron here.

-Marie “Little Rose” Ferron, pray for us!

_____________

"Oh my good Jesus, I am Yours forever!" -Words of Marie Rose Ferron

An interview with St Gemma on EWTN Saints Alive program

2011-09-14T21:40:00.010-04:00

An interview with St Gemma Galgani on EWTN's new program series "Saints Alive!" and other website news

EWTN has just begun a new series in September entitled "Saints Alive!". Each episode features a specific Saint, and through the "magic" of television the Saint comes from heaven and answers a series of questions spanning a wide variety of current topics affecting Christians in the world today.

The "Saints Alive!" website offers this description of the series:

"Saints Alive!" features 10 of the great saints of history who return from heaven to be interviewed and questioned on some of the most important issues of our age."

Of special interest to readers of this website is that St Gemma has been chosen as one of the ten special Saints for this series. The St. Gemma episode will be aired on EWTN on the following dates:

(Note, all times are Eastern time) Sun. October 23, 2011 at 10:30AM, Mon. October 24, 2011 at 6:00PM, Tue October 25, 2011 at 4:00AM, Wed October 26, 2011 at 10:00PM and Sat, October 29, 2011 at 4:30PM.

Click here for the "Saints Alive" detailed EWTN TV programming schedule.

Those interested can click here for the St Gemma section of the "Saints Alive" website.

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Other website news:

NEWS: A great friend in St Gemma, Brother Bradley, has created a prayer website devoted to St Gemma entitled "Prayers for Gemma".

It is intended to be a place for souls to request the prayers and heavenly intercession of Saint Gemma. Brother Bradley is a non-canonical hermit and Lay Passionist who is very devoted to the Passionist Saints. Those interested can visit his Prayers for Gemma website here.

In other news this website has surpassed 900,000 visitor page loads and is averaging close to 800 page visits per day, thanks be to God. At the current rate, the website should reach one million page visits in the early part of the New Year. It is a joy to receive the letters and emails from the many people who are discovering and coming to know the "Gem of Christ." Countless souls have been completely enraptured and deeply touched by this simple, little Saint who loved Jesus with all her heart!

Like all the Saints, Gemma leads us ever closer to Jesus, her beloved Spouse, but she does so in her most unique and attractive way--to know Gemma is to love her! And following her loving and holy example she teaches us to try to love Jesus with our whole hearts, and to have a true devotion to Mary, our Mother in heaven. Yes, to know Gemma is to love her, and by doing so we endeavor to make her prayers our own, and her love and devotion to Jesus our own. And Gemma continues from her place in heaven captivating souls and leading them to her Jesus!

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In closing, the Passionist Nuns at the Monastery-Sanctuary of St Gemma in Lucca offer a large database of documents on St Gemma, including many of her letters, and the letters of her Spiritual Director, her Confessor and many of her spiritual friends and acquaintances, along with her recorded ecstasies and other documents.

Those interested can find the large library of St Gemma documents here. The catch is they are all in Italian! I am hoping that perhaps God will inspire a reader of this website who is knowledgeable in Italian to volunteer to translate some of these documents into english to be published on this website. If anyone feels moved to do so please email me at gdallaire1@gmail.com

-St Gemma, pray for us!

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"You love me Jesus, and could I not love You? What wonderful tenderness of a God towards His poor creature! Jesus, when shall I be able to unite myself to You, in order to be no longer seperated from You? Break without delay the chain that unites me to my body, in order that I no longer experience the torment of Your absence.....When will it be, Jesus? Help me, and you shall see that I will finally love You with a love that is sincere, active and very fervent!
I shall remember always your kindness, Oh Jesus. And, this rememberance will stimulate my love.....this Divine flame; I shall keep it always in my heart. Oh Jesus, it is you alone that I wish to love! I no longer belong to myself. I am Yours." -St Gemma Galgani

Triduo preghiera A Santa Gemma Galgani

2011-08-02T13:25:00.009-04:00

Triduo preghiera A Santa Gemma Galgani
Preghiera introduttiva (per i tre giorni)

Vogliamo scorrere questi giorni, cara santa Gemma, in piu stretta compagnia con Te; insieme a Te e con il tuo aiuto, vogliamo interrogarci sulla nostra vita, dimenticando per un attimo Ie cose quotidiane per immergerci nella conternplazione di cio che siamo, di quello cui aspiriarno, del significato ultimo del nostro cammino sulla terra: un significato che troppo spes so ci sfugge a causa della nostra incapacita di pensarci e di pensare, rna che occorre conoscere profondamente per evitare smarrimento e perdizione.

Insieme a Te e da Te sostenuti, vogliamo contemplare il mistero della nostra vita, il mistero del Cristo che hai amato e che vogliamo amare, quale sola risposta aile inquietudini che costringono il cuore, e quale unico fondamento per una costruzione che ci esalti, dettando a noi la misura esatta di ogni cosa.

Sostienici, cara santa Gemma, nel cammino che oggi avviamo e fa' che quanta matureremo in questi giorni sia molto piu che una semplice suggestione: sia per tutti noi la rinnovata coscienza di una vita da condurre nel nome del Padre e del Figlio e dello Spirito Santo. Amen.

1) giorno: ogni uomo e una promessa

Ogni uomo e una promessa; e, come ogni promessa, ogni uomo esige di essere compiuto. Ma nulla, proprio nulla;" lascia supporre che tale compimento debba caricarsi di un respiro totale, a misura della promessa che noi siamo. Le nostre aspirazioni sono sempre qualcosa in piu rispetto aile nostre conquiste ed ogni nostra conquista sfuoca dinanzi al bisogno del cuore, solo in parte e mai definitivamente esaudito. Sconfitti, dunque? 0 tutto questa e il segno che altrove e non nelle cose e necessario imparare a guardare?

Padre, Ave e Gloria.

Non e un caso se il contenuto della salvezza trae origine da una promessa e in una promessa si sostanzia. La promessa di Dio muove Abramo aIle origini; intorno a quella promessa si sviluppa Ia storia di un popolo; quella promessa sostiene, nel tempo, e di tra Ie piu pesanti frustrazioni quanti, consapevoli dell'inutilita radicale dell'esperienza umana abbandonata a se stessa, invocano un segno che, salvandola, Ia esalti. Ed e a quella promessa che Cristo fa riferimento quando afferma che il tempo e compiuto e che il Regno dei cieli e vicino; quando si pone come punta di riferimento unico e irrepetibile dichiarandosi Via, Verita e Vita.

Padre, Ave e Gloria.

Cristo fu per Gemma Galgani Via, Verita e Vita. In Lei, al confronto con Cristo, sbiadi ogni altra strada; non altra verita Gemma conobbe che il di Lui amore trafitto; non altra vita Gemma seppe che Ia vita nuova maturata sulla croce, esplosa nella resurrezione, annunziata in mille incontri Iungo Ie strade di mille villaggi, figurata nella poesia di mille racconti. E nel Cristo, fedelta del Padre alIa promessa e suo compimento definitivo, cogliendo Gemma il sapore della vita, a Lui tutta si dono con I'entusiasmo di chi, avendo finalmente incontrato Ia perla di ineguagliabile valore, ad essa tutto sacrifica' perche in essa si-sente salvata.

Padre, Ave e Gloria.

Preghiera conclusiva del primo giorno

Cio che ti chiediamo, cara santa Gemma, e mnanzitutto, oggi, una coscienza chiara di essere promessa e di aver bisogno di Qualcuno che realizzi Ia promessa che noi siamo. Pensare di poterci realizzare da soli, e vano pensiero, inutile affanno: troppo grandi e troppo veri i tradimenti della vita.

Chiediamo a Te una grande capacita di possederci, una certezza suI nostro destino. Per questa e necessario che Cristo diventi per noi contenuto di salvezza e non, come spesso accade, vuota parola. Perche Lui solo puo rendere giustizia alIa nostra attesa e fare au tentica la nostra fede, aperta la nostra speranza, vera la nostra carità.

Fa' dunque capace questo povero cuore che è il cuore di ogni uomo, così spesso in balia di se stesso e dei suoi capricci, di interrogarsi e di interrogare ogni esperienza perché, conscio delle sue esigenze e dei limiti di ogni conquista che vorrebbe e non può soddisfare, senza nulla disprezzare di quanto è creato, sappia guardare con generosa determinazione a Colui che tutto compie e nel cui nome soltanto si realizza la salvezza: Gesù Cristo nostro Signore. Amen.

Padre, Ave e Gloria

2) giorno: ogni uomo è schiavitù

Non è difficile costatarlo: basta ricordare l'antica e sempre nuova verità: vedo ciò che è buono e lo approvo; inclino a ciò che buono non è. È questa lacerazione tra mente e cuore, tra effettivo ed affettivo, il segno del nostro squilibrio, della nostra schiavitù. Una schiavitù che crea in noi e, di giorno in giorno, accresce quel senso di colpa che è il nostro tormento e dal quale non possiamo liberarci per quanto patetici siano i nostri tentativi. Non ci soddisfa - è solo sottile menzogna - il perdono che accordiamo a noi stessi; non ci soddisfa - è inutile appello - il perdono che gli altri ci accordano. Ed invano, incalzati dal senso di colpa, ci sforziamo di mascherare, alienandoci, l'angoscia che ci urge dentro, nostro cibo quotidiano.

Padre, Ave e Gloria.

Il fatto è che restiamo bloccati nelle nostre contraddizioni. Vorremmo poterle risolvere, vorremmo poterle spiegare, ma a noi non è dato di farlo. Almeno da soli. Creati ad immagine e somiglianza di Dio può ridursi all'uno ciò che in noi è diviso; solo il perdono di Dio, poiché ristabilisce la verità di quella immagine e di quella somiglianza di Lui che noi siamo, può battere il senso di colpa che ci attanaglia ed aprirci a nuove prospettive di vita. Per questo Cristo predicò un Padre che perdona e per questo si fecero diverse e nuove le persone - finalmente libere -penetrate dalle sue parole di perdono.

Chi beve l'acqua che io gli darò, non avrà più sete in eterno", disse un giorno Gesù rivolto ad una donna inquieta e stupita. E Gemma a quell'acqua seppe dissetare il suo cuore riarso, con mente lucida e con occhi intenti. Conobbe in Cristo la misura della sua libertà e nelle braccia di Lui si strinse in un amore senza fine. Amandolo, conobbe il mistero della vita e della morte, e nulla più: non il tormento più acuto, non la più innocente distrazione valse a distoglierla da quell'amore nel quale tutto aveva trovato spiegazione, soluzione e compimento. Fu tutta di Cristo, Gemma; Ella sapeva infatti che Cristo era tutto di Lei.

Padre, Ave e Gloria.

Preghiera conclusiva del secondo giorno

Ti preghiamo, cara santa Gemma: al di là delle parole che oggi scorrono con sospetta disinvoltura riguardo alla libertà, fa' che noi, i quali conosciamo la nostra insuperabile schiavitù, sappiamo volgere lo sguardo e indirizzare la domanda a chi veramente può liberarci e restituirei alla nostra dignità.

Tu conoscesti l'intero mistero di Cristo e a Lui pienamente abbandonata, nulla temesti se non il peccato, nostro rischio e nostra infamia. Fa', Te ne preghiamo, che noi, come Te, totalmente aperti a Cristo, ed a Lui tenacemente ancorati, impariamo a vincere il peccato ed a guadagnare la libertà dei figli di Dio. L'unica vera libertà, cara santa Gemma: quella che rende puliti i nostri occhi, sereno il nostro cuore; quella libertà che fa buoni, leali; disponibili, pronti al sacrificio, all'accoglienza, all'amore.

Tu sai quanto faticoso sia per noi l'impegno alla fedeltà e come sovente ci sorprenda la tentazione della rinuncia; ma sai pure come soltanto nella fedeltà e nel superamento di ogni rinuncia è la nostra pace, la nostra vera libertà: sostienici, per questo, sempre e soprattutto nei momenti di maggiore tensione. Allora mostraci il volto buono, pietoso e condiscendente di Colui nel cui amore Ti perdesti, Gesù Cristo nostro Signore. Amen.

3) giorno: ogni uomo è precarietà

Stabilirsi, rendere definitivo ciò che è acquisito, porre radici: è questo il nostro più grande desiderio. E sentire che non è possibile; sentire che il tempo passa e noi col tempo: è questa la nostra condizione. Una condizione aspra, amara, che ci condanna a camminare, ad andare sempre, senza che nulla valga a moderare l'ansia nostra di pellegrini. E, andando, coltiviamo speranze; e le nostre speranze maturano e scolorano al ritmo del tempo e delle cose. E ancora a noi non rimane che andare, il nostro desiderio di stabilirei sempre vivo nel cuore e sempre battuto.

Padre, Ave e Gloria.

“Il tuo Regno sarà stabile per sempre",scandisce la promessa antica. "Signore, da chi andremo? Tu solo hai parole di vita eterna", urla a Cristo la malattia dell'uomo, fatta voce e fatta coscienza. A quel Cristo che un giorno rivelò chiaramente la sua identità: "Oggi si compie questa scrittura", disse; che un giorno rivelò la sua missione: "sono venuto a liberare i prigionieri", disse; che un giorno rivelò la sua offerta: "Chi accoglie le mie parole è come un uomo saggio che costruisce la sua casa sulla roccia", disse. E non varranno ad abbattere quella casa né la furia degli elementi né l'erosione del tempo, perché prima del tempo, nel tempo e Padre, Ave e Gloria.

La vita di Gemma fu macchiata come poche dal sangue e dal dolore. E il sangue e il dolore macchia la vita di ciascuno di noi. Ma Gemma aveva accettato l'amore di Crist,o e in quell'amore puntando il suo destino, di tra le sofferenze più atroci andò serena, gli occhi sempre fissi sul "Volto" del Signore amato, a Lei compagno, meta per Lei, sua sola speranza. E chi di noi, tributari come siamo del dolore, oserebbe dire che altro nome ed altro volto è dato all'uomo nel quale salvarsi se non il Nome e il Volto di Cristo: oggetto del nostro desiderio, roccia stabile, pane che sazia e vino che dà gioia?

Padre, Ave e Gloria.

Preghiera conclusiva del terzo giorno

Cara santa Gemma, la precarietà ci distingue. Vorremmo poter affondare le radici su questa nostra terra; vorremmo poter gridare la gioia di una certezza finalmente acquisita; vorremmo poter dire di aver afferrato il significato della vita. Ma tutto è nebuloso per noi, tutto è in movimento, tutto appare privo di senso e di valore. Abbiamo ritenuto di essere diventati adulti e abbiamo esiliato Dio dal nostro mondo, convinti ormai di poter fare da soli. D'allora non sappiamo più nemmeno che cosa sia l'uomo. Andiamo senza sapere dove; coltiviamo sogni che la realtà smentisce; ed ogni giorno più avvertiamo, come un incubo, il sapore acre della nostra solitudine, della nostra mancata collocazione nel mondo e nella storia.

Ti preghiamo, cara santa Gemma, restituiscici a Dio e fa' che ciascuno di noi colga nel Cristo quella parola nuova che si cresce in cuore.

Se davvero Dio non è lontano da noi, ma è dentro di noi, fa' che ciascuno sappia tornare con coraggio dentro di sé perché, scoprendo Dio, ritrovi la propria dimensione e il sapore esatto di ogni cosa, il presupposto per una vita nuova. Te lo chiediamo per Cristo nostro Signore.

Amen.

Santa Gemma, prega per noi!

Miracles in the world today through the intercession of St Gemma

2011-07-27T22:02:00.028-04:00

Saint Gemma obtains heavenly graces for many in the world today

One of the blessings of creating the St Gemma website has been the many emails and letters of devotion to St Gemma that I have received from kind people throughout the world. From India to the Philippines, from Holland to Great Britain, from Canada to Argentina---letters and emails from literally all over the world expressing love, veneration and devotion to Gemma, the "Gem of Christ".

And along with the letters of devotion there are also many emails and letters expressing Gemma's remarkable intercession in the lives of many -from answered prayers, cures, conversions etc. to the dreams of Gemma and (alleged) visions; the accounts of which, all recent, are numerous and so very edifying, and they all point to St Gemma's continued and ongoing intercession on behalf of the faithful throughout the world. Gemma has even appeared and given her assistance in numerous exorcisms, as highlighted in the recent book "“The Rite-The Making of an Exorcist” (2009- Random House/Doubleday Inc). and also during exorcisms at her monastery in Lucca, both of which are detailed in this 3 part article here.

But, should Gemma's intercession in the world today really be of any surprise? One can surmise that it is simply a continuation of her apostolate for the conversion of souls of which she spent her life in great sacrifice and suffering out of love for Jesus, her beloved Spouse. And now, having passed from this life on earth to a eternal life in heaven with her Jesus, she continues, even today, her intercession on behalf of souls, to guide, inspire and help us in our earthly pilgrimage.

Gemma's spiritual director, Venerable Father Germanus, who knew Gemma intimately, wrote in his book "The Life of Gemma Galgani" quote: "I am able to assert that from the first day that I came to know Gemma up to that of her death, I always found her exercising her zeal for the conversion of sinners. I say this literally from the first day, alluding to the circumstances mentioned in Chapter 12." (Editors note: Here Father Germanus is referring to the miraculous incident of the conversion of a sinner in Lucca which occurred on the first day the he met Gemma on Sept. 1, 1900, a detailed account of which can be read here.)

For it was the Lord Himself who on several occasions appeared to Gemma and asked her to offer herself as a victim of expiation for the sins of the world, and asked her to sacrifice her life for this purpose, and in reply Gemma offered herself without reservation. He wished for her to spend her whole being for the conversion of sinners. "If you love Me," He said to her, "You will do what I ask of you," and with a clear light He lets her see the form of her apostolate in its smallest details.

"You know, oh Jesus" she answered, "how ready I am to sacrifice myself in everything. I will bear every sort of suffering for You. I will give every drop of my blood to please Thy Heart and to hinder the outrages of sinners against You."

Father Germanus continues: 'And Gemma soon found the secret of moving the Heart of her Jesus, and those innocent tears, those burning desires, that force of argument that she managed so well, seemed always successful. On the last day we shall know how many souls have been dragged in this way from the clutches of the enemy by this humble virgin. It is certain that not a day passed without her praying for sinners. A proof of this is to be found in the register of her ecstasies through which, without being aware of it, she laid open her whole soul. "Oh Jesus, do not abandon poor sinners; think of sinners and of me. I want them all saved." And as she had always some particular sinner more especially in mind, "That one," she used to say, "I want You, Jesus, to remember particularly, because I want him saved together with me." Remark my words: 'together with me.' -Ah, the persuasive eloquence of love!'

And without a doubt Gemma's 'persuasive eloquence of love' with Jesus on behalf of humanity is surely even more powerful now that she is united with her Jesus in His kingdom.

Father Germanus continues: 'This angelic girl often turned for help to her heavenly Mother, whose power with Our Lord she had well experienced in whatever she had most at heart. One day when in ecstasy she found the Holy Mother greatly afflicted and, at the same time, it seemed to Gemma that She was resolved not to take further interest in a soul for which Gemma was pleading.

Behold with what earnestness this child of Heaven set about dissuading the Mother of God from what seemed to be her determination: "But what do I hear You say, Mother? Abandon that soul? Is it not a question of one belonging to Jesus? Has He not shed all His Blood for this soul? ... 'It is true, I myself have forgotten this soul for some days, but will You abandon it on this account? No, no, be firm, go and appease Jesus."

Here it would seem as if the Holy Mother found the undertaking very difficult, for Gemma soon said: "But Jesus always obeys His Mother. And then will You say that You cannot do it?"

And again, "Oh, rather than abandon a soul! Oh Mother, it is impossible that Jesus would forsake a soul! Why, He even had mercy on the thief!"

"But do you know," replied the Blessed Virgin, "what this sinner really is? I could show thee what a malignant soul is his."

And Gemma: "I know, Mother, what he is, but I don't want to look at his soul. When he is saved, yes, then I will see him. Oh my Mother, why do You treat me like this today, You who intercedes always for sinners? Have You ceased to be Mother? Surely it is impossible. But today will You leave me in such affliction? Obtain for me from Jesus what You did for me on Saturday [here she is alluding to the conversion of another sinner for whom also she had prayed very much], then how contented I will be!"

Father Germanus continues: "Abandon a soul!" -These words pierced Gemma's heart and filled her with consternation. I myself wished to have a proof of this by repeating them to her with regards to a penitent of whom I had resolved to give up because she seemed to me to be firm in her sins. This is how she answered me:

'Wicked Father! Rather than be discouraged or use that horrible word "abandon," why not call her to yourself and make her tell you all the truth, and show her affection as you did with me while I was a thousand times worse than she? Be careful. If you can see her in person that is good, but if not, write to her at once that, if she does not return into the right path as Jesus wishes and leave off all sin, He will smite her. This is all I say; I know everything, everything.'

But she did not keep her resolve to say no more and soon wrote to me again as follows:

"Assuredly Father, Jesus is not content with that soul. No, no, there is so much more that is wanting in this soul. He has told me terrible things about her! Tell her to reform, otherwise Jesus will strike her down. Act in this way, Father: when you speak to her, say something of me and tell her to come to me. If she had come already, things would not have turned out as they did.”

And Father Germanus continues: “I will relate another fact in the words of a most reliable witness who told me of it. "I was asked," said this person, "by a lady acquaintance to recommend her brother, a great sinner, to Gemma. I did so accordingly and she while in ecstasy began to plead to Jesus for him. But He [no doubt to try her faith] replied that He knew not that sinner."

"How is it that You do not know him," she said, "since he is Thy child?" Then she turned to Mary, but seeing that even She remained silent and wept, she began to pray to Blessed Gabriel of the Dolors [St Gabriel Possenti -ed.], and he also was silent. But Gemma, for all that, did not lose courage. She redoubled her prayers.

During this time she said to me: "That man must indeed be a great sinner. Jesus says He knows him not, Mother weeps, and Blessed Gabriel will not answer me."

'After about a year of this assiduous praying and pleading, one day, while returning from church with Gemma, I met the servant of the above-mentioned lady in the greatest consternation. The brother of her mistress, she said, was dying. We were greatly pained, but we had only gone about twenty yards when Gemma exclaimed: "He is saved, he is saved." I asked her who? "The brother of that lady," she answered. I learned afterwards that this man breathed his last pressing the Priests hand precisely at the time Gemma was walking home. That coincided exactly at the moment that Gemma said aloud “He is saved, he is saved!”

Because of their high opinion of her sanctity, Gemma was often asked by others to pray for certain people . But it frequently happened that God Himself made such cases known to His servant directly, while she was at home, and by providential coincidences while she was out of doors. She was always ready to take charge of them whatever way they came, rejoicing in each one as if she had found a treasure and devoting herself the more earnestly to them in proportion to their number. "I would wish," she said, "to bathe with my blood all those places where Jesus is outraged. I would wish all sinners to be saved, because they have been redeemed by the Precious Blood of Jesus."

The last person that she had in her mind, or, as she used to say, “that she carried on her shoulders”, was a gentleman of Lucca, a notorious and obstinate sinner, but not personally known to her. The always charitable Gemma labored long and earnestly for his conversion and renewed her assaults on Heaven without losing confidence. In her last sickness she said: "I am keeping him on my shoulders for the whole of the Lent, then he will be taken off."

On Holy Thursday, the good priest who had recommended him to Gemma, all full of joy, told me that a great sinner had been converted in his hands. It was Gemma's sinner. Two days later, freed from that great weight, with another palm in hand, the Virgin of Lucca took flight to Heaven.

This was the last conversion wrought through Gemma's intercession while alive here on earth, occuring only two days before her holy death. But how many more have occurred through her heavenly intercession in the 100 years since? God alone knows, but if this writers email inbox and letter box over the past few years is any indication of Gemma's ongoing intercession in the world, then the number of miracles, cures and conversions obtained through the “Gem of Christ” over the years since her death must number in the hundreds, if not thousands.

Gemma promised Jesus that she would do everything possible to save souls and she is continuing her mission from heaven today, by obtaining heavenly graces for those who seek them. And surely Gemma's promise to Father Germano can also be applied to us. For in his other work on Gemma, “The Letters and Ecstasies of Gemma Galgani”, Father Germano publishes a letter written by Gemma to him that says: “You shall see what I will do when I go to heaven. I will bring you with me at any cost”.

The good Father appends this with a footnote that says “I live on in this hope; amidst the labors of my exile here below, these words of Gemma shall always be my comfort.”

And Father Germanus, now officially declared "Venerable" by the Catholic Church, is buried along with Gemma in the Monastery-Sanctuary of Saint Gemma in Lucca, Italy. But we whom, like Father Germanus, love Gemma and are devoted to her can be sure that this promise of hers extends also to us, if we so desire. Yes! we can be sure that our heavenly friend Gemma, in union with Jesus and Mary, will lead us to heaven. For as Scripture says: "All Your works shall give thanks to Thee, oh Lord, and all Your Saints shall bless Thee. Your friends make known, oh Lord, the glorious splendor of Your Kingdom." (Holy Bible, Psalm 145: 10-12)
-St Gemma, pray for us!

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"Concerning our Gemma, I have only to say the most extraordinary and wonderful things continue more and more to happen to her. And when I look at her I seem to behold in her something not of this world. What a happiness to have lived thus with such an angel! A world of things would not be enough to give you an idea of what goes on in her. She is an angel in human form and that expresses all". -Letter of Mrs. Justina Giannini, mother of the Giannini family who took Gemma into their home after the death of her father.

Triduum to St Gemma in honor of Passionist feast day May 16

2011-05-12T11:34:00.000-04:00

Triduum to St Gemma in honor of Passionist feast day, May 16.

The Triduum (three days of prayer) in honor of St Gemma's Passionist feastday begins Saturday, May 14th. The feastday that the Passionist's celebrate every year in honor of St Gemma is May 16th. On this day there are special celebrations at Passionist monasteries and retreat houses throughout the world in honor of Saint Gemma, and numerous Memorial Masses are celebrated in her honor.

For those interested, the Triduum to Saint Gemma can be found here.

Also, the memorial Mass in honor of St Gemma can be found here.

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"Here I am in the month of May! I think of the many blessings that my Mom gave me in this first years of my life, and I am so ashamed...because I have not looked at that Heart and that Hand that would bring me so much kindness...yes, my dear dad ( Fr. Germano) -how many times in front of an image of my Mom I have confided in Her all the anxieties of my heart! And how many times my Mom has comforted me! In all my sufferings I remember that I do not have my mom on earth, but I do have a compassionate One in Heaven..."

A special prayer to St Gemma Galgani

2011-04-11T14:28:00.005-04:00

A friend of mine who has a very special devotion to Saint Gemma has kindly agreed to share the following prayer which she wrote:

Prayer to St. Gemma

St. Gemma, I love you my sister and best friend. Never leave me; please bless me with the spiritual inheritance of your soul while on earth and especially in heaven. May my heart expand and grow as yours did. May I live and love through the eyes of your soul, in the true presence of heaven and earth, and may your inheritance be available to my family.

Jesus, you are Love, and I want to love You with Your own Heart! Hurry Jesus. Amen

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-St Gemma, pray for us!

Some words of St Gemma in honor of her feast day

2011-04-10T09:59:00.018-04:00

Some words and notes of St Gemma in honor of her feast day, Monday April 11th. The majority of which are new and have not yet been published on this website.

Saturday, July 5, 1902

Why so afflicted, my soul? ... You are offending your love, if you do not embrace the cross wholeheartedly. You do not care about Heaven if you do not direct your thoughts to Calvary. Do not be afflicted, my soul: you are wed with Jesus for all eternity, together with his pains, and you are obliged to live crucified.

Oh Jesus, oh Jesus…Jesus my love! ... I am hungry for your bread of life, I am thirsty for your sacramental blood.

You know, my soul, why I want you to embrace the cross? ... Because if the rod of the cross does not knock you down a little, you are in danger.

Oh Jesus ... I know that the cross is dear to you, and in the cross you have placed all your tenderness, all your affections ... Do not let your love deny me the cross out o jealousy, I beg you. Either crucify my soul or let me die. My Jesus ... my adored love, how I love you!

And I understand you, I understand you, my Jesus; I understood you well this morning. My God, I love you, I love you! ... My affections should shout out; my senses, all should shout out: 'Who resembles you, my God? Who resembles you among the gods?'

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Wednesday, July 9, 1902

Letter to Father Germano

My good Dad,

Long live Jesus! Do not fear: if Jesus helps me, I no longer want to hide anything, no matter what it is. That ugly devil continues to torment me, but now with temptations that Jesus permits to be only brief flashes; as soon as they arrive, they instantly disappear; other times with some dream, etc., etc.

You know why I asked you when the time for punishment would come, for which Jesus is preparing me? Because I asked Jesus one morning after communion and he answered: "As soon as you set foot in the monastery.

That's why I wanted to know if you would give me the same answer. Is it possible that what I thought could come from Jesus?

This morning I made a pact with Jesus about food. Everything is all right, my dear Dad; I will no longer feel a sense of taste but Jesus will make me keep food down, but only the tiniest amounts, I realize, because if I eat a lot I will throw up, if I eat a little, I don't. This morning with Jesus we then talked about my health and in your name, dear Dad, I asked that he make me feel well and gain a little weight. Listen to the response: "Tell your Dad that I will allow it this time only, but for a very short while." I don't understand. Tell me what you think. My dear Dad, how calm I feel since Jesus' words! I feel full of confidence in you, such as I have never, never felt, not even when we first met.

About the other permission ... Long live Jesus! How I awaited your letter to begin but ... Rest assured, I won't do anything. Indeed, a while ago I had asked the same permission from Monsignor Volpi. He too had denied me; but Friday he himself gave me license to try it for one month, saying he would judge during this period whether I could continue. I left the confessional and ran to Jesus and prayed him to give me a little light about which of my two directors I should obey. (Your letter had not yet arrived; and in me I felt a strong desire to have this permission.) And Jesus, my good Jesus, made me understand clearly to do nothing, that permission had to come from you. In this I struggled a lot, you know, dear Dad. To feel the desire ... Monsignor gave me permission ... but Jesus, how quick he is! ... I am calm; I await your decision. I would go down very fast, dear Dad, if when you are far away I did not have Jesus.

Needless to say, no vocal prayers; the exclamations, the thoughts toward Jesus are continuous, you know, dear Dad. A few days ago I committed a huge omission, enough that God might have struck me with lightning. Merciful Jesus! Mr. Lorenzo had ordered me to do a bill and maybe I gave it too much attention so that I left the presence of God; but it was only for a minute and then I returned instantly within myself; I asked God's forgiveness and he immediately forgave me.

Yes, I do know how to translate Saint Augustine. (Here Gemma is replying to a question in a previous letter from Fr. Germano) Listen, Chapter I, page 5: "My Jesus, make my heart desire you; desiring you, let it seek you; seeking you, let it find you; finding you, let it love you; loving you, grant it the forgiveness of sins; and obtaining that, let it not commit them again."

Oh dear Dad, a few minutes ago I felt overwhelmed with a strong pain for my sins, enough to die. My God! look first to your son, begotten by you, then take a look at this creature you have redeemed! Afterward, remaining a while like this ... I don't know how to say it ... I lost myself and thought of my soul as a huge mountain with Jesus holding it up so it wouldn't fall down. Yes, exactly like that, dear Dad: if Jesus did not support my soul, it would fall ... Oh my God, since you have cleansed my soul of sin, which is its destroyer, do take it as its guardian!

And do you not feel, my dear Dad, how every moment I pray for you?

Indeed, I often say: "My Jesus!" And then I add: "My dear Dad, where are you? Where have you left me? Why don't you return quickly, since I am dying, and dying for love of Jesus? Do you not see that my heart and my body are being consumed and will become ashes? Do you not see that I am a victim oflove and soon I will die of love? Do you not see that all worldly things weary me, I long for nothing, only love, love, love?" All this, dear Dad, does not bring a lament in my heart, but resignation.

I speak of you with no one. Friday Monsignor asked me: "Did Father Germano give you any permission for external penances?" "No," I answered. "And are you happy with this?" "Yes, it's all the same." "But if you want to do a few, go ahead, because I give you permission, little ones though ... ," and he listed a few, but I did none of them, none: I feel Jesus does not want it. Then he questioned me some about the mystery of the Holy Trinity; I found myself very confused, dear Dad, because the monsignor uses different ways than yours; but Jesus, how well he knew to blow the trumpet in my ears! So we both remained confounded and humiliated before the majesty of God!

Have no fear for your soul, dear Dad; do you not realize that with Jesus I deal with your soul as if it were my own? You should do as I do. Don't you think it is almost good luck that I was born a sinner? Because Jesus' veins, filled with sacramental blood, are always open to sinners. Long live Jesus!

I will write again soon because I have so many other things to say but this morning I cannot continue because I do not feel well. Bless me strongly, very strongly. I am your poor

Gemma

[P.S.] The Latin I explained hastily; if you want something more extensive, I shall do so; I do not know how to do it literally, but every thought, every word gives me so much to say. You take it as is, right Dad? Indeed, if you think it necessary, I'll do so; otherwise, let's drop it, since I don't do so willingly.

(Thank you very much for the permission you granted me. You will see what Jesus will give you.)

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Gemma prays to Mother Guiseppa, a holy nun (Passionist) who Gemma came to know of, and who died a few weeks previously.

Saturday, July 12, 1902. 8:30 A.M

Saintly soul, assist me; dear Mother, come to my aid ... Mother Giuseppa, saintly soul, I need you. Chosen soul, you enjoy the most beautiful part of Jesus, being the bride oj his heart: you have made him your beloved ... I tum to you this morning in particular: say some prayer to Jesus for me.

Saintly soul, use a little portion of your great fervor to beseech Jesus for my soul, unhappy and needy, that pardon which I have not been able to deserve ...

More, more ... I want more. Interpose, saintly soul, your pure love with Jesus on my behalf, so that he will deny you nothing ...

More, more ... Apply, saintly soul, the merit of your charity, through which everything is possible with Jesus ...

Do you see, dear soul, how much I want from you? If you do not want to do this for me, do it in homage to God, the sole object of all your concerns ... Mother Giuseppa, tell me, will you do it? Yes, right?

But how will you do it if I place obstacles? I have deformed my spirit, the living image if Jesus' beauty. Generous Jesus!....

-St Gemma, pray for us!

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"This morning, after Holy Communion, I thought: ‘Oh, what a great sorrow must have been for the Madonna after the birth of Jesus when She thought that they were to crucify Him! What a heart ache! How many sighs, how many times She must have cried! However, She never complained. Poor Mother! Then when She saw Him really crucified, that poor Mom was pierced by many arrows. I well know that when a person hurts the son in the presence of a mom or dad, the pain hurts the son and the parents. Therefore my Mom was crucified together with Jesus. And, She never complained..." -St Gemma Galgani

Pope John Paul II visit to the Monastery of Santa Gemma in Lucca, Italy

2011-04-09T09:13:00.028-04:00

A photo album of Pope John Paul II visit to the Monastery-Sanctuary of St Gemma in Lucca, Italy for the 90th anniversary of the Stigmata given to Gemma.

On September 23, 1989 Pope John Paul II visited the Monastery-Sanctuary of St Gemma in Lucca, Italy for the 90th anniversary of the Stigmata given to Gemma. It was truly a meeting of two Saints. Gemma recieved the holy stigmata on June 8th, 1899 -See here for more info on the stigmata given to Gemma.

Upon his arrival at the Monastery-Sanctuary of St Gemma, Pope John Paul II blesses and then addresses all the faithful who gathered outside for this special day in honor of St Gemma. The Latin saying in the front facade of the Monastery reads "FECIT MIHI MAGNA QUI POTENS EST" which translated means "BECAUSE HE WHO IS MIGHTY HAS DONE GREAT THINGS FOR ME" (Luke 1:49), which surely commemorates perfectly all the extraordinary graces that God wrought in the life of St Gemma. (Note- You can click twice on any of the photos to enlarge them.)

On this memorable day, the Holy Father met with Mother Giovanna and the cloistered Passionist nuns at the Monastery and encouraged them to continue in their mission of sacrifice and prayers for the Church. He also spent some time in prayer and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, which was placed atop the main altar, above the holy remains of St Gemma, and afterwards he addressed all in attendence and gave a homily encouraging those present to imitate St Gemma in her love and complete devotion to God. The Holy Father then presented the Nuns with a parchment containing his special blessing upon their Community. For their part, the Passionist Nuns presented the Holy Father with a beautiful relic of St Gemma, along with an extraordinary "pergamena", which is a handmade parchment made from skins.

As a remeberance of this special day a plaque was made and placed inside the Monastery Church of St Gemma to commemerate this extraordinary occasion.

14 years later Pope John Paul II wrote a prayer for the intercession of St Gemma Galgani on the occasion of the centenary of the death of Saint Gemma on April 11, 2003. For this celebration he met with the Sisters of Saint Gemma and shared a prayer to Saint Gemma in honor of the special occasion:
"O Father, we ask you to establish your dwelling in those who love you with a heart pure and simple, that through the example and the intercession of St Gemma, we may live the pure Gospel and the mystery of a love crucified, to be the living image of your Son.
He who lives and reigns with You, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, for ever and ever. Amen. "

-Prayer of Pope John Paul II for the intercession of St Gemma

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I would like to thank Janice who kindly passed along a couple of copies of the magazine "SANTA GEMMA -ED IL SUO SANTUARIO" -EDITIONS 6 AND 10, which contained the beutiful photos and information below. -Webmaster

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"... Then my God added that in time He would make me a saint (I will say no more because it is impossible what God said would happen to me)”.

".... I love You Jesus, but if it is too little, make me love You more..."-St Gemma Galgani

Mass being offered for all the visitors of this website

2011-04-04T10:04:00.012-04:00

Mass for the visitors of this website

In honor of St Gemma's feastday (Monday April 11th) a Mass is going to be offered by Father Todd on Saturday, April 9th at 10:00 A.M (Eastern time) for the intentions of all the visitors of this website.

Father Todd is deeply devoted to Saint Gemma, and from the beginning of this website some 3 years ago he has been the greatest supporter, and has provided much encouragement throughout its ongoing creation, and I am deeply grateful for his ongoing support and prayers. And so it is with great joy that I pass along his kind reply below in answer to my request for a Mass for the visitors of this website:

"....in regards to your wonderful idea, in regards to offering up Mass on behalf of all the visitors to the website (and might I add, the website itself), I would be more than happy to oblige. I believe that St. Gemma's feastday is a week from tomorrow so I can offer up my Mass this coming Saturday morning on April 9th at 10:00 AM (EST) for the intentions of all the visitors to the St. Gemma website. At our church on Saturday mornings during Lent we say Stations of the Cross at 9:30 AM and Mass at 10:00 AM. In regards to a Mass Stipend, please do not send any Mass Stipend because I am not in the habit of asking for a Mass Stipend to begin with and on top of that just the fact that you would request me to say Mass for such a wonderful reason is an honour for me.

I am very grateful that you had this idea and I am very honoured to do something for our dear St. Gemma and on behalf of her devotees. I can not describe in words the wonderful devotion I have for our dear St. Gemma. As you stated yourself, once a person becomes introduced to her, they can not help but fall in love with her devotion and love for Our Blessed Saviour! I am convinced that from the moment I became aware of St. Gemma, she helped me through all my studies in seminary. I would always go to our dear St. Gemma and she would assist me every time I asked her for help. And I know that she still continues to intercede on my behalf.

Again, thank you so much for asking me to offer Mass on behalf of all the visitors to the St. Gemma website. Saying Mass is certainly a wonderful blessing to begin with but to offer it for such a wonderful reason will be an additional blessing. God bless you and your family!

Signed,

Respectfully,

Todd+ "

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And through this holy Mass, may God bless Father Todd and all this visitors to this website through the intercession of St Gemma, as we unite in prayer to honor her holy memory.

-St Gemma, pray for us!

"Yes, Jesus shows all His sweetness in the Blessed Sacrament. But how can it be that a Majesty so great can endure the presence of so unworthy a creature? Does He not see my ingratitude; does He not see my heart? And yet Jesus bears with me and loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me, poor as I am, how can I not then love Him who is so rich and powerful?" -St Gemma Galgani

Novena begins Sunday, Triduum begins Friday

2011-04-02T10:20:00.018-04:00

A Novena through the intercession of St Gemma begins Sunday (April 3) for those wishing to make a Novena in honor of St Gemma's feastday on Monday, April 11th. Click here for the Novena in honor of St Gemma.

A Triduum (3 days of prayer) begins Saturday, April 9th. Click here for the Triduum in honor of St Gemma.

In other news, in a few days will be posting a article about Pope John Paul II visit to the Monastery-Sanctuary of Saint Gemma in Lucca on September 23, 1989. To the left is a photo of Pope John Paul II adoring the Blessed Sacrament before the holy remains of St Gemma at the main altar of the Monastery-Sanctuary of St Gemma. (Special thanks to Janice who has provided numerous photos of this special occasion). As with all photos on this website, you can click on the photo to enlarge it.

-St Gemma Galgani, pray for us!

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"Come, come Jesus, for I long for You day and night. Yes, I want You every hour and every moment, I want no one but You. You alone Jesus can satisfy me. Jesus, when I find myself in Your presence all my sufferings vanish at once." -St Gemma Galgani

Photos of St Gemma's personal items

2011-03-25T19:09:00.030-04:00

Photographs of some of Saint Gemma's personal belongings

(Special thanks to Holymusic55)

Embroidered quilt that Gemma made while in school

Two Angel holy cards that Gemma owned

Alleged photo of Gemma after recieving her first Communion (Note: I haven't been able to confirm the authenticity of this particular photo)

The picture of Jesus & Mary that Gemma looked at the moment before she died. Looking at the Blessed Virgin she said "My Mamma, I commend my soul to you. Tell Jesus to be merciful to me." She died a few moments later.

St Gemma's writing box where she kept her notes and letters

St Gemma's black straw hat that she wore whenever she went outside

St Gemma's Autobiography that the devil stole and tried to burn

Miraculous little manger shrine where Gemma would place her letters to Father Germanus and her guardian Angel would then take the letters and deliver them.

Miraculous Crucifix in the Giannini home that came alive and embraced Gemma

Black wool dress and mantle that Gemma wore everyday throughout the year

Water well that Gemma jumped into in the back yard of the Giannini house when she was tempted by the Devil

Giannini family house where Gemma spent the last few years of her holy life.

Urn-Tomb that contains the holy remains of St Gemma beneath the main altar at the Monastery-Sanctuary of St Gemma in Lucca, Italy.

Venerable Father Germano Ruoppolo -St Gemma's Spiritual Director.

Monsignor Giovanni Volpi -St Gemma's confessor since childhood

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-St Gemma, pray for us!
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"Oh Jesus, to what a state You are reduced! Oh, Jesus has become a plaything for all! They blaspheme Thee, my Jesus, they treat Thee roughly, they curse Thee....Oh Jesus, I am surprised that although I see Thee in the midst of these humiliations, I do not wish to hear them spoken of. If I were able, Jesus, with my blood I should wish...I should wish to wash with my blood all those places where I see Thee outraged!...No more blows on Thee, 0 Jesus. You have not deserved them; I deserve them yes; but You, no! It is I who am the sinner, You art innocent." -St Gemma Galgani

Free St Gemma item giveaway

2011-03-18T11:40:00.032-04:00

Free St Gemma item giveaway to celebrate her feastday and the 3 year anniversary of this website

-A fun "thank you" give-away to all the visitors of this website!

Update April 11 -Winners are listed below!

They say that the best things in life are free, and surely this is true. Love, faith kindness, hope...these are the greatest gifts in life and they are all free. Material gifts too can be a joy and a blessing, especially those material gifts that lead us closer to God.

Materially speaking, Saint Gemma was incredibly poor, yet she had the greatest gifts--faith, hope and love, and therefore she had everything that really matters.
Additionally she also had a few cherished material items -a crucifix on a necklace that contained a piece of the true Cross, a relic (tooth) of St Gabriel Possenti, a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary, some prayer books and holy cards, a rosary which she always kept in her pocket, along with some personal items from her family home. And Gemma used these material items, especially the religious articles, to lead her closer to God. And we read in her Autobiography how she also used these religious objects as a weapon against the devil. The crucifix that contained a relic of the true Cross which Gemma wore on a necklace was especially powerful against the demons, and she would use this relic crucifix to bless herself, and while looking at the demon she would say "blessed be Jesus!" which would cause the demon to shriek, curse and recoil in fear and trembling.
And so material items, especially religious objects, can be a blessing and can lead us closer to God, and so it is with this in mind that this free St Gemma item giveaway is being offered to celebrate St Gemma's feastday on April 11th, and also to commemorate the 3 year anniversary of this website, which has received almost 3/4 of a million page visits since its inception, thanks be to God, and for His greater glory. It is a joy also when we receive a material gift for free---how we all love to receive something for free! And even more than being free, these religious objects bring a blessing upon us. And so I pray that these items will bring some joy and increased devotion for those who receive them.

The free St Gemma item giveaway consists of seven different items as shown below and is offered to anyone, worldwide. To enter the giveaway, simply send me an email with a message of "free St Gemma item giveaway." -No strings attached. The drawing will be held on St Gemma's feastday, April 11. I will place all the entries in a basket and then I will have my youngest daughter (who is aptly named "Gemma"!) pick out the 7 winners from the basket, and I will then notify the winners by email that day, and all items will be mailed out for free the next day. I will

list the names and locations (first names only) of the winners on this page on the day of the drawing.

Please email your entry for the free giveaway to: gdallaire1@gmail.com

St Gemma free item giveaway to be held on Gemma's feastday, April 11th.
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Free Grand Prize # 1: Saint Gemma relic necklace

(See also the photo at the top of this page)

2nd free prize: St Gemma handpainted and handsewn relic pouch

3rd prize: St Gemma relic medal

4th prize: St Gemma Galgani book by the Monastery of St Gemma in Lucca, Italy

5th prize: Two St Gemma color relic holy cards from the Monastery of St Gemma in Lucca

6th prize: Two St Gemma relic cards from the Monastery of St Gemma in Lucca

7th Prize: 2 different St Gemma Triduum prayer pamphlets with short bio's of Gemma

Again, all items are completely free and will be shipped worldwide for free- no strings attached. To enter the giveaway send an email to gdallaire1@gmail.com with a message of "free St Gemma giveaway."

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Update April 11:

Winners of the free St Gemma gift giveaway

Monday, April 11 -A blessed feast in honor of St Gemma Galgani to all!

I placed all the names that were sent to me in a bowl along with a relic of St Gemma, and then placed the bowl on our home prayer altar. My family and I then recited our daily rosary. After which, I said a prayer to St Gemma and then our youngest, named Gemma, picked 7 names corresponding to the 7 free gifts.

And the winners are:

Grand prize gift---Relic Locket: Birgit Worgull

2nd prize gift---Relic Pouch: Vccortes (email name)

3rd prize gift---Relic medal: Christina (email immaculata13)

4th prize gift---St Gemma book: Gretchen Everin

5th prize gift---Color Relic holy cards: Michael Nepper

6th prize gift---Relic holy cards: Shauna Anderson

7th prize gift---Triduum prayer pamphlets: Therese Gemma

Congratulations to all the winners! (note to winners: I have contacted you by email to obtain your home mailing address. Please reply so I can mail out your items to you.)

Now, a consolation prize to everyone:

The Passionist nuns at the monastery of St Gemma in Lucca, Italy have kindly sent me a good number of St Gemma relic holy cards. Additionally, I just received a large number of "Triduum prayers to Saint Gemma Galgani" pamphlets from the kind Passionist Nuns in Kentucky (as shown in the photo to the left--three days of prayer on the inside).

I will send both of these items worldwide for free (while supplies last) to those who postal mail me a request. (not email)

My address is:

Glenn Dallaire

42 Crown St

Bristol, CT 06010

USA

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"Yes, I am happy in every way that Jesus wills, and if Jesus wants the sacrifice of my life, I give it to Him at once. If He wants anything else I am ready. One thing alone is enough for me, to be His victim, in order to atone for my own innumerable sins, and, if possible, for those of the whole world." -St Gemma Galgani

St Gemma's heroic penances, sacrifices & mortifications

2011-03-01T09:33:00.019-05:00

Saint Gemma’s extraordinary penances and mortifications
Although the subject of self imposed penances and mortifications is quite controversial in our modern age, especially self-inflicted corporal penances such as lashes, scourges, knotted belts, disciplines, cilice, hairshirts etc., nevertheless these practices played an significant role in the lives of countless Saints throughout history, and likewise in Gemma’s life and spirituality, and so Gemma’s extraordinary penances should be included on this website, so as to portray an honest and full picture of this remarkable Saint.

The practice of mortification is a means of curing bad habits and implanting good ones. Penance is making reparation for ones sins (and even the sins of others), and these practices come in two forms, ordinary and extraordinary. We are all called to practice ordinary penances and mortifications, however what will be dealt with in this article are the extraordinary mortifications and penances that Gemma practiced. In presenting Gemma’s extraordinary mortifications and penances here, I am not advocating or condoning such practices, but it must be understood that many Saints have practiced such extraordinary penances, while others have not, nevertheless all Christians are called to make ordinary sacrifices and to do penance, but certainly not in the very heroic, extraordinary and severe forms that will be mentioned below in this article.

Gemma’s use of extraordinary instruments of penance

By the age of 18 (but most probably even before) in a heroic effort to control and master her flesh and bodily desires, it was discovered that Gemma took up the ancient spiritual practice of external penances and self-imposed external mortifications. One of these penances consisted of a rope that was full of knots, which she tied around her waist like a belt, beneath her clothing. Her confessor since childhood, Monsignor Giovanni Volpi, discovered this fact while questioning Gemma during confession. Not approving of such severe forms of penance, he immediately had her take the knotted rope-belt off, and requested that she not wear it anymore.

Concerning this knotted rope-belt Brother Famiano, who knew Gemma well wrote: "If she had been allowed to continue she would have shortened her life through mortification. Once she let me see a knotted cord which I understood she had worn around her waist. Her confessor had ordered her to take it off because the knots had eaten their way into her flesh."

On one occasion Aunt Cecilia found her in a faint on the ground, which was all covered with blood, and near her there was a scourge of iron. Aunt Cecilia prudently took the scourge and hid it under her clothes, not wanting Gemma to impose such fierce penances upon herself, and also so that Gemma, who was reviving at that moment, would think that she had not been observed using the scourge by anyone. The patriarch of the Giannini family, Chevalier Matthew Giannini deposed:
"I heard my sister say that she (Gemma) had a scourge, and that she used to beat herself with it. I can truly say that she fasted always, and it really appeared to me that she could not live in that way without a miracle."

And Brother Famiano again adds:
“On one occasion she wanted me to exchange a scourge which was of iron for hers which was of cord, which as I noticed was covered with blood-stains."

But there were those who watched over the Servant of God and who moderated the ardours of her desire for penance. Several times, both her confessor and her director deprived her of her instruments of penance. Father Germanus had done so and thus describes them: 'A belt studded with sixty sharp iron points; a scourge likewise of iron, with five thongs, and a long knotted cord in which she had inserted nails, which she wore tight around her waist.'

With regard to Gemma’s use of these extraordinary instruments of penance and mortification, Sr. Gemma Euphemia Giannini deposed: 'She was obedient to her confessor when he spoke with her and moderated the ardour of her penances, and a thing that made me and all at home marvel was that these extreme exercises of mortification, even though she was in delicate health, never exhausted her, or made her incapable of carrying out her duties in the family. She did indeed seem to be sustained by a supernatural strength.'

“The Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence, and it is the violent who carry it away” (Matt. 11:12)
Whoever wishes to follow Jesus and be perfect must deny self, that is, to renounce all things and take up the Cross. Because without the Cross it is impossible to become like Jesus Christ, who is God Crucified and Whom endured the Cross unto His bodily death. “Pickup your cross and follow Me” our Lord has said. In doing so, man who is assailed by temptation and sin must endeavor to subjugate his wicked appetites of heart and senses. This “violence to self” is done through sacrifice, penance and mortification. Hence the Divine Master Himself has said: "The Kingdom of Heaven," that is the sanctification of the soul, "suffers violence and it is the violent who carry it away”. These words became the rule of Gemma's spiritual life. She realized the force of the above doctrine. It moved her to the heroic practice of all virtues, by the constant thought of Jesus Crucified, and hence her determination was to overcome every obstacle to her complete likeness to Him.

While it is not for most of us to imitate the great Saints such as Gemma in their extraordinary heroic penances and mortifications, nevertheless we who are often so indulgent to the passions and desires of our flesh ought to at least be inspired by her holy example, that we might endeavor to practice more ordinary penances and mortifications, in an effort to master ourselves, make reparation for our sins and thereby draw closer to God.

To gain even more insight into Gemma’s heroic mortifications of the flesh, let us quote from a first hand witness, her spiritual director Ven. Father Germanus C.P. from his book “The Life of Gemma Galgani”
“…the more violent her impulses, so much the more earnestly did she apply herself to curb them and bring them under control. "I will not give them peace," were her words, "until I find them dead within me."

This contest was in her mind, and she was most watchful lest anyone might notice it; nevertheless, those who lived with her knew quite well that she had to strive without ceasing in combating her impulses.

In order to succeed better she began very early to crucify her flesh by means of severe austerities. How many times had she not asked her confessor to allow her to discipline herself, to wear a hair shirt, chains and other instruments of penance! And she knew so well how to insinuate her wishes, that she often succeeded in obtaining his leave, which she looked on as a special favor.

More frequently, however, it happened that her instruments of penance were taken from her; and she made an offering to Our Lord of at least her will to use them. I was the last one who confiscated them. They consisted of a band armed with sixty very sharp iron points, a discipline likewise of iron and having five pointed strikers, and a long knotted cord, with points and nails in the knots, to be used as a girdle.

She did not on this account desist from her austerities, but in a hundred other ways sought means of compensating her losses. "This nature of mine," she used to say, "inside and out is always seeking its satisfactions, and always on the lookout for a respite. Give me leave to do all I can to overcome self. The flesh would like to command, and instead I wish to make it serve me as it ought, now and forever."

Once, when speaking heart to heart with her God, she was heard to say with filial simplicity: "Look Jesus, it is my body that rebels, but I shall know well how to manage it. It often cries out, and would fain not obey me, but I'll see to that. Yesterday it seemed as if it would revolt, and I made it keep quiet by dint of hard blows." As I knew too well to what extent she would have gone, I took care not to yield to her repeated pressing requests. Besides, I was well aware of the immense internal and external sufferings to which God Himself subjected her.”

Fasting from food and her command over her appetite
As we can see, Gemma burned with the desire of practicing penance to master herself and her senses, and also to make reparation for her own sins, and even the sins of others. Her heart became inflamed at the contemplation of Jesus Crucified. Her one desire was to be like Him. At table she provided herself with a chair somewhat lower than the others so that she would be more hidden. Her place at table was in the corner near Aunt Cecilia, very much in the background. She ate so little that Chevalier Matthew would sometimes say jokingly: 'You had better eat a little, Gemma, or I shall make you take some medicine to give you an appetite.'

She used to answer with one of her sweetest smiles. Annetta deposed: 'She would take her soup with a spoon that had holes in it, so as to let it appear that she was drinking it, and then when she thought she was unobserved, she took her plate to the kitchen, and was reproved by Aunt Cecilia for doing so. We (the Giannini children) used to say: "Find fault with us, but why mortify Gemma?." Now and again Aunt Cecilia commanded her in virtue of holy obedience to eat, and she did so, but she had to vomit it up again.'
These last words refer particularly to the complete abstinence from every food which she practiced from Pentecost to June, 1902, during which period she lived entirely on Sacramental Communion.

Concerning Gemma's command over her appetite, her spiritual director Ven. Father Germanus writes:
"No one was ever able to ascertain what meat or drink pleased her most, and in order to induce her to partake of what was on the family table it was necessary to press her, otherwise she would deprive herself of what was absolutely necessary. To hide her mortification she used a thousand artifices, feigning to take food while her hands moved but nothing entered her mouth. She went so far as to carry into effect the thought of making a small hole in her spoon, so that the broth might leak through before she brought it to her lips. We have seen that she found pretexts to rise frequently from table, now for one thing, now for another. When in the kitchen helping the servant, she would never taste any of the treats being prepared, nor would she ever partake of sweets or fruits that were offered her outside of mealtime. And in order not to be lacking in courtesy by her refusal, she managed to get away gracefully and charitably.

Being a healthy girl she had a natural taste for food and a good appetite. This seemed to her a sort of derangement, and little short of sensuality. With a view to overcome it she would willingly on her part have abstained from taking any nourishment, but this was not allowed her. She thought and rethought, and at last, all gladness at having found a means of remedying her difficulty, she came to propose it to me. Note with what delicate skillfulness she did so:

'Father, for a long time Jesus seems to have inspired me to ask you a favor. Don't be vexed with me, for in any case I will do as you wish. There will certainly be no harm in granting my request, but you will have a thousand reasons to bring forward against it: that I am thin, that it is not necessary, etc. But these are valueless reasons- don't wonder at my way of putting it, it is Gemma who writes. Listen, will you be content with my asking Jesus the grace not to let me feel any satisfaction in taking food, as long as I live? Oh, this favor is necessary, and I hope Jesus will tell you to grant it to me. Yet either way I am content.'

"As I did not answer this letter, she repeated her request several times. And at last, more to see how such an extraordinary thing would end than from any other motive, I gave her my consent. Then the simple child went at once to speak to her Jesus, and at once her prayer was granted. From that day forward she lost all sensibility of palate and thus never again felt any impression of taste in eating and drinking; neither more nor less than if she had eaten straw or drank only water. Thus did this young girl mortify a sense that may be considered one of the most difficult to subdue.”

Finally, even in regards to sleep we hear from Justina Giannini who stated that “Gemma slept very little. Sometimes when she was asked in the morning how she had slept, she answered: ‘A short hour!' “
And even when she did sleep, her will was still united with Jesus— for she once wrote: “I sleep, but Jesus my heart does not sleep. It watches with Thee at all hours."

-St Gemma, pray for us!
____________________________________
"Yesterday I gained a good victory over my worldly tongue, but I had a hard struggle to keep from speaking! And afterwards I ever more resolutely renewed my determination never to answer unless questioned. If you only knew what a storm there was between Aunt and me! But silence has overcome all. I have begun, I may tell you, to keep these my resolutions, but with such difficulty!" -St Gemma Galgani

Saint Gemma's birthday, website news & earthquake in Japan

2011-02-25T19:58:00.023-05:00

St Gemma's birthday (Saturday, March 12) & some website news...

Earthquake in Japan:
Firstly I would like to offer prayers for those in Japan and elsewhere who have been affected by the devastating earthquake today, 3/11/11. May God help all those affected by natural disasters in our times. Such events call to mind Gemma's prayer, "My Jesus, mercy" as Gemma herself would often say.

St Gemma's birthday and also her upcoming feastday:
Saturday, March 12 marks 133 years since Gemma's birth. May God bless us as we honor her birth and holy life as we strive to follow in her holy example of love and devotion to God and others.

Upcoming also in a few short weeks is her feastday, Monday April 11th, which of course is the anniversary of her holy death.

Website news: 3/4 of a million page visits!
The St Gemmma Galgani website is now nearing 750,000 page visits since its inception in August, 2008. This website was created for the greater glory of God to spread devotion to His servant, St Gemma---to give glory and appreciation to God for all the extraordinary marvels and graces that He wrought in her holy life. And so it is with thanksgiving to God that He has blessed this website with so many visitors, for it is surely because He desires souls to follow in Gemma's shining example of complete devotion, loving Him with all of one's heart and soul.

Gemma's continued intercession in the world today
Gemma's life was spent as a victim soul in union with Jesus in reparation for the sins of humanity, offering herself completely to Jesus for the salvation of us sinners. And since her holy death in 1903, how many graces God has wrought through her intercession, only a small handful of which are in her biographies and on this website!

And without a doubt Gemma's intercession for souls has not ceased to the present day, even now that she is with her beloved Jesus and Mary in heaven. My email inbox alone attests to the continued intercession of St Gemma in the world today. And so we give thanks to God for His Saints such as Gemma, who continue to plead for us before Him, and who obtain countless graces and blessings for us. -Blessed be God in His angels and in His Saints!

A special thank you to donors

Thanks to those who have made donations for the St Gemma relic pouches over the past couple of months I have been able to send 3 donations totalling $250.00 to the Passionist nuns at the Monastery-Sanctuary of Saint Gemma in Lucca, Italy. For those who are unaware, Gemma's holy remains are kept beneath the main altar of the monastery Church (pictured in the photo to the left). Those interested can check out the St Gemma Monastery website here (in Italian). Holy Mass is celebrated each day upon this altar, beneath which the holy remains of Gemma are kept and venerated.

"...In your Mass tomorrow morning, please ask Jesus to hide me in His Sacred Heart, that I may see nothing, feel nothing, think of nothing, love no one, but Him...."
"...Jesus does not wish me to succeed in anything, because He wishes my mind to be totally occupied with Him alone...' -St Gemma Galgani

Website complete package offer

2011-02-16T22:39:00.006-05:00

The St Gemma website complete package offer

The website complete package offer as shown in the photo to the left includes all of the items that are offered on the website, including the four black and white St Gemma photo holy prayer cards, one St Gemma relic card, one color holy card, one prayer pamphlet, one medal, and one “Gemma Galgani, Gem of Christ” booklet, --all for $17 + $2.50 shipping= $19.50 total (or $21.50 for those outside the USA).

The St Gemma medal and each of the holy cards are touched to a 1st class relic of St Gemma, asking her intercession upon those who receive them.

To order, I have a DONATE account thru PAYPAL to accept Mastercard/Visa and all other major credit cards along with PAYPAL. Simply click on the link or the "Donate" button below:

St Gemma website complete package offer

Or, those in the U.S.A. who prefer to use the mail may send American cash, personal check or money order, well hidden in an envelope to:
Glenn Dallaire
42 Crown St.
Bristol, CT 06010

When ordering, please be sure to include your current mailing address. Please feel free to email me at gdallaire1@gmail.com if you have any questions.
_____________________________________________

"Fire! Fire in my heart! This morning it is burning......Dear Jesus, I love you so much! I shall endeavor always to love You; I shall live to love You; I shall die to love You!"....Give me wings oh Jesus, so I can fly to Your throne!" -St Gemma Galgani -June, 1902

New St Gemma booklet offer

2011-02-16T21:48:00.023-05:00

New Saint Gemma booklet offer
-A great booklet on the life of Saint Gemma!

From out of Great Britain and the CTS Great Saints series comes a great booklet entitled “Gemma Galgani" Gem of Christ, by John-Paul Kirkham (Catholic Truth Society, 2011, 64 pgs.).

The booklet provides a concise biography highlighting the extraordinary life of Gemma, and includes a good number of quotes from the Saint.

In preparation for this booklet the author, Mr. John-Paul Kirkham, visited the places in Lucca surrounding the holy life of Saint Gemma. Inspired by Gemma’s extraordinary life and devotion he wrote: “It has been a great pleasure to write this book and I hope that it will inspire others to explore her spirituality.”

To continue with Mr. Kirkham’s intentions in writing the booklet, the publisher kindly granted permission to reprint the author’s introduction on pgs. 3-5 here, that it might give interested readers a foretaste of the booklet.
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(Introduction to the booklet “Gemma Galgani" –Reprinted with permission from the publisher)

Striking Beauty

May the Passion of Christ be always in our hearts (Motto of the Passionists)

The emblem of the Passionist Order displays a white heart and cross of purity. The cross over the heart indicating that hearts dedicated to Christ must expect to be at the foot of the cross and to be always united with it. The words translate as "Passion of Jesus" and the three nails remind us of His suffering set against the black background as in mourning for the death of the Saviour. In the history of the Church it is rare for a saint to have shared closely in the Lord's Passion and one of the elect few is Gemma Galgani.

Gemma is derived from gem, meaning a precious and beautiful stone. Gemma Galgani was the very first canonised saint to have lived in the twentieth century and till her death at the tender age of twenty five portrayed a fine image, despite her many infirmities. The art of photography was young but the many pictures and descriptions taken of her reveal a radiance of striking beauty. Unusually for an Italian her eyes, often raised to heaven, were a bright and piercing azure blue and her long hair soft brown.

This young and vulnerable girl who lived her life hidden away in relative obscurity would eventually touch the lives of many. Orphaned of a loving mother at only seven years of age, Gemma matured quickly and rose to the highest state of sanctity that the church recognises. This humble servant of God became a mystic, visionary, and ecstatic and was allowed by Christ to unite with Him and suffer the wounds of His Passion by displaying the Stigmata and more as her physical heart would reveal after death.

In reading this biography of St. Gemma some of the events will appear fantastic and supernatural but all of her mystical experiences and ecstasies were witnessed, recorded or transcribed by the church authorities under the guidance of her spiritual director the Venerable Fr Germanus, CP and have been well documented. This was a life that reached into the 20th century and touches our modern existence in a special way.

Gemma was also instructed by her spiritual director Fr Germanus to write down her life from childhood to the age of twenty three and all of her diaries, letters and prayers survive as a testimony to a beautiful life consecrated to Christ. Her words were often addressed to Christ Himself and the Blessed Virgin. Gemma was often rewarded for her devotion with the gift of heavenly and divine visions and locutions with Our Lord, the Mother of God and her Guardian Angel.

Throughout the book are many of St Gemma's own compositions which draw us closer to her profound and spiritual prayer life that displayed great sadness and yet immense and unconquerable joy.

Many arduous illnesses would mean that Gemma's wish to enter various religious orders would always result in rejection. Towards the end of her shortly numbered days she urgently desired to join the Passionist Nuns of St Paul of the Cross but she was forced to remain a laywoman. However, as we shall discover, her prophetic words would strike true as she proclaimed "though you would not have me in life, you will in death".

After her life ended her bodily remains were adopted by The Passionist's. Pope Benedict XV confirmed that "if not by habit and profession, undoubtedly by desire and affection, Gemma is rightly numbered among the religious children of St. Paul of the Cross".

"I shall love You. I shall love You always. When day breaks, when evening turns into night, at every hour, at every moment I shall love You always, always, always." St Gemma Galgani
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The booklet is being offered here for U.S. $4.50 plus $2.50 shipping =$7.00 total, (or $8.00 for those outside the USA). Simply click on the link or the “Donate” button below.
Gemma Galgani, Gem of Christ booklet

-or those in the USA can send American cash, personal check or money order for $7.00 (well hidden in an envelope) to:
Glenn Dallaire
42 Crown St
Bristol, CT 06010

Please be sure to enclose your mailing address. Please feel free to email me at gdallaire1@gmail.com if you have any questions.

The booklet can also be obtained as part of the St Gemma website complete package offer, which includes all of the items that are offered on the website, including the four black and white St Gemma photo holy prayer cards, one St Gemma relic card, one color holy card, one prayer pamphlet, one medal, and one “Gemma Galgani" Gem of Christ booklet, all for $17 + $2.50 shipping worldwide ($19.50 total). Those interested can click here for more information on the St Gemma website complete package offer.

Those living in Europe and abroad can also obtain the book from the publisher, The Catholic Truth Society by clicking here. The C.T.S. website address is http://www.cts-online.org.uk/
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"Who knows how many times my faith would have wavered, if You had not helped me. If You had not come to my aid, my hope and my charity would have grown weak. And, oh Jesus, how many times my love would have become weak, if You had not strengthened it with Thy caresses! And my will--the power of my soul which counts most--this will of mine would have become slothful many times, if You had not come with Thy fire to inflame it. I acknowledge that all my victories were the work of Thy infinite love....
"Oh my Jesus, I thank Thee for all the graces You have given me, and I desire to love Thee with all my heart." -St Gemma Galgani

A Portrait of St Gemma Galgani

2011-02-16T15:58:00.009-05:00

A beautiful portrait of Saint Gemma

A friend in St Gemma named Lisa Thomas kindly agreed to share a beautiful portrait of Gemma that she drew in 1992. I reply to my question regarding what motivated her to make the drawing she wrote:

"I never heard of St. Gemma before I purchased the book by Ann Ball, "Modern Saints Their Lives and Faces". When I saw Gemma's picture on the cover I immediately fell in love with the celestial beauty of her countenance. I was taking some art classes at the time and wanted to learn to do portraits. I thought she would be the perfect subject since I wanted to capture as best I could the beauty of her eyes. Whoever said the eyes are the mirror of the soul knew what they were talking about. I don't believe I captured her features as perfectly as I would have liked , but I tried my best. What I did do was out of love and admiration for this gentle saint."

(*Note: click on the portrait twice to enlarge it)

-I would like to sincerely thank Lisa for sharing her drawing with us.

-----------------------------------------
'Yes, I love the Cross, the Cross alone, because I see it always on Thy shoulders. I see well, my Jesus, that all my love is for You and Your sufferings.'
'The Wounds of Jesus speak to me with such sweet violence that I should like . . . Oh my Jesus, I should like my heart to be possessed with but one desire, such as the saints had, that I might be able in some way to love Thee.' -St Gemma Galgani

The unforgettable look and smile of the holy face of Gemma

2011-01-29T10:57:00.033-05:00

The "Holy Face" of Gemma -Jesus living in her.

"One day by chance I saw her smile, and the charm of that smile struck me, and I always have it in mind and heart." -Sr. Gesualda Sardi

The incredible look and regard of Gemma! It is as if the holiness of her soul radiates through her face and appearance, but even moreso it was Jesus living in her, and the love of God that radiated through her face and eyes. This is a common statement and reflection of those who gaze upon the photos of her. Having read numerous biographies and personal accounts of those who knew St Gemma, there are several common traits of this Saint that are consistantly mentioned by those who speak of her. One of these would most surely be her unforgettable look and smile that literally captivated those who gazed upon her.

Sister Gesualda Sardi (1879-1930)
Sr. Gesualda Sardi of the Holy Spirit (in Italian -Suor Gesualda dello Spirito Santo) pictured in the photograph to the left, was a well known Carmelite author who wrote a very popular Italian biography on Gemma entitled "Santa Gemma Galgani -A Passion Flower in the City of the Holy Face" herself wrote about Gemma's captivating appearance and smile in the introduction of her book:

"I knew Gemma Galgani by sight, as several times I found myself next to her in long waits at the confessional of Monsignor Volpi.

I did not personally meet or speak with her, because our families were not related. I knew she was a poor girl of whom the Giannini family took in out of charity, and that she received a grace from the Blessed Margaret Mary Alocoque [referring to Gemma's miraculous cure -Editor] .

And a friend once told me about her: 'She is a cold chicken. If you put her here, she stays here, if you put her there, she stays there'. "

-What a testament to Gemma's simplicity, obedience and humility! But to continue with Sr. Gesualda's comments:

"One day, by chance, I saw her smile, and the charm of that smile struck me, and I always have it in mind and heart.

"Vivid memories of those who inspired me also were the two sisters, Annetta and Eufemia Giannini. Meeting them, even without knowing them, we would exchange friendly greetings. For me, it was a joy when I saw daybreak from a distance that group [the Giannini girls and Gemma on their way to Mass], and any irritation or internal disturbance that was troubling me calmed as if by magic at the meeting. I attributed it to the sight of those two gentle creatures, not to the saint who was with them. I understand now that the peace instilled in me [at that time] was through Gemma. And after Gemma's death, people spoke of her as a saint, and that news moved me."...

Pope Pius XI
"Comparing my recollection of her person, which I keep alive and present in my mind, with her portrait, I find my recollection to be true. That face, luminous and peaceful, remains and will remain in my mind and heart as the face of a saint." -Pope Pius XI

During Gemma's Beatification, on the day which the Church officilally declared her blessed, while reading the decree for the heroicity of virtues, the Holy Father, Pope Pius XI, stated that the little virgin of Lucca had "bore in her flesh the wounds of Christ."

And after the above statement, while looking back thirty years into the past, Pope Pius XI, after reading the decree that proclaimed heroic the virtue of the holy Maid of Lucca, then said in an allocution to the Cardinals present at the ceremony in the basilica of St Peter:

"What has happened today is something greater and more remarkable than what ordinarily happens. It has come about in God's own way. He exalts the humble and makes them first in His Kingdom."

Then, though he had known her only by sight, comparing his memory of Gemma to a large portrait of her that hung that day in St Peters, the Holy Father added:

"I can see her once more before me, dressed in black, wearing her mantellette, not very tall, light of step, almost silent, with a transfigured face, with sweet and soft large eyes made to see immortal things.

"Comparing my recollection of her person, which I keep alive and present in my mind, with her portrait, I find my recollection to be true. That face, luminous and peaceful, remains and will remain in my mind and heart as the face of a saint. Who would have thought at the time, when a heated controversy was waging around this girl, and people alternately sided for and against her - even though her virtue was ever held in high esteem - who would have thought of today's triumph and of the great things Divine Providence reserves for tomorrow?" -Words of Pope Pius XI.

Venerable Germano Ruoppolo C.P., Gemma's spiritual director
"My feelings on that occasion, still vivid in my memory, baffle explanation". -Ven. Father Germano, C.P.

In 1900 in a ecstatic vision, Jesus showed Gemma the priest who would soon be her spiritual director. It was Father Germano Ruppolo C.P. who was at that time the Postulator General of the Passionists, an archaeologist, an author, and a well respected director of souls. Following Jesus' request, she wrote to him a long letter explaining who she was along with some details about her spiritual life. For his part, Father Germano ignored Gemma's letter, and did not respond.

It was at a time during which God was granting Gemma with an ever increasing amount of mystical graces, including the stigmata, the crown of thorns, ecstasies and private revelations. Her confessor since childhood, Monsignor Giovanni Volpi, the auxiliary Bishop of Lucca, felt the need to seek help in the spiritual direction of Gemma, and he therefore asked Father Germano to come and interview Gemma. As we shall read below, Father Germano was not interested in meeting Gemma, and advised Monsignor Volpi to give Gemma and exorcism!

-Such were Father Germono's sentiments towards Gemma, which clearly show us his natural skepticism towards those who claim to receive extraordinary graces. Because of this, Monsignor Volpi was convinced that Father Germano was the perfect priest to evaluate Gemma, and through his position as auxiliary Bishop, he prevailed upon the Provincial of the Passionists to "order" Father Germano to come to Lucca to meet Gemma. And so we can therefore rightly guess Fr. Germano's sentiments as he reluctantly travelled from Rome to Lucca out of obedience to his Provencial, to meet with Gemma. Concerning this first meeting in his biography of Gemma he writes:

"...in August, 1900, through my Provincial, he [Mons. Volpi -editor] invited me to Lucca in order to examine his penitent in person. I, who on principle have always been slow to believe in such extraordinary things, replied advising him not to attribute too much importance to what was happening [with Gemma] but rather to put his penitent on the ordinary path pursued by the majority of the faithful. He wrote again, giving me some particulars of those extraordinary things, and I, still persisting in my way of thinking, was so far from the reality of what was actually occurring as to suggest to his excellency to have recourse to exorcism. His perplexities increased, and still wishing that I should judge of things in person, he prevailed on the Provincial to oblige me to go to Lucca. I went there on the 1st of September, 1900 and stayed with the Giannini family, with whom Gemma was living.

On seeing me, the dear child recognized me at once [because Jesus had shown him to her in a vision -editor], and coming forward to welcome me, she showed great joy, blessing Our Lord in her soul. I confess that, on meeting her, my first sentiments were those of devotion and veneration. We went together and knelt before the crucifix in the family oratory. Gemma wept, and I likewise.

My feelings on that occasion, still vivid in my memory, baffle explanation. Our Lord was then assuredly preparing me to see great things by which every shadow of doubt remaining in my mind should be dispelled...."

So what was it in Gemma's face and regard that instantaneously and completely changed Fr. Germano's opinion of her? He flatly states "My feelings on that occasion, still vivid in my memory, baffle explanation".

One hundred and ten years later, now that Gemma has been officially declared a Saint, we can reflect upon the thousands of souls who over the past century have often been drawn to Gemma through her photographs, drawn sometimes instantly by her penetrating and revealing eyes and the unforgettable face and look of Gemma. Many persons have commented how in the photo where Gemma is looking directly into the camera, it seems that she is looking directly into the eyes of the beholder, with a gaze that seems to penetrate to the depths of ones soul. We know now what Fr. Germano did not know at that moment of his first meeting with Gemma--that Jesus dwelt within Gemma in a most extraordinary way, so that it was no longer Gemma that lived, but Jesus living in Gemma. And it is the love of God that is most certainly reflected in the holy face of Gemma, for Gemma herself reveals her intimate union with Jesus on many occasions in her writings. For example, on one occasion she writes:

"Today I am no longer in myself. I am with my God; all for Him, and He all in me and for me; Jesus is with me, He is all mine....He dwells in the miserable cell of my heart and His Majesty disappears. We are alone, alone, and my heart beats continually with that of Jesus. -Jesus forever! The Heart of Jesus and my heart are one and the same thing. A moment does not pass without my feeling His dear presence always manifesting Himself in the most loving way." And many more such quotes from Gemma can be read in the article "heart of fire with the love of God" and elsewhere on this website.

The City of the Holy Face
Gemma's hometown of Lucca is known worldwide as the "City of the Holy Face" because of the beautiful and miraculous ancient crucifix in the Cathedral of San Martino. [see article on the Holy Face here]. This extraordinary crucifix called the "Volto Santo" or "Holy Face" in english, draws the faithful from all over to pray and honor this image our Lord, who suffered and died for our sins. Is it not extraordinary then that another lesser "holy face", that of Gemma, should be venerated in this renowned city of the Holy Face!
~St Gemma, pray for us!
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"Oh Mother, pray always to Jesus for me ....Dear Mother, I am not at all well, as you know: my life is consumed. And as to my soul?....Oh, God, I am tormented by wicked and impure thoughts, but Jesus tells me to turn to you, Mother saying, "Daughter, commend yourself daily to her; she will make you beautiful, gentle, amiable, because she can win souls and save them; she will make you tranquil and at peace." And in spite of these words, I lose spirit and cry.

I am so unworthy not only of the love of Jesus and of you, most Holy Mary, but of all the kindness of others, especially of my Father Germano and my dear foster mother [Cecilia Giannini]. I give them both so little thought, and Cecelia is deeply hurt. Oh my God!...Oh my Jesus, do not abandon me, because I will be good...Dear Mother, so many victims are needed!..." -Gemma's last letter to the Blessed Virgin Mary

A nun & her devotion to St Gemma -blindness & light

2011-01-07T13:05:00.014-05:00

The story of a nuns remarkable devotion to Saint Gemma -Blindness and light

Many of those who are devoted to St Gemma have read the excellent book "Portrait of Saint Gemma, A Stigmatic" written by a Sister of St Joseph named Sister Saint Michael S.S.J. -Many people love this book for its mystical and ascetical treatise on the spiritual life of Saint Gemma. But there is an interesting story behind the book.

The author, Sr. Saint Michael, was a Catholic high school English teacher in the early 1900's who had an incredible devotion to St Gemma--she used to teach her schoolchildren all about Gemma. The Rt. Reverend Father J.F. Minihan who was once a student of Sr. Saint Michael, and who wrote the Foreward of her book wrote:

"More than thirty years ago I first heard of Gemma Galgani from the author of this book. Then my English teacher in high school, she thrilled her classes with stories of the devout little Italian girl whose deep love for her Crucified Saviour was visibly impressed on her frail body through the bearing of the Stigmata. In 1929, while a Seminarian at the North American College in Rome, I visited Lucca and enjoyed a very pleasant visit with Signora Cecelia Gianinni, the foster mother of Gemma, with whom Gemma lived for a time and in whose home the saintly girl experienced some of the ecstasies and sufferings which are the subject of this book.

Sister Saint Michael, after painstaking work and long hours of intimate study of the letters of Gemma to her Spiritual Directors, has given us a new insight into the spiritual life of this beloved Servant of God. Saint Gemma is not too well known generally, perhaps because her life and her sufferings were by their nature and purpose hidden from the peering eyes of a callous world; perhaps because her Divine Spouse called her to Him at such an early age; perhaps because Saint Gemma demands of her followers that their way be the Way of the Cross, which was her way, with its attendant hardships and sufferings and sacrifices. Whatever the reason, this little book will be, I am sure, a most effective instrument in making Gemma better known, and I pray, better loved in a world that badly needs her saintly example and her devotion and love for Christ Crucified.

The spirit of deep love and sincere affection for Saint Gemma which moved the author to give us this spiritual treatise is evident in every chapter of this book. What is not evident is the fact that her penetrating view into Gemma's deep spirituality is the clearer and brighter precisely because five years ago, and on Saint Gemma's Feast day, her eternal outlook was illumined by the loss of physical sight."
RT. REV. J. F. MINIHAN, D.D., LL.D.
St. Catherine's Rectory, Norwood, Mass.
July 21, 1949

Blindness and light
So it is that Father Minihan gives a little insight into the Sr. Saint Michael's great devotion to St Gemma. What is most remarkable is that she became blind in 1944 exactly on April 11--St Gemma's feastday--and, what is most extraordinary is that she attributed this "grace" of her blindness to the intercession of St Gemma! Such a thing is of course hard for us to understand, because God's ways are not are ways, but what seems like a tragedy is often a great blessing in disguise. And so it was that after losing her sight, Sr. Saint Michael's faith grew in intensity, along with her love and devotion to St. Gemma--so much so that she decided, although now blind, to write a book in honor of Gemma, which took several years of painstaking research, not repeating what had already been written, but providing new and unique information about the Saint. And so the book "Portrait of Saint Gemma, A Stigmatic" was written after her blindness, which occurred on the feastday of St Gemma.

Yes, Gods ways are not our ways, and what seems to be a tragedy is often a blessing in disguise. For as the good Father Minihan stated "...[Sr. Saint Michaels'] penetrating view into Gemma's deep spirituality is the clearer and brighter precisely because on Saint Gemma's Feast day, her eternal outlook was illumined by the loss of physical sight."

~St Gemma, pray for us!

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"There is no one in the world who can satisfy my affections, only You. The thorns, the Cross, the nails, all are the work of love."
"Yes, I love the Cross, the Cross alone, because I see it always on Thy shoulders. I see well, my Jesus, that all my love is for Thee and Thy sufferings."
"The Wounds of Jesus speak to me with such sweet violence that I should like...0' my Jesus, I should like my heart to be possessed with but one desire, such as the saints had, that I might be able in some way to love Thee." -St Gemma Galgani

St Gemma's New Year Resolutions

2010-12-31T20:03:00.010-05:00

The New Years Resolutions of a Saint

On New Years eve, 1895-1896 Gemma writes:
"So I resolved to change my life, because Jesus had given me clear lights to the effect that I should be a religious. I had a good occasion to do this, for we were about to begin the year of 1896. I wrote in a little notebook: "During this new year I resolve to begin a new life. I do not know what will happen to me during this year. But I abandon myself entirely to you, my God. And my aspirations and all my affections will be for You. I feel so weak, dear Jesus, but with Your help I hope and resolve to live a different life, that is, a life closer to You."

Some of Gemma's other resolutions:
Writing to her spiritual director Gemma writes:
“Father, do you know the latest idea that has come into my head? It is to become a saint at all costs. I made this resolution yesterday evening. During my meditation I was thinking that one lives only once, and it is certain that one is going to die; then one will have to answer to God.”

-But could she ever have imagined that she would not only become a saint in heaven, but become a canonised Saint of the Catholic Church- the first canonised Saint who lived in the 20th century! -O Saint Gemma, pray for us!

Again she writes to her spiritual director: 'Yesterday at the end of my meditation, I was making as usual my resolutions to love Jesus with all my heart, and then my Angel appeared and said-'

"Well then, we shall soon see whether you will prove your resolutions."
'I told this to my confessor, but even he does not know to what the Angel referred. Please tell me if you know.'

And soon afterwards we read how Jesus came and asked her if she would suffer in union with Him for the conversion of sinners, and with her consent He removed the crown of thorns upon His head, and placed is upon hers, causing her much suffering but at the same time much joy, because in doing so she knew that she was pleasing Jesus.

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"Oh My Jesus, mercy!" -Another resolution and one of Gemma's favorite sayings

Gemma once wrote another resolution in her Autobiography:
"Every time the clock strikes I will repeat three times: 'My Jesus, mercy!''

In fact, this was probaly her favorite saying. So much so in fact that during the last days of her life when one of the Nusrisng Sisters of the religious Order of St Camillius (who were caring for her at that time) asked Gemma what was her favorite aspiration to God, and Gemma immediately replied- "My Jesus, mercy!"

This saying of Gemma is even immortalised in a beautiful relic crucifix that was made in her honor, and which I have the grace of having in my possession. In the photo to the left we can see Gemma's words immortalised in Latin above the Sacred Heart of Jesus "O mi Jesu, misericordia" (O my Jesus, mercy").
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"My heart is always united to Jesus, who more and more consumes me. Oh my most sweet Jesus, I would wish to be all dissolved in the midst of the flames of Your Love. Oh, how can I correspond, my God, since You have given me so much? Who will help me in this? To Your Mercy alone I owe the little love that there is in my poor heart for Thee." -St Gemma Galgani

St Gemma handmade relic pouch offer

2010-12-31T16:16:00.027-05:00

St Gemma handmade and handpainted relic pouch offer to benefit the Passionist Nuns at the Monastery-Sanctuary of Saint Gemma in Lucca, Italy

I am offering several very unique and beautiful St Gemma Galgani handmade and handpainted relic pouches individually as a fundraiser for the Passionist Nuns at the Monastery-Sanctuary of Saint Gemma in Lucca, Italy. The nuns at the monastery kindly sent me a number of these, so I thought I would offer a few of them individually as a fundraiser, and all donations from the offer of these relic pouches will be donated to them.

This relic pouches are light cream colored, pink or blue (see photos) and are hand-sewn closed. The flowers on front are hand painted.

I have been told that the relic inside consists of candle wax and flowers that come from beside the relics of St Gemma at the main altar at the Monastery-Sanctuary of St Gemma in Lucca. Gemma's holy remains are kept beneath this main altar, where Mass is celebrated each day.

I am offering each of these relic pouches individually for a donation of $25.00 for each pouch, plus $3.00 for shipping worldwide ($28.00 total). I will ship the relic pouch as soon as the donation is received, and I will include a free Saint Gemma holy card with each donation. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions. My email address is: gdallaire1@gmail.com

To order, I have a DONATE link thru PAYPAL to accept all major credit cards (Mastercard/Visa etc) and PAYPAL:
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=2919435

Or, those in the U.S.A. who prefer to use the mail may send American cash, personal check or money order, well hidden in an envelope to:
Glenn Dallaire
42 Crown St.
Bristol, CT 06010

When ordering, please be sure to include your current mailing address and also let me know if there is a specific color that you would like.