BIOGRAPHY of ST GEMMA GALGANI - Get a Free Blog

These divine favors added new fuel to the fire of love that burnt within her, and she cried out to Jesus: ' Love
has indeed slain Thee! My Jesus, make me also die of love! Life will be a torment. 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.'
The phenomena which we have described continued to be manifested in Gemma until February, 1901, when
by order of her spiritual director, she prayed to Jesus to be freed from them. Her prayers were heard. But
although the Stigmata disappeared, a new torture took their place-s-the scourging. The following is the
account she gave of it to Father Germanus, her spiritual director:
'Something has happened which I never experienced before. . . . You know that on Thursday and Friday
Jesus gives me a little present, and this week another still more dear to me was added. He allowed me to
feel some of the blows of His scourging over all the body, very painful, Father, but it was nothing compared
with the merciless blows which Jesus received. You remember, we prayed together that Jesus might take
away every external sign, and behold Jesus has added another in its place. Viva Gesu! May He be infinitely
thanked! Nevertheless He assured me that to please me He would take away the external signs . . . but He
added: " Your sufferings will increase and a different life will begin for you…’
To Monsignor Volpi she afterwards wrote thus:
‘It was just at the time when I was praying Jesus to take away all external signs, but Jesus instead added
another. He allowed me to feel a few blows of His scourging. To the pain in the hands, feet, head and heart,
this was also added. May He be for ever thanked!
'So about five o'clock I began to feel so great a sorrow for my sins that I seemed to be beside myself through
fright; but to this there succeeded almost immediately a hope in the mercy of God which calmed me. I did not
feel any pain yet. After about an hour I seemed to see my Guardian Angel who was holding two crowns in his
hands, one of thorns made in the form of a hat, and the other made of the whitest lilies. The sight of the
Angel caused me as usual to be a little afraid, but afterwards it caused me joy. Together we adored the
Majesty of God ... and then showing me the two crowns, he asked me which one I should like. I did not want
to answer because the Father had forbidden me to do so, but he insisted, saying that it was he who was
commanding it, he blessed me and made an offering of me to the Eternal Father, saying to me that I was to
forget myself and think only of sinners that night. I was persuaded by these words, and I told the Angel that I
would have chosen that of Jesus. He showed me the one of thorns. . . . I kissed it several times, and after he
had placed it on my head the Angel disappeared. I began then to suffer in my hands, feet and head, and later
on in all the body, and I felt heavy blows. I spent the night in that way, and in the morning I forced myself to
get up, so that no one would know these things. The blows and the pain I felt until about two o'clock. At that
time the Angel came back, and to tell the truth I could scarcely bear it any longer-and he made me feel well,
saying that Jesus had had compassion on me because I was yet a little one, and incapable of suffering with
Jesus until the hour in which He expired. . . . But I was worried about one thing, the marks had not
disappeared. In the morning when I received Holy Communion I prayed very fervently to Jesus that the
marks would be taken away, and He promised that on the day of His Passion He would take them away.'
From the documents quoted, it must be inferred that Gemma began to suffer the new torment of the
scourging about February 7 or 8, 1901, and that the Stigmata ceased on February 12, the Feast of the
Commemoration of the Passion. The phenomenon was repeated on the four Fridays of March, and on a few
other occasions, as we can see from her letters, although we cannot say exactly how many times they
occurred because they passed unobserved. The following is an account given by Cecilia Giannini of the
phenomena that happened in March. We have compressed it somewhat:
‘Some weeks she suffered neither the Stigmata nor the crowning with thorns. I was pleased. One evening,
however, I saw that she was suffering very much, and went to bed earlier than usual, and seeing this I
watched her. I thought she was ill and I was not thinking of the extraordinary things, when suddenly I saw
little streaks of blood on the backs of her hands. I uncovered her neck and her arms, turning the sleeves of
her nightdress up a little. Gemma was in ecstasy. But I was not thinking of what it could be, and believing
that it was her own blood that was trickling from her skin, I tried to wipe away the blood from the back of the
hand with a cloth which became stained. It was her own blood. I could not imagine how the thing was
50