BIOGRAPHY of ST GEMMA GALGANI - Get a Free Blog

that will compel Him to pour out His graces upon us. Is this true? '
Father Germanus declared himself conquered by these arguments, and allowed her to express herself as
her heart suggested when speaking with Jesus, the Blessed Virgin and the Angels and Saints.
On another occasion Father Germanus told her that she was not to put so much trust in the frequency of the
visits of her Guardian Angel. This is how she wrote of one of these visits :
‘I have obeyed, you know, with the Angel You know it already, don't you, that for two days I had short visits
from my dear Angel. Oh, Father, what was I to do? He came unexpectedly. On seeing him I was rather
troubled; I began to be a bit afraid and said : " If You art sent by God, come, I will receive thee; if You art sent
by the Devil, I will spit in thy face." Then he smiled and adored the Majesty of God, afterwards making a
salutation to the most Holy Trinity. Father, help me always, I wish to obey; I dread lest through my fault Jesus
should have to take away His grace from me.'
With reference to another visit from her Angel she wrote again to Father Germanus:
'Do you know, Father, that on Friday evening, that holy Angel made me uneasy. I did not want him at all, and
he wished to say so many things to me. Hardly had he arrived when he said: "God bless thee, 0 soul
confided to my care." Imagine, Father! I answered him in this way: "0 holy Angel, please listen. Do not soil
your hands with me; go away; go to another soul that knows how to make use of the gifts of God. I do not
know how to do so." In short, I made him understand. But he replied: "Of what art You afraid? " "Of
disobeying," I answered. He then said: "That will not be the case when your Father sends me." Then I
allowed him to speak, but I did not make much of him.'
The Angel, however, was not offended at her disregarding him, because her attitude was inspired by her
candor of soul. The Angel took occasion from it to inculcate increased devotion to the exercise of obedience:
'0 child, what a different world it would be if everyone was obedient. Tell me, who was the first to be
obedient? Thy Mom. Oh, how more perfect than thy obedience was the obedience of Jesus! . . . Do You
desire help to practise obedience perfectly and with merit? Be obedient always out of love for Jesus.'
Blessed Gemma did indeed understand the value of obedience, and gathered rich fruits of salvation from it.
In the denial of her own will-a denial necessarily implied in the practice of obedience she found all her
happiness. She wrote to her director: 'What consolation I experience in being always under obedience!' She
obeyed as if she had been born to obey, although her natural disposition was to command and dominate
others. But she succeeded in conquering nature, and made virtue triumph in her. 'Her obedience was indeed
perfect,' it was stated in the Processes, 'without questioning or excuses, prompt and joyful. It reached such a
perfection that she suffered torture of body and mind, rather than be wanting in this virtue.'
Here is one more incident which shows Gemma's perfect obedience.
The Gianninis had had a picture of Gemma painted representing her at prayer. After a few days this picture
disappeared. A thousand causes were assigned by the family for its disappearance. It was thought that the
Devil had taken it because of his hatred of the holy girl. Although she was not even remotely suspected, it
was indeed Gemma herself who was to blame. Father Andreuccetti knew of this, having heard it from
Gemma herself. The reader will easily guess the reason why she had hidden the picture, but the priest
explained that her benefactors had had it painted only as a memorial of her, and that by hiding it she would
be the cause of their suspicions and the false conclusions at which they would arrive, and advised her to
return it to its place. Clearly, it was hard for her to obey this priest, but she conquered herself and put the
picture back where she found it.
In a letter to Father Germanus, who no doubt had been told of the disappearance of the picture, and who
was in a better position than anyone to divine her motive, she confessed what she had done:
‘I was questioned (Father, Jesus helped me not to tell a lie), I was questioned in this way: "Gemma," they
said, "you did not take it, did you?" "What is the use of your worrying about it ? " I answered. " Leave it where
it is. What do you want to do with it? Jesus does things well. If you would obtain any good for your souls from
that picture, certainly He would have left it where it was, but with regard to an ugly scandalous figure, and
you all know well what she has been, it is better that when the body is dead and gone, all be forgotten." And
after she had obeyed she wrote again: 'The famous picture that disappeared for some days, is back in its
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