BIOGRAPHY of ST GEMMA GALGANI - Get a Free Blog

‘One night-I do not remember what night it was-I was sleeping peacefully when the Devil came with a
temptation somewhat bad. I fought for more than an hour or so; I prayed, made Signs of the Cross, etc. One
invocation only to the Immaculate Conception freed me altogether, but he, being furious, wanted to have his
revenge. He would have liked to strike me, but as this had been forbidden him since that time the Father
Provincial chased him away, he could not do it. He cried out: "War upon your Father; your manuscript is in
my hands!” And he went away.’ [Lettere ed estasi, p. 25]
To compel the restoration of the manuscript to its place Father Germanus had recourse to exorcisms, and it
was returned; but in what a state! All the pages were smoke-stained and singed, just as if they had been held
at a fire. The writing, however, was still legible, and so Gemma had not to do it a second time. The
manuscript, such as it came from the hands of the Devil, is now preserved by the Postulator General of the
Passionists, and is an eloquent monument of the powerless rage of the angel of darkness against the
humility of the Servant of God.
In continuation of the letter quoted above, Gemma said: 'An hour or so after I had been to confession, the
Devil said: "As long as you are doing it for yourself do what you like, but be sure and do nothing to help
sinners or you will pay me dearly for it." Father, tell me something. How will all this end? The Devil is using
every means at his disposal, and is thinking of others.'
And the Evil One did indeed use every means in his power, but all his efforts were in vain. He tried to cause
trouble between Monsignor Volpi and Father Germanus by letters which, if they were not actually written by
him, must, from the poison they contained, have been written at his dictation or under his inspiration. To bring
discredit on the Servant of God he took from a desk the letters Gemma had received from her director-letters
she kept religiously and read and re-read for her spiritual profit, and scattered them about on the floor;'
where they were found the next morning. Naturally Gemma was suspected, and she thereupon wrote
immediately to Father Germanus:
‘Father, Father, Jesus is still exposed upon the altar. Run to Him and ask Him who it was that scattered my
letters (yours) all over the floor. I am suspected, but it seems to me I did not do it. . . . They all know about it
because it was thought that there were thieves in the house and they were all called. Do you understand me,
Father? All your letters were found thrown about the room. Jesus will explain everything to you. I have told
my confessor, and he said it was the Devil. Who knows what the Devil will do next, Father; but if you think it
right, let the household know.' [Lettere ed estasi, p. 34]
She had guessed the reason of these paltry stratagems of the angel of darkness. 'Yes, yes,' she wrote, 'the
monster will redouble his efforts to deprive me of help, because he sees that this help is for me a great
blessing. But if even this should happen, Jesus at any rate will come just as often to my heart.' With this in
view, the malign spirit first of all tried to shake her trust in her confessor, actually taking his appearance and
sitting in his place in the confessional. On one occasion the Servant of God recognized him when he spoke,
his words being so different from those she was accus-tomed to hear from the pious Monsignor Volpi, and
she fled away -horrified. At another time his insinuations were so subtle that she was almost on the point of
believing him, and Father Germanus attests that it took him a long time to restore her peace of mind.
Against Father Germanus the Devil's efforts were unceasing. Gemma was sometimes about to yield. She
mentions this herself in a letter: 'I had indeed lost all my confidence in the Father. My enemy, that Devil who
is full of limitless deceit, was making me see so clearly that the Father wanted me to lose my soul that I had
believed him well enough. But Jesus has enlightened me.' 'The enemy does not neglect to visit me from time
to time,' she wrote with her accustomed candor to her director. 'He would like to take away again the peace
of mind you gave me. But Jesus has helped me and he has not been able to do anything. It is enough that I
make an act, or say a prayer, or that I begin to meditate, to make that ugly thing begin his attacks, saying : "
What does he care about you? He is neglecting his duty; he is a chatterbox . . .'" 'And would you know how
many temptations he suggests about you! How he tries to make me believe that you are mad, that you are a
soothsayer, etc. At other times he makes these words resound in my ears: "Oh yes, trust yourself to him, to
that fool of a charlatan ! That has made you believe in him ?" . . .'
What was the impression made on Father Germanus by these anything but desirable compliments? He
certainly remembered the words spoken to Gemma by the Devil: 'War, war upon thy Father, and upon your
souls,' and her remark: ' It seems as if the beast is more furious with you than with me.' 'And I can say,' he
added some years later in his biography of Gemma, 'that the Devil knew well how to keep his word.'
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