BIOGRAPHY of ST GEMMA GALGANI - Get a Free Blog

When Gemma was miraculously cured of her serious illness, she heard Jesus say: ' My child, to the graces
you have received this morning, others still greater will be added. I shall always be with you. I shall be as a
Father to you, and she will be your Mother,' and He indicated the little statue of Our Lady of Sorrows. But it
was not then that she thought of taking the Blessed Virgin for her Mother. From her earliest years she used
to invoke her as her 'Mom in Heaven,' her' Mom in Paradise,' her' dear Mom.' And in moments of deep
sorrow when her soul was filled with grief, she had another title for her, ' Mater orphanorum,' and the
realization of being alone in the world and of being unable to count upon any but Her love, filled Gemma's
heart with an immense confidence in Her intercession. And the Blessed Virgin did indeed become a Mother
to the orphan, and demonstrated in many ways Her great and tender affection for Her child.
To convey some idea of Gemma's love for the Blessed Virgin we shall quote some passages taken from her
marvelous writings, as well as some of the outbursts that came spontaneously from her lips while she was in
ecstasy.
'After Holy Communion a little while ago, Mom called me and said that to-day was her feastday. She was
dressed differently. She was no longer in black, but in white, and she caressed me tenderly. She pitied me
because of my sins, as was evident from the way she looked at me. And do you know what I do when I am
before her, and before Jesus? I kneel down, and if it is Jesus I kiss His feet, but trembling as it were, and
sometimes in spirit only, because when I suffer I cannot move; but if it is Mom I run to her and kiss her
hands.'
‘Tomorrow is the feast of the Blessed Virgin. You know I love her very much, this Mom. And if I do not love
her enough, she ought to obtain for me a heart more on fire, and then bring me to Jesus in Heaven. I love
Jesus and my Mom; I am always thinking of her, and I do not want to lose any opportunity of pleasing her
and Jesus. If I am to live for a little while longer I desire to be always near them.'
'This morning after Holy Communion, I was thinking: "Oh how great must have been the Blessed Virgin's
sorrow after Jesus was born, as she reflected that He would one day be crucified!" What must have been the
agonies of her heart! How often she must have wept! And she never complained. Poor Mom! And when they
crucified Him, her heart was pierced through and through with grief, because! know well that any harm that
comes to a child in the presence of its parents, grieves the parents as much as the child. Therefore Mom
was crucified together with Jesus. And yet she never complained. After these reflections I made the
resolution not to complain about the way I have to live.'
‘Father, here we are in the month of May. I am thinking of the great favors I have received from Mom during
the first years of my life, and I am ashamed that I have repaid with such little love the heart and the hand that
showered them upon me. What is worse, I have returned her goodness with sin and ingratitude. Yes, Father,
how often I have poured out the ardent desires of my agitated heart before a picture of my Mother, and how
often I have been consoled! But what were my thanks to her? Father, I can truly say that in the greatest trials
of my life, I remember that though I have no longer a mother on earth, I have a much more compassionate
one in Heaven. ... This is the time, Father, when the Mother of Jesus ought to make it clear that she is still
my Mom. The month of May is for me the most beautiful month of the year, the month of graces .... '
'Father, father, how wonderful it is to receive Holy Communion in company with my Mother of Paradise! I did
so yesterday, the 8th of May. I had never received Holy Communion in her company before. Father, do you
know in what consisted all the outpourings of my heart during those moments? In these words: " 0 Mom!
Mom, how I love to call thee Mom! My heart, you see, exults just the same as it does when I think of Jesus."
To which she replies: "You love to call me Mom, but I love to call thee child." These words she repeated at
least three times during the day. It was like Heaven when I heard her speak these sweet words to me. . . .
Let us reflect together, Father. Is not the feast of my heavenly Mom the most beautiful of all the days of the
year? On that day my soul is filled with deep peace and I forget the world and its storms. 'On that day even
the wicked remember that we have a mother in Heaven, full of tender love for us and solicitous for our
welfare, and that we are her children. Even those who do not see her with bodily eyes but only look upon a
simple image of her, cannot help feeling in their hearts sentiments of love, gratitude and confidence. Yes, the
feast of my Mom is for me a day of greater peace and of greater love, and for all, a day of sanctification.'
'Father, though I am resigned, yet how can I live without Jesus! If I could only please His Mother so that at
least she would come instead of Jesus! Oh, if I could only become worthy to be her child! If you knew how
many times this good mother turns away her eyes from my sins, how frequently she acts towards me as a
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