BIOGRAPHY of ST GEMMA GALGANI - Get a Free Blog

how beautiful is Thy Heart! . . . 0 Jesus, I wish that my voice could be heard all over the world; I would urge
all sinners to seek refuge in Thy Heart.' 'Do they make Thee weep, these poor sinners? 0 Jesus, do not
abandon them. I am ready to do anything whatsoever. You didst die on a Cross; make me also die. They are
all children of Thine, and if they are Thy children do not abandon them. You know I desire them all to be
saved. If You do abandon them, then there is no longer any hope. . . . Ought not I to suffer for them?
Therefore be avenged on me. There are many sinners, but very few victims. . . . 0 Jesus, why will You not
pardon them this evening? I desire to be a victim for all sinners. Oh, tell me, 0 Jesus, that You desire all to be
saved. What does Thy Mother say to Thee? I accept every kind of suffering that You send. If they offend
Thee, be You revenged upon me. You didst die on the Cross also for them; wait for them, 0 Jesus! Grant my
request, wait for them. They can be converted. . . . We are all the children of the same Father; then why do
You not save them? 0 Jesus, canst You really bear it any longer? Vent Thy wrath upon me. I want to be a
victim for sinners; to live as a victim and to die as a victim.'
‘0 Jesus, whom ought I to pray for?' asked Gemma in another ecstasy. 'You Thyself, 0 Jesus, have
recommended sinners to my prayers. Remember, 0 Jesus, that they are all the children of Thy Blood. Do You
not suffer for their sakes? And I also, 0 Jesus, I suffer this evening, but gladly with Thee and near Thee, for
when I am near Thee, suffering is almost nothing to me; but alone, no.'
Because Gemma's heart was in very truth full to overflowing with love for souls, and because out of the
abundance of the heart the mouth speaks, it is not to be wondered at that the same ardent prayers were
often on her lips. Her love for souls made her almost audacious. She wanted all souls to be saved, and
Jesus must hear her. 'I am thinking of sinners; I want them all to be saved, all. . . . I must think of sinners
only….You canst look after the others.' 'Mother mine, Mom, just one thing more. Jesus is displeased with
sinners! Tell Him to revenge Himself upon me but not upon them.' 'I have told Thee, 0 Lord, that what You
have suffered for me and for sinners is enough. Yes, it is enough. I shall push my shoulders under Thy
Cross.' '0 Jesus, if You had made Thyself known to all Thy creatures as You have made Thyself known to
me, there would not be so much sin.'
APOSTLE
Similar thoughts abound in her letters. 'Ask Jesus,' she wrote, ' to give me the grace to be able to win souls
for Him through prayer and suffering.' , What is sweeter than to be filled with the thought of Jesus, and to be
before that Victim of love and sorrow-a Victim for my sins and for· my salvation and the salvation of souls.
Jesus will have compassion on me because He sees my heart. He knows its dispositions, how I am ready to
do and suffer all things. He also knows the sorrow I feel at the thought of my ingratitude, and on seeing Him
so unworthily treated.' 'The greatest torment, it seems to me, I have to endure is for His sake. I should
willingly give every drop of my blood to please Him and to prevent sinners from offending Him.'
‘If Jesus should demand the sacrifice of my life, I would offer it to Him immediately. If He should desire
something else of me, I am ready. I shall be satisfied when I am a victim, provided that it be soon, so that I
may make reparation for my innumerable sins and the sins of the whole world.'
God was pleased with the generous offer made by Blessed Gemma. Like St. Catherine of Siena, she had
placed herself before the mouth of Hell to prevent sinners from casting themselves into its flames, and
Father Germanus, the sharer of all her secrets, could write of her : ' The number of souls snatched from the
Devil by this humble child will be known only in eternity.’ [Life of Gemma Galgani, by Padre Germanus, C.P.,
Chap. XXVI]
In her Autobiography, St. Therese of Lisieux tells of the conversion of her first sinner, her ' firstborn,' a man
named Pranzini who had been condemned to death for several crimes. His salvation was despaired of, but
little Therese-s-little also in years, for she was only thirteen-determined to obtain his conversion. She asked
Jesus for a sign that her prayers had been heard, and she received a sign. Just before being executed
Pranzini seized the Crucifix which a priest was holding out to him, and kissed the Sacred Wounds three
times. 'Ever since,' she wrote, ' my craving has grown stronger, and daily Jesus has whispered to me, as to
the Samaritan woman: " Give Me to drink!" It was an interchange of love. Upon sinners I poured the Blood of
Jesus; and I offered their souls, ransomed and cleansed by that Blood, to quench His thirst. But meanwhile
my thirst for souls waxed and waxed; it was the most exquisite reward I could desire.' [The Little Flower of
Jesus, Chap. V.]
We have already referred to a similar incident recorded of Gemma by Sister Julia Sestini, and it can be said
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