CHAPTER V

1897–1899

Gemma with her Aunt Carolina at Camaiore & Her Illness and Miraculous Recovery

ALL SIGNOR Galgani’s property had gone, and his seven children, and two sisters, Helen and Elisa, had no means of living or any hope save in Divine Providence. In these great sufferings some of the children’s aunts came in part to their assistance. Gemma was invited to stay with her aunt Carolina Lencioni of Camaiore, who being rich, was able to treat her as in her prosperous days at home. But, as she had not grieved over the extreme penury of Lucca, neither did she rejoice at the opulence of Camaiore. Her only delight, as before, was to work in the house, to pray, and to remain alone with Jesus.

Tribulation had thoroughly purified her soul, so that in her aunt’s house her life was more heavenly than earthly. Yet Crosses were not wanting. When at home she was at liberty to give full attention to her practices of devotion. But at Camaiore, as at St Gennaro, she found that she could not do as she liked.

She regretted not being able to lend herself to all the ways of Society, and whenever she did so remorse followed. What was to be done? She could not consult her Confessor, who knew her whole life, he being at a distance, and she could not bring herself to open her mind to others. Her suffering was all the more acute, because in the midst of her perplexities she could not receive the Bread of Angels as often as she desired.

In her anguish she turned to Jesus. But He, to try the virtue of His Servant, seemed not to heed her and left her in desolation. The saintly child however did all in her power to please Him. Like St Catherine of Siena she made an Altar in her heart, before which in ceaseless palpitations of love she adored the Majesty of God. She also, when able, accompanied by her cousin, visited Jesus in His Sacrament in the near Abbey Church of Camaiore; when obliged to go for walks they invariably ended there, and there too remaining as long as allowed her before an ancient image of the Blessed Virgin, she prayed in tears for the repose of her father’s Soul. Soon, however, the enemy came to disturb this repose.

Gemma was gifted with no ordinary beauty; she was of dignified bearing, gentle and graceful; and, although she dressed in the simplest away, without any ornament, she still appeared to the best advantage. Her eyes were known to be remarkably brilliant, but it was not easy to see them; for she managed with wonderful tact to keep them lowered. The piety and modesty manifested in her whole person, far from diminishing her gracefulness, rendered her more attractive.

It happened at Camaiore that a youth of a leading family in the district, seeing her, fell in love with her, and without further preliminaries asked the honor of her hand from her Aunt. What better opportunity of attaining worldly happiness than this could have offered itself to Gemma? But he asked in vain! Not only did she refuse to listen to the proposal; she determined immediately to leave the place, in order to avoid all pressure. But how effect her purpose? She knew that her Aunt would not listen to her reasons; so she had recourse to God in prayer, and He came to her aid. Just then she began to feel very ill, suffering from pains in her head and back, and on this pretext she besought her Aunt to send her back to Lucca.

She knew that she would be going to face hunger and want, but did not hesitate on this account, and so insisted with her aunt, that she succeeded in returning to her own home—to find it, as she had left it, in desolation. Great grief was expressed in the Lencioni family at her leaving, and even her uncle Dominic, though a most unemotional man, shed tears. But her trials did not end here.

Shortly after her return to Lucca, this child of heaven began to feel worse, developing a curvature of the spine. An alarming attack of meningitis set in, together with a total loss of hearing. Large abscesses formed in her head, one of which seemed to make its way down through her chest and settled in her side. Then her hair fell off. And, finally, her limbs became paralyzed.

This sweet girl kept her sufferings secret as long as possible. She feared that, if she were to make them known, she would have to undergo a medical examination. Indeed, although for a longtime she had felt pain where her side was affected, she did not even once look at or touch the sore part to ascertain what the ailment might be. And now was she to let herself be inspected and touched by the doctor? Her agony of mind was great.

She would have suffered all the acute pains of her ailment ten times over, rather than submit to a medical examination. She was, however, obliged to yield to obedience, and made a sacrifice of her will to God. A consultation of learned medical men was held, and from the first it became evident that her’s was a very serious case of spine disease, and probably incurable. They however wished to try some remedies; but they failed, and she grew worse. Thus passed days and nights without any other comfort than what she drew from prayer and resignation to the Divine Will.

Occasionally Our Lord consoled her through her good Angel, who once addressed her thus:

“If Jesus afflicts thee corporally He always does so in order to purify thee more and more; be good.”

She herself wrote of this and added: “Oh how often in my long sickness did He not soothe my heart with consoling words!” Here observe how her familiarity with her Angel kept increasing. She was then in her twentieth year. She took greatly to heart the anxieties of her friends on her account, and was chided for it by Our Lord.

She tells us of it: “One morning they brought me Holy Communion and Jesus making His presence felt, reproached me greatly about my weakness of soul: ‘Either it is the result,’ He said, ‘of thy sinful self love, or because of thy excessive embarrassment at needing the help of others.”

Taught and consoled by these words, Gemma sought nothing more, and during her whole sickness remained indifferent to all that happened to her. The account of her great sufferings got about, and many persons visited her in order to witness such great patience in a young girl. She received them all sweetly and thanked them with an assurance that she was equally satisfied either to die or continue suffering as might be pleasing to God.

One of her visitors brought her the life of Venerable Gabriel of the Dolours, who has since been beatified. Gemma up to then had not heard of him; nor did she at first seem to take to him although all her friends had begun to invoke him fervently in her behalf. One day, about the same time, she felt oppressed by the blackness: a melancholy which turned out to be a temptation of the Enemy.

Having first by his arts thoroughly upset the innocent girl, behold, casting off the mask, he (devil) appeared to her and said: “If you wilt be guided by me, I will take thee out of this suffering and cure thee perfectly, giving thee not only health, but every pleasure you desire”

This is the first time that we find Gemma in open conflict with the devil. We don’t know if the temptation was one of real apparition or—as would seem from her own words—one of mere suggestion. However it did not succeed. Although this Angelic girl was only a novice in such encounters, she quickly saw through it. A violent general agitation and disturbance of thought, such as she had never before experienced, beset her, and revealed the presence of the evil spirit. The thought of Blessed Gabriel then came to her mind; she invoked him with confidence and—to check the temptation—declared aloud: “First the Soul, then the body!”

The tempter returned to the assault a second time, and again Gemma invoked Blessed Gabriel, and making the sign of the Cross, returned to her peace of mind and to greater union with God. Having thus experienced the power of Blessed Gabriel’s protection, she became devoted to him, and sought the Volume of his Life which she had put aside.

“That same evening,” she said, “I began to read the life of Brother Gabriel, I read it over and over and grew in admiration of his virtues and his ways. My devotion to him increased; at night I did not sleep without having his picture under my pillow and after that I began to see him near me. I don’t know how to explain this; but I felt his presence; at all times and in every action Brother Gabriel came to my mind.”

That lady came back for her book; but how different was Gemma’s feeling when returning it to what she felt on receiving it! This time her heart was moved and tears came to her eyes. “That Saint of God,” said she, in allusion to her returning the life, “wished soon to repay my little sacrifice, and appeared to me in sleep all clothed in white; I did not recognize him at first. He saw it, and opening the white garment he showed himself clothed as a Passionist. Then I quickly knew him, but remained silent; whereupon he asked me why I cried at parting with his Life. I don’t know what I answered but he rejoined: “Be good and I will come back to thee.”

Blessed Gabriel’s Visit left Gemma’s Soul in great peace and sweetness, and greatly increased her longing for heaven, so that she was often heard to say: “Yes, to Jesus! Let us go off with Jesus, to remain with Jesus.”

But that was not His will, and she, repressing that yearning of her heart, remained tranquil on her bed of pain, awaiting resignedly that God’s will alone might be done in her. She lay always in the same position, except when occasionally moved by some kind hand, as without help she could not stir.

Besides those of her family, the good Nursing Sisters of St Camillus de Lellis frequently called to see her, moved not only by the charity of their Institute, but by the profound veneration they felt for the dear invalid. Occasionally they brought some of their novices with them, persuaded that, in presence of the rare virtue of which Gemma gave proof on her bed of pain, they would be greatly edified. Several others came to see her for the same reason. Thus a whole year passed by and that breath of life had not yet ceased to palpitate.

The misery of the family increased, owing to the debts incurred for doctors and medicine, and there was no one to be found who would lend a farthing. Without doubt, if the kind persons who came to visit poor Gemma had known the extreme poverty of the family, they would have remedied it in some way; but the poor sufferers shrank from making known their want.

At last things came to such a pass that they were not able to provide the commonest restoratives for their sick Gemma. On the Vigil of the Immaculate Conception, 1898, the Sisters of St Camillus came to pay Gemma one of their customary visits. While they were with her she felt strongly moved to imitate their example, and believing the inspiration to be from God, she resolved to promise Our Lady that if cured she would join them. She felt greatly consoled, as she told me afterwards, at her resolution, and manifested it to Sister Leonilda, who promised on her recovery to receive her.

Full of joy in the midst of her many pains, Gemma mentioned her resolution to her Confessor who came that day to hear her confession, and he quite approved of it. “He gave me his permission,” she said, “at once; more than that, he gave me another Consolation: leave to make the Vow of Virginity, that before then I had not been able to obtain; and that same evening we made it for ever.”

In this connection I will give Gemma’s own account of what happened preparatory to this solemn act: “I had been begging of my confessor,” she said, “for a long time to allow me to make a vow of virginity, and asked this favor of him for many years; but I did not know what it meant. However, according to the idea I had formed of it, there was no beautiful gift that would be more dear to Jesus. It was impossible to get this leave; but instead of the vow of virginity, he let me make that of Purity; then on Christmas night, 1897, I made this first vow to Jesus. I remember that Jesus was very pleased at it.

My joy too was so great that I passed the night and the following day in paradise.”

It was but a short time before his death when that holy prelate, her Confessor, thinking well to set aside all reserve, allowed his spiritual child to make the Vow of Virginity. Gemma had at last reached the climax of her desires, and could say with good reason that she was all for Jesus and Him only. A sweet calm took possession of her Soul that evening, and with ardent desire she looked forward to her Communion of the morrow, in which united with Jesus she would promise her heavenly Mother to enter Religion. With these thoughts in her mind a placid sleep came over her aching members, when lo(!) Blessed Gabriel appears and thus addresses her:

“Gemma, make your vow to be a Religious freely and with good heart, but add nothing to it.”

And he meant by these words that she was not to bind herself to enter any particular order, as she was to be a Religious differently from others; that is, mystically to be transformed in Jesus.

The simple girl did not understand his words and asked why she should not add anything more to her vow; but his only reply was in two words: “My Sister!” accompanied by a tender look and a smile. Gemma, describing this scene, said: “I knew nothing of all this, and to thank him kissed his habit. He then took the heart worn as a badge by the Passionists, gave it me to kiss, and placed it on my breast outside the coverlet; after which, having again repeated the words ‘My Sister!’ he disappeared.

When the morning came Gemma received Communion, pronounced her Vow, and remained absorbed in heavenly delights. In this way pains and consolations kept coming in turns, the strength of the dear invalid was growing less, while her Malady grew daily worse.

The Doctors, wishing to make a last attempt at her case, undertook to operate on the abscess in her side, and cauterized her repeatedly along the spine, etc. etc. This was on the 4th of January, 1899. During all these torturing operations this admirable patient refused to take chloroform, preferring to remain guardian of her own body, rather than accept any alleviation of pain. Every attempt proved useless and she continued to grow worse until the 20th of the same month when another tumor manifested itself on her head, causing her violent spasmodic pains.

The Doctors were again called, and thought of operating on the tumors on her head; but finding the patient in such a weak state, they abandoned the idea, and, being unable to do more, they pronounced her case to be hopeless. On the 2nd of February, by their advice, she received. the Holy Viaticum, as she was not expected to live till midnight. She did not die, but she did not grow better. The disease continued its course slowly, consuming an organism already half wasted. But the time had nearly come for the reward of such heroic patience.

Gemma was not going to die, as our Lord willed to be greatly glorified in her before taking her to Himself in Paradise. Nothing less than a miracle was needed to cure such a terrible malady, and God wrought this miracle in a most extraordinary way. It will be well for Gemma herself to relate how it happened:

“They were making triduums and novenas for my recovery. I, alone, feeling myself reinvigorated by so many precious words heard from the life of Jesus, remained indifferent. Just then one of my old mistresses, who was very ill, came to see me for the last time, to say good-bye until we should meet in Heaven. She then begged of me to make a novena by myself to Blessed Margaret Mary Alacoque, and assured me that she would obtain me the grace, either of a perfect cure or of going straight to Heaven at my death.

“To please her, I began it on the 23rd of February, 1899. It was nearly midnight when I became aware of the rattling of a rosary, felt a hand on my forehead, and heard a voice repeating nine times in succession the Pater, Ave, Gloria. However, I scarcely answered through exhaustion. The same voice asked me: Do you wish to recover? Pray with faith every evening to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. I will come to you until the Novena is ended, and we will pray together to this Most Sacred Heart.

“It was the Passionist, Blessed Gabriel of the Dolours; and, as promised, he continued to come every evening; he placed his hand on my forehead and we recited the Paters together, and he made me add three Glorias to Blessed Margaret Mary. The Novena ended exactly on the First Friday of March. I called my confessor and made my confession. In the morning early, still confined to bed, I received Holy Communion, Oh! what happy moments I passed with Jesus! He, too, said to me—Gemma, do you wish to recover?

“My emotion was so great that I could not reply. I answered with my heart: Jesus, whatever You will. Poor Jesus! The grace was granted me. I was cured. It was only a little after two o’clock; then I got up. Those around me were crying with joy. I, too, felt happy, not on account of my recovery, but because Jesus had chosen me for His child. In fact, before leaving me that morning, He said impressively to my soul: My child, the gift you hast received this morning shall be followed by many others still greater. I will be always with thee and act as thy Father, and she shall be thy Mother, He said, pointing to Our Lady of Dolours. Paternal help shall never be wanting to those who place themselves in My hands; nothing therefore, shalt you lack, even though I Myself have deprived thee of every consolation and help in this world.”

Indeed just at that time the misery in the Galgani home, instead of becoming less, had increased to such a degree that, when the Aunts in the country omitted to send help, it became necessary to live on occasional small alms brought by a charitable person. How often were not those poor children obliged to go to bed without supper after having had at midday only a miserably small repast of dry bread! And how often had not our Gemma for her only food during the day a little wine that a poor woman brought her!

“This is enough for me,” she used to say; “I am now in good health and have no need of more. If there be anything in the house, give it to my brothers and sisters.” And she did with so little because in the morning she had been fully satisfied with the food of the angels—with Jesus in His Sacrament. Blessed loss! Blessed gain! The rest of this life will convince us of this, and prove it by facts.