CHAPTER XXVI

Gemma’s Apostolate and Zeal for the Salvation of Souls

WHEN I asked my Superior’s leave to write and publish this story of Gemma’s life, he, having already heard much of this marvelous young girl, highly approved of my doing so. And while encouraging me in the task, he advised me to bring out in relief the fact, that God entrusts to certain singularly favored souls a double mission; that namely of sanctifying themselves by the practice of heroic virtue, and of doing good service in the Church by their works as well as by their example. Thus in a few words an enlightened and holy man had traced for me the plan of the life I was about to compile. Now having in many chapters dealt with the first part of my work, I should be wanting if I did not devote at least one CHAPTER to the second part, and thus give a completeness to my task.

Gemma had this mission to labor for the good of souls, and especially for the conversion of sinners, thereby co-operating as far as in her lay with the work of the Redemption. This mission was not given her in the usual way by which Our Lord through His Church ordinarily confides it to others; but by a particular explicit, and, I may say, a solemn investiture. She herself will tell us about it:

“Some days ago I had scarcely received Jesus in the Holy Communion when He asked me this question: Tell Me My child do you love Me greatly? “What could I answer? But my heart answered Him by its throbbing. ‘If you love Me,’ He rejoined, ‘you wilt do whatever I want of thee.’

“And then sighing, He exclaimed: ‘What ingratitude and malice there is in the world! Sinners continue pertinaciously to live in crime; weak and heartless souls will not do themselves violence to overcome the flesh; those in tribulation lose courage and despair; indifference keeps increasing daily, and no one amends. I cease not to dispense heavenly graces and favors to all My creatures; life and light to My Church; virtue and strength to him who rules it; wisdom to those who direct souls that are in darkness; constancy and fortitude to those who have to follow Me; graces of every kind to all the just; I send My light into the dark dens of sinners, and even there soften their hearts, doing all I can to convert them. But notwithstanding all that, what do I ever gain? What correspondence do I ever find in My creatures whom I have loved so much? No one any longer cares for My Heart and for My Love. I am forgotten as though I had never loved them and as though I had never suffered for them. My Heart is always in sadness; I am left almost alone in My Churches; if many assemble there it is for other motives than worship and I have to suffer the pain of seeing My House become a theatre of amusement. Many through hypocrisy betray Me by sacrilegious Communions. I can bear no more.’”

This loving Lord of all had previously made similar complaints to His servant to move her to offer herself as a victim of expiation for the sins of the world, and we have seen with what generosity she corresponded. Later on He will renew the same complaints to induce her to sacrifice even her life for the same end and Gemma will as we shall see offer herself with equal readiness.

Now He wishes to lead her to spend her whole being for the conversion of sinners. “If you love Me,” He says, “you wilt do what I want of thee,” and with a clear light He lets her see the form of her Apostolate in its smallest details.

“You know O Lord,” she answered, “how ready I am to sacrifice myself in everything. I will bear every sort of pain for Thee. I will give every drop of my blood to please Thy Heart and to hinder the outrages of sinners against Thee.”

Let us see her in action. Of torments we need not speak for she has suffered them in every way beyond measure, and shed her blood I may say in torrents from her feet, hands, side and from her eyes and whole body, so as almost to leave no blood in her veins. But what works can this young girl perform to fit her to be an apostle of Jesus Christ? Let us have no doubt. By means of the Spirit with which Our Lord has filled her she will achieve her mission perfectly. And what she does not reach by action she will certainly attain by prayer and tears. I am able to assert, that from the first day that I came to know Gemma up to that of her death I always found her exercising her zeal for the conversion of sinners. I say from the first day, alluding to a fact already mentioned in CHAPTER XII.

Other authentic facts relating to similar conversions are registered in my copious repertory, and omitted here for brevity’s sake. Gemma had found the secret of moving the Heart of her Jesus, and those innocent tears, those burning desires, that force of argument that she managed so well, were always successful. On the last day we shall know how many souls have been dragged in this way from the clutches of the enemy by this humble virgin. It is certain that not a day passed without her praying for sinners. A proof of this is to be found in the register of her ecstasies through which without being aware of it she laid open her whole soul. “If You wouldst give me one a day,” she was heard to say, “think Lord, what that would be.” And again: “O Jesus, do not abandon poor sinners, think of sinners and of me; I want them all saved.”

And as she had always some particular sinner more especially in mind. “That one,” she used to say, “I want You, Jesus, to remember particularly, because I want him saved together with me.” Remark my words: “together with me”—the persuasive eloquence of love.

This angelic girl often turned for help to her heavenly Mother whose power with Our Lord she had well experienced, in whatever she had most at heart. One day when in ecstasy she found the Holy Mother greatly afflicted and at the same time resolved not to take further interest in a soul for which Gemma was pleading. Behold with what earnestness this child of heaven set about dissuading the Mother of God from her determination:

“But what do I hear thee say, Mother? Abandon that soul? Is it not a question of one belonging to Jesus? Has He not shed all His Blood for this soul? . . . ’Tis true, I myself have forgotten it for some days; but wilt you abandon it on this account? No, no, be firm, go and appease Jesus.”

Here it would seem as if the Holy Mother found the undertaking very difficult, for Gemma said: “But Jesus always obeys His Mother. Then wilt you say that you canst not do it? But if you art omnipotent!” And again:” Oh! rather than abandon a soul! O Mother, it is impossible that Jesus would forsake a soul! Why, He even had mercy on the thief!”

“But do you know,” replied the Blessed Virgin, “what this sinner is? I could show thee what a malignant soul is his.”

Again Gemma: “I know, Mother, what he is, but I don’t want to look at it. When he is saved, yes, then I will see him. O my Mother why do you treat me like this today, you who intercedest for sinners? Hast you perchance ceased to be Mother. Surely it is impossible. But today wilt you leave me in such affliction? Obtain for me from Jesus what you didst get for me on Saturday (she is alluding to the conversion of another sinner for whom also she had prayed very much) then how contented I should be!”

“Abandon a soul!” These words pierced Gemma’s heart and filled her with consternation. I myself wished to have a proof of this, by repeating them to her with regard to a penitent whom I had resolved to give up because so refractory. This is how she answered me: “Wicked father! rather than be discouraged or use that horrible word ‘abandon’ why not call her to yourself and make her tell you all the truth, and show her affection as you did with me while I was a thousand times worse than she? Be careful; if you can see her, well and good; if not, write to her at once that if she does not return into the right path as Jesus wishes and leave oil all sin He will smite her. This is all I say; I know everything, everything.” But she did not keep her resolve to say no more and soon wrote to me again as follows:

“Assuredly father, Jesus is not content with that soul; no, no, there is so much wanting. He has told me terrible things about her! Tell her to reform; otherwise Jesus will strike her down. Act in this way father: when you speak to her say something of me and tell her to come to me. If she had come things would not have turned out as they did.”

I will relate another fact in the words of a most reliable witness who told me of it; “I was asked,” said this person, “by a lady acquaintance to recommend her brother, a great sinner, to Gemma. I did so accordingly and she while in ecstasy began to plead to Jesus for him. But He (no doubt to try her faith) replied that He knew not that sinner. ‘How do You not know him,’ she said ‘since he is Thy child?’ Then she turned to Mary; but seeing that even she remained silent, and wept, she began to pray to Blessed Gabriel of the Dolours (Passionist); and he also was silent. But Gemma for all that did not lose courage; she redoubled her prayers. At the same time she said to me: “That man must indeed be a great sinner; Jesus says He knows him not, Mother weeps, and Blessed Gabriel will not answer me.”

After a year of this assiduous praying, one day, while returning from Church with Gemma, I met the servant of the above-mentioned lady in the greatest consternation; the brother of her mistress, she said, was dying. We were greatly pained; but we had only gone about twenty yards when Gemma exclaimed: “He is saved, he is saved.” I asked her who? “The brother of that lady,” she answered. I learned afterwards that this man breathed his last pressing the priest’s hand precisely when Gemma was going home; that coincided exactly with the moment when she said aloud, “He is saved, he is saved.”

Gemma was often asked to pray for sinners by friends, owing to their high opinion of her sanctity. But it frequently happened that God Himself made such cases known to His servant directly, while she was at home, and by providential coincidences while she was out of doors. She was always ready to take charge of them whatever way they came, rejoicing in each one as if she had found a treasure, and devoted herself the more earnestly to them in proportion to their number.

“I would wish,” she said, “to bathe with my blood all those places where Jesus is outraged. I would wish all sinners to be saved, because they have been redeemed by the Precious Blood of Jesus.” The last one that she had in her mind, or, as she used to say, that she carried on her shoulders, was a gentleman of Lucca, a notorious and obstinate sinner, but not personally known to her. The charitable child labored long and earnestly for his conversion, and renewed her assaults on heaven without losing confidence. In her last sickness she said: “I am keeping him on my shoulders for the whole of the Lent; then he will be taken off.” On Holy Thursday, the good priest who had recommended him to Gemma all full of joy told me that a great sinner had been converted in his hands; it was Gemma’s sinner. Two days later freed from that great weight, with another palm in hand, the virgin of Lucca took flight to heaven.

This was the last conversion wrought through Gemma’s intercession. The first, an interesting one, took place before she received the solemn investiture of her Apostolate. It was while she was yet in her father’s house stricken by the dangerous disease that brought her to death’s door. Among those who used to visit and nurse her was a woman who was found to be leading a bad life. Some of the family complained of this to Gemma and she with her face full of animation replied: “O then perhaps the Magdalene was rejected by Jesus because she was a sinner? Let her come; who knows that we may not be able to do her some good? Don’t take her from me I implore of you.”

And although in a dying state she took the poor sinner in hand. It was a difficult case as the woman lived by her own infamy. But what cannot the Charity of Jesus Christ effect through a soul inflamed by it as was Gemma’s? Her Aunt of Camaiore from time to time sent her money to meet the grave necessities of her illness; and she, not caring for herself, passed it with exquisite delicacy to this woman, paying even the rent of her house so that the want of it might not cause her to offend God. And when any of the family asked what she had done with the money sent by her Aunt she answered: “Hush! I’m not wasting anything you’ll see; you shall know the use I make of it.”

In this way owing to her repeated attentions and the fervor of her untiring exhortations, she so prevailed with that soul as to wrest her from the hands of the devil. She got her to make a general confession and from that time forward she has been leading a good life.

Certainly Satan must have growled with rage at the zeal of this holy girl, finding how she snatched his choicest victims from him. He often appeared to her with eyes of fire and in threatening tones said: “While acting for thyself do as you please, but mind, do nothing for the conversion of sinners; if you attempt it, you shall pay me dearly for it.”

At other times assuming the role of prudent counselor he would say: “How and whence comes such presumption? You art laden with sins and all the years of thy life would not suffice to bewail and expiate them; and yet you lose time about the sins of others. Do you not see that thine own soul is in danger? A strange gain that of thinking for others and neglecting thyself” But all was in vain. Once she was heard to say to Our Lord in ecstasy: “Do You wish to know, Jesus, who has forbidden me to think about sinners? The devil. On the contrary, Jesus, I recommend them to Thee. Think of them, O Jesus, poor sinners; and teach me to do as much as possible to save them.”

Whenever it happened that any one of those sinners was hostile to her, then indeed her prayers for such a one were a hundred times more fervent. There are many proofs of this; here is one example: “Jesus, by order of my Confessor I recommend to Thee my greatest enemy, my greatest adversary. Guide him and if Thy Hand should have to weigh heavily on him, no, press it on me. Give him every grace Jesus, do not abandon him, console him. What does it matter if I am left in pain? But do not let him suffer. I recommend him to Thee now and for ever. Confer so many benefits on him that they may surpass immeasurably all that wrong—You understand me, Jesus? I mean all that he would have done to me; and to show Thee that I wish him well, tomorrow I offer my Communion for him. He perhaps will think of doing us some harm, and we wish him every good.”

Gemma’s heart’s desire was not only to save the souls of sinners, but to help all to love her Lord, to serve Him faithfully, and to become perfect in the practice of virtue. She seemed unable to give herself peace at seeing so much languor among Christians of the present day, among the secular and regular clergy, and in the sacred cloisters themselves. Besides praying as she did, continually for them all, she availed herself of every opportunity to advise, correct, and, if needed, threaten in the name of Jesus, so as to ensure fidelity to duty.

“This,” she said to one, “let me tell you, does not please Jesus, you must give it up.” And to another: “In order to please Jesus you should do so and so.”

A venerable prelate once came to consult her, and I happened to be present. He asked her if his way of governing others was right, and she who knew him to be too ready to believe stories and inclined to be hard with his subjects answered: “Father, it is necessary that you act more cautiously and more gently; otherwise you will not content anyone.”

This simple girl had no human respect. She said things as she felt them, with modesty and humility, but without any hesitation. And her frankness when dealing with others was not displeasing to anyone because the angelic candor that accompanied it was manifest to all.

She wrote pressing letters to directors of souls with whom she was in correspondence, and to her Confessor, urging them to correct some of their penitents who were known to her: “Speak to her, tell her that things cannot go on thus; that soul loves herself more than Jesus; warn her of it.”

Nor did she spare me, but very often admonished me freely for my defects both in person and by letter; and I must confess she was always right. Although she so hated mixing herself in the affairs of others, and was so concentrated in her inmost thoughts that she seemed to belong to another world, still, because God’s glory called for it, she was frequently to be found engaged in this work of apostleship.

Sometimes God Himself sent her as His Ambassadress to admonish even distinguished persons. And she went at once after having the approval of her Confessor or Director, for she never trusted to her own lights. “Several days ago,” thus she wrote when asking one of these approvals,” Jesus said these words to me: ‘Go to the Superior (of a certain convent) and tell her that if she continues to neglect My inspirations, remaining obstinate in her determination not to yield to the commands of her Superiors, she will very soon realize the consequences, as I have already prepared her punishment. Woe to her, if she does not heed this last warning! Tell her also that if I have withheld her chastisement, I have done so solely for the sake of certain souls who are very dear to Me. But now there is no more time. Tell her that all lies in her hands.’

And again: “On Thursday during the Holy Hour Jesus asked me if I had willingly suffered all that I went through on that night referring to another occasion in the usual martyrdom of Thursday and Friday for the ill deeds of certain nuns; I answered that I had most willingly. And I heard these words: ‘Woe to them, and to the one who guides them, if they refuse to do as Jesus wishes! If they refuse to hear His voice, they will very soon be sorry for it, but it will be too late; because Jesus will no longer grant the peace of the past to that Community; discord will daily increase among them and they will soon be forced to separate.”

Happily those nuns listened to Our Lord’s voice; they looked to their eternal interests and the peace of Christ was established in their midst. All this was due to the prayers, dolorous expiation, and zeal of one who only wished to be called “Poor Gemma.”

Our Lord, in order to render His servant’s ministry in the interests of souls more efficacious, willed to enrich her with extraordinary graces. Such in particular were, the discernment of spirits and the knowledge of hidden and future things. She was in spiritual as well as epistolary communication with certain great souls whom she had never seen; yet she knew them so thoroughly that even her Confessors who had directed her for a considerable time marveled at it. When she met persons casually for the first time she often became aware through certain spiritual impressions of their being souls very dear to God or of the ordinary run, and in a marked way she knew if they were in mortal sin; Then she was seen to suffer even exteriorly at finding herself in such company, so repulsive was sin to her. Notwithstanding this, she had no difficulty in admonishing them as I have already said, when social rules gave her an opening.

Indeed she knew perfectly well how to use the Divine light given her in order to help efficaciously whoever had need of it. I myself had frequent recourse to Gemma in my doubts about others although on principle and in disposition I am not credulous, especially when dealing with women, unless there is positive proof of their spirit. She used to answer me in a few days; thus for example: “Believe me father, I may be mistaken, but the person about whom you ask me has not good intentions. I don’t like to say it, but you will get no good out of her; therefore you would do well not to attend to her. Ah! how deformed I have seen that soul before God!”

Facts very soon proved that it was precisely as she had said, and I had to thank this holy child for having enlightened me in time. It was the reverse on other occasions when she recommended to me a soul of whom, judging from appearances, I had greatly doubted and intended to rid myself. Here again Gemma was always right. She was not less so when predicting the fatal consequences that would ensue if what God had made known to her as His Will was not done. I could give many proofs of what I have said but as there is not space for it I confine myself to the mere statement. Still I ought to inform the reader that Gemma was most sparing in these predictions she spoke so very little and attended so closely to herself. Nothing less than the manifest glory of God or the good of some soul could induce her to come out of this reserve. With these exceptions she never showed herself to be a prophetess. I say “never”; for when she was questioned by curious persons, or even by her director her ordinary modest answer was: “I don’t know; ask Jesus.”

The way in which the above-mentioned light regarding hidden and future things was given her by God, is told us in her own words:

“Dear father, I mention this to you alone: Sometimes when I am not thinking of anything a light comes to my mind. I pay no attention to it, and after a day or so I see that what flashed before me was from my God. This, you should know, happens very often; but all in silence.” Our Lord, according to mystics, is wont to speak in this way to His servants. I pointed this out before when treating of Divine Locutions.

Gemma’s humility made her slow to believe, but in the depth of her soul she had not a shadow of doubt, and only her spiritual father could persuade her that the thing was not as she saw it. Occasionally feeling a necessity to verify something, she asked Jesus with humble confidence to explain it to her, and Our Dear Lord was sure to gratify her.

“I have asked Jesus,” thus she writes to her confessor, “if what you intend to do should be done, and He answered me: ‘Tell him to do it.’ Later on when Jesus came back He desired me tell you to do things so that they be not noticed and so that no one be aware of them. If you wish to bring the father (that you have in mind) Jesus also is satisfied; you will then be convinced of certain things that are now perplexing you; Jesus has told me so.”

And it was quite time; for that holy and learned confessor seeing such extraordinary things in his penitent found himself in a state of indecision and was thinking of bringing a Religious from Rome to examine her spirit!

Another matter has its place here. I had instituted in Rome and in several other cities and villages a Society called the College of Jesus. It consists of a selection of generous souls who, without any external display of dignities and offices, without secretary or treasurer, labor to cultivate their own spiritual lives, and under the direction of a good Priest do, according to each one’s capacity, some meritorious work in the Church. Such a work would be, for the decorum of the Divine worship, particularly of the Blessed Sacrament; in hospitals, prisons and families; in a word, wherever the members knew of disorders to be removed and souls to be helped. The code of regulations that I gave this pious Society pleased many. In a short time a large number joined it, and with God’s blessing much good was done.

When I went to Lucca I spoke of it to Gemma she greatly rejoiced at it, wished to be the first to join it, and immediately started to propagate the good work. How many journeys did she not make from house to house, to seek members, animate directors, and organize works. She often spoke of it to Jesus, even during her ecstasies, and Jesus assured her that He was greatly pleased with it, and blessed all those who belonged to it. I have spoken of this work in order to throw clearer light on the apostolic spirit of the servant of God.

Mention must also be made of the zeal of this child of heaven in aid of the suffering Souls in Purgatory? If love when it is true has no bounds, certainly hers that had reached the summit of perfection must have been unlimited. Her zeal for the poor suffering souls was indeed extraordinary.

She offered fervent assiduous prayers together with penances and her immense spiritual and corporal sufferings for all of them in general. At the same time, just as was her way with sinners, she always had some particular soul on her mind for whose relief she was specially interested.

“Yes, suffer!” she used to say. “Suffer for sinners, and more readily for the suffering Souls, and in a marked way for N. (whom she named). And our loving Lord Who likewise ardently desires to draw those just Souls to Himself moved His servant to an increase of zeal and continually suggested to her new modes of expiation.”

“The Angel has told me,” she said, “that this evening Jesus will let me suffer a little more for a Soul in Purgatory; that is for two hours beginning at nine o’clock.”

That suffering was very great as she herself confessed: “My head pained me more than usual and every movement I made was torture.” Heaven accepted the expiation of so worthy a creature, and the pains of those blessed Souls from day to day grew less and their suffering was shortened.

Gemma knew by inspiration that in the Convent of Passionist Nuns at Corneto there was a sister very dear to God who was near death, and she asked me about it and on my answering that it was so she at once began to implore of Jesus to make that Religious expiate all her faults on her death-bed, so that breathing her last she might enter Paradise at once.

Her prayer, at least in part, was heard. The Sister suffered greatly and died in a few months. Gemma told those of her home of it, in order that they might pray for the deceased, and she gave her name Mary Teresa of the Infant Jesus, as she was not known in Lucca.

This soul appeared to her full of sorrow imploring her help as she was undergoing great torments in Purgatory for certain defects. Nothing more was needed to set all the fibers of Gemma’s heart in motion. From that moment she gave herself no rest—prayers, tears, and loving contests with Our Lord.

“Jesus save her,” she was heard to exclaim. “Jesus, take Mary Teresa to Paradise without delay. She is a soul that is most dear to Thee. Let me suffer much for her; I want her to be in bliss.”

And the dear victim of expiation suffered without ceasing for sixteen days, at the end of which God was pleased to accept her sacrifice and release that soul. This is how Gemma herself told me of it:

“Towards half-past one it seemed to me that the Madonna herself came to tell me that the hour was drawing nigh. Then almost immediately I thought I saw Mary Teresa coming towards me clad as a Passionist, accompanied by her Angel Guardian and by Jesus. Oh! how she was changed since the day I first saw her! Smiling she drew close to me and said: ‘I am truly happy and I go to enjoy my Jesus for ever.’ She thanked me again. Then she made sign of bidding me goodbye with her hand, several times, and with Jesus and her Angel Guardian she flew to Heaven. It was about half-past two o’clock in the morning.” God converted the world through the labors of twelve poor fishermen. And now He continues to save many through the secret tears, penances and pains of humble souls who are discarded by the world, and yet are great in His eyes. One of them assuredly was this saintly Virgin of Lucca.