CHAPTER XXXII

Gemma’s Bestowed Graces & Miracles

THE STRONGEST argument in favor of the sanctity of a Servant of God is that of miracles. By their means Our Divine Savior, and, after Him, the Apostles, proved their mission in this world to be from above. And the Church bases her proofs of holiness on miracles before decreeing the honors of the Altar to her Saints. Now, if it is true that miracles are the fruit of the faith, and if the ardor of this faith in seeking the advocacy of Gemma Galgani with God is seen to be great in every class of persons, it follows that a great number of graces or miracles must be obtained through her means.

It is not my intention to give particulars of all of them here; I wish to wait until they have been attested by sworn witnesses in the examinations that are going on in view of the Beatification and Canonization of the Servant of God. I will speak of them in general for the edification of the faithful, and only relate particulars of a few of which I am sure, having had them from persons most worthy of belief; but the acceptance of these also remain subject to the decision of the Ecclesiastical Authority, whose duty it is to judge and pronounce as to whether they are to be considered simple graces or true miracles. Philomena Bini of Pisa, aged seventy-two, suffered for a long time from malignant stomach disease, pronounced by several eminent physicians to be a cancerous ulceration of the worst kind. Various prescriptions were tried, more with the object of lessening pain than with hope of cure. Finally, it was openly declared that any further attempts to cure such a disease in a woman of her age, reduced to such a state, was loss of time, and so medical attendance was discontinued. Meanwhile, the Parish Priest visited her daily for months and administered to her the last Sacraments.

In this extremity, a good lady of the City, hearing of Gemma, felt inspired to implore her intercession. Having procured a relic, she hastened to the bedside of the dying woman; she made all present kneel, said some prayers to the Blessed Trinity in honor of the Servant of God, and applied the relic to the patient.

Almost immediately the sick woman, who for a long time had not closed her eyes, owing to the violent pains that tormented her, fell into a placid sleep that lasted the whole night. In the morning, on awaking, she found herself perfectly cured without the least remnant of the pains that had tormented her for five years. She asked for food and ate with appetite four times that day, taking broth, meat, biscuits, milk, and eggs.

Imagine the astonishment of the doctor when Philomena Bini, whom he believed dying, presented herself to him in robust health. Not trusting to what he saw, he wished to examine her with electric rays, and, finding that all disease had gone, he exclaimed: “This is a miracle wrought by God!” Many months have passed since that miracle, and Philomena Bini continues to be in good health, such as she had not previously enjoyed since the days of her youth.

Maria Menicucci of Vitorchiano, Province of Rome, was suffering from acute pain in the knee, which she took to be rheumatism and treated accordingly, but in vain. Later she was examined by surgeons and pronounced to be a very bad and far-advanced case of artrosinovite. In their opinion, the malady might be arrested, but they gave no hope of a complete cure. The patient came to stay with some relatives in Pistoja in May, 1907, when everyone was talking of Gemma of Lucca “Oh!” thought a certain lady, “could not this new servant of God work this miracle?” She procured a relic, applied it to the bad knee, and began a novena. On the ninth day the bandages were taken off and the knee found to be perfectly cured.

The favored one then wrote to a friend as follows: “Gemma has heard my prayer; I am cured, as you can see from the medical certificate that I enclose. I am beside myself with joy.” The Doctor, Chelucci, of Pistoja, in the certificate referred to, described with precision the nature of the disease and his final examination of the knee, concluding with these words: “This lady, Signora Marianna Menicucci, is now restored to perfect health.”

Marianna Angelini, a Roman, twenty years ago had to undergo an operation on her breast. Fifteen years later, in August, 1903, the operation had to be repeated in St James’ Hospital, Rome. It seemed a success, but, after the lapse of four years, a fresh tumor appeared, and a third operation was advised.

The poor sufferer was undergoing excruciating torments night and day, which rendered her right arm powerless. Almost in despair, she appealed to all the Saints, until, hearing of Gemma of Lucca, she turned to her with confidence; she applied a relic and a picture of the Servant of God to the part affected, and, having begun a triduum of prayers, although up to that time she had not been able to get any rest, she fell into a tranquil sleep.

This lady’s child of four years old, as soon as her mother awoke, told her that a beautiful girl had come to her and assured her of mamma’s recovery. It was so; for the invalid, having slept well all that night, felt perfectly free from pain, and, on his return, the surgeon found that there was no longer any need of an operation. In token of their gratitude, this lady and her husband gave a sum of money, more than proportionate to their means, towards the cause of the Beatification of their benefactress. In the city of Lucca a pious woman, whose name I do not give, was afflicted with an abscess on her head, which showed all the symptoms of cancer. At least, the doctors feared this, and thought that an operation would be necessary. The poor woman finding her ailment grow worse, became terrified, but turned her prayers in time to Gemma, whom she had known. She applied her picture to the diseased part and stopped all the remedies prescribed by the Doctors. A few days were enough; the ailment disappeared, not to return, and this good woman never ceases to thank God and her holy advocate, Gemma.

Isolina Serafini of Vicopelago, near Lucca, was suffering for about ten months from acute meningitis, that tormented her night and day, without her deriving any benefit from the remedies ordered by her medical attendants. From December, 1906, to October, 1907, she was unable to sleep for more than an hour in each twenty-four hours. While in this sad state, she felt inspired to have recourse to Gemma, and invoked her with confidence, saying, “I shall take it as a sign that you are in Paradise and a Saint, if you effect my cure; and I promise to publish it immediately.”

So saying, she lay down on her bed; the pains left the same moment; not a vestige remained of the violent and wearing meningitis; she fell asleep, and from that day, the 10th of October, 1907, up to the present, she has not suffered once from her head, and is always able to sleep soundly.

“This is the exact truth,” she says in the written declaration she sent me, “and I confirm it on oath—Isolina Serahni.” These few instances of wonderful cures, taken from among many that are happening continually in Lucca, Rome, and in every part of Italy, as well as in other countries, will be enough for my purpose, which is to edify the faithful and encourage them in their corporal sufferings to apply with lively faith to the powerful advocate given us by Heaven.

But Gemma has shown herself solicitous for others, not only in their bodily infirmities, but in every other necessity of life. We have proofs of this in the prayers that are continually being offered to her by every class of persons, who, instead of increasing in numbers, would be sure to diminish if, at least in the majority of cases, they were not heard. Here too, notwithstanding the quantity of material at my disposal, I will confine myself to a few examples.

Two Passionists, the Provincial and a Consultor of the Province of Mexico, when returning to their country, wished to visit Gemma Galgani’s grave, on their way to Genoa where they were to embark for Barcelona. On this voyage they were overtaken by a fearful hurricane that lasted eight hours with imminent danger of the vessel foundering. All the passengers were terror-stricken, and even the Captain was so disheartened that he gave no hope of their being saved. In this extreme the two Religious had recourse to the Virgin of Lucca. “Gemma,” they called aloud, “you alone canst save us; do not break thy word!”

Wonderful to relate!—they had no sooner made this prayer than the storm began to lull; in less than an hour there was a perfect calm, and all, as if sailing on a placid lake, reached their destination safely. Immediately on landing, our two Religious wrote to me of the wonderful event, testifying their gratitude to their benefactress, and expressed their desire that all might know this holy soul and see her soon raised upon the Altars.

“A great disaster threatened our family,” thus a lady wrote to me from Rome, in June, 1908; “We recommended ourselves to the blessed Gemma, and God in His infinite Goodness has vouchsafed to console us. She prayed for us, and we are returning her infinite thanks. My good father, this Servant of God is so dear to me! I have taken her for my special patroness and pray to her always.”

A Camaldolese nun in Rome, a certain Mother Romualda of St Joseph, wrote to me thus: “As soon as I received the relics and pictures of the Virgin Gemma, I offered one to our Venerable Mother Abbess, and she, finding herself in great straits through want of a sum of money that she was called upon to pay, promised the Servant of God that, if she would enable her to find this sum, she would send a good offering for the cause of her Beatification. Two days after her promise, a charitable person sent us an alms, exactly the sum that was needed. The Reverend Mother Abbess, full of gratitude, charged me to ask your Reverence to employ the enclosed money for the desired object.” She then added: “I recommend you an unfortunate, obstinate sinner, whose conversion we hope to obtain through the intercession of Gemma.”

The reader will remember that, while Gemma lived, she prayed incessantly with many tears for the conversion of sinners. She labored with fervor to this end and brought many back to penance. She offered herself to God for them as a victim of expiation, and, because her offering was acceptable to Him, she died a true Victim in the flower of her youth. Ah! let sinners then hope for their conversion through Gemma now that she is in Heaven; and let all those who take this matter to heart, recommend their own dear ones to her. For the sake of brevity I will only relate three instances of these conversions due to her advocacy. They all happened quite lately.

A certain person, whose name I do not give for obvious reasons, was lying seriously ill in the Lucca hospital in 1907, and having long before lost the life of his soul, was fast approaching the death of his body. He was not only a notorious sinner, but was also well known through the anti-religious principles he proclaimed.

The Sisters of the Hospital, however, tried to approach him, were it only to fulfill a duty towards an unfortunate soul. The good Capuchin Fathers in charge of the hospital made a similar attempt. But it was time lost, and they had ere long to desist altogether owing to the anti-Christian regulations in vogue in the hospitals of our poor Italy.

While the hearts of those servants of God were filled with grief at seeing the unfortunate man dying in so hopeless a state, it suddenly flashed across the mind of one of them to call Mgr. Benassini, Prior of the Parish in which the wretched man lived. He came and approached the bed of the dying man, although advised not to do so by those present who knew the patient well and had been witnesses the day before of his impious treatment of the Capuchins and of the Daughters of Charity. The Monsignor spoke quite openly; begged and implored, but in vain. “I have never believed,” answered the blasphemer in a burst of envenomed rage, “in these sham terrors of yours, and I don’t know who this Christ is of Whom you speak. Soul indeed! Paradise indeed! Hell indeed! Leave me in peace, and let no one come here again to bother me with ridiculous proposals.” And with these last words, he made an attempt to spit at the Minister of God.

The latter went away greatly afflicted, and, on reaching his house, his eyes fell on the “Life of Gemma” which he had then only begun to read. At the sight of the book he felt his heart fill with hope, and kneeling down he besought with tears the aid of the Servant of God. Calling his chaplain, he told him to go to the hospital, although it was eleven o’clock at night, and to go in company with a certain woman, an acquaintance of the dying man. It is with great difficulty that any admittance is granted at that hour, and the woman alone was allowed to enter. The Chaplain remained outside in great anxiety, while the Prior at home was praying to Gemma for the successful issue of their mission.

The grace was granted! At the sight of the messenger, the poor sinner who, a little before, was so wicked and obstinate, asked that a priest might be sent for without delay. His dispositions were like those of the Penitent Thief and the Prodigal Son of the Gospel, so vivid were the sentiments of compunction with which he made his confession. The Priest, in tears, having lifted his trembling hand to absolve him and give him back to Christ, hastened to fetch the Viaticum and Holy Oils; finally, the fortunate sinner, strengthened by these two Sacraments, entered into his agony, and, soon after, died quite placidly about four o’clock in the morning, leaving the spectators deeply moved and edited by such an extraordinary conversion and such an enviable death.

The Editor of the second edition of this Biography, having the account of this conversion in his hands, took it to one of the Cardinals of the Roman Curia to read. He did so because he knew that his Eminence was very devout to Gemma, and, therefore, greatly interested in all that concerned the advancement of the cause of her Beatification. “On reading that account,” so the Editor wrote to me, “the venerable Cardinal was greatly touched; then he said to me, ‘You are right, you are right, this is the greatest miracle, and greater could not be desired. Assure the Author of the Life that I have this dear little Saint greatly at heart, and ask him to pray to her that I also may advance in the Eucharistic love of Jesus, and in love of Mary.’”

A few days later the Holy Father, Pius X, was told of the conversion and was likewise very greatly moved by it, declaring that he also wished to be under the patronage of this dear Servant of God, so as to obtain like graces through her intercession.

There lived in Rome a family totally devoid of religious sentiments, like many others of the present time. The mother of this family had not been to confession for fifty-four years; her sons were living as though they were not Christians; her daughters only, three gentle girls, remained good and devout, and, day and night, deplored the sad state of their family, beseeching Heaven to have pity on them. Several influential persons were using all the means at their disposal to bring the old lady to a better state of mind; but it was lost time. God reserved this victory to Gemma.

A good Religious, grieved like others at this sad case, had recourse to the Servant of God with sighs and tears. She besought her with triduums and novenas; at length she felt assured of success in her undertaking, and went to see the obdurate old woman; she spoke to her of Gemma and touched her heart by telling her of the wonderful conversions wrought by the little Saint, while living. Gemma carried the day!

The old woman’s heart was softened, she began to cry, and led by the Sister, she went to the Church, made her confession, and received Holy Communion. She felt the consolation and soothing influence of God’s grace in the depths of her soul from which it had been absent so many years; and, since that day, she has never omitted going morning and evening to weep and pray in that Church where she recovered the life of her soul. The Religious, encouraged by such success, turned all her energies to overcoming, by the use of the same efficacious means, the obduracy of the old lady’s sons. “Gemma,” she said, “will convert them also.” She had hard work with the eldest son. After the first repulse, she returned to Gemma’s feet. “And now, Sister,” she said to her, “what is to be done; are you not moving in favor of my sinner? Tomorrow, Saturday, you are to convert him for me.”

Heaven granted this request also; and the next evening he asked to go to confession, and received Holy Communion with such joy of soul that, up to this day, he declares that he has never experienced anything like it.

A few days later, acting as an Apostle, he brought a friend, a libertine as he had been, to confession, to the same priest at whose feet he himself had acquired happiness.

“Now,” the same good Sister writes to me, “the youngest brother remains; he has never been to confession and is thirty years of age; he believes nothing and his head is as hard as bronze. I have put him also in Gemma’s hands, and she will see to him; I have no doubt of it.”

Yes, yes, chosen one (Gemma) of God, see to the conversion of all poor sinners. Say to Jesus, as you often said to Him in ecstasy while here on earth: “I wish all sinners to be saved; save them for me, O Jesus.” And, as for the salvation of sinners, so for every other spiritual and temporal need of thy devout clients, GEMMA OF JESUS, be not evoked in vain!

A prayer composed by St. Lemma to obtain a desired grace:

Behold me at Your most holy feet, O dear Jesus, to manifest to you my gratitude for the continual favors which You have bestowed upon me, and still wish to bestow upon me.

As many times as I have invoked You, O Jesus, You have made me content; I have often had recourse to You and You have always consoled me.

How shall I express myself to You, dear Jesus? I thank you! Yet one more grace I desire of you, O my God, if it would be pleasing to You.

(mention your request here)

If you were not omnipotent, I would not make this request. O Jesus, have pity on me. May your most holy will be done in all things.

An excerpt of St. Lemma’s prayer for greater sanctity:

Assist me, my Jesus, for I desire to become good whatsoever it may cost; take away, destroy, utterly root out all that You find in me contrary to Your holy will. At the same time, I pray You, Lord Jesus, to enlighten me that I may be able to walk in Your holy light. Amen.