The Visions of Saint Catherine of Genoa

Catherine was born in the year 1447 to noble parents, Giacopo and Francesca Fieschi in Italy. But even though her parents were wealthy Catherine took no note of the luxurious lifestyle that could have been hers, and instead from a very early age she embraced a life of penance and austerities.

From a very young age Catherine loved to pray and contemplate the sufferings endured on our Lords behalf for the Salvation of man, this deeply touched the heart of the young Catherine and led her to long for the life of a Religious. Following this movement of her soul, Catherine at the young age of 13 years spoke to her Spiritual Director and enquired to join a Religious Order, but even though the Priest was amazed at the wisdom of such a young soul, still prudence prevailed and Catherine was advised that she was too young to endure such an austere life. Being obedient in heart and soul, though disappointed Catherine accepted the decision with a spirit of equanimity. Catherine eventually married a young Genoese man of noble birth, Giuiliano Adorno, but this would not lead to happiness for Catherine as in her effort to please her husband she tried to embrace the vanities of the world, which led to a deep seated loathing of such useless activities, which prevailed in the society of her time.

This led Catherine on an inner journey to reach out desperately to God that He not forsake her, and so Catherine prayed to St. Benedict for help in these words, "Pray to God for me, Oh, St Benedict, that for three months he may keep me sick in bed." This was a time of great confusion for Catherine as she was unable to combine the worldly life with the deep inner calling to live a holy and humble life. Upon talking to her sister who had entered the Religious life, Catherine went to see her Confessor and upon opening her heart to this holy Priest, God touched the soul of Catherine with such force that she was overcome with the sense of her own misery and with anguish of heart she collapsed at the revelation of gazing upon God's Goodness.

Through this experience Catherine was cured of her mental confusion and anguish of heart as God infused into her soul the terrible stain that sin had upon the soul and it's relationship with the Divine Creator. And while immersed in prayer Catherine said upon reflecting on this experience as if God were speaking through her, "oh Love! can it be that you have called me with so much love, and revealed to me at one view, what no tongue can describe?" And it was here that our Lord would appear to her in a vision which showed her how sin truly had made our Lord suffer for she saw the Man of Sorrows laid low and bloodied with the Cross upon His shoulder as He took upon Himself her own iniquities. Through this vision Catherine detested sin in all its forms and was heard to exclaim, "Oh Love, no more sin, no more sin! Oh Love, if it be necessary I am prepared to make a public confession of my sins." Through this one vision and interior Light within her soul Catherine understood the price that our Lord paid for each sinner, this moved her deeply and made her resolute not to sin and offend our Lord anymore. And while gazing upon the Crucified Lord and upon His Most Sacred Heart, Catherine pronounced, "I have no longer either soul or heart; but my soul and my heart are those of my Beloved;" for Catherine through the Grace of God was being transformed so that no longer did she live but that Christ liveth within her soul.

Catherine also felt compelled to receive our Lord in the Eucharist everyday, till finally one day a Priest spoke these words to her, "You receive communion every day, how are you now satisfied?" For there were some who did not understand the movement of God within Catherine's soul, but upon becoming gravely ill Catherine requested the Eucharist be given to her as she said to her Confessor, "If you would give me my Lord three times only, I should be cured." Upon this happening Catherine was miraculously and immediately healed of her illness.

This remarkable woman like many other Saints would feel a deep wound in her heart, and was once heard saying, "My heart is not like that of others, for it only rejoices in its Lord; and therefore give him to me." When once in prayer she was overhead praying, "Oh, Lord, I do not desire to follow thee for these consolations, but only for pure love." Catherine had a Divine Light shining within her soul and intellect so she was able to convey what a deep mystery was revealed to a soul upon receiving the Eucharist and how God was incorporated into their very essence through the Eucharist, for as she was heard to exclaim when gazing at the Priest during Consecration: "Take it, take it quickly, to your heart, for it is the Lord of the heart." Through Divine guidance Catherine was shown how integral to the soul was the importance of daily Communion, and to also make sure that the soul was not in a state of sin whether it be venial or mortal. And once upon receiving Communion Catherine gazed towards her Lord and said, "O Lord perhaps thou wouldst draw me to thee by this fragrance? I do not desire it; I desire nothing but thee, and thee wholly; thou knowest, that from the beginning I have asked of thee the grace that I might never see visions, nor receive external consolations, for so clearly do I perceive thy goodness, that I do not seem to walk by faith but by a true and heartfelt experience."

Also on the Annunciation of our Lady the Lord spoke to Catherine interiorly and requested that she go without food, as did He when our Lord was in the desert, upon hearing this Divine message, Catherine was unable to eat any food and so fasted through the Season of Lent. Catherine would follow this for the rest of her life and also during Advent. When questioned Catherine said, "If we regarded the operations of God, we should look at the interior more than the exterior. Living without food is purely an operation of God, without my will; but it is nothing to boast of, or to cause surprise, for to him it is as nothing. The pure light shows us, that we should not regard the manifestations that God makes of himself for our necessities and his own glory, but only the pure love with which his divine majesty performs his work in our behalf, and the soul becoming these pure operations of a love which looks for no good that we can do, must needs love him purely, without regard to any particular grace which she receives from him, but looking to him alone, for himself alone, who is worthy of being loved without measure, and with no reference either to soul or body."

Catherine lived in holy obedience to God as He guided her to do His Will as He spoke to her interior, "My daughter, observe these three rules, namely: never say I will or I will not. Never say mine, but always ours. Never excuse yourself, but always accuse yourself. When you repeat the `Our Father' take always for your maxim, Fiat voluntas tua, that is, may his will be done in everything that may happen to you, whether good or ill; from the `Hail Mary' take the word Jesus, and may it be implanted in your heart, and it will be a sweet guide and shield to you in all the necessities of life. And from the rest of Scripture take always for your support this word, Love, with which you will go on your way, direct, pure, light, watchful, quick, enlightened, without erring, yet without a guide or help from any creature; for love needs no support, being sufficient to do all things without fear; neither does love ever become weary, for even martyrdom is sweet to it. And, finally, this love will consume all the inclinations of the soul, and the desires of the body, for the things of this life."

Though Catherine lived a life of austere penance she did so for she understood how deadly is sin to the soul as a child of God can quickly turn to become a child of the Devil, if they choose to willfully disobey God through their actions. As Catherine explained, "If it were possible for me to suffer as much as all the martyrs have suffered, and even hell itself, for the love of God, and in order to make satisfaction to him, it would be after all only a sort of injury to God, in comparison with the love and goodness with which he has created, and redeemed, and, in a special manner, called me. For man, unassisted by God's grace, is even worse than the devil, because the devil is a spirit without a body, while man, without the grace of God, is a devil incarnate. Man has a free will, which, according to the ordination of God, is in nowise bound, so that he can do all the evil that he wills; to the devil, this is impossible, since he can act only by the divine permission; and when man surrenders to him his evil will, the devil employs it, as the instrument of his temptation." And to stress her point that it is the soul who chooses to do evil for Satan cannot infringe on man's free will, Catherine went on to explain this in her words, "I see that whatever is good in myself, in any other creature, or in the saints, is truly from God; if, on the other hand, I do any thing evil, it is I alone who do it, nor can I charge the blame of it upon the devil or upon any other creature; it is purely the work of my own will, inclination, pride, selfishness, sensuality, and other evil dispositions, without the help of God I should never do any good thing. So sure am I of this, that if all the angels of heaven were to tell me I have something good in me, I should not believe them. So long as any one can speak of divine things, enjoy and understand them, remember and desire them, he has not yet arrived in port; yet there are ways and means to guide him thither. But the creature can know nothing but what God gives him to know from day to day, nor can he comprehend beyond this, and at each instant remains satisfied with what he receives. If the creature knew the height to which God is prepared to raise him in this life, he would never rest, but on the contrary would feel a certain craving, a vehement desire to reach quickly that ultimate perfection, and would think himself in hell until he had obtained it."

But it is the explanation upon seeing the Holy Souls in Purgatory that this great Saint is well known for in her own words she describes the state of Purgatory as such, "The souls in Purgatory see all things, not in themselves, nor by themselves, but as they are in God, on whom they are more intent than on their own sufferings. . . . For the least vision they have of God overbalances all woes and all joys that can be conceived. Yet their joy in God does by no means abate their pain. . . . This process of purification to which I see the souls in Purgatory, subjected, I feel within myself."

Through the words of this great Saint and the Gift that God had Graced her, we have gained a better understanding of the graphic damage that sin can do to a soul and also how the soul can be restored back to God's Loving embrace through participation of the Sacraments. We also understand how God can transform a soul to be a divine reflection of Himself when the soul surrenders itself to the Triune Spirit. And through the works of Saint Catherine we also understand Purgatory and the Holy Souls who wait to be released into Heaven by our prayers and penances and when we offer up a Mass for the repose of their soul as these Holy souls endure the purgation of Purgatory, as they thirst to be re-united with God in Heaven.

May we reflect deeply on the messages of Saint Catherine of Genoa and how God illuminated her soul so as to instruct the faithful.

I encourage all to read more of this remarkable Saint and her extraordinary visions and illuminations.

Peace of Christ to ALL

Copyright © 2006 Marie Smith. All rights reserved.

Catholic
Roman Catholic

Our Lady Of The Rosary Saves Lepanto

The feast day of Our Lady of the Rosary became official by Pope Pius V in remembrance of the battle of Lepanto. It is here where a vicious battle was fought and won by the Christians against the invading forces of the Islamic empire!

During the sixteenth centuries the Turks had made great inroads into European territory when they won battle after battle almost to the door of Rome itself! But under the guidance of Pope Pius V their victory would now be short-lived. This particular Pope was of the Dominican Order so he had gained a great love for the Rosary and it is the Rosary that this devout Pope turned to in order to turn back the Muslim invaders!

Pope Pius V was also able to join forces with the Spanish, Venetian and Genoese fleet under the leadership of Don John of Austria to overcome the Turks who also had amassed a huge fleet in which they hoped to gain control of the whole of 'Christiandom'.

The battle took place in the year 1571, and it was the Muslims who seemed to have the greater ability when in times of war and also a superior fleet. But things did not turn out well for the Muslim marauders, as the battle commenced and the Muslims lost 15 ships while 177 taken by the victorious Armada and hundreds of thousands of Muslim soldiers lay dying or wounded. Even though the Christian fleet lost more ships the victory of the Christians over the Muslim invaders has been attributed to the intervention of our Lady of the Rosary. It was as the battle raged that Pope Pius V and several other devout souls prayed the Rosary for the embattled soldiers to win the victory for all of Europe. And it was upon praying the Rosary that this devout Pope looked up and exclaimed to the Cardinals present, "Our great task at present is to thank God for the victory which He has just given the Catholic army." This was said before anyone knew of the victorious battle and many were stunned to learn later that the battle was won at that precise moment.

Through the intervention of our Lady of the Rosary victory won the day at the battle of Lepanto! This would be one of many defeats suffered by the Muslim invaders before they finally were driven back to their own lands.

How very powerful is Our Lady of the Rosary.

Peace of Christ to you ALL

Copyright © 2006 Marie Smith. All rights reserved.

Roman Catholic

The Visions of Saint Gemma Galgani

Gemma Galgani was born in the year 1878 in the village Camigliano, Italy. Unlike many other Saints Gemma was born into a prestigious family, but when God touches the heart of His beloved children, wealth matters not.

From an early age the young Gemma was able to see and converse with her guardian Angel who was not adverse in correcting her when she decided to wear some jewelry which had been given to her as a gift, Gemma's Guardian Angel appeared before her and said, "Remember, the spouse of the Crucified King should wear no ornaments but thorns and crosses". Upon hearing this Gemma vowed never to wear such vanities again! Her Guardian Angel often stressed deeply the need for continual obedience and would repeat this often to her, "Obedience! You must obey! You must be like a dead body; whatever is asked of you, you must obey quickly and joyfully!" He would also warn her with these words, for Gemma was a very strong minded young lady, "If you do not obey, I will not show myself to you, again." Gemma though loved God above all and listened to her beloved Guardian Angel, even though she was going through a dark night of the soul.

As Gemma's diary reveals, " I do not know what will happen to me this year. I abandon myself to You, my God; all my hopes and affections shall be for You. I am weak, oh Jesus, but I trust in Your help and I resolve to live differently, namely, closer to You." Gemma was to suffer both spiritually and physically as her health worsened, she developed meningitis a very dangerous at times fatal illness, and also large abscesses were found covering her head, she soon also became paralyzed, as she waited for death to take her.

During this time Gemma began to pray to the then Venerable Gabriel Possenti as she lay awake at nights and read his biography. It was as her family was preparing themselves for Gemma's death that one night Gabriel Possenti appeared before Gemma and asked her, "Do you wish to recover? Pray with faith every evening to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. I will come to you until the Novena is ended, and will pray together to this Most Sacred Heart." It was not long before Gemma was cured she attributed her cure to the Venerable Gabriel Possenti.

Before Mass began on Holy Thursday Gemma decided to go to Confession and as she was praying, she came to understand how sin can grievously harm the soul, and cried out in remorse for her own sins. During this time Jesus appeared before Gemma and said to her, "Look at my wounds and learn how to love. Look at this Cross, these Wounds, these nails, these bruises and lacerations, and this Blood. See to what extent I have loved you, do you want to love Me? First, learn to suffer; suffering teaches how to love."

For a while Gemma entertained thoughts of becoming a Religious, something she longed for with all her heart and soul but due to her poor health this was not to be. It was after she had attended Mass and received our Lord in Communion that our Lady appeared to Gemma that evening and said to her, "My son Jesus loves thee beyond measure and wishes to give thee a grace. I will be a mother to thee. Wilt thou be a true child?" When Gemma consented our Lady then placed her Mantle around this young girl.

Gemma herself reveals in her diary what happened next, "At that moment Jesus appeared with all his wounds open, but from these wounds there no longer came forth blood, but flames of fire. In an instant these flames came to touch my hands, my feet and my heart. I felt as if I were dying, and should have fallen to the ground had not my mother held me up, while all the time I remained beneath her mantle. I had to remain several hours in that position. Finally she kissed my forehead, all vanished, and I found myself kneeling. But I still felt great pain in my hands, feet and heart. I rose to go to bed, and became aware that blood was flowing from those parts where I felt pain. I covered them as well as I could, and then helped by my Angel, I was able to go to bed …" Many people over the following years would witness this miracle of the stigmata.

It would be soon that Jesus would request of Gemma to be a victim soul for the sins of the world, which was crying out for the Just Judgment of God, Gemma immediately acquiesced to Jesus request. So it was that in 1902 Gemma became seriously ill and began to vomit blood. It was also here that once again, desolation of soul would grip Gemma's heart and also here that the Devil tried to attack this saintly woman in whatever way he could. As a friend of Gemma's describes, "That abominable beast will be the end of our dear Gemma- deafening blows, forms of ferocious animals, etc.- I came away from her with tears because the demon is wearing her out." We also have the account of Gemma's Spiritual Director, Fr. Germano where he states, "The poor sufferer passed days, weeks and months in this way, giving us an example of heroic patience and motives for salutary fear of what may happen to us, who have not Gemma’s merits at the terrible hour of death."

Even though Gemma was in terrible suffering her Faith never wavered as she underwent her own Calvary for the salvation of sinners. Her heart was full of love for Jesus, Mary as she willingly suffered for love of God and man.

This devout soul who showed herself a true soldier of God suffered till the end and in her last words, she uttered this, "I seek for nothing more; I have made the sacrifice of everything and of everyone to God... Now it is indeed true that nothing more remains to me, Jesus. I recommend my poor soul to Thee … Jesus!"

Saint Gemma Galgani died an heroic death as was recorded by her Spiritual Director, Venerable Fr. Germanus C.P.

Peace of Christ to ALL

Copyright © 2006 Marie Smith. All rights reserved.

Roman Catholic

Our Lady of Pompei

The origins of Our Lady of Pompeii begin at the sight of the great destruction of that area by the volcanic eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79AD.

Approximately around the fourth century people once again began to inhabit the area including Christians, some centuries later a Church would be built to Worship our Lord, in which the Benedictine Order took charge. Eventually this Church too would be destroyed and after many trials and tribulations the people themselves took control of trying to restore the Church to its previous condition. But once again this endeavour nearly failed when thieves intruded to steal what they could, until a man and his wife took charge of the project. It is surprising in that the man who alongside his wife would restore the Church and also promulgate a devotion and veneration of Our Lady and the Holy Rosary, had once been involved in a 'satanic sect' and had even become a 'priest' for Satan!

But God can touch even the most hardest of hearts and he did so with Bartolo Longo when he met a very holy and devout Priest, Father Alberto Radente, who explained the Faith to Bartolo so gently that Bartolo could no longer live to hate but longed to live for love sake! He, through the example of this holy Priest embraced the Catholic Faith, and left the evil sect forever for Bartolo's heart now belonged to God and God alone!

Upon becoming Baptized Bartolo chose Maria as his 'baptismal name' for just as he had sinned against God grievously, he ran to Mary his forgiving Holy Mother and sought her protection as the 'refuge of sinners'. So began Bartolo's devotion and love for Our Lady as he worked to restore the former Church back to its former glory. Bartolo also published a small pamphlet entitled, "The Rosary of New Pompeii" as his love for our Lady grew stronger in his heart everyday, for he had attributed his conversion solely to our Blessed Mother and would forever love her dearly.

But Bartolo was still wracked with guilt over his former life and when he began to question his worthiness he had a miraculous sign as a voice said to him, "If you seek salvation, promulgate the Rosary. This is Mary's own promise." These words illumined my soul. I went on my knees: "If it is true .... I will not leave this valley until I have propagated your Rosary." Satan was not too willing to let go of Bartolo but through his conversion and our Lady's involvement Bartolo's faith was strengthened as he promised to spread this devotion to Our Lady of Pompeii.

At first it was very hard going as Bartolo began his work and even went from door to door within the village without much success, still he persevered. After many years of what seemed fruitlessness Bartolo finally succeeded and invited the Redemptorist Fathers to hold a mission festival at the Church he had restored. Upon gaining the blessing of the Bishop, who said that he could see that this would day become a place of pilgrimage.

This heartened Bartolo as he went searching for a large picture of Our Lady of the Rosary, he would be disappointed when the only one he could find was dilapidated and moth eaten. Still he bought it and tried to restore it back to its original condition. On one side of the picture was St. Dominic and on the other was St. Catherine of Sienna who were both kneeling before our Lady who held the child Jesus. Upon doing his best Bartolo then set out to take it to the Vatican for a blessing from the Pope!

This image was then placed in the restored Church but 300 people of the area pledged some money towards building a more respectable Church in honour of Our Lady. Upon laying the cornerstone miraculous miracles started to occur, four people were healed of their illnesses at the beginning, and still later there would be hundreds who claimed the image of our Lady had healed them of their various diseases and disabilities.

So it was that in 1894 both Bartolo and his wife, Marianna donated the shrine and the Church into the safe hands of the Vatican. Many cures since have been recorded after the faithful had prayed before this image of Our Lady.

But it was in 1965 that the image would be thoroughly restored by the Vatican and Pope Paul VI went on to say, "Just as the image of the Virgin has been repaired and decorated ..., so may the image of Mary that all Christians must have within themselves be restored, renovated, and enriched."

What a miracle that a man who had embraced the evil way of Satan had been restored by the love of our Blessed Mother to embrace God in his heart and live as a faithful son of the Church. Both Bartolo and his wife did corporal works of mercy including establishing orphanages for girls and boys, hospitals and visiting the imprisoned.

Let us also venerate this image which Bartolo and his wife established, Our Lady of Pompeii.

Peace of Christ to ALL

Copyright © 2006 Marie Smith. All rights reserved.

Roman Catholic