great hedach which tormented him verie sore and were as he knewe vndoubted signes of the common infection that raigned ouer the citie at that tyme. The which notwithstanding he did what he could to make an end of his diuine seruice In the mornyng calling a felowe to him he went with great paine towardes the holy maides house whether when he came he found her not at home For she was gone out to visite an other that was sicke Then being no longer able to hold vp his head he laied him selfe downe vpon a couch that was there in her house praied the sisters that they wold send for her with al speed When the holie maid came home and found him there and vnderstood in what case he was she kneeled downe by the bed and laying her hand vpon his forehead she began after her maner to lifte vp her hart to God in praier And foorthwith he sawe that she was quite abstracted from her bodilie senses rauished in sprite Which was no vnwonted sight to him nor yet vncomfortable at that tyme. For he hoped well that she should obteine some great benefite for him both of bodie and soule at Gods hand When she had continued after that maner about the space of halfe an hower he felt in him selfe a mightie alteration and stirring in euerie part of his bodie and withal a vehement prouocation towardes a vomite which he had seene to hapen before to many that had died of that disease How beit it fell not so out with him but rather contrariwise For it seemed to him that he felt sensibly how those corrupt humours that caused his paine were violently drawen from within to the vttermost partes of the bodie And certaine he was that he found present ease of his paines And before the holie maid came to her selfe againe he was fully and perfectly restored to his health sauing only that there remained a litle feeblenes in him which he thought our Lord suffred to remaine in him as a token either of the disease that was cured or els of the weakenes of his faith So soone as the holie maid had obteined this grace at Gods hand for her ghostlie father she was foorthwith restored to her bodilie senses And finding him as yet in some weakenes she willed her sisters to prouide some meate for him such as is wont to be geuen to sicke folkes The which when he had receiued at her holie hand she willed him to lie downe and rest a while and so he did And when he had rested a litle tyme he rose vp and felt him selfe as strong and in as good liking as if he had neuer ben sicke Then said the holie maid to him Father goe your waie and labour about the edifying of soules and be thankeful to almightie God that hath deliuered you out of this present danger The like miracle did the holie maid worke about the same tyme vpon father Bartilmewe of whome mention hath ben made diuerse and sundrie tymes before The miracle was much alike but the cure seemed somewhat greater biause he was both longer and also more grieuously sicke How the holie maid healed a great nomber that were sicke of other diseases after the like maner Chap. 4. AFter the tyme that this pestilence was ceased in Siena it chaunced that manie deuout and well disposed persones as well religious as others but specially certaine Nunnes of Pisa hearing the fame of the holie maid had a great desire to see her and to heare her doctrine which was reported to be and was in deed verie wonderful And because it was not lawful for many of them that had this godly inclination to come to her to Siena they sent letters and messengets to her very often beseeching her that she would take the paines to come ouer to them to Pisa And to allure her the more to take that iourney vpon her they declared vnto her what frute and gaine of soules was like to ensue by her comyng thither The holie maid though she had no desire to be from home yet being ouercome with their long importunate sute especially considering that there was great hope of winning soules to God first she asked the aduise of them that liued in house with her of the which compaine some were with her going to Pisa and some against it Then when she sawe that she could not be resolued by men she fled vnto almightie God as her maner was and besought him humbly that he would vouchsafe to make her to vnderstand what his will and pleasure was that she should doe in that case And it came to passe after certaine daies that our Lord appeered to her and willed her that she should accomplish the godlie request of those his seruantes hand maides in Pisa without delaie Wherupon she went to her ghostelie father and declaring thus much to him besought him like an obedient daughter that he would geue her licence to doe as she was willed by God He assented willingly to her demaund and went him selfe with her and with him two other of his brethren to heare the confessions of such as should resort vnto her according to a graunt made to her by Pope Gregorie the eleuenth When she came to Pisa she lodged in the house of an honest citizen called maister Gerardus where on a daie there was presented vnto her a certaine younge man of the age of twentie yeares or there about which had ben sore vexed with a quotidian ague for the space of a yeare and halfe and neuer missed one daie And though there were no fit of an ague vpon him at that tyme yet might she see that he had ben long sicke For whereas he was by constitution of bodie a verie strong and lustie yong man he was now brought so lowe that he had neither flesh strength nor colour And no medicine could be found that would doe him good Wherfore they entreated the holie maid that she would commend his lamentable state to God in her praier The holie maid pitied his case verie much and asked him how long it was sence he was last confessed To that he answered and said that it was a good manie yeares Yea said she and that is the cause whie our Lord hath laied this discipline vpon you bicause yee would not clense your soule in all this tyme by confession Wherfore deere sonne see that yee goe out of hand to confession and rid your selfe of these sinnes that haue infected you both bodie and soule With that she caused Doctour Thomas her owne confessour to be called and deliuered the yong man to him willing him to heare his confession That done the yong man returned to her againe and she laied her hand vpon his shoulder and said these wordes Sonne goe your waie with the peace of our Lord Iesus Christ For I will not that these agues trouble you anie more She said and it was done for the almightie power of him spake in her who said and it
therefore lesse circumspecte in such matters and so to make his entrie vpon them both together He began to sowe in the hart of the sicke woman diuerse and sundrie surmises against her by craftie meanes bringing her in great gelowsie and disliking of all that she did by reason wherof in processe of tyme she waxed meruelous weerie of her and might not well abide to see her Which weerisomenes increasing in her daily more and more engendred a certaine malice and malice in tyme bred a plaine hatred Now this malice and hatred had in continuance by litle and litle so corrupted her iudgement that she not only suspected of her the worst that anie euel mynd could ymagin but also bleleeued firmely that all such ymaginations were most certaine and vndoubted truthes in so much that whensoeuer the holie maid was anie where out of her sight she beleeued assuredly that she was about some fowle acte of fleshlie pleasure The which thing though the innocent virgin vnderstood verie well yet did she shewe her selfe no lesse louing meke seruiceable about her then she was wont to be before But the more meekenes and diligence the good seruant of Christ vsed towardes that froward old woman the more testie and cholericke waxed she against her by the instigation of the deuel in so much that at the length she came to that that she would no longer keepe her conceiued suspicions vnder the couert of priuate gelowsie but without all modestie shame gaue them out in plaine and brode termes to as manie as would geue eare to her slawnderous talke This fowle brute being once thus raised it went on from one to another vntil in the end it came to the eares of the sisters who to vnderstād the verie original of the rumour went to the chamber where the sicke sister laie and examined her of the matter She auowched stowtely to them so much as she had reported to others before and accused the maid constantly of actual incontinēcie vncleannes Whereat they were verie much astoined at the first but yet wheighing the age behauiour constācie of the accuser they gaue credit to her wordes thereupon calling the maid before them they gaue her verie rough and sharpe language rebuking her with meruelous vile and reprochful wordes and asking her how she was caried awaie and brought to commit such a synful and vncleane acte Wherunto she made answere with great humilitie and patience saying no moe wordes but only these Truly good mothers and sisters by the grace of our Lord Iesus Christ I am a maid And whatsoeuer they said to her she gaue them none other word to answere but only this Truly I am a maid Truly I am a maid neuer vtterring so much as one word that might seeme to touch her accuser Vpon whom she attended and serued with as great loue and diligence as if there had neuer passed anie such matter betweene them And yet was she sorie at the verie hart for the slaunder and infamie that was raised vpon her Wherefore when she had done what was to be done about the sicke woman she retired her selfe for comfort as her maner was in all aduersites into her chamber and there casting her selfe downe prostrate vpon the ground she opened the griefe of her hart to almightie God more with gronyng of hart then with sound of voice after this maner O almightie God my deere Lord spowse thou knowest verie well what a tender thing the good name of virgins is especially of them that haue vowed their virginitie to thee and how much subiecte they are to the violent strokes of slawnderous tonges And that was the cause why thy prouident wisedome disposed that thy most glorious mother should be committed to the charge of Ioseph who was called and was in deed her husband not for anie acte of matrimonie but to keepe her name of virginitie from slander Thou knowest O Lord that all this slawnder that is raised vpō me is wrought by the father of lying who hath done this to withdrawe hinder me from this charitable woorke that thou hast appointed me to doe I haue willingly takē vpon me for thy loue Wherefor I most hūbly beseech thee O my deere Lord most mightie protectour of all innocentes that thou wilt not suffer this wicked serpent whom thou hast troden vnder foote in the tyme of thy sacred passion to haue the mastrie ouer me When the holie maid had thus made a long praier to our Lord with much inward gronyng and plentie of teares behold our Lord appeered to her holding two crownes in his hādes one in his right hand of gold all decked with ritch perles and precious stones an other in his left hand of verie sharpe thornes said these wordes vnto her Deere daughter it is so that thou must needes be crowned with these two crownes at sundry tymes Choose therefor whether thou haue lieffer to be crowned with the sharpe crowne of thorne in this life and that other to be reserued for thee in the life to come or elswhether thou like better to haue this goodlie golden crowne in this life that other sharpe crowne in the life to come To this demand the hūble discrete virgin made answere after this maner Lord said she thou knowest verie well that I haue resigned my will wholly to thee haue made a full resolution to doe all thinges according to thy direction and therfore I dare not choose anie thing vnlesse I maie knowe that the same shall stand with thy most blessed will and pleasure Neuertheles because thou hast willed me to make answere concernyng this choise that thou hast here made vnto me I saie thus that I doe choose in this life euermore to be conformed and made like to thee my Lord Sauiour cherefully to beare Crosses thornes for thy loue as thou hast done for myne With that she reached out her handes Iustely and tooke the crowne of thornes of our Lordes handes and put the same vpon her owne head with such a strength and violence that the thornes perced her head rownd about in so much that for a long space after she felt a sensible paine in her head by the pricking of those thornes as she declared afterwardes to her ghostlie Father Then our Lord said to her Daughter all thinges are in my power And as I haue suffred this slawnder to be raised against thee by the deuel and his membres so is it in my power to cease the same when I will Continue thou therefore in that holie seruice that thou hast begon and geue no place to the enemie that would let thee from all good workes I will geue thee a perfecte victorie ouer thyne enemie and will bring to passe that whatsoeuer he hath imagined against thee it shall all be turned vpon his owne head to thy great ioye and his great paine Thus was she well comforted againe and so continued still at the seruice of that
might be deceiued by the enemie whose crafte in deed is verie suttle yet would I faine learne of them who it was that kept her bodie so long tyme in her natural force and strength If they answere and saie that it was the Deuell then will I aske them againe who that was that preserued her sowle in such spirituall ioye and peace especially at that tyme when she was depriued of all outward delite and comfort This inward comfort and peace is vndoubtedly the fruite of the holie Ghost and maie in no wise be ascribed to the Deuel Last of all to come to them that of a wicked malice slaundered the blessed virgin of hypocrisie and vaine glorie I thinke it not so expedient to shape them an answere as to geue them good counsel I would wish all such to be better aduised what they speake against Gods seruantes and what iudgement they geue concernyng the wonderfull workes of God in his Sainctes For they shal receiue their iudgement for all such rash and slaunderous talke at the later daie before the iudgement seate of God and all this Sainctes How she shewed her selfe meruelous seuere and rigorous towardes her selfe and contrariwise wonderful gentle and meeke towardes them that slaundered her which she did to wynne then to God Chap. 15. WHen anie il disposed persones spake their pleasure of her slaundering and deprauing that vnwonted maner of Absteinence which they sawe in her she would answere then not with anie vehemencie of wordes but only simply and with such a moderation of speech as she thought most meete to qualifie and ouercome such hard hartes for sooth said she it is true that our Lord susteineth my life without bodily food and yet see I no cause whie you should be offended For in truth I would eate with a good will if I could But almightie God hath for my synnes laid this strange infirmitie vpon me that if I eate I am foorthwith in peril of death praie therfore to God for me that he will vouchsafe to forgeue me my synnes which are to me the verie cause of this and all other euels By such sweet wordes she hoped well to haue staied those malicious tonges But when she sawe that she preuailed not of verie pitie that she had of those weake myndes and to take awaie all occasion and coulour of offence she came to the table with others and did enforce her selfe to eate somewhat but in so doing suffred such intolerable paines that as manie as sawe it had great compassion on her For her stomake had vtterly lost the vertu of digestion by reason wherof the meate that she eate either she cast it vp againe and that was oftentymes procured by putting a fether into her throte or otherwise violently or els it remained in her stomake vndigested and there engendred windinnes colikes and other passions which tormented her verie cruelly and neuer ceased vntill she had brought it vp by one meane or other The which thing her ghostlie Father seeing and considering that she suffred all such paines only to stoppe the course of slaunderous tongues for verie inward compassion that he had of her great tormentes he spake comfortably vnto her and willed her on Gods name that she should rather leaue eating then to suffer such paines how soeuer they tooke it and whatsoeuer slaunders they raised vpon her Wherunto she made answere with a smyling countenance saying Father how thinke you Is it not better for me to discharge the debt of my synnes after this maner in this present life then to differre the payment of the same in farre greater paines to the life to come would you that I should flee Gods Iustice or rather to speake more to the purpose that I should not accepte this goodlie occasion that is offred me here to satisfie Gods Iustice with such temporal paines Surely Father I take it for a great grace and benefite of God that he will vouchsafe thus to chastice me here for my synnes and not reserue the same to be punished in the other life To this her ghostlie Father could saie nothing and therfore he held his peace And so by this meane she gaue a great example of high perfection to all men she ouercame the Deuel which had wrought all this trouble against her she stopped the mouthes of diuerse and sundrie malicious persones and prepared for her selfe a double crowne in the life to come On a tyme reasonyng with her ghostlie Father concerning the gyftes and graces of God she vttered a verie notable lesson which was this If man said she knewe how to vse the grace of God he should make his gaine and commoditie of euerie thing that happeneth vnto him in this life And so would I wish that you should doe good Father Whensoeuer anie thing hapeneth vnto you thinke with your selfe and saie thus God geue me his grace to wynne somewhat of this towardes my soules health And then doe your endeuour to gaine such and such vertues as that present matter shall minister occasion and within a litle tyme yee shall become verie ritch How our Sauiour tooke her hart out of her bodie and after a certaine of daies gaue her a newe for it Chap. 16. THe familiaritie that our Lord had with this blessed virgin was so strange the gracious priuileges that he endued her withal so singular that they gaue at that tyme may peraduēture geue now also occasiō of laughter to manie wordlie persones and to such as are in anie degree fallen from that simplicitie that is as the Apostles saieth and ought to be in Christ And yet are not the wonderfull workes of God therfore to be concealed from the vnfaithful but rather to be set out for the behoofe of the godlie well disposed For as almightie God doth from tyme to tyme worke such great wonders in his sainctes so doth he also frō tyme to time prepare some good hartes that wil receiue the same with a simple reuerence true Christian regard On a time while this holy maid was lifting vp her hart to God in praier with great feruour of spirite and saying those wordes of the prophet Dauid O God create in me a cleane hart and renue a right spirite in my bowels she made a special petition to him that he would vouchsafe to take awaie her owne hart and will and geue her an other newe hart and will that were wholly according to his holie will As she was so praying with great humilitie and instance behold our Sauiour Christ appeered to her after a verie comfortable maner and came to her and opened her lefte side sensibly with this hand and tooke out her hart and so going his waie lefte her in deed without a hart Afterwardes being in talke with her ghostlie Father emong other thinges she said to him that she had no hart in her bodie When her Confesseur heard those wordes he laughed at her and began after a sort to rebuke her for so saying
especially Ginoccia which of the two liued in greater austeritie and penance When their brother Iames who was at that tyme abroade heard tell of this strange alteration of his two sisters he raged like a mad man and cursed all them that had moued his sisters to take that habite And he threatned verie boldly that he would teare those garmentes from their backes and bring them home againe And no man durst aduenture to staie him in that rage but only a yong brother of his that was in companie with him at that tyme who spake to him after this maner Brother Iames said he you are not acqueinted with this sister Catherine But if you goe to Siena you shall see she shall turne you also and make you to goe Confession To Confetsion said he I defie thee and them all Assure thy selfe I will cut the throtes of all those Priestes and friars before they shall bring me to confession Well brother said the child and he repeated his wordes oftentymes speaking with great affiance as though he had foreseene the euent of this matter in the spirite of prophecie you shall find my wordes true and shall see that the holie maid shall bring you to grace Those wordes set him in such a furie that he cursed and banned and fared like a man distracted And in this furie he entred into the citie and went foorth with to his fathers house where he tooke on like a madd man threatnyng and swearing that he would doe manie horrible mischiefes vnlesse they brought to passe that his sisters and specially Ginoccia might put off that habite and come home againe But his mother Rabes who was well acqueinted with his furious nature therefore feared lest he would of a sodaine do some mischieuous acte as his maner was came to him and with faire wordes staied his rage that he did no harme that night And the next morning she sent for Doctour Thomas beseeching him for Gods sake that he would take the paines to come and geue her sonne Iames some godlie exhortation Doctour Thomas came with him frier Bartilmewe And they spake manie good wordes to the impatient yong man but for ought that they could perceiue all in vaine All this tyme was the holie maid in praier and laboured earnestly to wynne that yong mans soule to God for she vnderstood not by the relation of anie man but only by reuelation from God in what a damnable state he stood and she sawe in spirite what paines those good men tooke to recouer him And it was euidently seene afterwardes by the proofe that our Lord blessed and furthered their charitable trauaile in that behalfe for the holie maides sake and in contemplation of her deuout praiers For when these men had spent a good tyme about him and sawe that they could doe him no good at the length while Doctour Bartilmewe was speaking to him behold of a sodaine and contrarie to all expectation the yong man being vndoubtedly touched by the finger of God resented and said of him selfe that he was verie well content and glad that his sisters should serue God in that holie rule and discipline And he required furthermore with great humilitie that he might be Confessed and absolued of his owne synnes that he might serue God with them also The which he did in deed verie perfectly to the great wonder and comfort of as manie as were there present which a litle before had seene him as fiercc as a lion and now as myld as a lambe His mother Rabes was a ioyful woman to see this strāge and blessed alteration in her sonne and so were all the rest of her familie with her Now when Doctour Thomas and Doctour Bartilmewe his companion had rendred thankes to almightie God for this great mercie shewed vpon that yong man they went out of hand with ioyful hartes towardes the holie maides lodging and thought the tyme long vntill they might impart these glad tidinges of his conuersion to her But when they came thither they vnderstood that the holie maid was aboue in an vpper chamber in praier and rauished as her maner was in spirite and one other of the sisters with her By reason wherof they were constreined to tarrie a while At the length when the holie maid was come to her selfe againe that other sister came downe to enterteine Doctour Thomas her Confessour who saluted her with a cheereful countenance and began foorthwith to declare the cause of his coming to her Sister said he we are come to bring you verie good newes Maister Iames Tolmes is by the grace of God become a newe man and this mornyng hath made a general Cōfession of all his synnes to Doctour Bartilmewe Father said that sister we haue great cause both to reioyse and also to thanke our Lord for these ioyful tydinges Howbeit they are no newes to vs for sister Catherine before I came downe to you told me so much as you tell me now And with that they went vp into the vpper chamber to the holie maid who immediatly vpon their entrie spake to them after this maner Fathers said she we are much bound to thanke our Lord and Sauiour that neuer dispiseth the humble praier of his seruantes And as he putteth holie desires into their hartes so doth he also accomplish the same to their benefite and comfort The wicked feend had thought to haue gotten a litle lambe of the which he had conceiued some hope But he hath through the vnspeakeable goodnes of God lost a great preie of the which he had full posession He laid for Ginoccia but he hath lost Iames. And so it falleth out oftentymes with this rauenous and insatiable wolfe that while he openeth his iawes wider to geat more he both letteth fall some better morsel that he had in his mouth before and yet misseth of that other thing that he so griedily snatcheth after Our Lord be blessed and thanked for euer more whose prouident wisedome disposeth all thinges sweetely and turneth the wilye malice of this suttle serpent to the benefit and comfort of his chosen seruantes After this Ginoccia continued without anie molestation in that holie state of life that she had vowed wherein when she had suffered manie sickenesses with a verie patient and cheereful mynd she passed out of this wordle to God with a meruelous inward sweetnes and comfort as it was euidently seene by the maner of her departure Soone after her sister Francis likewise tooke the habite and rule of the sisters of penance and therein continued with great commendation and opinion of holines so long as she liued which was in deed no long tyme. And it was noted of her also at the tyme of her passing out of this life that she smyled sweetely and shewed great tokens of spiritual ioye euen when she was at the verie point of death And this Iames their brother after that he was thus reclaimed by the deuout praier of the holie maid and diligence of
vnderstanding perfectly the state of her soule he knewe right well that such wordes in her came not of anie inordinate heat or passion of the mynd but only of a verie perfecte and pure zeale that she had to the honour of God and aduancement of his Church The reformation of the which she so much tēdred that manie tymes whē she made hir praiers vnto God for the same she would beseech him in most hartie maner that she might die for it in extremitie of paines and tormentes and that she might afterwardes be restored to life againe and so die againe and againe so oftentymes as should be thought sufficient for the obteyning of that blessed reformation that she so earnestly longed after Verie manie tymes being in praier she would vtter these wordes with a passing great feruour of spirite O Lord let all the partes of my bodie all my bones all the marowe within my bones be beaten and pounded together in a morter only restore thy holie Church againe to her comelines and beautie And though the whole state of her life were in deed a verie martyrdome yet had she such a longyng and impatient desire to shead her blood for the loue she bare to Christ and his Church that all her wordes and deedes seemed after a sort to tend to it as it maie appeere by a letter that she wrote to Doctour Raimundus concernyng the same matter In the which it is to be seene what a passing delite she tooke in iterating these wordes againe and againe blood blood Iesus Iesus How the holie maid made a final exhortation to her spiritual children and so passed out of this life Chap. 22. WHen the holie maid vnderstood by reuelation from God that her tyme drewe neere in the which she should passe out of this wordle she called all her spiritual children about her both men and women and to them all in general she made a meruelous godlie and excellent sermon exhorting them to goe forward constantly in their purposed waie of vertue vntill they came to the perfection of the same And in this sermon she expressed manie notable pointes of doctrine which I thought good to touch briefely in this place for the direction of all such as mind to walke perfectly and not to erre in the streight patthes of a true Christian life The first and most principal point of her doctrine as it were the ground-worke of all her exhortation was this To a man that cometh vnfeinedly to the seruice of God and myndeth in deed to possesse God perfectly it is necessarie that he do vtterly spoile his hart and make it naked and bare of all sensible loue not only of all persones but also of all creatures whatsoeuer they be and being so spoiled that he do earnestly bend him selfe towardes God his Creatour with a single and whole hart For the hart said she can not be wholly offred vp to God vnlesse it be free from all other loue and withal open and simple without all doublenes And she declared vnto them that her principal labour studie euen from her childhood to her dying daie had ben to atteine to the perfection of this point Item she said that no man can possibly come to such state of perfectiō as to be able to offer vp his hart to God freely and wholly without anie let or encombrance vnlesse he seeke it at Gods hand by praier And she said withal that it is necessarily required in praier that it be grounded vpon humilitie and that the man that myndeth to obteine anie thing by praier must haue no cōfidence in anie vertue or merite of his owne but only in the goodnes of God reputing him selfe as nothing in the sight of God And she added furthermore that she had ben alwaies careful and diligent to geue her selfe to praier that she might haue a cōtinual habite of the same because she sawe that of praier all vertues receiue their increase strength as contrariwise without praier all vertues decaie fall quite awaie And for this cause she exhorted them to geue them selues earnestly cōtinually to the exercise of praier And here she declared vnto them that there were two kindes of praier the one called vocal the other mental that these two kindes were to be vsed the one at tymes appointed in saying or singyng the Canonical howers and Church-seruice the other at all tymes either in acte so long as it might be done with discretion or els in will and desire when it might no longer be continued actually Item she said that she sawe cleerely by the light of a liuely faith that whatsoeuer happened to her selfe or others in this life came all from God not of anie hatred that he had to anie but of a passing great loue that he bare to his creatures And thereof she conceiued a certaine loue and readines to obey the cōmaundments both of God and also of her superiours so taking their commaundments as though they had come immediately from the mouth of God either for the necessitie of her saluation or els for the increase of vertue in her soule Item she said that whosoeuer is desirous to come to a cleane and pure state of mynd must of necessitie refraine him selfe from all iudging of others and from speaking vainely of the doings of others and looke only to the will of God in all his creatures which doth or permitteth all thinges to a good end And for this cause she charged them verie effectually that they should neuer iudge anie person that is they should not by waie of iudgement despise or condemne anie persone though they sawe euidently with their eyes some synne committed but contrariwise if the synne were manifest they should haue cōpassion on the partie that had offended praie to God for his amendment And cōcernyng this point she added thus much not as of her self but as a most vndoubted truth receiued at Gods owne mouth that manie persones for not obseruing this precept had failed of their final intended perfection in spiritual life which otherwise for a nomber of excellent vertues that were in them might haue prooued great Sainctes Item she said that she had alwaies reposed a verie great hope and affiance in the prouidence of God and so she exhorted them to doe affirmyng that she had tried by experience that the prouidence of God was passing great and neuer failed them that put their trust in him The which thing both she and manie other that kept her companie had seene verified oftentymes by verie certaine and euident miracles These and manie other goodlie pointes of doctrine she vttered vnto them and in the end she concluded her long exhortation with that precept of our Sauiour Christ exhorting them verie humbly and withal verie earnestly that they should loue one an other My deere children said she loue one an other This saying she repeated againe and againe after a meruelous sweet and louelie maner and did what she could to
induced to withdrawe anie tyme from the inward decking of her soule to make it appeere seemelie in the sight of God and to bestowe the same about the outward adornynge of her bodie to make it gratious and liking to the eyes of men And therfore she shewed her selfe to be vtterly vnwilling to folowe her mothers counsel in that point When her mother sawe that her wordes and perswasion could take no place she was verie angrie with her and sent for her other daughter called Bonauentura which was maried and willed her to deale with her sister and to vse all possible meanes to cause her to condescend to her request Who did as she was willed by her mother and in deed left no thing vn-assaied wherby she thought she might wynne her purpose And so in the end what by the importunitie of the mother and what by the example and faire speach of Bonauentura vnto whome Catherine had alwaies borne a special loue affection euen from her child hoold the yong virgin was as it were enforced to yeald somewhat to the folie commonly receiued emong women and so to spend some tyme more then she was willing about the attiere of her bodie But afterwardes when she had retired her selfe from companie and considered of the matter by her selfe alone she tooke meruelous great sorowe for it and was Confessed also for it with such sobbing and sighing that anie man would haue supposed that she had committed some verie grieuous offence She vsed often times to make a general Confession of her whole life and euermore when she came to this point she could make no end of weeping and lamenting The which thing the Confessour perceiuing though he knewe that it was a token of a timorous and well disposed mynd sometymes to feare synne where none is yet bicause it seemed strange to him that she should haue a conscience of it as of a mortall sinne wheras he by his learnyng was fully resolued that in truth it was not so he asked her whether she had in all that tyme anie deliberate will and purpose to doe anie thing contrary to her vowe Whervnto she answered and said that it neuer came in her hart Then he asked her further more whether she did it to that end that she might be the better liked of men To the which demaund shee made aunswere likewise and said that there was no one thing that grieued her more then when she was driuen by anie necessarie occasion either to see or to be seene of men whom otherwise she was wont to flee like as men flee serpents For the which cause she would neuer stand at the doore or windowe to see or to be seene of men passing by the howse The Confessour proceded in examinyng the matter and demaunded whether her attiere were ouer gaie light or otherwise excessiue aboue that that was commonly vsed of other women of her degree Wherunto she answered said that it was not Whie then said he do yee take your offence to be so grieuous in the sight of God Sire said she sobbing and sighing from the botome of her hart bicause I thinke I did at that tyme preferre the loue of my sister before the loue of God and whiles I was afraid to offend a silie transitorie creature I offended the diuine maiestie of the euerlasting Creatour and sweet spowse of my sowle Iesus Christ And with that she fell a weeping and wailing verie ruthfully did great penance vpon her selfe The which the Confessour seing pitying her state and thinking it expedient to comfort her in that case said vnto her Albeit there was some maner of excesse yet considering that it was but litle and done for no wicked or euel intent but only for a vaine pleasance for that tyme I take it it was not against the commandement of God When she heard her Confessour saie so she lift vp her eyes to heauen and cried with a lowd voice Oh my Lord God what a ghostlie Father is this that excuseth my sinnes And so with an earnest displeasure against her selfe she turned to her Confessour againe and said Father thinke you that this most wretched and vile creature which haue receiued so manie graces and gyftes of my Creatour only of his more goodnes without anie merite on my part should withdrawe anie tyme from the seruice of such a louing and bowntiful Lord and bestowe the same about the setting out of this rotten and stincking flesh which might also be a cause or inducement to deadlie synne When the Confessour hard those wordes and sawe that they proceeded from a hart wonderfully inflamed with the fyer of Gods loue being not able to answere her he gaue ouer to speake of that matter anie more Neuertheles he proceded to examine the whole state of her life And when he had done in that behalfe so much as apperteined to a learned and discrete ghostlie Father to doe he gaue afterwardes a verie sufficient testimonie before God and his holie Church that when he had heard her Confessions both general and speciall all the tyme of his life he could neuer espie anie spot of mortall synne in her conscience vnlesse this be taken for a mortal synne which no learned diuine I thinke would euer iudge He testified furthermore both by word of mowth and in writing that he found her alwaies so cleane from venial synnes that he could scantlie perceiue by her Confession which she made both verie often and verie exactely that she did commit anie offence at all in so much that it was well knowen not only to her ghostlie Father that examined her conscience but also to as manie in effecte as had anie conuersation or doinges with her that she did neuer or seeldome offend so much as in word And so will anie man iudge that shall with good diligence and attention read ouer the whole storie of her life For he shall see that the order of her life was such her silence so wonderful her sleepe so short her eating and drinking so spare her praiers so continual her meditations and contemplations so heauenly her exhortations to others so earnest and so often vsed her whole conuersation so meeke sweet that where such graces did abound it was not possible that sinne should take anie place and where so much tyme was spent in holie exercises there could not be much tyme spare to be bestowed in synful workes How she recouered her wonted libertie in seruing God and was reconciled againe to her spowse How the persecutions that she susteined at home did not only not hurt her but also profit her verie much Chap. 7. WHen this yong maid had ben thus induced by the importunitie of her mother and sister to condescend to their vngodlie request so farre forth as is before declared she perceiued in her selfe that she was much slacker and colder in her praiers and meditations then she was wont to be before Which happened vnto her vndoubtedly by the permission of
cried out Alas daughter said she what hast thou done But the maid couered her head againe and went aside At this crie of the mother came the good man of the howse and his other children hauing great feare and wonder what the matter should be But when they vnderstood the cause they were verie much offended with her in so much that they reproached her both in wordes and deedes Thou vile wretche said they trowest thou thus by cutting of thyne haire to escape our handes It will grewe againe in spite of thy teeth Though thou burst for curst hart thou must marrie And make thy selfe well assured of this thou shalt neuer haue good daie vntill thou conforme thy will to our will And with that they tooke order that she should haue no more anie secret chamber in the howse to resort vnto but should be continually occupied about the commō seruice of the howse that she might haue neither tyme nor place to retire her selfe to praier and meditation And to geue her to vnderstand how litle account they made of her they put awaie the kitchen maide and appointed her to doe all the workes of drudgerie about the howse And while she was so occupied they ceased not to reuile her whether soeuer she went in the howse and to loade her eares with most opprobrious and despiteful wordes weenyng therby to bring to passe that she should either yeald to them or be weerie of her life Last of all to enforce this battaile vpon the seelie maid with as great strēgth and policie as was possible they fownd out a comelie yonge man of a good kinred and welbeloued of all that were in the howse whom they tendered vnto her But her hart was so thoroughly possessed with the loue of Christ her chosen spowse that she might not abide to heare of any other And wheras they had debarred her of that commoditie which she was wonte to haue of a secret place to withdrawe her selfe vnto for praier and meditation our merciful Lord who will not suffer his faithful seruantes to be tempted aboue that they are able but euen with the tentation geueth an issue taught her by the inward instincte of his holie spirite how she should buyld a secret chamber or oratorie in her owne hart where she might dwell delitefully with her sweet spowse so long as she listed and neuer be plucked out whatsoeuer befell And wheras before she was enforced sometymes by occasions to goe out of her chamber and so to be distracted with out ward affaires now contrariwise she shut vp her selfe so closely in this closet and tooke such passing delite in the presence of her loue and ioye Iesus Christ whose delite it is to dwell in pure and cleane hartes that howsoeuer they cried and called about her whatsoeuer beating and bounsing they made outwardly reproching her in wordes or deedes she passed with all such thinges so quietly as if they had neuer ben spoken or done to her And thus had she a verie sensible and experimental vnderstanding of that goodly lesson which our Sauiour teacheth vs in the ghospel where he saieth The kingdome of God is within you For vnto a sowle thus disposed where Christ reigneth by faith and holie loue all creatures are made vassal and do serue ech thing in his kind and course orderly euen as obedient subiectes do their Prince in a well gouerned kingdome Now when this towardlie disciple of Christ had thus learned this high lesson by the teaching of the holie Ghost as she had shewed her selfe to be an humble scholer in the schoole of God so had she also a charitable desire to become a discrete schoole-mistres to others and namely to Doctour Raimundus her ghostlie Father whom at tymes when he was occasioned to goe abroad by reason of his charge and affaires she would warne that he should buyld a secret cell or closet in his sowle out of the which he should neuer depart The which wordes at the first seemed to him to be verie obscure and darcke but afterwardes when he had considered of them aduisedly he sawe that they were to verie good purpose and profit He sawe what a goodlie thing it was for a man to buyld a tēple in his hart for almightie God and to dwell in the same with quietnes of conscience and peace of God that passeth all vnderstanding And he sawe how litle the deuel had gayned at this holie virgins hand by mouing her parentes to debarre her of that litle commoditie of a secret chamber which she had in their howse The losse wherof was an occasion to her to buyld an heauenlie chamber in her hart where she might enioye the sweet presence of her louelie spowse so often and so long as she listed without anie trouble or molestation And as for the abbasing of her to the vile seruices of the howse how litle that turned to the aduantage of the enemie it may appeere by that that she her selfe declared afterwardes to her ghostlie Father When she sawe that her father and mother had appointed her to doe all the workes of drudgerie in the kitchen and other places of the howse she neuer repined at it but turned all that basenes to her great commoditie merite by this holie imagination She had this conceite with her selfe that her father represented in the howse our Sauiour Christ her mother our blessed Lady her brethrē sisters and others of the familie the Apostles and disciples of Christ The kitchen she imagined to be the innermost tabernacle of the temple called Sancta sanctorum where the most principal burnt sacrifices were dight and offred vp to God And with this godlie imagination she went vp and downe the howse like a diligent Martha and in her father mother and brethren serued Christ with his blessed mother Sainctes so cheerefully and with such a glad hart that the whole howse had great wonder of it And thus she turned all that drudgerie wherunto she was put by the malice of the ghostlie enemie to the honour of God to the inward comfort of her owne sowle and to the great contentation of her parentes and edifying of as manie as sawe it Of her continuance in her feruent and deuout exercises and how her father sawe a Doue ouer her head Of a singular affection that she bare to the habite of S. Dominicke and how it was declared vnto her by a cleere vision that she was heard How she preuailed against all those in the howse that went about to hinder her holie designementes and vowes Chap. 8. BVt yet bicause she cold not be without some chamber where she might take her rest in the night season and a priuate chamber she might not haue bicause her father and mother had taken order to the contrarie she chose to be in her brother Steuens chamber where she might in the daie tyme withdrawe her selfe from companie whiles he was out of the waie and in the night set her selfe to praier without
and conuersation How hangyng in the ayer she sawe certaine secrets and high mysteries of God which it is not lawful to disclose to anie man Chap. 19. THIS holie maid from the tyme that she was thus endued with newe graces vntill the xxxiij yeare of her age at what tyme she departed out of this life was so wholly occupied in diuine comtemplations that in all that tyme she neuer needed anie bodilie sustenance And in those contemplations her soule was so mightely drawen vp to heauenlie thinges that her bodie also was by the vehemencie of the spirite taken vp often tymes withal and suspended in the ayer At which tymes she sawe manie wonderful thinges and spake manie high wordes of heauenlie matters which were heard of diuerse and sundrie persones On a tyme her ghostlie Father seeing her so rauished from her bodilie senses and hearing her speake certaine wordes softely to her selfe came neere to hearken what she said And standing by her he heard her speake these wordes distinctly in latine Vidi arcana Dei that is I haue seene the secrets of God And she repeted the same wordes often tymes Vidi arcana Dei Her ghostlie Father afterwardes being verie desirous to knowe what she meant by those wordes and whie she repeted them so often asked her after this maner Good mother said he I praie you tell me whie you repeated those wordes so often What is the cause whie you will not declare your secrets to me now as you were wont to doe To that she answered and said that she might not speake otherwise whie so said he whie maie you not declare the thinges that our Lord reuealeth vnto you as well now as you were wont to doe Good Father said she I should haue as great a conscience if I should declare the high misteries that almightie God hath now reueled vnto me with my defectuous and imperfecte tongue as I should haue if I had blasphemed or dishonoured our Lord in wordes For there is so great difference betweene heauenly thinges apprehended in an vnderstanding that is illuminated by God and the same thinges vttered by the speach or tongue of man that me thinketh they are almost contrarie the one to the other And therefore for this tyme I praie you hold me excused For the thinges that I haue seene are vnspeakeable After this great reuelation that our Lord made to her of vnspeakeable thinges it seemed to her that her hart did leap out of her bodie and that it did enter into the side of our Sauiour Christ and there was made one hart with his hart And at that instant she felt her soule all molton and resolued with the force of his diuine loue in such sort that she cried out with a loude voice often tymes Domine vulnerasti cor meum Domine vulnerasti cor meum Lord thou hast wounded my hart Lord thou hast wounded my hart This thing was done vpon S. Margarets Daie in the yeare of our Lord. 1370. How she put her mouth to the side of our Sauiour and drancke and of manie other wonderful thinges that happened about the blessed Sacrament Chap. 20. IT chaunced also the same yeare on S. Laurence daie that this holie maid comyng to the Church to heare Masse set her selfe downe neere to the Aulter as her maner was that she might the better see the holie Sacrament And kneeling there deuoutly in her praiers she brake out into weeping and sobbing so much that her ghostlie Father came to her warned her that she should refraine so much as was possible for not molesting the priest at Masse Wherupon like a meeke and obedient daughter she remoued her selfe farther from the Aulter and made her humble praier to our Lord that he would vouchsafe to illuminate her Confessours hart that he might see and vnderstand that such violent motions of the spirite might not be witholden and kept in by the strength of man and her priaer was not vaine For it pleased God to make her ghostlie Father to vnderstand perfectly by experience that such feruour of spirite could not be so kept in but that the force of diuine loue would needes breake out The which when he vnderstood he neuer rebuked her afterwardes for anie such matter Now kneeling after this maner farre of from the Aulter she groned in her hart and manie tymes also brake out into wordes and said after a languishing and ruthful maner I would faine receiue the bodie of my Lord and Redeemer I would faine receiue the bodie of my Lord and Sauiour Iesus Christ One tyme as she was so so crying behold our Lord appeered vnto her with the wound of his side all open and bringing her mowth to the same said Receiue of my flesh and drincke of my blood so much as thou wilt With that she sucked greedily and tooke so much that it seemed to her that for verie pure loue she was at the point of death by reason of the passing great sweetnes that she felt in her hart The selfe same yeare vpon S. Alexius daie this holie maid made her praier to God that he would vowchsafe to graunt her a feruent and burnyng desire to receiue his most holie bodie and blood At what tyme she vnderstood by reuelation that on the morowe she should receiue without all doubt For she had ben forbiden for certaine respectes that she should not receiue so often When she had that comfortable reuelation she praied againe to our Lord that he would vowchsafe to clense her hart against the tyme of receiuing that she might receiue the more worthily to her greater profite Behold while she was so praying she felt a certaine raigne comyng downe into her soule in maner of a great abondant flood not of water or of anie other such licour but of blood myngled with fyer which as it seemed to her clensed her soule so mightely that the strength and operation of the same redounded into the bodie and clensed it also After this on the morowe she was so extremely sicke that to her seemyng she was not able to moue one foote though the worlde had lyen on it All the which not withstanding she doubted nothing of the promise made vnto her by our Lord but with a ful affiance in him set her selfe in the waie towardes the Church Whither when she was come she kneeled downe in a chappell besides an Aulter and besought almightie God with great instance that her ghostlie Father might come and saie Masse there For she had a special inhibition not to receiue at anie other priestes hand And she vnderstood by reuelation that almightie God had graunted her that petition also Now while she was thus attending there for the performance of all these comfortable promises her ghostlie Father who before found small disposition in him selfe to saie Masse that daie knewe not of her being there was sodainly touched at the hart with a verie strange feruour and deuotiō Wherupon he prepared him selfe to Masse and went
that goodly light and to returne againe to dwell in his former darke and stinkinge dongeon O good Father I am that wretched creature vpon whom this calamitie is fallen by the ordinance of God for my sinnes How so said he Forsooth saide she the fyre of Gods loue was at that time soe stronge in my harte and the desire which I had to be vnited to him so vehement that though my hart had ben of stone or of yron it must needes haue broken in sonder And therfore I geue you thus much to vnderstand for certaine that my hart was in deed vndone and opened from the vppermost part to the neither only by the violence of that mightie loue which I beleeue was of such force that no creature in this worlde had ben able to abide it in so much that me thinketh I feele yet certaine tokens of that clefte in my hart And so often as it cometh to my mind what a blesful state my soule was in in that meane tyme while it was separated from my bodie I can not but weepe lament for my returne againe to this vale of miserie With that her Confessour praied her that she would make a declaration of the whole matter from the begynnyng Wherunto she made answere and said Father after that I had ben fed and comforted a long tyme with diuerse and sundrie reuelations and visions which it pleased our Lord of his great mercie to shewe vnto me at length for verie pure loue I fell so sicke that I was constreined to keepe my bed Where lying I made my humble petition to our Lord that he would vouchsafe to deliuer me out of this wretched wordle and vnite me perfectly to him selfe Which petitiō as then he would not heare But yet he graunted me thus much that I should suffer in the tyme of myne abode in this life all the paines of his Crosse and passion by the suffring wherof I should both learne the better how passing great his loue was towardes me and also be stirred by the example of his vnspeakeable loue in some degree to loue him againe And so in deed it came to passe that seeing as it were by an euident experience in my selfe how great loue our Sauiour bare to me and how intolerable paines he suffred for my sake I was wholly ouercome with the force of such inestimable kindnes and my hart being not able to beare the strength of so much loue as it had conceiued brake in sunder by reason wherof my soule was also deliuered out of this mortal bodie and had the fruition of his diuine maiesty howbeit but for a litle tyme which was my great griefe Then said doctour Raimundus to her I praie you good mother tell me how long was your soule out of your bodie And what thinges did you see in that tyme With that she fetched a deepe sigh said Faher those that were about my bodie made preparation for my burial said that it was about a fower howers In the which tyme I sawe the diuine essence of almightie God which causeth me now to liue with such discontentation of mynd and misliking of all thinges here in the worlde And had it not ben for the zeale that I haue to the honour of God and edifying of myne euen Christians for whose sakes my sowle was restored againe to the bodie without all doubt I must needes haue dyed for sorrowe And now the greatest comfort that I haue in the worlde is that I knowe and am well assured that the more I suffer in this life the more blessed I shal be in the life to come And therefore all tribulations are to me not vncomfortable and yrckesome but rather comfortable as you see and deliteful I sawe also the paines of the damned in hell and of those likewise that are in purgatorie which were so great that no tongue of man is able to expresse them I assure you Father if wretched synners might see those horrible paines and tormentes they would rather choose to suffer an hundred deathes in this worlde if it were possible then to endure the least paine that is there for the space of one daie But aboue others I sawe that they were specially punished which had broken their faith and promise geuen in matrimonie not keepinge them selues within the honest boundes and yoake of wedlocke but following the inordinate lustes of their flesh and sensualitie Which was so ordained not bicause the breach of weddelocke is the most heinous offence that is there punished for there be manie greater synnes but bicause the offenders in this vice for the most part had neuer had anie remorse of conscience for this offence as they had for the rest of their synnes and also bicause they had commonly fallen more often into this synne then to any other for manie tymes a synne which is in it selfe not so great displeaseth God highly if it be oftentymes committed and no care had of amendement by contrition and penance Now when I had seene all these thinges and had conceiued withal a most certaine hope that for myne owne part I was passed all paines and come to a state of all ioye and gladnes our Lord said vnto me Daughter seest thou not these vnhappie synners and transgressours of my lawes on the one side what ioyes they haue lost and on the other side what paines they haue found for this cause haue I shewed these thinges to thee bicause I will haue thee to returne againe into the worlde to declare to my people their synnes and iniquities and withal the great peril and paine that hangeth ouer them if they will not amend When I heard that I should returne to the worlde againe I was striken with a meruelous great feare and horrour Wherupon our Lord to comfort me againe spake thus sweetly vnto me Daughter there are a great nomber of sowles in the worlde which I will haue to be saued through thy meanes and that is the cause whie I send thee thither againe Wherfore goe thy waie with a good will and be of good cōfort From this tyme foreward my will is that thou shalt change the order of thy life Thou shalt no more keepe within thy cell but goe abrode into the worlde to wynne sowles Thou shalt beare my name before al sortes of men high and lowe clerkes and secular I will bring thee before the bisshops and head prelates in my Church to confownd their pride Be not afraid to conferre with them in high pointes concernyng the saluation of sowles For I will geue thee a wit to conceiue and withal a mouth to speake in such sort that none shal be able to withstand thee While our Lord spake these wordes to me of a sodaine my sowle was restored to the bodie The which when I perceiued for verie sorrowe I wept three daies and three nightes and neuer ceased And yet to this daie I can not possibly absteine from weeping when it cometh to my mynd how I
Raimundus to goe with him certaine other religious persones to the place When she was come the Priour ordeined for her and for her sisters that came with her a conuenient lodging without the monasterie the men he tooke into his cloister with him selfe The next morning he came with his whole couent to the holie maides lodging and besought her verie earnestly that she would voutchsafe to saie some thing wherby both he and his brethren might be edified She of humilitie refused a great while and said that it was more meete for her being a woman to be instructed by them then to take vpon her to instructe them But at the length being ouercome with their importunitie she spake as it pleased God to put in her hart And specially she tooke occasion to touch a nomber of sleites and illusions which the ghostlie enemie is wont to vse to deceiue and entrappe those spiritual persones that geue them selues to solitarie life And when she had briefely and plainely declared the tentations she did with the life briefnes and plainenes teach them against euery particular tētation a particular remedie And these thinges she vttered so orderly and with such apte termes that they were all astonied to heare her When she had made an end the Priour turned him selfe to Doctour Raimundus said these wordes Thus manie yeares haue I heard the confessions of these my brethren as the maner of our religion requireth whereby you maie presume that I do knowe the state of euerie man And I saie to you that if this holie maid had heard their confessions as I haue done she could not haue spoken more to the purpose and more to the profit and edifying of euerie one of them then she hath done Whereby we maie cleerely see that she is vndoubtedly a great prophetesse and that the holie spirite of God speaketh in her VVhat a singular grace the holie maid had not only in seeing the state of their soules that were present with her but also in discerning the qualities and condicions of them that were farre from her and in strange countreis with certaine other pointes of like sort worthie to be noted Chap. 6. MAnie deuout persones resorting vnto the holie maid at tymes for spiritual comfort did vse to kneele downe before her and to doe greater reuerence to her then was vsually done to other religious persones The which thing because she did not refuse some that were present tooke offence and murmured ymagining with them selues that she had ben vaine-glorious and that she had taken pleasure in such curtesies Doctour Raimundus to take awaie this occasion of offence went to the holie maid and told her what was conceiued of her To whom she made answere in this sort Father said she our Lord knoweth that I am so thoroughly occupied in vewing the secret qualities of the soules of them that resort to me that I take litle heed to the outward gestures of their bodies And as she sawe the secret disposition of soules so did she likewise take either passing great delite in them if they were vertuously disposed or verie great griefe and bothsomenes towardes them if she sawe them geuen to vice and vncleannes On a tyme while the holie maid was talking with Pope Gregorie concerning the state of the Church where Doctour Raimundus was vsed for an interpretour betweene them because the Pope vnderstood not the Italian tongue and she spake no latine emong other thinges she lamēted her verie much of the court of Rome and said that where of reason there ought to be a most pleasant paradyse of vertue and holines there she found a most lothsome syncke of all stincking vice and vncleannes The Pope being somewhat moued with those wordes asked of Doctour Raimundus how long it was sence she was first acqueinted with the court of Rome And vnderstanding that it was but a fewe daies he asked her how she came to haue such knowledge of the maners of the court in so fewe daies With that she raised her selfe vp with a certaine comelie boldnes whereas before she held downe her head and said these wordes to the Pope To the honour of almightie God I dare well saie thus much that I had a more perfecte sent of the horrible stench of the synnes that are cōmitted in the court of Rome when I liued at home in myne owne countrey where I was borne then they haue them selues that doe commit such synnes euerie daie When the Pope heard these wordes he held his peace and wondred much at the strangenes of her answere But Doctour Raimundus aboue all other was meruelously astonied seeing her to speake in the presence of so great a Prelate as that Pope was with such an vnwonted boldnes and authoritie It happened often tymes as Doctour Raimundus and diuerse other credible persones reported that when she came with them into places where neither she nor they had euer ben before there resorted vnto her manie men and women that seemed by their apparel wordes and outward behauiour verie honest and godlie folkes but were in deed geuen to some vncleane vice Which thing she perceiued by and by and therefore would in no wise be brought to speake with them of heauenlie matters as they required nor so much as to turne her face towardes them And if she sawe that they taried ouer long she would breake out into wordes also and saie to them that if they mynded to talke of God or of godlie matters they should first ridde them selues out of the deuels snares and amend their liues And with that she would find some occasion to withdrawe her selfe from their companie Now her Confessour and other that were about her at such tymes enquiring further of the behauiour and conuersation of such persones as she refused thus to speake withal found in deed that they were noted of some grieuous crime and that they continued in the same without repentance An other tyme there came a woman to speake with the holie maid whose behauiour was so woman lie and talke so honest that so manie as were there present tooke her to be a verie vertuous woman The which notwithstanding the holie maid turned her face awaie from her as it seemed of purpose because she would neither see the woman nor be seene of her Whereof Doctour Raimundus had great wonder and therefore tooke occasion afterwardes to aske her secretly what the cause was whie she had so done To whom she made answere after this maner O Father said she if you had felt such a stench of synne as I felt while that woman spake to me I am well assured you would haue cast vp all that had ben in your stomake Vpon this Doctour Raimundus vsed meanes to come to the knowledge of that womans conuersation and vnderstood that she was a priestes concubine How the holie maid praied continually for the state of the Church and how by praier she obteyned of God the ceasing of two rebellions in Rome Chap. 7.
make them to vnderstand that she spake those wordes of a verie inward affection and great feruour of spirite to the end that they should the better beare them awaie and imprint them the deeper in their hartes My deere children said she loue one an other truly and syncerely for by this you shall shewe that you are willing to be my children and by this I shall take my selfe to be your mother If you loue one an other you shall be my crowne and glorie before God and I will acknowledge you before him to be my true children and I wil be a continual intercessour to his diuine Maiestie for you that as he hath voutchsafed to endue my soule abundantly with his grace so he will also powre the like abundance of grace into your soules Last of all she commaunded them after a certaine charitable maner that they should keepe their desires euermore feruent and burnyng and that they should offer vp the same before God for the reformation and good state of the Church of God and of his vicare the Pope affirming of her selfe that she had alwaies kept her hart and desires in such a feruour especially for the space of seuen yeares before that tyme and that she had neuer omitted specially in those seuen yeares to offer vp her hart and desires in such sort before the diuine Maiestie of almightie God And she confessed plainely that for the obteinyng of this grace at Gods hand she had susteined manie grieuous paines and infirmities in her bodie and that she did at that verie present susteine meruelous great and bitter paines for the same cause And she added furthermore that as almightie God had geuen licence to Satan to torment the bodie of Iob so it seemed also that he had graunted him power to torment and vexe her bodie in such sort that from the sole of her foote to the top of her head there was no one part without his peculiar paine tormēt in her And as no part was void of his proper paine so manie partes were tormēted with diuerse sūdrie paines together as it was sensibly perceiued of as manie as stood by her at that tyme saw her in that great agonie After that she had thus ended her sermon or exhortation she spake to them after a more familiar maner and said My right deere and hartely beloued I now see cleerely that my most louing spouse hath so disposed of me that when my bodie hath indured such tormentes and afflictions as his B. goodnes hath graunted me my soule continuing still in these vehemēt fyerie howeful desires shall in that state be deliuered out of this darcke prison so returne againe to his first original begynning Those that stood about her were meruelously astonied to see her patiēce cheerefulnes in all her paines Which they sawe by verie euident tokēs were so great vehemēt that they thought it impossible for her or anie other creature to beare them as she did without shewing so much as anie litle sigue of sorrowe or lamentation but that she was staied by some verie great special grace of God And as they wondered as her patiēce so did they make great sorrowe and wept verie pitifully to see their good mother in such tormentes The which when she perceiued she spake to them againe after a cōfortable maner and said There is no cause my deere children whie you should be sorie to see me in these paines considering that these paines are the meane to bring me to death by death to a better life But you ought rather to reioyce with me to thinke that I shall now leaue this troublesome place of paine and goe to rest in God that cleere calme sea Be of good cōfort for I promise you faithfully that I will stand you in better steed after my passage from hence then euer I did or might doe so long as I was in this darcke life full of miseries True it is that I do put my life my death all in the hāds of my deere and euerlasting spouse If he shall thinke it expedient for anie creature of his that I tarrie here still in labour and paine I am right well cōtēted glad for the honour of his name edifying of my neighbour to suffer if it were possible a hundred deathes and martyrdoms in a daie But if it be his will pleasure that I shall passe at this time and in these tormentes be you well assured that I haue at the length with long and instant sute obteined at his hand a verie special grace which is that it would please him to accept my bodie as a sacrifice and burnt offring for the reformation of his Church After this she called thē vnto her one by one and gaue thē in charge what order of life euerie one should take after her decease Some she appointed to liue in religiō some to be Heremites and some to be secular Priestes Ouer the sisters of Penance she appointed Alexia to be mother And she willed them all to haue recourse to Doctour Raimundus after her death euen as they had had to her in her life tyme and to vse his direction in all matters When she had thus disposed of all thinges particularly by the directiō of the holie Ghost which vndoubtedly spake in her at that tyme as it was euidently seene afterwardes by the goodlie and blessed successe of all such thinges as she tooke special order for in that extremitie she asked them all forgeuenes and said Decrely beloued though I haue ben alwaies verie desirous of your soules health which thing in deed I can not denie yet I know well that I haue failed in manie pointes both because I haue not ben to you such a perfect paterne of spiritual light vertue and good woorkes as a true handmaid and Spouse of Christ might haue ben and also because I haue not ben so diligent and careful about your bodilie necessities as I ought to haue ben Wherefore I most humbly and instantly beseech you all and euerie one of you to pardon me and I exhort you all to hold out in the waie of vertue vntill the end for in so doing as I said you shal be my ioye and crowne before God With that she ceased of her exhortation to them and called for her ghostlie Father and to him made a general Confession of her whole life and so receiued the blessed Sacrament with meruelous great deuotion That done she required the rest of the Sacramentes which were likewise ministred vnto her in due order and tyme Last of all she demaunded a full remission or Indulgence that was graunted her before by two Popes to wite by Pope Gregorie and Pope Vrbanus After that she had thus prepared her selfe she drewe on fast towardes her end and being in a verie paineful and vehement fitte it was well perceiued by her wordes and outward gestures that she susteined a meruelous sharpe dreadful conflicte with the