tyme as that she might be able to goe succour that poore woman Anon after feeling her selfe meruelously well comforted she rose vp early in the mornyng and filled her sacke with corne she tooke two great flascats also one of wyne and an other of oyle and withal whatsoeuer she fownd in the howse meete to be eaten And when she had laid this prouision together thinking it impossible to carrie it all at once to the widoes howse which was farre from thence the thinges weighed no lesse then an hūdred powndes she cast vp her hart to her spowse and besought him of his gracious assistance That done she began to trie with a stowte hart what she was able to doe Some part she laid vpon her shoulders some she trussed vnder her gyrdle some she carried in her right hand and some in her lefte And when she had loded her selfe with all this burthen she felt no more of it then if it had ben a wad or wispe of strawe but so soone as the common bell of the citie had rong before the which tyme it was not lawful for anie persone to walke in the streetes she tooke her waie towardes the poore widowes howse and went so light on the grownd not withstanding all that heauie waight of prouision and great feeblenes of bodie withall as if she had caried nothing but had ben caried her selfe as in truth she was But when she was almost come to the howse the burthen that seemed before verie light became so heauie and paineful to her that she thought she could not beare it one foote further The which strange alteration when she felt in her selfe she conceiued foorthwith that it was the will of God that it should so be And therefore she turned her selfe to him with a great affiance in his mercie and made her humble petition to him that he would vowchasafe to ease her againe and make her able to goe thorough with her burthen And with that finding her selfe to haue receiued sufficient strength to beare it out she held on her waie till she came to the widowes doore which by the prouision of God she found halfe open And so putting it from her softely with her hand she laid in her prouision with as litle noyse as was possible Howbeit it was not done so priuily but that the widowe awaked withal The which she perceiuing made awaie as fast as she could But there came vpon her euen at that instant such a feeblenes and withal such a heauisomenes of bodie that she was not able to crawle awaie though her life had lyen on it Wherefore turnyng her selfe to our Lord with a heauie hart bicause she feared lest her being there alone at that tyme of the daie might be scandalous to weake myndes and yet on the other side with a cheereful and smyling countenance bicause she sawe it was the will and pleasure of her spowse so to dalie with her betweene game and earnest as it were she spake vnto him after this maner O my deere Lord whie hast thou thus deceiued me Shall it doe well thinkest thou that all the worlde laugh me to scorne Is it thy pleasure that all the neighbours here see my folie and hold me for a verie foole and sott See o Lord the daie cometh on fast which will discouer me to the worlde and so shall I be taken for a fantastical woman or peraduenture for worse O my good Lord and sweet loue of my hart hast thou now forgoten thyne old mercies shewed from tyme to tyme to me thyne vnworthie handmaid Geue me I beseech thee so much strength that I maie be able to returne home to my chamber and then laie vpon me so much weakenes as pleaseth thee With that she enforced her selfe the best she could to creepe with hand and foote vpon the grownd and while she was so creeping she spake to her bodie after this maner liue thou die thou awaie thou must Whether thou be able or not able here is no being And therefore on a Gods name And so what with going and what with crawling she wonne a litle grownd But before she could get out of sight the poore widowe came downe seeing her in the street and no moe but her knewe by her habite whoe it was that had done her that charitable pleasure Thē our Lord heard the groanyng of his deere spowse and pitying her poore case gaue her so much strength that she gate home before it was brode daie Where she receiued great cōfort of mynd in cōsideratiō of Gods mercie and louing kindnes towardes her and withall her ould diseases feeblenes of bodie for her further increase of grace merite An other verie notable example of her great Charitie towardes the poore Chap. 6. WHile this holie maid was on a tyme in S. Dominickes Church there came by her a poore man and besought her for Gods loue that she would geue him somewhat To whom bicause she had nothing there to geue for it was not her maner to beare neither gold nor syluer about her she spake verie gently and praied him that he would haue so much patience as to tarrie there till she might goe home and come againe The poore man made answere that he could not tarrie so long but if she had anie thing there to geue she should geue it for otherwise he must needes goe his waie She was loth that he should goe from her without somwhat therefore bethought her selfe carefully what thing she might haue about her to serue that poore mans need Anon it came to her mynd that she had a litle crosse of syluer that hong by her beades which she brake of with all speed gaue it gladly to the poore man Who likewise when he had receiued this almes at her hand went his waie and was seene no more to begge that daie as though his coming had ben for that Crosse only The night folowing while this deuout virgin was occupied in praier after her accustomed maner our Sauiour Christ appeered vnto her hauing that same Crosse in his hand set with diuerse and sundrie precious stones and said vnto her Daughther knowest thou this Crosse Yea Lord said she I knowe it right well but it was not so richly decked when I had it Then said our Lord to her againe Yesterdaie thou gauest me this Crosse with a chereful hart and great charitie which great loue and charitie is signified by these precious stones And therefore I promise thee that at the daie of iudgement I will shewe the same in the presence of all men and Angels to the great increase of thyne euerlasting ioye and glorie For I will not hide nor suffer to be hiden such deedes of charitie as are done by thee With that this apparition ceased and left her replenished with vnspeakeable ioye and gladnes And from that tyme foreward there increased in her a passing great desire of relieuing the poore An other verie wonderful example of her
wherin you haue begun to trade vs. We will praie with you also but what are we seelie wretches and sinful creatures we are vnworthie to appeere before his diuine maiestie beinge as we are full of iniquitie and subiecte to manie imperfections And therefore we praie you deere mother that our sute maie be offred vp to almightie God by you who for the tender loue that you haue alwaies shewed to vs are like to sollicite it more carefully and for the singular fauour that you haue found in his sight are like to obteine it more certainly Manie such wordes spake her Confessour and the rest to her with great heauines of hart which they shewed more with the teares that they shed then with the wordes that they spake When they had said the holie maid made them answer after this maner It is now long as you knowe sence I resigned my selfe wholly vnto God and haue no will of myne owne but do remit all to the direction of his blessed will True it is that I loue you verie entierly and haue a great desire of your saluation And it is no lesse true that he loueth and tendreth you infinitly more then I do or can do and that he thirsteth after your saluation more then I and all men are able to conceiue wherof we haue most sufficient testimonie the shedding of his most precious blood His will therfore be done in this and in all other thinges I wil not cease to praie for you howbeit not otherwise but only that his will be done which I knowe shal be best for you howsoeuer it fall out When she had spoken these wordes they went aside fot a tyme in great heauines and perplexitie vntill the tyme that they might heare some more comfortable answere The next daie after she called her Confessour vnto her and said Father I beleeue our Lord hath somewhat condescended to your petition and I hope you shall vnderstand his will and pleasure touching the same within a short tyme. And as she said so it prooued in deed For vpon the next morowe which was sondaie she receiued the blessed Sacrament at her Confessours hand And as on the sondaie before she was brought to verie great weakenes after the receiuing of the blessed Sacrament so at this tyme she was meruelously refresshed and strengthened in bodie Which seemed strange to as manie as were there present Then doctour Raimundus seeing that wonderful and comfortable alteratiō in her bodie said these wordes I am now in great hope that our Lord hath accepted our teares and that he hath geuen fauorable eare to the humble praiers of vs his vnworthie seruantes With that for their further assurance and comfort he asked the holie maid whether the paine that she was wont to haue in her handes feete and side did continue still as it did before Wherunto she made answere and said that our Sauiour Christ had now so wrought in her bodie that those woundes or markes were no more a griefe and torment vnto her but rather a passing great ioye and sensible comfort and that our Lord at their instance and sute had graunted her a longer tyme of affliction in this life which she was glad of for the loue she bare to them How she was rauished in spirite for the space of three daies and how afterwardes she did penance as long for a word that escaped her vnwares Chap. 23. VPon the feast of S. Pauls conuersion this holie maid was meruelously rauished frō her bodilie senses and her spirite was so mightely drawen vp to heauenward that for the space of three daies three nightes she was vnmoueable and without all bodilie feeling in so much that manie thought verily that she had bin fully dead But there were some that vnderstood her condicion better then the rest who were of opinion that she should be rauished with S. Paul into the third heauen At the lenght when the three daies were ended she came to her selfe againe But her spirite was so comforted with the thinges that had ben reuealed vnto her in that tyme that she stood long tyme after like one that had ben neither fully sleeping nor fully awaked In the meane tyme whil she so stood there came to her doctour Thomas her first Confessour and with him an other Friar called brother Donatus of Florence who were going to visite a certaine holie Heremite in the wildernes And taking this holie maid in their waie and finding her in this case they thought they would proue whether they might awake her fully by inuiting her to doe some worke of charitie And so they asked her whether she would goe with thē to see that holie man Yea said she not knowing in deed at that verie instant what she said For as yet she remained in that sleepie state that she had ben in before But so soone as she perceiued that such a woord had passed her she had such a remorse of conscience bicause she had said otherwise thē she mynded to doe that for verie griese of mynd sorrowe for her offence she awaked altogether as she had ben before three daies three nightes in a deliteful contēplation of heauenly thinges so did she likewise cōtinue three daies three nightes after a verie lamētable maner waling weeping for her synne and said to her selfe O most wicked and peruerse woman hast thou thus requited the infinite goodnes and mercie of thy Lord and Sauiour with making a lie Be these the truthes that thou hast learned in heauen Be these the frutes of the doctrines that the holie Ghost hath inspired in thy hart Thou knewest well when thou spakest those wordes that it was not thy meanyng to goe with them And yet thou wouldest saie yea and make a lie to those good men and vertuous priestes that haue charge of thy soule Ah wretched creature Ah wicked woman These and other the like wordes did she speake with an earnest displeasure against her selfe and did great penance vpon her bodie for the space of three daies and three nightes for that lie that she had made if it maie truly be termed a lie and not rather a word that escaped her vnwares Howsoeuer it was she was permitted by the prouidence of God so to slide and also to haue a timorous remorse for her offence to keepe downe her hart that it should not be puffed vp with pride in regard of those heauenlie reuelations that she had seene Which were so great as she declared afterwardes to her ghostlie Father that no tongue of man was able to expresse them Of certaine other reuelations and againe of the tendernes of her conscience Chap. 24. AT an other tyme the Apostle S. Paul appeered to her and gaue her warnyng that she should geue her selfe earnestly to praier The which warnyng she receiued with verie great obedience and did in deed set her selfe wholy to the exercise of praier and therby deserued to haue manie goodlie reuelations Vpon S. Dominickes eueen a
AT what tyme Pope Vrbanus the sixt was enforced to flee out of Rome by reason of a rebellion that was raised against him in the citie by the french faction the holie maid which as then was left behind in Rome and sawe the miserable state of the Church wept daie and night and with continual sighes and sobbes made her praier to our Lord beseeching him most instantly that he would voutchsafe to cease the furie of those wicked rebels and geue peace to his afflicted Church And it was well seene that her praier was heard For soone after it pleased God so to dispose that in one daie both those factious schismatikes that had taken armes against the Sea Apostolike were vanquished and taken and the castle of S. Angelo which had holden out long tyme before rendred it selfe into the Popes handes When our holie father the Pope vnderstood of this great victorie he returned to the citie againe where he asked the holie maid her aduise what she thought best to be done in that case And her aduise was that he should goe bare footed to S. Peeters Church and all the people with him to thanke God with all submission and sowlines of hart for that ioyous calme after so lōg stormes And thus the Church of Christ began as it were to reuiue againe and the holie maid tooke passing great comfort to see it But that ioye endured not long For within a litle tyme after these troubles were pacified the deuel whose malice is euermore vigilant against the Church of God raised vp a newe tempest And what he could not bring to passe by the furie of strangers that did he attempt againe by sowing discord betweene the citizens of Rome and the Popes holines When the holie maid perceiued that and sawe the imminent peril that was like thereby to ensue to the Church of God she turned her selfe to our Lord in praier and besought him that he would hold his holie hand ouer the people and not suffer them to commit such a wicked and heinous synne And as she was thus praying she sawe the citie full of damned sprites stirring and exciting the people to kill the Pope And those sprites cried horribly to her and said Thou cursed wretch thou art euermore busie to let our designementes But be thou well assured we shall put thee to a foule death She gaue them no word to answere but continued her praier with greater feruour and deuotion beseeching our Lord with all instancie that he would voutchsafe to keepe her from all mischiefe and also that it would please him to preserue the Pope his lieuetenant and vicar general in earth from all the violent attemptes of those wicked conspiratours for the honour of his owne holie name and for the redresse of his deere Spouse the Church which as then was in verie lamentable state She praied likewise for those impious rebels and besought our Lord most earnestly that he would voutchsafe of his infinite mercie to mollifie their hartes not suffer them to commit such a horrible sinne as to murder their owne Father and Pastour When she had praied often after this maner it pleased God one tyme to geue her this answere Daughter said he suffer the people to accōplish their malice in committing this damnable synne that they are about that I maie exercise my iustice and punish them according to their desertes For their wickednes is so odious and horrible in my sight that it maie no longer be endured When the holie maid heard those dreadful wordes she set her selfe to praier againe with farre greater deuotion and vehemencie of spirite then before and said O most merciful Lord thou seest how thy deere of Spouse the Church whom thou hast redeemed with the price of thy most precious blood is this daie miserably vexed and afflicted almost through out the wordle Thou knowest on the one side how fewe there are that shewe them selues readie to assist and comfort her and thou art not ignorant on the other side how manie there are and how cruelly bent that seeke by all possible meanes to annoye and discomfort her And in this behalfe it can not be hidden from thyne eyes which see all thinges how manie treacheries and treasons there are now in contriuing to make our holie father thy vicar out of the waie The which most detestable conspiracie if it take place must needes turne not only this citie of Rome but also the whole bodie of Christendome to great discomfort and slaunder Therefore ô blessed Lord I most humbly beseech thee that thou wilt for this tyme temper the rigour of thy iustice and spare thy people whom thou hast bought so deere After this maner did the holie maid continue manie daies and manie nightes together in feruent praier in the which tyme our Lord did euer more alleadge iustice and she craued mercie And all the tyme that she was thus occupied in praier the wicked sprites did so vexe and torment her with their horrible scriching and crying that her bodie waxed meruelous feeble In so much that if our Lord had not by his almightie power susteined her it had not ben possible for her to haue endured but her hart must needes haue burst in sunder In the end she concluded her praier with these wordes O Lord said she seeing it is so that thy mercie maie not be granted without thy Iustice I beseech thee despise not my praiers but whatsoeuer paine is to be laied vpon this people laie it vpon my bodie and I will beare it with all my hart for the loue that I beare to the honour of thy holie name and to the saluation of their soules After the tyme that she had spoken these wordes our Lord made no more mention of his iustice but held his peace and gaue her the victorie as the effecte declared euidently For from that verie hower foreward it was seene that the people did by litle and litle cease off their conspiracies and practises against the Popes holines and in the end submitted them selues wholly to his authoritie But as their malice relented by litle and litle and in tyme ceased so did her paine and smart likewise increase answerably by the permission of God by whose suffrance the wicked sprites vexed and tormented her bodie so cruelly that it seemed incredible but only to such as were present with her and sawe how it was in part rent and torne as it had ben with yron hookes in part swollen and full of blacke and blewe wailes as though it had ben beaten with clubbes and all ouer so pitifully araied that it seemed rather a thing to wonder at then a natural bodie All the which notwithstanding she gaue not ouer her accustomed maner of praier but continued in the same both longer tyme together then she was wont to doe before and also with greater feruour of spirite and deuotion then she was wont to haue at other tymes And euermore as she increased in praier charitable
God Whose prouident goodnes disposeth all thinges for his chosen seruantes so sweetly that he turneth euen their synful deffectes to their further good benefite And therfore he would not suffer his deere spouse to cōtinue long in that state but that there might be nothing to hinder her feruour and deuotion he laid his hand soone after vpon Bonauentura her sister by whose meanes she was induced to that inconuenience and tooke her out of this life with great anguish and trauaile in child-bearing not withstanding that she was otherwise a lustie yong woman and like to beare manie children This Bonauentura was euer of good life and conuersation and yet bicause she had attempted to drawe her sister from the seruice of God to whom only she had wholly deuoted her selfe and to allure her to the vanities of the worlde it pleased God to shewe this dreadful example vpon her for the terrour of all such as should at anie tyme afterwardes be meanes to hinder holie vowes and purposes And yet would he not haue her to be vtterly lost but as it was reuealed afterwardes to this holie virgin and she declared the same secretly to her ghostlie Father she was in Purgatorie and there abode manie grieuous paines and tormentes for a long season and longer should haue done if this blessed virgin had not hopen her with her deuout praiers Now when her sister Bonauentura was thus passed out of the wordle this deuout maid being by her departure deliuered from that importunate clamour which was before verie troublesome vnto her began to see more cleerly both the deformitie of her synne and the vanitie of the wordle Wherupon with an humble knowledge of her selfe and sure affiance in the mercie of God she cast her selfe downe at the feet of our Lord with Marie Magdalen and there lying prostrate with much lamentation and teares besought him of pardon for her offence and would neuer geue ouer her weeping and wailing but continued stil her most humble sute that she also might at the lenght heare those comfortable wordes spoken by our Lord to her hart Thy sinnes are forgeuen thee And from that daie foreward she began to beare a special loue and deuotion to the said Marie Magdalen and to conforme her selfe to her in the workes of penance It can not be expressed with wordes what inward griefe of mynd shee tooke so often as that offence came to her mynd She sighed and sobbed she wept and wrang her handes she tooke no comfort in anie thing but only in the endles mercie of God of the which she made her selfe well assewred that it did infinitely passe all the sinnes that anie man doth or can commit and that it was alwaies freely offred to as manie as would require it with a contrite and humble hart wherupon she sequestred her selfe from all creatures which she sawe were void of cōfort and turned her selfe to God in whom only she fownd her selfe to receiue perfecte and sownd comfort With him she sought by all meanes to make her peace and attonement so that made to set her whole loue and felicitie in him But the ghostlie enemie of mankind enuying the blisful state of this goodlie peace did his endeuour to disturbe the same by putting into the myndes of her parentes and kinsfolke how expedient it was to bestowe her honestly in mariage especially now considering that her other sister was departed this life And so by these and other the like suggestions the craftie serpent perswaded them to be earnest and diligent both in solliciting her to embrace that state of life and in prouiding her of a conuenient husband But when the wise virgin sawe by the light of Gods holie spirite that all that was but the sutteltie of the deuel meanyng therby to withdrawe her from her holie purpose she contrarie wise set her selfe more earnestly then she was wont to continual praiers heauenlie meditations and other workes of austeritie and penance She eschewed the sight and conuersation of men and gaue all her frindes to vnderstand plainely that she would haue no earthlie creature for her husband but only the euerlasting Sonne of God vpon whom she had fixed her loue The which resolution when her father and mother vnderstood they thought good to take an other waie which was to send for one of the Dominican Friars whose authoritie they thought she would reuerence and to intreat him to talke with her and to see if he could by anie meanes alter her mynd The Friar came and promised to doe what in him laie and so did in deed He set out vnto her in manie wordes what austeritie of life belonged to that profession that she mynded to enter into what a hard matter it was to hold out in the same what snares the deuel would laie to entrappe her how the wordle would vse manie meanes to circumuent flatter her how fraile and weak the flesh was what a great danger and shame it would be if when she had once put her hand to the plough she should looke backe againe Vnto the which pointes the faithful spowse of Christ answered with such wisedome and constancie that the religious man which came to turne her was turned him selfe and so being sorie that he had waded so farre with her in that course changed his stile and said these wordes Daughter seeing it is so that yee are fully resolued to serue God in the holie state of virginitie and that yee are therunto called as I am thoroughly perswaded by your wordes euen by God him selfe I haue no more to saie in the matter it is the best part that yee haue chosen our Lord geue you grace to folowe it And now if yee thinke good furthermore to folowe my counsel I would aduise you to cut off your haire For in so doing it is like yee shall both cut of all hope of mariage in your parentes and withal redeme a great deale of tyme and labour which otherwise must needes be spent about the trymmyng of the same When the holie virgin heard those wordes she tooke them as spoken by God him selfe and foorthwith she ranne and tooke a payre of sheares and cut of her haire hard by the skynne For she had before conceiued a certaine displeasure against her haire bicause she perswaded her selfe that by the trymmyng of the same she had committed a grieuous offence against God And when she had so done she couered her head with a coyfe and so went about her busines contrarie to the maner of all other maidēs The which when her mother espied she asked her what that coife meant Wherunto she made no direct answeere bicause she was afraid to tell the truth and to make a lie she had a great conscience Whereupon her mother stept hastely vnto her and taking of the kerchefe from her head sawe that her faire haire was cut of hard by the head The which sight and losse so pinched her by the hart that for verie inward griefe she
reuerend full of maiestie And for a litle tyme he sawe that face only and could see none other thing which put him in such a feare and terrour that casting vp his handes aboue his shoulders he cried with a lowd voice and said Oh Lord who is this that looketh thus vpon me It is he said she that is And with that she came againe to her owne fourme These and other the like thinges did doctour Raimundus her ghostlie Father report of his owne experience all which he affirmed to be most certainly true with a verie great and earnest protestation THE SECOND PART How the spowse of Christ was made by litle and litle to shewe her selfe to the wordle Chap. 1. AFter that our Sauiour Christ had thus espowsed this holie virgin to him selfe and beawtified her with manie graces and gyftes his will pleasur was that she should from that tyme foreward by litle and litle shewe her selfe to the worlde that the graine that had now lyen hidden in the grownd a conuenient tyme and was sufficiently mortified might bud flower and bring foorth the frute of manie excellent vertues to the comfort of men Wherefore on a tyme when he had shewed her many mysteries of the kingdome of heauen and had taught her also to saie the Psalmes and Canonical howers with him selfe as is declared before he bad her that she should goe downe to eate with others and then returne to him againe When she heard that she sobbed and wept fell downe at his feete after a verie pitiful maner and said vnto him O most sweet Iesu whie wilt thou put me awaie from thee If I haue offended thy diuine Maiestie behold here my bodie at thy feete laie what penance it shall please thee vpon it and I will helpe with all my hart Only this I beseech thee let me not be so sharply punished as to be sundred from thy blessed presence What haue I to doe with their meates I haue meate to eate that they knowe not of Oh my good Lord wherefore dost thou will me to goe to eate with them Doth man liue of bread only and not rather and better of euerie word that cometh out of thy mouth Art not thou he my deere Lord that hast cawsed me to eschewe the conuersation of men that I might the better conuerse with thee And now that I haue fownd thee without anie desert on my part only of thy mere liberalitie and goodnes shall I be so vnhappie as to forsake such a goodlie treasure for to returne to the conuersation of men and so to dymme the puritie and cleerenes of my faith Suffer not that O my deere spowse and Lord for thyne infinitie goodnes When she had thus powred out her hart before our Lord pitifully sobbing and weeping and lying prostrate at his feete he like a merciful Lord gaue her verie sweet wordes againe and said My deere daughter leaue the care of thy selfe to me It is meete that thou doe fulfill all righteousnes Which thou canst not doe vnlesse thou be fruteful and profitable not only to thy selfe but also to others Thinke not my good daughter that it is my meanyng to separate thee from me but rather to vnite thy hart more firmely vnto me Knowest thou not that all the lawe and prophetes stand of two pointes to witt of the loue of God and of the loue of thy neighbour Wherefore to make thee perfecte my will is that thou exercise thy selfe in the loue of thy neighbour with great compassion and mercie that thou maiest flie vp to heauen not with one wing but with two Call to mynd the zeale that thou haddest of winning sowles which I planted in thy hart euen in thyne infancie at what tyme thou haddest a desire to change thyne habite and to clad thy selfe like a man that thou mightest be receiued into the order of the Fryars Preachers Remember that this habite which thou wearest is the habite of thy father S. Dominicke and was geuen vnto thee by my deere mother namely for a special loue and affection that thou barest vnto him for the great trauaile that he susteined in wynning of sowles Behold I doe now dispose and ordaine thee to that end that thou diddest through my secret inspiration so much desire in thy yowth I dispose thee to that function that my Father disposed me vnto in the earth I ordaine thee to that ministerie that I ordained my beloued Apostles and disciples vnto before I departed from them on the earth And all this I doe for thy further merite and greater crowne At these wordes the humble virgin tooke great comfort and bowing downe her head with all submission said O Lord thy will be done in all thinges and not myne for thou art light and I am darckenes thou art he that is and I am she that is not But yet I beseech thee my Lord God let me be so bold as to aske how I a wretched vile woman should be able to doe anie good in thy Church How shall I being a simple womā be able to instructe wise and learned men How shall it be seemelie for me to liue and conuerse emong men Vnto that our Sauiour answered and said Who is he that created man made a distinctiō betweene man womā was it not I If I thē be the creatour of man womā what lawe maie restraine me that I shall not doe with my creatures what I shall thinke good Can my power be limited that I shall not dispose of man and woman of learned and vnlearned of noble and base according to my will Touching thy question therefore which is how a woman that is the weaker vessel should be an able and sufficient meane to edifie men with doctrine and example bicause I knowe that this thy demaund proceedeth not of anie lacke of faith in my almightie power but only of an humble consideration of thyne owne weakenes and frailtie I will impart vnto thee my secret in this behalfe Daughter it is so that now a daies there aboundeth such pride in the worlde and specially in those that hold them selues for learned and wise that my iustice can no lōger beare it But bicause my mercie is aboue all my workes as I haue determined to doe iustice vpon this heinous synne so haue I also prouided a soueraigne medicine against the same to as manie as will accept it The proper medicine and punishment of pride is to be confownded and brought to shame And therefore my deliberation is that these men that are wise in their owne conceite shal be made ashamed and controlled in their owne iudgemēt when they shall see those creatures that they account vile and abiecte as fraile and weake women to vnderstand the hidden mysteries of God not by humane studie but only by grace infused and to shewe the same to the worlde both by word and example of life and for confirmation of such doctrine to worke manie strange signes wonders and miracles
to leese no more tyme about her she turned her selfe to God who only is the phisitiō in such desperate cases besought him most instantly that he would take mercie on her sister molifie her hart This praier was made with such feruour vehemēcie of spirite that it perced the heauens and sownded into the eares of almighty God who to cure that froward womā finally of her synful disease of mynd smote her mercifully with a certaine grieuous infirmity of bodie Whē the holy maid heard tell that Palmerina was so dāgerously sicke she was a heauie womā for her For she sawe that if she should depart the worlde in that state her soule was lost euerlastingly Which consideratiō wrought so in her that she determined to leaue nothing vndone that might possibly be done for the recouerie of that sowle And so she went to her and with verie sweet and louelie wordes offred both her selfe all that she had to be at her deuotion and seruice But the churlish woman was so maliciously bent against her that she not only refused al this courtesie but also reuiled her vsing most vnseemelie and reprochful lāguage against her and in the end bad her goe out of her chāber with great threates thundering wordes All which vilanie the holy maid bare with great meekenes patiēce and continuyng her wonted charitie and cōpassion towardes that furious womā turned her selfe to God againe in praier In this meane tyme that wretched womans sickenes by the diuine prouidence and disposition of God increased so vehemently vpon her that without making anie reconciliation with God or the wordle she drewe on verie fast to death both of bodie soule The which thing when the holie maid vnderstood her hart being thoroughly perced with the dartes of compassion she shut her selfe vp in her Cell and there casting her selfe downe prostrate vpon the grownd with much sobbing weeping and lamentation she made her praier vnto God after this maner O Lord my God Maker maie it be that I wretched creature shold be borne into the worlde to this end that sowles which thou hast created to thine owne ymage likenes should by anie occasion of me be condemned to euerlasting paines Canst thou my good Lord and deere spowse suffer that I which ought to be to my sister an instrument of euerlasting saluation should now become an occasion of her euerlasting woe and calamitie Turne awaie that dreadful iudgement O Lord I beseech thee for thy mercies sake It had ben better for me that I had neuer ben borne then that the sowles which thou hast redeemed with the price of thy most precious blood should through me be brought againe into that miserable captiuitie of our auncient enemie the Deuel O Lord are these the promises which thou madest vnto me when thou diddest saie that I should be an instrument and meane to wynne manie sowles to thee Are these the fruites of life which I thyne vnworthie hand-maid should bring foorth to the behoofe of others There is no doubt O Lord but that my synne is the cawse of all this out of the which I can not looke to receiue anie better fruite then this is But yet O Lord I am right well assured that the botomles sea of thy mercies can not be drayned or in anie part diminished and therefore I set my selfe here before thee with a great affiance and humbly beseech thee that thou wilt vowchsafe to cast downe the eyes of thy clemencie vpon this wretched creature thy seruant my sister This I most instantly craue of thee o most sweet comforter of all afflicted hartes not trusting in anie worke or merite of myne owne but only in thy wonted mercie and goodnes These and other the like wordes did the holie virgin vse in her praier as she declared afterwardes to her ghostly Father which she powred out before God rather with feruour of desire and inward affection then with outward noyse and sownd of voice And our Lord to moue her to further compassion and to make her yet more earnest in praier gaue her to vnderstand and see the euident and imminent peril that her wretched sister was in and she heard it pronownced in plaine termes that the iustice of God could not beare but that such an obstinate malice and hardnes of hart must needes be punished The which horible sentence geuen vpon her sister Palmerina whose sowles health she tendred exceedingly strooke her to the verie hart so mightily that she fell downe to the grownd againe and there lying prostrate groned vnto almightie God after a most lamentable sort saying O Lord God almightie Father of mercies and onlie helper in all extremities I am right well contented yea I most humbly craue it at thy hand that thou wilt vowchsafe to laie all the paine dwe to this wretched womans synnes vpon my backe punish me for them for I am the cause of them and not she Wherefore I most instantly beseeche thee beate me but spare her And with that she raised vp her hart to God with a greater affiance and said furthermore O merciful Lord I will neuer rise out of this place vntill thou shewe mercie to my sister Wherefore I here groane and crie vnto thee O lord euen from the verie botome of myne hart beseeching thee by thyne vnspeakable goodnes by thine infinite mercie and by the price of thy most precious blood shed for the redēption of mankind that thou wilt not suffer my sisters soule to depart out of her bodie vntill the tyme that thou haue graunted her the grace of due penance and contrition for all her synnes Thus did the holie maid make intercession to almighty God for the recouery of her sisters soule her praier was as the euent shewed of meruelous great force vertu For the sicke womā laie in extremes three daies and three nightes drawing on continually in such sort that as manie as were presēt looked euerie hower whē she should passe out of this wordle for they all saw that she was staied in that paineful state of life not by any strength of nature but by some secret extraordinarie power All the which tyme the deuout virgin cōtinued in most earnest feruēt praiers for her and neuer gaue ouer vntil she had with her teares and humilitie as it were wrested the sword of Gods iustice out of his almightie hand and obteined for that wretched woman so much mercie grace that she might first see the deformitie of her synnes then vnderstand the dreadful decree of Gods iustice against her for the same last of all be hartily sorie repentant for her life past with a sure hope of forgiuenes by the mercy of God through the merites of the most precious blood death of our Sauiour Christ This blessed alteratiō was reuealed by God to the holie maid also who vpon the vnderstanding of the same went foorthwith to her sicke sisters chamber to comfort her Whether when
would declare all her vision to him She like an obedient daughter declared vnto him the whole vision in such sort as it is described here before And when she came to that point where she praied for certaine special persones she said to him Father when I praied for you and for other that our Lord would vouchsafe to graunt you euerlasting life it pleased his goodnes to geue me an assured comfort in my hart that in deed so it should be With that I besought him that he would graunt me some token of the certaintie therof not that I doubted anie thing of his promise but bicause I was desirous to haue some notable memorial of the same Then he bad me that I should stretch out my hand And I did so And he put into my hand a naile and closed the same so fast within my hand that I felt a great paine in my hand as if there had ben a naile striken into my hand in deed with an hammer And so our Lord be blessed for it I haue in my right hand one of the markes of my sweet spowse and Sauiour to my selfe sensible though to others inuisible How she receiued the blessed markes of our Sauiour Christ in the citie of Pisa Chap. 22. ON a tyme this holie maid went to the citie of Pisa accompanied with diuerse and sundrie persones emong other doctour Raimundus her ghostlie Father was one When she came thither she was enterteined by a certaine worshipful man whose house stood beside S. Christians chappell where her Confessour said masse at her request and ministred the holie Sacrament vnto her after her accustomed maner When she had receiued she was foorthwith rauished from her bodilie senses for a good space All the which tyme her Confessour with diuerse others a waited there to see what would become of her and to heare some spiritual and comfortable wordes of her as they were wont to doe commonly when she came to her selfe againe Sodainly as they beheld her the bodie that laie prostrate vpon the ground was raised vp and she kneeled vpon her knees strethching vp her armes and handes shewing in her face a meruelous goodlie and cleere brightnes When she had kneeled after this maner a good while at the length she fell downe sodainly like one that had receiued a deadlie wound and soone after that she was restored againe to her bodilie senses Then she caled for her ghostly Father and said secretly vnto him these wordes Father I geue you to vnderstand for certaine that I beare now in my bodie by the grace and mercie of God the blessed markes of my Lord Sauiour Iesus Christ Her Confessour hearing that asked her how that might be and how it had ben with her in all that tyme of her traunse Wherunto she made answere and said Father I sawe our Lord fastened vpon the Crosse comyng downe towardes me and enuironyng me rownd about with a meruelous beawtiful light With the which gracious sight my sowle was so rauished and had such a passing desire to goe and meete with our Lord that my bodie was constreined by the verie force of the spirite to set it selfe vp as you might see Then there came downe from the holes of his blessed woundes fiue bloodie beames which were directed towardes the same partes of my bodie to witte to my handes feete and hart With that I cried out to our Lord and said O Lord I beseech thee let no singes of these holie markes appeere outwardly to the sight of men Sodainly while I was speaking these wordes before those beames were fully come downe to my bodie they chaunged their coulour out of a sanguine red into a meruelous brightnes and so in the fourme of a goodlie pure light they lighted and rested vpon the said partes of my bodie When she had thus declared her whole vision her ghostlie Father asked her whether anie of thoses beames came downe to her right side or no. She answered no but only to her lefte side vpon the hart He asked her furthermore whether she felt anie sensible paine in those partes or no. With that she fetched a great sigh and said Father I suffer such a great and sensible paine in all those fiue partes of my bodie and specially at my hart that vnlesse almightie God shewe a newe miracle I can not long endure in this life That word did her ghostlie Father take verie good head vnto and he looked diligently whether he might espie anie tokens of sensible paine in those partes of her bodie When she had said so much as she would saie at that tyme they went out of that chappell together towardes their lodging and the holie maid betooke her selfe to her chamber and laie downe and shewed such euident tokens of extreme sickenes that as manie as were about her thought certainely that she would haue dyed out of hand Whereupon her Confessour with certaine other that kept him companie were called to see that strange case When they came and sawe her in such extremitie they were all ouercome with sorrowe and heauines for though they had seene her oftentymes before in verie weake case yet had they neuer seene her so feeble to their seemyng so neere to death Neuertheles within a while after she came to her selfe againe and recouered so much strength that receiuing a litle meate she was able to speak and said to hir ghostlie Father as she had said before that vnlesse almightie God would by some newe miracle continue her life she had but a litle tyme to endure in this wordle When her Confessour heard that he called all her spirituall children together both men and women and besought them with manie teares that they would all with one voice offer vp their humble praier to God beseeching him that he would vouchsafe to lend them their mother that laie at the point of death for a tyme to directe and traine them yet further in the pathes of spiritual life They assented all to his request with a verie good will and went with him to the chamber where the holie maid laie in a traunse And doctour Raimundus in the behalfe of them all spake vnto her after this maner Good mother we knowe well that your desire is to be with your deere spowse and Lord our Sauiour Christ But our desire and earnest sute is that you would take pitie on vs your poore children and not leaue vs thus comfortles and without direction Your reward is safely laied vp for you in heauen and abideth your comyng But we are in danger of perishing a thousand waies in this tempestuous sea of the wordle We knowe also good mother that your deere spowse loueth you so tenderly that he will denie you nothing that you aske him Wherfore we beseech you all with one voice to make your humble praier to him that he will vouchsafe to lend you yet a litle tyme of life emong vs for our further instruction in this holie order of life
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
affection towardes the Church of God so did those wicked feendes increase their crueltie towardes her beating and bounsing her daie and night and withal filling her eares with their most horrible cries saying O thou cursed wretch thou hast euer ben against vs. But be thou well assured the tymes is now come that we will be euen with thee Thou hast oftentymes disappointed vs of our purposes And therefore now we will neuer geue thee ouer vntill we haue made a full riddance of thee in such sort that thou shalt neuer be able to hinder vs anie more Thus much the holie maid wrote her selfe in a letter to Doctour Raimundus her ghostlie Father And so she continued in such vexation and tormentes from the sonday of Septuagesima vntill the last sauing one of April on the which daie it pleased our Lord to call her out of this life How the holie maid obteined by praier that she might satisfie the iustice of God for the paines dwe to her father in Purgatorie Chap. 8. WHen Iames this holie maides father sawe that his daughter was wholly geuen to the seruice of God as it hath ben declared in the first part of this booke he cast a verie special loue and affection to her and entreated her in his house with great respecte and reuerence and had this opinion of her that she was able to obteine at Gods hand for him what she would And she likewise bare a verie singular loue and reuerence to her father and commended his health to God in her dailie praiers in most earnest maner It chaunced that her father fell into a verie grieuous sickenes kept his bed The which when she vnderstood she turned her selfe to God in praier after her accustomed maner and besought him that her father might recouer againe But answere was geuen her from God that the end of his daies in this life was come and that it was not expedient for him to liue anie longer With that she went foorthwith to her father to visite him and to examine him how he was disposed in his soule and found him readie and willing to passe out of this wordle whensoeuer it should please God to call him wherof she was verie glad and thanked our Lord with all her hart Then she praied furthermore that seeing our Lord had voutchsafed to call her father out of this life in the state of saluation it might also stand with his holie will and pleasure to make him this graunt that he might passe out of hand to the ioyes of heauen not be staied anie tyme in the paines of Purgatorie Whereunto our Lord made her answere that the order of iustice must needes be obserued which would not beare that anie soule should haue the fruition of those vnspeakeable ioyes vnlesse it were most perfectly purged before And though her father had lead a conuenient good life in his vocation and had done manie good workes also which were verie acceptable in the sight of God of the which one principal worke was the mainteinyng of her in religion yet there remained some rust of earthlie conuersation which of right must be tried out with the fyer of purgatorie When she heard that she made her praier to our Lord after this maner O most mercifull Lord how maie I abide that the soule of my deere father whome thou hast appointed to be the meane to bring me into this wordle by whome I haue ben so carefully prouided for in my tender age at whose hand I haue receiued so manie comfortes and reliefes by whose handie labour and charges I haue ben mainteined thus maine yeares in thy seruice should now be tormented with the paines of Purgatorie I beseech thee O father of mercies and God of all comfort for all the louing kindnes that euer thou hast shewed to mankind that thou wilt not suffer my fathers sowle to depart out of his bodie vntill it be by one meane or other so perfectly tried and purified that it need no further purgation A wonderful thing to consider After the tyme that the holie maid had said those wordes it was euidently seene that her fathers bodie decaied more and more as it did before to wardes death all his powers failing sensibly in such sort that all men sawe by the course of nature it could not continue anie tyme. And yet for so long time as she continued in praier wrestling as it were with almightie God and labouring to incline him in some degree if it were possible from iustice to mercie they might perceiue that his soule was holden in his bodie by some spiritual power and could in no wise depart At the length when she sawe that the iustice of God must needes be satisfied she said thus O most merciful Lord if it cā not otherwise be but that thy iustice must be answered I beseech thee turne thy iustice vpon me whatsoeuer paines thou hast appointed for my father laie the same vpon my bodie I will willingly beare them To that our Lord consented said vnto her Daughter for the loue that thou bearest to me I am content to graunt thee thy petition to transpose the paines due to thy father to laie the same vpon thee which thou shalt beare in thy bodie so long as thou liuest With that she thanked God most hūbly and said O Lord thy iudgemētes are all iust be it done to me as thou hast determined And so she made hast towardes her father who laie in extremes And she cōforted him meruelously with that glad tidinges wēt not frō him vntill he had geuē vp the ghost So soone as her father was departed she felt her selfe foorthwith pained with a grieuous disease in her side called Iliaca passio which neuer wēt frō her so lōg as she liued The which paine she bare not only patiētly but also cheerefully cōceiuīg such an inward ioy of that B. state that she knew her father was in that she litle esteemed the outward paine of her owne bodie In so much that at the tyme of her fathers departure when all other that were present made great lamentation she smiled sweetely and shewing great gladnes in her countenance said these wordes Deere father would God I were as you are Our Lord be blessed How the holie maid by praier brought her mother to life againe and so deliuered her from the paines of hell Chap. 9. AS the holie maid shewed her selfe to be a verie louing and duetiful child towardes her father so did she likewise afterwardes shewe the like loue and charitie towardes her mother as her duetie required Her mother Lapa was verie sicke and her sickenes grewe on her euerie daie more and more in such sort that there were seene in her great tokens of death and small hope of life All the which notwithstanding she was so drowned in the wordle that she might in no wise heare of death and be brought to confourme her will to the will of God When her daughter
sawe that being moued with pitie she turned her selfe to God after her accustomed maner in praier and besought him with great instance that he would voutchsafe to prolong her mothers life Our Lord made answere that if she could be brought to dispose her selfe to die at that tyme it would be best for her forsomuch as if she liued longer there were such stormes of troubles and aduersitie towardes her as she should not be able to beare The holie maid hearing that went to her mother and comforted her and vsed manie sweet perswasions with her to induce her to be content seeing it was the will of God to passe out of this wretched state to a more happie and blessed life But the mother geuing but a deaffe eare to this kind of talke charged her daughter earnestly that she should rather praie to God for the continuance of her life for as yet she could in no wise be brought to depart out of the wordle Then the holie maid in great anguish and perplexitie of mynd became a mediatrix betweene almightie God and her mother humbly beseeching him on the one side that he would not suffer her mother to depart vntill she were resolued to die willingly for his loue and earnestly exhorting her on the other side that she should yeald her hart fully and wholly to the will of God But she was so fixed on the wordle that she might not abide to heare of death Whereupon our Lord speake to the holie maid after this sort Daughter said he tell thy mother that if she will not consent to die now a tyme shall come when she shal be so afflicted that she shall desire to die and shall not be heard Which saying of our Lord tooke effecte within a litle tyme after and she was in deed so miserably tormented in mynd with the losse of her temporal goods vnto the which she bare a meruelous inordinate loue that she brake out impatiently into certaine wordes as it were of desperation and despite against God saying Is it possible that God hath so inclosed my soule in this crooked bodie that it can find no waie out Haue I sent so manie of my sonnes and daughters kinsfolkes and frindes housband and all out of the wordle before me with great griefe and now am constreined to remaine here alone after them all to see my selfe ouerwhelmed with heauines and miserie And so with this bitternes of hart and murmuring against God she passed out of this life without anie further contrition or repentance for her synnes Her daughter tooke this maner of her departure meruelous heauily and could receiue no coÌ„fort but setting her selfe to praier which she had euermore tried to be a present remedie against all euels she sighed sobbed and wept verie lamentably and powred out the griefe of her hart before God with these wordes O my deere Lord and God are these the promises that thou hast made me that there should no one of my house and familie perish in the handes of the enemie Behold ô Lord my mother is now passed out of this life without repentance for her synnes without confession without the rightes of holie Church O sweet Lord O Father of all comfort I most humbly beseech thee in the bowels of thy tender mercie that thou wilt not reiecte the petition of thy lowlie handmaid at this tyme. See ô Lord I lie here prostrate before thy diuine Maiestie and will not rise out of this place vntill my mother be restored to life againe and I ascertained of her saluation that thy promises maie be verified and my soule comforted While the holie maid was thus praying there were a nomber of women in the chamber some of the houshold and some of the neighbours that came thither at that tyme as the maner is to mourne and to doe such thinges as were to be done about the dead corps Emong these women some there were also that gaue diligent eare to the holie maid heard distinctly what wordes she spake in her praier But they all sawe this and were witnesses of the same that soone after the holie maid had ended her praier the sowle returned to the bodie againe and the woman liued afterwardes a conuenient tyme to repent her of her former offences and so died in the state of grace This storie did the holie maid her selfe declare afterwardes to Doctour Raimundus her ghostlie father How the holie maid obteined of God by praier the conuersion of two theeues that were lead to execution Chap. 10. ON a daie while the holie maid was in the house of one of her sisters called Alexia it chaÌ„ced that two famoê° theeues condemned to death were caried in a cart thorough the streete towardes the place of execution Their sentence was that by the waie as they were caried they should be pinched now in one part of their bodie and now in an other with hote yrons or pincers and so in the end put to death Which paine was so intolerable that they which were before in a desperate state and might by no perswasions be brought to repent them of their manifold and heinous offences committed against God and the wordle blasphemed God all his Sainctes In so much that it seemed that the temporal tormentes that they were now in were but a begynning and waie to these euerlasting tormentes and fyer that they went vnto But our merciful Lord whose prouident goodnes disposeth all thinges sweetly had otherwise determined of them When they were come neere to this house Alexia hearing a great concourse and noyse of people in the streete went to the windowe to see what it might be And seeing the horrible maner of the execution she ranne in againe and said to the holie maid O mother if euer you will see a pitiful sight come now With that the holie maid went to the windowe and looked out and so soone as she had seene the maner of the execution she returned foorthwith to her praiers againe For as she declared afterwardes secretly to Doctour Raimundus she sawe a great multitude of wicked spirites about those fellons which did burne their soules more cruelly within then the tormentours did their bodies without Which lamentable sight moued her to double compassion She had great pitie to see their bodies but much more to seâ— their soules wherefore turning her selfe to our Lord with great feruour of spirite she made her praier to him after this maner Ah deere Lord wherefore dost thou suffer these thy creatures made to thyne owne image and likenes and redeemed with the price of thy most precious blood to be thus lead awaie in triumph by the cruel enemie I know ô Lord confesse that these men are iustly punished according to the measure of their offences So was the theefe also that hong by thee on the Crosse whom notwithstanding thou tookest to mercie saying that he should be with thee that verie daie in Paradyse Thou diddest not refuse Peeter but gauest him a
frindlie and comfortable looke though he like an vnkind man had thrice refused and denied thee Thou drewest Marie Magdalen to thee with the lines of loue when she had estranged her selfe from thee by her manifold synnes Thou tookest Mathewe the Publicane from a synful trade of life in the wordle to be an Apostle and Euangelist Thou diddest not repell the woman of Cananee nor Zacheus the Prince of Publicans but didest most sweetly accept the one and inuite the other Wherefore I most humbly beseech thee for all thy mercies hitherto shewed vnto man and for all those also that thyne infinite goodnes hath determined to shewe hereafter that thou wilt voutchsafe to looke downe vpon these wretched creatures mollifie their hartes with the fyer of thy holie spirite that they maie be deliuered from the second death Our Lord heard the praier of his Spowse and graunted her such a grace that she went in spirite with those two theeues towardes the place of execution weeping and lamenting for their synnes and mouing them to repentance for the same Which thing the wicked sprites perceiued well inough and therefore they cried out vpon her and said Catherine leaue to trouble vs. If thou wilt not we will surely enter into thee and vexe thee To whom the holie maid made this answere As God will so will I. And therefore I will not cease to doe what lieth in me for the reliefe of these poore wretches because I know it is the will of God that I should so doe And so continuing in praier she procured them a verie singular fauour and grace as the effecte declared For when these theeues were come to the gate of the citie our Sauiour Christ appeered to them shewing to them his precious woundes all streamīg downe with blood inuiting them to become repētant for their former life Which if they did he put them in a sure cōfort that all was quite forgeuen At this strāge sight their hartes were sodainly so altered to the great wōder of as manie as were there presēt that they changed their stile and turned their blasphemie into thākesgeuing praysing God for his great mercies And shewing thēselues to be hartely sorie contrite for their synnes desired earnestly that they might haue a Priest to heare their Cōfessiōs That done they went forward cheerfully towardes the place of executiō where they shewed likewise great tokens of ioy cōfort for that they had to passe by a reproachful death to a glorious life All the people sawe this strange alteratiō were much astonied at it because as thē they vnderstood not the cause thereof which afterwards came to light by this meane The Priest that heard these fellōs Cōfessiōs wēt soone after to visit Doct. Rai the holie maides Cōfessour in talke declared vnto him how wonderfully God had wrought with thē Doct. Rai foorthwith begā to suspect as it was indeed therfore asked Alexia what the holie maid was doīg at that tyme whē the theeues were lead thorough their street towardes the place of executiō She made him answer declared the whole processe of the matter so much as she had seene heard in her owne house Whereby Doctour Raimundus sawe a verie great likelihood that the thing had ben wrought as he deemed before by the praier and intercession of the holie maid Howbeit for the more assurance he tooke an occasion afterwardes to aske the holie maid her selfe And she to the honour of God and for the satisfaction of her ghostlie father declared vnto him particularly how euerie thing had passed Within a fewe daies after this was done certaine of the sisters that chaunced to be present while the holie maid was praying heard her saie these wordes in her praier with a full voice O Lord Iesu I most hartely thanke thee that thou hast deliuered them out of the second prison Of the which wordes being demaunded afterwardes what she meant by them she made answere that the soules of those theeues were as then deliuered out of Purgatorie and restored to Paradyse Such was her charitie towardes them that as she had by praier deliuered them from the euerlasting tormentes of hell so she neuer ceased to praie for them vntill she sawe that they were also passed the temporal paines of Purgatorie and receiued into euerlasting blisse How by the praier of the holie maid an obstinate synner was turned to God Chap. 11. THere was a man dwelling in the citie of Siena called Andrewe Mardine well endued with wordlie substance but bare of heauenlie ritches void of the loue and feare of God a baretter blasphemer and wicked liuer This man about the fortieth yeare of his age was sodainly taken with a verie grieuous sickenes which held him so vehemently that he was faine to keepe his bed where he laie waxed euerie daie weaker weaker vntill at the length he was geuen ouer by the Phisicions and despaired of all men His curate hearing that came to visite him and as his Pastoral charge required exhorted him with manie wordes that he should now in the end of his life dispose him selfe to Confession and penance for his soules health But he was so obstinately bent that he litle esteemed the Priest and lesse his counsel Which thing his wife perceiuing which was a good woman and had a great desire to sawe her husbandes soule ranne to diuerse and sundrie religious persones both men and women besought them that they would come and doe their diligence to turne his hart They came at her instance and vsed manie perswasible meanes to bring him to a better mynd setting before his eyes now the horrible threates of hell fyer and now the sweete peomises of the ioyes of heauen but all in vaine After them came the curate againe with great heauines and care to doe what in him laie towardes the recouerie of this sowle that was thus in danger to perish He exhorted him as he had done before and thereunto added manie goodlie perswasions to induce him to be repentant for his foremer life and to call to God for mercie But the wretched mans hart was so hardened that he might not endure to heare him speake but scorned both him and his holesome exhortations In so much that at the lenght he fell into plaine desperation and synne against the holie Ghost and in that damnable state drewe on a pace towardes his end This matter chanced to come to the knowledge of doctour Thomas who hauing great compassion of the wretched mans case went foorthwith towardes the holie Maides lodging hoping by her mediation to find some grace in the sight of God But when he came thither he found the holie maid rauished from her bodilie senses And so long as she was so he durst not doe anie thing to her bodie wherby to bring her againe and tarrie there anie longer he might not bicause it wae verie late in the euenyng Wherefore he gaue a verie streight charge to one of
the sisters that was there with her at that tyme that when the holie maid came to her selfe againe she should desire her in his name and also charge her in the vertue of her obedience that she should extend her charitie towardes that miserable man that laie on passing and praie to God hartely for his recouerie When the holie maid vnderstood the lamentable state of the sicke man and withall the charge that was geauen her from her ghostlie father she taried not but foorthwith set her selfe to praier and besought our Lord with great instance and feruour of spirite that he would not suffer that soule to perish whome he had redeemed with the price of his most precious blood To that our Lord made answere and said that the iniquitie of that wicked man was so heinous in his sight that the crie thereof perced the heauens and called for iustice for he had not only in wordes most horribly blasphemed the holie name of God and of his Sainctes but also with great despite and malice throwen a table into the fyer in the which was painted the death and passion of our Sauiour Christ together with the images of our blessed Ladie and other Sainctes By the which facte he had deserued euerlasting damnation When the holie maid heard that she fell downe prostrate before our Lord and said O Lord if thou wilt looke narrowly to our iniquities who shal be able to stand Wherefore camest thou downe from heauen into the wordle Wherefore tookest thou flesh of the most pure and vnspotted virgin Marie Wherefore diddest thou suffer a most bitter and reprochfull death Hast thou done all these thinges ô Lord to this end that thou mightest call men to a streight and rigorous account for their synnes and not rather that thou mightest vtterly cancel their debtes and take them to mercie Why dost thou ô merciful Lord tell me of the synnes of one lost man seeing thou hast borne vpon thyne owne shoulders the synnes of the whole wordle that none should be lost Doe I lie here prostrate at thy feete to demaund iustice and not rather to craue mercie Doe I present my selfe here before thy diuine Maiestie to pleade the innocencie of this wretched creature and not rather to confesse that he is gyltie of euerlasting death and damnation and that the onlie refuge is to appeale to thyne endles mercie Remember ô deere Lord what thou saidest to me when thou diddest first will me to goe abrode and to procure the saluation of manie soules Thou knowest right well that I haue none other ioye or comfort in this life but only to see the conuersion of synners vnto thee And for this cause only I am content to lacke the ioyful fruition of thy blessed presence Wherefore if thou take this ioye from me what other thing shall I find in this vale of miserie wherein to take pleasure or comfort O most merciful Father God of all comfort reiecte not the hūble petition of thyne handmaid put me not awaie from thee at this tyme but graciously graunt me that this my brothers hard hart maie be mollified and made to yeald to the working of thy holie spirite Thus did the holie maid continue in praier and disputation with our Lord from the begynning of the night till the nexte morning All the which tyme she neither slept nor tooke anie maner of rest but wept and wailed continually for great compassion that she had to see that soule perish our Lord euermore alleaging his iustice and she crauing his mercie At the length our Lord being as it were ouercome with her importunitie and crying gaue her this comfortable answere Deere daughter I will stand no longer with thee in this matter Thy teares and lamentable crying haue preuailed and wrested the sword of my iustice out of myne hand This synful man shall for thy sake find such fauour and grace as thou requirest for him And with that our Lord withdrewe him selfe from the holie maid and appeered the same hower to the sicke man and spake to him after this maner Deere child why wilt thou not be repentant for the synnes that thou hast committed against me In anie case be sorie for thyne offences and confesse the same and I am readie to pardon thee That word so persed the hart of that obstinate man that he relented foorth with and cried with a lowd voice to them that were there present besought them for Gods loue that they would helpe him to a ghostlie father with all possible speed For said he my Lord and Sauiour Iesus Christ hath shewed him selfe mercifully to me and willed me to be confessed of all my synnes When they heard that they were verie much astoined but withall meruelously comforted to see that soddaine and blessed alteration in him And they made great hast to bring him a ghostlie father to whome he made a perfecte Confession of all his synnes with great contrition and so passed out of this wordle in the state of grace How the holie maid by praier procured the conuersion of a fierce yong gentleman in Siena called Iames Tolomes Cap. 12. THere was in the citie of Siena a gentleman of a worshipfull parentage called Francis Tolomes who tooke to wife on Rabes a gentlewoman likewise of a good howse and by her had manie sonnes and daughters His eldest sonne was called Iames a prowd and hawtie yong man and of nature verie fierce and cruel in so much that being yet but a child of age he killed two men with his owne handes which cawsed all men both to dread him and to shunne his companie And as he grewe in yeares so did he also increase in malice and wickednes and ranne without raine or bridle euen as his outragious mynd caried him into all kindes of mischiefe He had two sisters the one called Francis the other Ginoccia which were also dissolute and light of behauiour and specially Ginoccia which was wholly geuen to vaintie and superfluous decking of her selfe And yet had she euermore a care to keepe the virginitie of her bodie which she did rather for feare of shame in the wordle then for anie feare or loue of God Which thing was no small griefe to their mother Rabes who being a woman that feared God and tendred much the soules health of her daughters went on a daie to the holie maid and declaring the state of her daughters besought her for Gods loue that she would bee so good as to come with her and geue them some godlie exhortation The holie maid which had euermore a passing great desire to wynne soules to God went with the gentlewoman with a verie good will and did as she was required And her wordes so wrought in the hartes of those two yong maidens that they gaue ouer all the vanities of the wordle and tooke the habite of S. Dominicke Ginoccia foorth with and Francis soone after In the which rule and discipline they liued a verie streight and rigorous life
my soule vpon the only namyng of this word peace And soone after he said againe O Lord O God what vertue or strength is this that holdeth and draweth me after this sort I haue no power to goe hence I can denie you nothing that you require me O Lord ô Lord what thing maie this be that thus enforceth me And with that he burst out into weeping and said I am quite ouerthrowen I am not able to make anie longer resistance Then sodainly he cast him selfe downe at the holie maides feete and with meruelous great submission and aboundance of teares said these wordes O blessed maid I am readie to doe whatsoeuer you commaund me not only in this matter of peace but also in all other thinges whatsoeuer they be Hitherto I knowe well the deuel hath lead me vp and downe fast tied in his chaine but now I am resolued to folowe you whether soeuer it shall please you to lead me And therefore I praie you for charities sake be you my guide and teach me how I maie deliuer my soule out of his bandes At those wordes the holie maid turned to him and said Brother our Lord be thanked that you are now through his great mercie come to vnderstand in how dangerous a state you stood I spake to you concernyng your soules health and you made light of my wordes I spake to our Lord touching the same matter and he was content to heare me My aduise therefore is that you do penance for your synnes in tyme for feare of some sodaine calamitie that maie fall vpon you which finding you vnprouided maie otherwise beare you downe and quite ouerwhelme you This gentleman was so inwardly striken with these wordes of the holie maid that he went foorthwith to Doctour Raimundus and made a generall Confession of all his synnes with great sorrowe and contrition And so when he had made his peace with almightie God by the aduise of Doctour Raimundus and vertue of the holie Sacrament of penance he was content likewise to submit himselfe to the order of the holie maid and according to her direction and arbitrement to make a firme peace with all his aduersaries Within a fewe daies after this Mannes was thus conuerted it chaunced that he was taken by the gouernour of the citie and cast into a streight prison for certaine outrages that he had committed before And it was commonly talked emong the people that he should be put to death The which when Doctour Raimundus vnderstood he came to the holie maid with a heauie cheere and said Loe mother so long as Mannes serued the deuel so long did all thinges goe prosperously with him But now sence the tyme that he began to serue God we see the wordle is wholly bent against him This sodaine alteration putteth me in great doubt and feare of the man lest being as yet but a yong and tender branch he should be broken of by the violence of this storme and so fall into despaire Wherefore I beseech you hartely good mother commmend his state to God in your praiers And as you haue by your mediation deliuered him from euerlasting death so doe your endeuour also to deliuer him from this temporall and imminent danger To that the holie maid made answere Father said she whie take you this matter so heauily Me thinketh you should rather be glad of it for by this you maie conceiue a verie sure hope that our Lord hath pardoned him all his synnes and changed those euerlasting paines that were due to him for the same into these temporall afflictions When he was of the wordle the wordle made much of him as one that was his owne But nowe sence he began to spoorne at the wordle no meruaile if the wordle do likewise kicke at him againe As for the feare that you haue lest he being ouerlaied with these calamities should fall into despaire be of good comfort and assure your selfe that the mercifull goodnes of our Lord that hath deliuered him out of the deepe dongeon of hell will not suffer him to perish in prison And as she said so it prooued in deed For within a fewe daies after he was deliuered out of prison His life was in deed spared but for that they set a great fyne of money on his head Whereof the holie maid was nothing sorie but rather glad for said she our Lord hath mercifully taken awaie from him tha poison with the which he had before and might agine haue poisoned him selfe So soone as this Mannes was thus deliuered he like a gratefull gentleman ascribing the benefite both of his foremer recouerie out of synne and also of this his deliuerie out of prison to the merites and praier of the holie maid made a deed of gyfte to her of a goodlie palace that he had four myles from the citie Of the which by licence of Pope Grogorie the eleuenth she made a monasterie for her spirituall daughters the sisters of penance and dedicated it to our blessed Ladie and in the honour of her named the place Our Lord of Angels And he after this happie conuersion was wholly directed by doctour Raimundus and lead a verie blessed life What a wonderfull grace the holie maid had in making exhortations and conuerting soules to God Chap. 14. EMong a nomber of strange gyftes that were in this holie maid one was a meruelous singular grace that she had in drawing the hartes of men vnto God not only with the wordes that she spake vnto them but also with her onlie presence And in this she so much passed all that we read or heare reported of other great Sainctes that it might seeme incredible but that it pleased almightie God to make it knowen to the wordle by diuerse and sundrie effectes wrought in such sort that they could not be couered Manie tymes as she was passing from place to place the people came out from all sides by hundreds and thousandes to see her of the which great nombers were wonne to God by her godlie exhortations and went foorthwith to be confessed of their synnes with great sorrowe and contrition Of the which thing when Pope Gregorie the eleuenth was enformed by the report of credible persones to further her charitable trauaile in winnyng of sowles to God he made her a speciall graunt by his bull or letter patent that she might haue alwaies three learned confessours about her vnto whome he gaue authoritie to absolue from all kindes of synne in as ample maner as anie bishop hath within his diocese And those three confessors were so thoroughly occupied by reason of the great multitudes that were turned to God by her meanes that Doctur Raimundus who was one of the three and euermore assistant to her reported both of him selfe and of the other two also that manie tymes they sate in confession from morning to night without anie bodilie recreation or refection yea and sometymes when night came had scantly so much leisure as to receiue a litle sustenance
come downe with me and see And with that he would needes haue him downe into the cellar and shewed him the vessel Wherein that red wine had ben And the messenger might well perceiue that the vessel was drie and that it had stood long emptie But yet the good man for the more assurance in his presence would needes drawe out the spigot also that he might see it with his eyes and so satisfie maister Gerardes mynd So soone as he had taken out the spigot behold there issued out of the vessel a goodlie red wine which ranne abondantly euen as from a full tappe and wette all the ground vnderneth VVherat the good man of the house was meruelously astoined and putting vp the spigot againe called all that were in his house both men and women and examined them diligently if anie of them knewe of anie wine that was put into that vessel They said all and sware also that the vessel had stood emptie for the space of three monethes before and they thought it not only vnlike but also impossible that anie creature should bring so much wine into the house and put it into the vessel without their knowledge Which made them to thinke as it was in deed that this wine was sent them from God to the behoofe and comfort of the holie maid And when the messenger that was sent from maister Gerard came home with his bottel ful of that wine and declared to him and the rest what had happened they all tooke great comfort in it and magnified the bountifull goodnes of almightie God that had so miraculously prouided for the reliefe of his true handmaid The fame of this miracle being spread thorough out the citie it chanced within a fewe daies after when the holie maid was recouered that she had an occasion to goe abroad to visite a certaine patriarke that was newly come to the citie sent from the Sea Apostlolike While she passed thorough the streetes the people hauing vnderstanding of her comyng abroade forsooke their worke and shoppes and ranne from all partes of the citie to see her and said What a woman is this that drincketh water her selfe and yet filleth our vessels with wine VVhen the holie maid sawe that presse of the people and vnderstood the cause of the same it went to the verie hart of her as she declared afterwardes in confession to her ghostlie Father And therefore she turned her selfe to almightie God after a sorowful maner spake to him in her hart after this sort O Lord whie hast thou plagued me thy poore hand-maid thus as to make me a laughing stocke to all the people All other thy seruantes maie be seene emong men only I can not Who desired this wine of thee for me Thou knowest O Lord that I haue long forborne the drincking of wine and now for a litle wine I am made a common talke in euerie mans mouth I most humbly beseech thee O my deere Lord for all the mercies that euer thou hast shewed vnto me thine vnworthie handmaid that thou wilt cause this wine vtterly to vanish awaie in such sort that the brute that is raised of me emong the people maie cease withal Thus she praied with deepe sighes and inward gronyng of hart and our Lord despised not her praier For wheras the people repaired stil to the house to drinke of the wine and manie honest citizens drancke of it for pure deuotion and euermore perceiued that there was nothing the lesse wine for all their drincking comyng now to the vessel to drincke they found that all the wine was turned to thicke dregges And wheras before it was a verie pleasant wine it was now of a sodaine become so pudlie and vnpleasant that no man might abide to drincke of it VVhich thing caused a great alteration in the myndes of the people For wheras before they thought spake verie reuerently of the holie maid manie of them began now to imagin that this wine was a thing counterfeicted by the deuel and that almightie God to make such treacherie knowen to the wordle had turned it vnto dregges VVhich made the good man of the house and all other that had before by occasion of this miracle geuen the holie maid a report of great vertue and holines so much ashamed that afterwardes they durst not once to open their mouthes to speake anie thing that tended to her commendation But the holie maid her selfe was verie glad of it and gaue God most humble thankes that had deliuered her from such vaine and troublesome applauses of the people VVherin she shewed her selfe in deed to be the true disciple and folower of our Sauiour Christ whose maner it was euermore when he had wrought miracles to auoid the fauourable speaches of men And howsoeuer it pleased euel disposed persones to interprete these two miracles there could be no fault in the holie maid For of the foremer which they ascribed to the deuel she knewe nothing vntill it was done and the latter was wrought by almightie God at her request But a charitable mynd would rather interprete them thus that our Lord shewed in the foremer miracle how much he loued her and in the latter how she answered his loue againe with a profound humilitie In the foremer he gaue vs matter to praise her in the later example to folowe her In the foremer he taught vs how she was adorned with grace in the latter how she was staied with wisdome for where humilitie is there is also true wisedome Of a goodlie vision that was shewed to a certaine deuout matrone in Rome at the departure of the holie maid out of this life Chap. 9. AT what tyme the holie maid departed out of this life there was in the citie of Rome a certaine deuout matrone of honest parentage called Semia This woman in hir husbandes daies serued God diligently But after her husbandes death being lefte with two sonnes she gaue her selfe wholly to praier visiting of holie places and other the like deuout exercises and so continued manie yeares Her maner was to rise euerie night to praier and towardes the mornyng to take a litle rest lying downe or leanyng her head for a while to her beds side that she might the better endure the labour of going the stations in Rome the next daie This Semia when the holie maid came first to the citie being infourmed by diuerse and sundrie persones of her great vertue and holines resorted much to her house and in tyme became verie familiar with her Howbeit she was so thoroughly occupied what with her ordinarie stations and pilgrimages and what with the necessarie attendance vpon her two sonnes that sometymes for certaine daies together she had no leysure to come and see the holie maid as it chaunced in deed at the tyme of her final sickenes passage out of this worlde The night before the holy maid gaue vp the ghost in the morning this deuout matrone rose vp after her accustomed maner