to anie man and that it is not in the power of anie creature but only of God to moue the hart of maÌ„ to what him listeth And so with this intent he went vnto her without declaring anie thing particularly he desired her that she would doe him a pleasure What pleasure said she forsoouth said he that you would be a meane to your spowse for me that he of his great mercie would pardon me all my synnes Whereunto she made answere with a cheereful countenance as casting no doubt at all of the effecte that she would doe it Then said he againe Daughter I thanke you for this But yet thus much I must tell you more That vnlesse you procure me some good assurance of the same you doe me no pleasure at all What assurance would you require said she I would require said he that I might haue a full Pardon and a Bull drawen vpon the same after the maner of the court of Rome With that she smiled sweetly and asked him what maner of Bull he would haue The Bull said he that I desire is that I maie feele in my selfe a certaine deepe and perfecte Contrition of my synnes beyond the common course At that word she gaue him such a coÌ„fortable looke that it seemed to him that she had entred into all the secrets of his hart Well said she such a Bull shall you haue also And so they parted for the daie was almost spent The next mornyng doctour Raimundus was taken after his customable maner with certaine infirmities which were notwithstanding verie grieuous and as then so paineful vnto him that he was inforced to keepe his bed There was at that tyme about him brother Nicolas of Pisa a verie religious man and one that he loued deerely The place where he laie was a Monasterie of Nunnes of S. Dominickes order not farre from the lodging of this holie maid who saw right well in spirite in what case doctour Raimundus was and said to her companion Come let vs goe to visite our father doctour Raimundus for he is sicke what will you doe said she ye are in worse case then he But she foorthwith set her selfe in the waie with her companion and making more hast then she was wont to doe at other tymes came vpon him sodainly â—â— lying in his bed and said Father how is it with you Which was to him so vnlooked for that he had no tyme to talke with his brother and to take order for thinges as he would haue done if he had knowen of her comyng And scantly could he answere her and saie that he was sorie that she should take such paines in comyng to him being her selfe in farre weaker state then he was but that she was entred without anie further circumstances into an high discourse as her maner was of heauenlie matters of God and of his benefites bestowed vpon his creatures and contrariwise of our vngratefulnes towardes him and pronenesse to offend such a good and bowntiful Lord. Which wordes were spoken with such grace that he felt that his hart was strangely drawen by the vertu of the same and that it receiued great comfort And so for maners sake he caused him selfe to be taken out of the bed were he laie and to be set on an other lower cowch neerer to her Who went on with her discourse he neuer thought of his petition made vnto her ouer night coÌ„cernyng the Bull but was caried awaie with the efficacie strength of her wordes which pearsed his hart like sharpe dartes Whereupon his mynd being thus forcibly driuen and entring at the length into a certaine deepe and inward coÌ„sideration of his synnes such as he neuer had in his life before there was represented vnto him iâ— a most cleere vision the iudgement seat of Christ before whom being arrained accused and acknowledging him selfe gyltie he heard a sentence of euerlasting damnation pronounced against him selfe which he confessed he had deserued by the order of Gods iustice This senteÌ„ce he heard openly read and he sawe withal a preparatioÌ„ made for his execution in such order maner as is wont to be when malefactours or theeues are condemned to the gallowes At the length when this dreadful and horrible vision had continued a good space our Sauiour appeered againe vnto him not like a terrible Iudge but like a pitiful Father wheras he was naked he clad him with his owne garmentes lead him into his howse gaue him to eate and drincke plentifully made verie much of him accepted him into his familie as one of his howsehold seruantes and changed the sentence of euerlasting death into a firme promise of euerlasting life The which when he sawe and considered inwardly with him selfe first the deformitie of his sinnes and danger that he was in and then the merciful goodnes of our Sauiour that receiued him againe so louingly he burst out into groanyng sobbing sighing and weeping so aboundantly that in all his life tyme there neuer happened the like vnto him The holie maid that was by all this while sawe how the medicine wrought began then to hold her peace and to let him alone for a good tyme that he might haue his fill of weeping CoÌ„trition And when she sawe her tyme she spake to him againe and said Father I praie you geue ouer this maner of reading and coÌ„sider well of the tenour of the Bull. The Bull said he And with that turnyng him selfe towardes her he said Ah daughter maie this be the Bull that I required of you yester euenyng This is it good Father said she Wherefore be yee myndful of the benefites of God That said she tooke her leaue foorthwith went her waie Doctour Raimundus her ghostlie Father declared yet an other verie euident signe of her great holines and familiaritie with almightie God which was this Being on a tyme verie sicke and feeble she laid her downe as her maner was vpon her boordes Where hauing diuerse and sundrie reuelations she caused her ghostie Father to be sent for that she might impart the same to him So soone as he was come she began after her accustomable maner to speak of God to recite vnto him many thinges namely those thinges that our Lord had vowchsafed to shewe vnto her at shrofte whereof we spake a litle before When he heard the thinges that she reported and considered of the greatnes of the same in comparison of that he had read of other Sainctes he said thus in his mynd Is it possible that all this should be true that she saieth And with that looking stedfastly vpon her he sawe her face sodainly transfourmed into the face of a man who likewise set his eyes stedfastly vpon him and gaue him a meruelous dreadful looke The face that he sawe was somewhat long he shewed like a man of middle age his beard was of the colour of ripe wheat that is betweene red and yallowe his countenance was verie comelie
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
maid How almightie God permitted the deuel to haue power ouer her bodie and how she ouercame all with great patience Chap. 33. THe malice that the damned sprites bare to this holie virgin was verie great and the battailes that they made continually against her to remoue her from her constancie and vowe of virginitie were surely verie fierce and cruel All the which she ouercame by the grace of God and triumphed ouer all their malice and wilines as we haue in part touched before but as our Lord would not suffer them to haue anie power ouer her soule which could not be without synne so did he permit them to vexe her bodie and put it to great paine for her further increase of merite and higher crowne In so much that some tymes they threwe her into the fyer sometymes they cast her downe headlong from her horse and one tyme when doctour Raimundus her Confessour with diuerse other was present they hurled her downe in such sort that both she and her horse were ouer the head and eares in the myer Wherat she smyled pleasantly and said to her companie Be not afraid for this is the worke of Malatasca And this happened most commonly vnto her when she had done some special worke that tended to the edifying of soules As she declareth verie well her selfe in her hundreth and sixt epistle where after that she had declared what intolerable paines she suffred which were in deed so vehement that for verie paine she raught at her garmentes and looke how much she latched with her hand so much she rent awaie and how the next daie being to write letters to the Popes holines and to three Cardinals when she had ended her letler to the Pope she was able to write no more by reason of the violent paines that came vpon her she writeth these wordes And so standing stil a litle while there began a terrour of deuels which was done in such sort that they set me quite besides my selfe raging like mad dogges against me as though I seelie worme had ben the occasion of taking out of their handes that which they had holden longe tyme in the holie Church And this terrour together with the paine of my bodie was so great that I had thought to haue gone from my studie and to get me to the chappell as though my studie had ben the occasion of my paines but sodainly I was throwen downe And being throwen downe it seemed to me that my soule was departed from my body howbeit not so as when it was departed in deed for then my soule did tast the felicitie of the immortal spirites and did receiue that most soueraigne blessednes with them But now it seemed as a thing reserued though it seemed not to be in my bodie but I sawe my bodie as though it had ben an other These be the verie wordes that she writeth in that epistle in the which she describeth certaine newe battailes made against her by those damned sprites farre greater and more terrible then euer she susteined at anie other tyme. And in the next epistle she declareth how she was verie sore beaten and tormented by them bicause she praied with a great zeale for the Catholike Church where she saieth moreouer that the more she suffred in her bodie the greater was her loue towardes the Church and the more she desired to see the same refourmed How she deliuered a certaine yong maid that was possessed of a wicked sprite Chap. 34. AS it was well knowen to diuerse and sundrie persones that this holie maid was meruelously vexed and put to intolerable paines by the malice of wicked sprites so it pleased God to shewe likewise to the wordle that he had graunted her as it were by special priuilege authority iurisdiction ouer the said sprites to commaund bynd and cast them out at her pleasure to the great comfort of the true and humble seruantes of God and withal to the vtter confusion of those proude sprites that set them selues vp against God and his seruantes as maie appeere euidently by these examples here ensewing There was in the citie of Siena a certaine notarie called maister Michael who when he was well striken in yeares determined with the consent of his wife to forsake the wordle and to geue him selfe to a more streigth order of life He determined also to dedicate two of his daughters to the seruice of God in a monasterie founded in the name honour of S. Iohn Baptist in the same citie Where when they had continued a certaine tyme one of the daughters whose name was Laurentia a child of eight yeares old was by the secret iudgement of God posessed with a wicked sprit by reason wherof the whole monasterie was much disquieted Wherupon by common consent they sent for her father and gaue him his daughter againe After that this child was thus taken out of the monasterie the wicked sprite vttered many wonderful thinges by her mouth and answered to manie darcke and hard questions And which was most strange he spake commonly in the latine tongue He disclosed also manie secret vices of diuerse and sundrie persones to their great reproach and slaunder Which thing turned the father and mother and others also of their kinred and acquentance to great heauines who left no meane vnsought wherby they thought they might ease the child Emong other thinges wherin those deuout folkes hoped in tyme to find helpe comfort one special meane was the reliques of Sainctes kept in manie places in the citie vnto the which places they resorted daily with all diligence namely to S. Ambrose tombe who had ben in his life tyme a Fryer preacher to whome almightie God had graunted a singular grace in casting out deuels frō such as were possessed in so much that his cope or scapular which were there kept being laied vpon them that were vexed with vncleane sprites did verie commonly chase them awaie Wherfore they brought the child thither and laied her downe vpon the tombe cast the said clothes ouer her And the father and mother in the meane tyme set them selues earnestly to praier beseeching our Lord with great instance that it would please him at the contemplation of that holie Saincte to take mercie on their child But their praier was not heard as then Which thing happened vnto them not for anie synne that they committed but bicause it was otherwise disposed by the prouident wisdome of God who vndoubtely put it in the heartes of certaine of their frindes to geue them counsel that they should repraire to the holie maid for the reliefe of their child Which counsel they folowed in deed and first sent vnto her praying her in most earnest maner that she would vouchsafe to doe her best to helpe their daughter wherunto she made answere that she had inough to doe with the wicked sprites that did from tyme to tyme molest and trouble her selfe and therfore praied them that they would hold her
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
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
the howse to comfort the afflicted mother When they were there and sawe what had happened it is hard to saie whether of them two they pitied more either the mother whose bowels they sawe were so inwardly moued with compassion on her deere child or the daughter who had exercised such rigorous iustice and bloodie reuenge vpon her owne bodie for the synnes of others How she desired earnestly to receiue the habite of S. Dominicke and how her mother to turne her mynde lead her awaie to the batthes What penance she did euen in the batthes Chap. 13. WHen this blessed maid was thus at libertie to occupie her selfe in the afore mentioned exercises of godlines and penance the more the ghostlie enemie busied him selfe to hinder her good purposes the more earnest she waxed in folowing the same And now calling to mynd the religious habite promised vnto her long before by the blessed Father S. Dominicke she neuer ceased to praie to God with inwarde groanyng teares both by daie by night that he would vowchsafe to fulfill his promise with speed For she sawe that she should neuer be free from the molestatiō of her parents vntill such tyme as she had receiued it therfore she humbly besought thē also that they would be contēted to dismisse her to be meanes to the sisters that liued in penance vnder the rule of S. Dominicke cōmonly called there the sisters of the Mantel that she might be admitted into their cōpany But her mother who had no liking of her sute but sought rather somewhat to qualifie the rigour of her exercises alreadie begon determined to goe to a hoat bath and to take her daughter with her hoping thereby to bring to passe what by cherishing of her bodie with such sensual delites and what by distracting her mynd from her wonted meditations that she should in tyme by litle and litle relent the extremitie of her rough discipline Vndoubtedly this was not done without the instigatiō of the deuel whose bent was to withdrawe that deuout sowle from folowing the calling of her spowse But there is no counsel against God who taught his true seruāt to turne all the treacherous wiles of the enemie to her further cōmoditie profit Whē she came to the bath she fownd out a new maner of bathing such as had not lightly ben hard of before that tyme. she intreated her mother that she might be in the bath alone when all other had bathed thē selues The which thing when her mother had graunted with a verie good will being in deed a plaine meanying woma nand nothing suspecting the wilines of her daughter in that matter she went and set her selfe vnder the spowt where the water came scalding hoate into the bath and there suffred patiently greater paines of the heat of the water then she was wont to doe at home when she beat her selfe with the yron chaine Now when her mother had espied that also and sawe that whatsoeuer she coulde deuise for the solace or comfort of her daughters bodie was by her wilines turned to the contrarie she determined to returne to her howse againe where not withstanding she ceased not to shewe in wordes that she had a great misliking of her extreme seueretie and penance Vnto the which wordes the good daughter gaue but a deafe eare hauing euermore greater regard to the holie spirite of God speaking inwardly in her hart then to the outward sownd of wordes that tended to the hinderance of her godlie designementes Afterwardes when her ghostlie Father who had heard tell of her bathing by the report of her mother demaunded of her how it was possible that she shoulde be able to suffer the heat of that scalding water so long tyme without the extreme domage and peril of her bodie she made answere and said verie simply that being in the bath she called to mynde the paines of hell purgatorie and so made her praier to almightie God whom she had so grieuously offended that he would vowchsafe of his endles mercie to change the tormentes that she had deserued by her synnes into those paines that she would willingly put her selfe vnto there for is loue Vnto the which praier it pleased God to make answere by geuing her such a passing great ioye and gladnes in her hart that all the paine that she suffred was pleasant and deliteful vnto her and the almightie power of God so dispensed with her bodie that it had in deed a verie great and sensible feeling of paine but no hurt or blemish at all When she had thus satisfied the demaund of her ghostly Father she went home and fell againe to the exercises of her accustomed penance How she receiued the habite of S. Dominicke and how she was the first virgin that receiued the same Chap. 14. NOw to come to our matter againe whē this blessed virgin was returned from the batthes she ceased not to sollicite her mother that she would moue the aforenamed sisters of the Mantel that she might receiue the habite that she had so long and earnestly desired The mother being ouercome with the importunitie of her daughter went to the sisters and intreated them that she might be receiued into their companie Wherunto they made answere that it was not their maner to receiue yong maidens into their habite but only widowes and women of sad yeares such as were thought able and likelie to haue experience to gouerne them selues bicause they had no common place and conuersation as commonly couentes of religious persons haue but liued echone a part from other in priuate celles When the mother came home with this answere to her daughter she was nothing daunted withal but besought her mother after a verie humble maner that she would take the paines to renewe her sute againe and vse more earnest meanes to perswade with them then she had done before Which thing she was well content to Doe and went againe but in fine could obteine no better answere then she had at the first The which vnpleasant answere also the good daughter tooke in verie good part remitting her selfe humbly to the will of God in all thinges and making her selfe well assured that the holie Father S. Dominicke would in tyme when it should please God fulfill his promise In the meane tyme it chaunced this blessed virgin to be visited with a verie painful sicknes Her bodie was so disfigured with the measels that she could scantly be knowen and withall she was so sore vexed with a hoat burnyng ague that her mother who loued her emong all her chidren most tenderly had verie great pitie and feare of her The which occasion the wise virgin thought was not to be slipt but taking the oportunitie of the present state and tyme began to moue her mother once againe after this maner Good mother as yee tender my life and health so I beseech you to vse diligent and earnest meanes to procure me the habite that I haue so long
dishonestie vnto whom she maketh none answere whatsoeuer he saie neither will she so much as looke in his face but foorthwith turneth awaie from him and so keepeth her selfe faithfull and true to her husband And so did this chast virgin to her spowse Christ and by this meane she gate a great victorie ouer her enemie boring his eares with the naile of a strong and faithful praier Howbeit though he sawe his first assault thus easily frustrate and put by yet did he not cease but moued an other battaile against her which was much more fierce and cruel then the foremer How the enemie accompained with a great multitude of vncleane spirites renewed his battarie against this strong Fortresse and vsed greater enforcement then before Chap. 21. WHen the vncleane spirites sawe that this attempt tooke no place but was by the grace of God easily ouercome they tooke diuerse and sundrie shapes of men and women and setting them selues in such fourmes before the eyes of the chast virgin they exercised most filthie actes of the flesh and spake verie fowle wordes and vsed all possible meanes to sterre vp her mynd and bodie to vncleannes The which what a great griefe it caused to her vnspotted and maidenlie hart those only are able to consider that knowe what a goodlie treasure a pure and chast conuersation is in the sight of God and so consequently what a great losse it is to be in danger to be spoiled of the same It was also a great torment and increase of heauines to her mynd to consider that her deere spowse and Lord who was wont afore to visite and comfort her oftentymes seemed now as though he had vtterly forsaken her and would no more relieue and succour her in her distresse although for her part she did what in her laie knocking at the gate of his mercie with continual praier teares and hard discipline vpon her bodie And when she sawe that he made no answere she began to deuise a certaine newe maner of sleight to encounter with the enemie how be it not without the secret instincte of God which was this She conceiued a meruelous great misliking of her selfe and against her owne synnes and so turnyng her indignation as it were against her selfe she vttered such wordes Ah most vile wretch lookest thou to receiue cōfort Thinkest thou that thy synnes haue deserued it at Gods hand O most vnkind caitife is it not ynough for thee that thou art pardoned of the paines of hell O vnthankeful creature dost not thou take it to be gaine ynough that the endles mercie of God that changed those euerlasting tormentes into these temporal afflictions Were it not a verie gaineful exchange for thee though they should endure all the tyme of thy life Wilt thou then be dismaied and relent thy wonted mortification and discipline knowing that by theses meanes thou shalt escape endles paines and within a short tyme receiue endles ioye and comfort at the hand of thy deere spowse Iesus Christ By this maiest thou trie whether thou haue chosen to serue God for these temporal visitations and comfortes or else in hope of that euerlasting blesse and ioyful fruition of him selfe in the life to come A wake therefore take a good hart fight manfully and expecte with patience the good will and pleasure of God Now is the tyme for thee to increase to thy selfe labour and paine and to his holie name honour and glorie It can not be expressed in wordes how much she was strengthened in sowle by this meane and contrariwise how much the prowd enemie was by the same confownded and weakened She confessed afterwardes to her ghostlie Father that there was such a rabble of those fowle feendes at that tyme in her chamber mouing her diuerse and sundrie waies to vncleannes that she was enforced for a tyme to flee from her chamber to the Church and there to keepe more then she was wont to doe How be it euen in the Church also she was molested thought not so much as before in her chamber Whether when she returned afterwardes she was againe so beset with such a compaine of vncleane spirites representing there before her so manie actes of filthines and that with so great importunitie and strange maners that it was a verie miracle how she was able to susteine the same But she forth with falling downe to the earth there lying groueling on her face in praier besought God of his mercie with such mightie sighes and groanes that in contemplatiō of her pitiful crie he somewhat asswaged the furie of those fowle feendes And so continuyng in such afflictions and troubles a great number of daies at the lenght when at a tyme comyng from the Church and lying after such a maner in her chamber she made her earnest praier vnto God crauing his mercifull aide and assistance there appeered a certaine comfortable beame of the holie Ghost which brought vnto her remembrance the goodlie lesson that our Lord had thaught her before when she praied vnto him for the gyfte of Fortitude And so vnderstanding that all that was there done was only the tentation of the enemie she receiued great ioye in her hart and determined from that daie foreward to suffer meekely gladly all maner of tentations and afflictions for the loue of her spowse Iesus Christ Then one of those wicked sprites who was peraduenture of greater boldnes and malice then the rest spake vnto her after this maner Wretched woman what meanest thou Thinkest thou euermore to lead such a state of life as this is Make thy selfe well assured of this We shall neuer geue thee one hower of respite but shall paine and vexe thee continually vntill thou yeald and consent vnto our will Vnto whom she made answere out of hand with a great courage and affiance in God and said I haue chosen paine for my refreshing and therefore it shall not be yrckesome to me but rather pleasant and delitefull to suffer these and all other afflictions for the loue of my Lord and Sauiour so long and so much as shall please his diuine maiestie With that woord all that detestable companie of vncleane sprites vanished quite awaie with a verie dreadfull horrible noyse And behold foorth with there appeered a meruelous goodlie light from heauen which shone all ouer her chamber and in that light our Sauiour Christ in such fourme and maner as he was when he hong vpon the Crosse and there shed his most precious blood for the redemptiō of the worlde Who called her vnto him and and said these wordes Myne owne daughter Catherine seest thou not what I haue suffred for thy sake Thinke it not much therefore to suffer for me After that he approched neerer vnto her in an other fourme to comfort her and spake vnto her manie sweet and louing wordes and she likewise to him O Lord said she vsing the wordes of S. Antonie where wert thou when my hart was so vexed with sowle and
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
she was come the sicke woman which was now verie weake in bodie but well strengthened in spirite made signes of great reuerence and ioye and partly with woordes as well as she could partly with tokens and gestures of bodie and countenance she lamented her vncharitable demeanour towardes her and besought her of mercy and pardon That done she made her cōfession with great humilitie and contrition so receiuing the Sacramentes rightes of holie Church she yealded vp her soule to God At what tyme it pleased almightie God to shewe to the holie virgin what a blesful beautiful state that saued sowle was in which as she declared afterwardes to her ghostlie father was so great that no tongue of man is able to expresse it And yet was not this that beawtie that she should receiue afterwardes in the blesse of heauen but only that godlie state that the sowle had in her first creation and receiued againe at the tyme of her Baptisme Thē said our Lord to the holie maid How saiest thou my deere daughter is not this a faire and goodlie sowle which through thy paines and diligēce is now recouered out of the hādes of the enemie What man or woman would refuse to take paines for the wynning of such a beawtiful creature If I which am the most high and soueraigne beawtie and of whom proceedeth all maner of beawtie was notwithstāding so ouercome with the loue and beawtie of mans sowle that I refused not to come downe from heauen to clad my selfe with the simple weede of mans bodie in the same to susteine labours and reproches for the space of manie daies and yeares and in the end to shed myne owne blood for his redemption yet had I no need of mans sowle but was most sufficiently and most perfectly blessed in my selfe how much more ought you to labour one for an other and doe what in you lieth for the recouerie of such a noble and excellent creature For this cause haue I shewed thee the beawtie of this sowle that hereafter thou mightest both thy selfe be the more earnest about the wynnyng of sowles and also procure others to doe the like With that she thanked our Lord in most humble maner and besought him furthermore that he would vowchsafe to geue her a newe grace which was that she might from that tyme foreward be able to see the state and condicions of all such sowles as should by occasions haue anie conuersation or dealing about spiritual matters with her that by the sight of the same she might be the more prouoked to procure their saluation Vnto the which demaund our Lord made answere after this maner Daughter bicause thou hast forsaken all carnal conuersation for my sake and hast by all meanes laboured to vnite thy selfe to me in spirite which am the most excellent and soueraigne spirite therefore I here make thee a full graunt that from this verie instant thy soule shal be endewed with such a gracious light that thou shalt see and behold both the beawtie and also the deformitie of euerie sowle that is presented before thee And as hitherto thou hast seene the proportion and qualitie of bodies with thy bodilies eyes euen so from this tyme foreward thou shalt see the condicions of sowles with the spiritual eye of thy sowle not only of such as shal be present before thee but also of all other for whose sowles health thou shalt make intercession to me though thou neuer see them with thy bodilie eyes How she serued an old widdowe that had a festered sore runnyng vpon her by whom she was also infamed And of diuerse strange accidentes that ensued vpon the same Chap. 11. THere was emong the sisters of penance one sister called Andrea who had vpon her brest a verie lothsome sore commonly called a Canker This sore had fretted and eaten so much flesh rownd about and the corruption of the same yealded such an horrible sauour that none might come neere for stench By reason whereof there was none fownd that would attend vpon her in her sickenes The which thing when the holie maid vnderstood she went out of hand to visite her and seeing her vtterly forsaken and destitute of all succour and comfort she made her selfe well assured that the prouidence of God had reserued that sister for her keeping And so accepting the charge of her as at Gods hand she began to speake comfortable wordes vnto her and to make her a free offer of her owne person to attend and serue her to the vttermost of her power which made the widowe a glad woman The holie maid therefore set her selfe to the seruice of that poore woman she tooke care for her that she might haue whatsoeuer was necessarie or requisite for a woman in that case when tyme was she opened her sore clensed it of all the fowle matter she was shed it and wypt it and couered it againe with plaisters and cleane clothes and in all this she neuer shewed so much as one litle token of lothsomenes but did euerie thing with such diligence and cheerefulnes that the sicke sister was astoined to see so great loue and charitie in a maid of those yeares But the malicious feend who hath great enuie at all workes of charitie bent him selfe to doe all that in him laie to disannull if it were possible if not at the least to hinder this godlie and merciful enterprise so much as might be And first of all vpon a daie as the holie maid was about to open the sore to dresse it there came out such an horribile stench that she could hardly beare it but that she must needes vomite The which thing when she perceiued she entred into a passing great choler and displeasure against her owne skeymish bodie ane stomake and said to her selfe Ah vile and wretched flesh dost thou loath thy sister whom our Lord hath bought so deerely euen with the price of his owne most precious blood The daie maie come when thou also maiest fall into the like sickenes or peraduenture worse As I am a Christian woman thou shalt abide for it And with that she bowed downe and held her mowth and nose ouer the sore so long vntill at the length it seemed that she had comforted her stomake quite ouercome the skeymishnes that she felt before All the which tyme he sicke sister cried out vnto her and said Good daughter stand vp good daughter geue ouer cast not thy selfe awaie endanger not thy bodie with this infectuous sauour But she would neuer geue ouer vntill she had ouercome both the tew lines of her owne stomake and also the tentation of the ghostlie enemie When the suttle serpent sawe that this his assault was thus repelled being vtterly in despaire of anie better successe against that holie virgin which stood euermore like a strong fortresse well furnished defenced he deuised to laie his batterie to the weake woman whom he knewe to be of lesse experience and
sicke woman In this meane tyme the slaunderous rumour was bruted and came to her mothers eares Who for her selfe made no doubt at all of her daughters innocēcie for she knewe manie thinges that the worlde knewe not and yet she could not but take it verie heauelie when she heard tell that such a slawnder was raised vpon her The griefe wherof so ouercame her mynd that she flang to her daughter with great heat and vehemencie of spirite and began with her after this maner How often tymes haue I told thee that thou shouldest no more serue yonder stinging old croyne See now what reward she geueth thee for all thy good seruice she hath brought vp a foule slaunder vpon thee emong all thy sisters which God knoweth whether thou shalt euer be able to rid thy selfe of so lōg as thou liuest If euer thou serue her againe after this daie or if euer thou come where she is neuer take me for thy mother For I tell thee plaine I will neuer knowe thee for my daughter These and other the like wordes did the mother vtter in great heate choler whereat the daughter at the first was somewhat astoined But after a litle tyme when she had gathered her selfe together she went to her mother and kneeling downe before her with great reuerence she spake these wordes Sweete mother thinke you that our Lord would be pleased with vs if wee should leaue the workes of mercie vndone bicause our neigbour sheweth him selfe vnthankeful towardes vs When our Sauiour Christ hong on the Crosse and heard there the reprochful talke of that vngrateful people rownd about did he in regard of their cruel wordes geueouer the charitable worke of their redemption Good mother you knowe verie well that if I should leaue this old sicke woman she were foorthwith in great danger to perish for lacke of keeping bicause she should not find anie that would come neere her do such seruice as is requisite to be done about a woman in this case And so should I be the occasion of her death She is now a litle deceiued by the ghostlie enemie but she maie hereafter by the grace of God come to acknowledge her fault and be sorie for the same With such wordes she qualified her mothers mynd gate her blessing and so returned againe to the seruice of the sicke woman About whom she did all thinges with great diligence loue neuer shewing neither in wordes nor in countināce so much as anie token of discontētantiō or displeasure In so much that the sicke sister seeing her demeanour was verie much astoined withal ashamed of that she had done and so began to haue great sorrowe at hart and repentance for the slaunder that she had raised vpon her Then also it pleased our Lord to shewe his mercie towardes his faithful spowse to restore her againe to her good fame estimatimatiō after this maner On a daie the holie maide went to the sicke sisters chamber to serue her as she was wont to doe At what tyme as she was comyng towardes her bed where she laie to doe some thing that was to be done about her behold the sicke woman sawe a meruelous goodlie light commyng downe from heauen which filled all her chamber and was so beautifull and comfortable that it made her vtterly to forget all the paines of her disease What that sight might meane she could not conceiue But looking about her here and there she beheld the maidens face gloriously transformed the maiestie wherof was so strang that she seemed to her rather an Angel of heauen then anie earthlie creature And this beautiful light enuironed the holie virgins bodie rownd about The which brightnes the more the old woman beheld the more did she condemne the malice of her owne hart and tongue in that she had conceiued and vttered so fowle matter as she had done against such an excellent and pure creature as the holie maid then shewed to be This vision continued a good tyme and at the length when it ceased left the sicke woman both in sorrowe and also in comfort In sorrowe bicause on the one side she sawe what a heynous synne she had committed in dissamyng that innocent virgin In comfort bicause on the other side she sawe the mercie of God freely and franckely offred vnto her The which thing so mollified her hart that with much sobbing weeping she confessed her fault to the holie maid and besought her of pardon When the good virgin sawe the hūble maner of her repentance and submission she likewise verie amiably tooke the old woman in her armes kissed her and spake very sweet and comfortable wordes vnto her saying Good mother I haue no displeasure in the worlde against you but only against our enemie the Deuel by whose malice suttiltie I knowe all this is wrought but rather I haue to thanke you with all my hart for you haue put me in mynd to haue a more careful and vigilant regard to my selfe and so doing you haue turned the malicious drifte of the feend to my further good and commoditie With such sweet speeches she comforted the sicke sister and then she set her selfe to doe all such seruices as were wont to be done about her And when she had done all she tooke her leaue verie gently as her maner was and so retired her selfe to her chamber to geue God thankes so the prosperous successe that she had had in this matter and to enter into her accustomed exercise of praier meditation In this meane tyme the old woman who had a great care to restore the innocent virgin to her good name againe when anie of those came to her before whom she had made that slaunderous report tooke occasion to vnburthen her conscience and confessed openly with great lamentation and teares that whatsoeuer dishonestie she had anie tyme reported by that holie maid she had ben induced to report it by the crafte of the deuel not by anie thing that euer she sawe or knewe in her And therfore she cried them all mercie and besought them for charitie to forgeue her She affirmed furthermore that she was able to make good proofe that the holie maid was not only free from all suspicion of anie vncleannes of bodie but also endued with manie high singular graces of God and that she was in deed a verie pure virgin and a Saincte Thus much said she I speake not vpon heresaie or opinion but vpon verie certaine knoweledge Then certaine of the elder and sadder women talked with her secretly and required to vnderstand what certaine tokens and knowledge of holines she had in the maid Whereupon she declared vnto them so much as hath ben here receited before And said furthermore verie constantly and with great feruour of spirite that in all her life tyme she neuer knewe what true sweetnes of sowle and spiritual comfort meant vntill that tyme when she sawe the holie maid so transfourmed
life manie a one shall take occasion of slaunder and offence and thou shalt be gainesaid of manie that the thoughtes of manie hartes maie be opened But in anie case see that thou be nothing afraid or troubled with anie of these thinges For I will be with thee alwaies and will deliuer thee from lying lippes and slaunderous tongues Folowe therfore freely the guydance of my holie spirite and labour diligently in this charitable woorke wherin I haue apointed thee For by thee I haue determined to deliuer manie soules out of the dragons mouth and to bring them to my euerlasting rest in heauen These and other the like wordes spake our Lord to her and repeted the same againe and againe and specially that word where he bad her that she should not be afraid or dismaid Wherunto the holie maid made answere with great humilitie and perfecte obedience saying Thou art my Lord and my God and I thy creature and vnworthy hand maid thy will be done in all thinges Only this O Lord I beseech thee remember me according to the multitude of thy mercies and helpe me And with that the vision ceased and the blessed virgin conferred those comfortable wordes of our Sauiout in her hart easting earnestly with her selfe what that gracious alteration might meane From that tyme foreward the grace of God increased daily in her hart so much the gyftes of the holie Ghost replenished her soule in such aboundant maner that she was her selfe astoined at it and by reason of that passing great increase of spiritual ioye and comfort that she felt in her soule her bodie being not able to beare it waxed feeble faint Her hart was wholly caried vp into God and that with such a vehemēcie and feruour of loue that she could not endure anie tyme without thinking and meditating vpon his most noble workes and endles mercies towardes her selfe and all mankind The force of the which loue so ouercame the natural powers of her bodie that she languished and decaied in strength and could find none other remedie for that sickenes but only to runne vnto God with an amorous affection and to powre out her hart befor him with great aboundance of teares and so to renewe her selfe as it were in the forge and fyer of loue At the length it pleased our Lord to geue her to vnderstand by the secret instincte of his holie spirite that the most soueraigne medicine for that disease was often tymes to receiue the blessed Sacrament of the aulter Where she should haue the ioyful fruition of her loue not in such sort as she should haue it afterwardes in the blesse of heauen but yet so as that she should find her selfe satisfied in some dergree for the tyme Now after that she had vsed for a certaine tyme to comunicate euerie daie as she did vnlesse she were letted by sickenes or by some other necessarie occasion she had at the length such a passing great longing and as it were an impatient desire to receiue the blessed Sacrament that if she were enforced by anie such vrgēt necessitie to abstaine but only one daie it seemed that her body fainted sēsibly failed forsomuch as being now fully accorded with the soule it had abādoned the natural powers senses and so receiued nourishment and sustentation not of the meates that the bodie is wont to be fed withal which did her more harme then good but of the foode of the soule which is the grace of God which grace was so abōdant in her soule that it redounded into her bodie and by miracle tempered that wasting heat that is wont to consume the radical moisture Her ghostlie Father examinyng her vpon this point asked whether she had euer anie appetite to eate or no. Wherunto she made answere that she was fully satisfied with the holy Sacrament and had none other appetite Then he asked her yet further in case by occasion she absteined from receiuing the blessed Sacrament whether she were then hungrie or no. To that likewise she answered and said that the only presence of the Sacrament did satisfie her and not only the Sacrament but the priest also that had touched the Sacrament did satifie and comfort her in such sort that she could not so much as thinke of anie other meate And in deed it was well knowen to as manie as liued with her from the begynnyng of Lent vntill the Ascension daie she continued in verie good liking without receiuing anie maner of bodily food or sustenance in the worlde And vpon that daie by commaundement of God she tooke only a litle bread and a fewe herbes for her stomake might not brooke anie deintie or fine meates After that she obserued a simple maner of fasting for a tyme vntill at the length by litle and litle she came againe to her old maner of abstinence which was to eate nothing at all And so she passed ouer her life in a continual and euident miracle verifying that saying of the holie Scripture that man liueth not only by bread but by euerie word that cometh out of our Lordes mowth Her ghostlie Father testified that he sawe her him selfe and that not once or twise but often tymes when continuyng after this sort without anie maner of sustenance vnlesse it were a litle water she became so weake that as manie as were about her looked euerie hower when she would geue vp the ghost At what tyme if occasion were ministred to wynne a sowle to God or to doe anie other charitable worke to the honour of God they all sawe to their great astonishment that she was sodainly altered in the state of her bodie in such sort that she was able to rise and goe without anie token of weakenes or weerines and also to endure great labour in doing that good worke that she tooke in hand for Gods sake And those that went with her hauing their perfecte health and strength could hardly folowe her here there but that they must needes be more weerie then she shewed to be Which made them all to confesse that it was the almightie power of God that susteined her and not anie naturall force How she was molested by diuerse and sundrie persones disswading her from her streight Abstinence and how she ouercame her ghostlie Father by reason Chap. 13. THis streight and vnwonted maner of Abstinence was to the holie maid an occasion of great vnquietnes and trouble both by them that liued with her in howse and also by others who seeing the order of her conuersation to be so farre aboue the common course of mans life perswaded them selues and trauailed much to perswade her also that it was not the gracious gyfte of God but only a suttle deceite tentation of the Deuel With this errour were a great nōber caried awaie emong others her owne ghostly Father who imagining all this to be nothing els but only a craftie illusiō of Satan transforming him selfe into an Angel of light commaunded her
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
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
especially Ginoccia which of the two liued in greater austeritie and penance When their brother Iames who was at that tyme abroade heard tell of this strange alteration of his two sisters he raged like a mad man and cursed all them that had moued his sisters to take that habite And he threatned verie boldly that he would teare those garmentes from their backes and bring them home againe And no man durst aduenture to staie him in that rage but only a yong brother of his that was in companie with him at that tyme who spake to him after this maner Brother Iames said he you are not acqueinted with this sister Catherine But if you goe to Siena you shall see she shall turne you also and make you to goe Confession To Confetsion said he I defie thee and them all Assure thy selfe I will cut the throtes of all those Priestes and friars before they shall bring me to confession Well brother said the child and he repeated his wordes oftentymes speaking with great affiance as though he had foreseene the euent of this matter in the spirite of prophecie you shall find my wordes true and shall see that the holie maid shall bring you to grace Those wordes set him in such a furie that he cursed and banned and fared like a man distracted And in this furie he entred into the citie and went foorth with to his fathers house where he tooke on like a madd man threatnyng and swearing that he would doe manie horrible mischiefes vnlesse they brought to passe that his sisters and specially Ginoccia might put off that habite and come home againe But his mother Rabes who was well acqueinted with his furious nature therefore feared lest he would of a sodaine do some mischieuous acte as his maner was came to him and with faire wordes staied his rage that he did no harme that night And the next morning she sent for Doctour Thomas beseeching him for Gods sake that he would take the paines to come and geue her sonne Iames some godlie exhortation Doctour Thomas came with him frier Bartilmewe And they spake manie good wordes to the impatient yong man but for ought that they could perceiue all in vaine All this tyme was the holie maid in praier and laboured earnestly to wynne that yong mans soule to God for she vnderstood not by the relation of anie man but only by reuelation from God in what a damnable state he stood and she sawe in spirite what paines those good men tooke to recouer him And it was euidently seene afterwardes by the proofe that our Lord blessed and furthered their charitable trauaile in that behalfe for the holie maides sake and in contemplation of her deuout praiers For when these men had spent a good tyme about him and sawe that they could doe him no good at the length while Doctour Bartilmewe was speaking to him behold of a sodaine and contrarie to all expectation the yong man being vndoubtedly touched by the finger of God resented and said of him selfe that he was verie well content and glad that his sisters should serue God in that holie rule and discipline And he required furthermore with great humilitie that he might be Confessed and absolued of his owne synnes that he might serue God with them also The which he did in deed verie perfectly to the great wonder and comfort of as manie as were there present which a litle before had seene him as fiercc as a lion and now as myld as a lambe His mother Rabes was a ioyful woman to see this strāge and blessed alteration in her sonne and so were all the rest of her familie with her Now when Doctour Thomas and Doctour Bartilmewe his companion had rendred thankes to almightie God for this great mercie shewed vpon that yong man they went out of hand with ioyful hartes towardes the holie maides lodging and thought the tyme long vntill they might impart these glad tidinges of his conuersion to her But when they came thither they vnderstood that the holie maid was aboue in an vpper chamber in praier and rauished as her maner was in spirite and one other of the sisters with her By reason wherof they were constreined to tarrie a while At the length when the holie maid was come to her selfe againe that other sister came downe to enterteine Doctour Thomas her Confessour who saluted her with a cheereful countenance and began foorthwith to declare the cause of his coming to her Sister said he we are come to bring you verie good newes Maister Iames Tolmes is by the grace of God become a newe man and this mornyng hath made a general Cōfession of all his synnes to Doctour Bartilmewe Father said that sister we haue great cause both to reioyse and also to thanke our Lord for these ioyful tydinges Howbeit they are no newes to vs for sister Catherine before I came downe to you told me so much as you tell me now And with that they went vp into the vpper chamber to the holie maid who immediatly vpon their entrie spake to them after this maner Fathers said she we are much bound to thanke our Lord and Sauiour that neuer dispiseth the humble praier of his seruantes And as he putteth holie desires into their hartes so doth he also accomplish the same to their benefite and comfort The wicked feend had thought to haue gotten a litle lambe of the which he had conceiued some hope But he hath through the vnspeakeable goodnes of God lost a great preie of the which he had full posession He laid for Ginoccia but he hath lost Iames. And so it falleth out oftentymes with this rauenous and insatiable wolfe that while he openeth his iawes wider to geat more he both letteth fall some better morsel that he had in his mouth before and yet misseth of that other thing that he so griedily snatcheth after Our Lord be blessed and thanked for euer more whose prouident wisedome disposeth all thinges sweetely and turneth the wilye malice of this suttle serpent to the benefit and comfort of his chosen seruantes After this Ginoccia continued without anie molestation in that holie state of life that she had vowed wherein when she had suffered manie sickenesses with a verie patient and cheereful mynd she passed out of this wordle to God with a meruelous inward sweetnes and comfort as it was euidently seene by the maner of her departure Soone after her sister Francis likewise tooke the habite and rule of the sisters of penance and therein continued with great commendation and opinion of holines so long as she liued which was in deed no long tyme. And it was noted of her also at the tyme of her passing out of this life that she smyled sweetely and shewed great tokens of spiritual ioye euen when she was at the verie point of death And this Iames their brother after that he was thus reclaimed by the deuout praier of the holie maid and diligence of
ghostlie enemie For sometymes she held her peace and sometymes she made answere as it were to some demaund Sometymes she smyled as though she had scorned his reasons and sometymes she rose in choler Emong other thinges one word she spake which was noted of as manie as were present And surelie it maie well be thought that it was the will of God that she should vtter it When she had held her peace a pretie while at the length setting a pleasant countenance vpon it she made answere as it were to some slaunder that the enemie charged her withal saying Vaine glorie Neuer but only the true glorie and honour of God Which wordes were not spoken without a special prouidence of God to remoue a sinister opinion conceiued of her not only in the wordle but also in manie deuout and spiritual persones who seeing her passing sweet and charitable demeanour towardes all kindes of men and withal how readie and desirous she was not only to receiue exhort and comfort all such as resorted to her at home but also to trauaile into farre and strange countreis to extend her charitie to as manie as was possible doubted somewhat that in these thinges she might either seeke the praise of men or at the least take some delite in it when she heard her selfe praysed But Doctour Raimundus who being her ghostlie Father heard her Confession both general and special oftentymes and considered of all her doinges with great warines and aduisement gaue her this testimonie with a solemne protestation that he iudged verily and tooke it vpon his conscience that whatsoeuer she did in that kind she did it by special inspiration and commaundment from God and that she did not so much as thinke either vpon the praises of men or vpon the men them selues but only when she praied to God for them or did some other charitable woorke to the edifying of their soules But now to come to our matter againe whē the holie maid had thus fought a long combat with the ghostlie enemie and had in the end through the grace and assistance of God obteined a full and final victorie ouer him comyng to her selfe againe she made a general Confession not Sacramentally but openly saying Confiteor as the maner is and so required the general absolution to be likewise pronounced ouer her That done it was sensibly perceiued that all the powers of her bodie decaied foorthwith by litle and litle The which notwithstanding she ceased not to exhort and speake comfortable wordes not only to them that were there about her but also to other that were absent Emong others she shewed her selfe to haue a verie special remembrance and care of Doctour Raimundus vnto whom she willed them all to haue recourse in all their doubtes and distresses for spiritual counsel Commend me to him said she and bid him to be of good comfort and not to faint or feare whatsoeuer betide For I will be with him and will from tyme to tyme deliuer him from all dangers And if he chaunce at anie tyme to doe otherwise then he should doe I will geue him discipline These wordes she repeated againe and againe vntill her speach began at the length to faile her Last of all when the verie throwes of death came vpon her she said these wordes Lord into thy handes I commend my spirite And with that she gaue vp the Ghost in the yeare of her age 33. of our Lord. 1380. the 29. daie of April which as then was sondaie and the feast of S. Peter the Martyr about eight of the clocke before noone THE FOWRTH PART How it pleased our Lord to make the holines of his spowse knowen to the wordle by diuerse and sundrie euident tokens from heauen And first how she spake certaine comfortable wordes to Doctour Raimundus after her departure out of this wordle Chap. 1. AT what tyme the holie maid passed out of this life doctour Raimundus her confessour chaunced to be in the citie of Genua about such a affaires as his office required being then the prouincial of his Order in those partes And bicause there was a general chapter appointed to be kept at Bolonia within a fewe daies after for the choosing of a newe general doctour Raimundus with certain other doctours brethren made them selues readie to passe by water from thence to Pisa and so to Bolonia And when they had hyred a boate they taried for a good wind which as then did not serue in that meane tyme vpon S. Peters daie in the mornyng which is a solemne daie emong the Friers preachers bicause he was a great martyr and of their Order doctour Raimundus went downe from his cell to the Church to saie Masse And when Masse was done he returned backe againe to the dorter to set him selfe in order towardes his iourney Where passing by the image of our ladie he said an Aue Maria softly to him selfe as the maneris and staied a litle while And sodainly there was framed a strange voice if it maie be called a voice which expressed verie distinctly and plainely certaine wordes not outwardly to his bodilie eare but inwardly to his hart The wordes were these Be not afraid I am here for thee I am in heauen for thee I will protect and defend thee Stand fast without care and feare not I stand here for thee Doctor Raimundus hearing or rather conceiuing those wordes in deed more liuely expressed to this mynd then if they had ben pronounced by the voice of anie man was much astoined and began to cast with him selfe what maner of comfort and warrant of securitie that might be and from whence he might thinke that it came And bicause he was then doing a litle worke in the honour of our blessed Ladie he began to thinke whether it might not be she that had geuen him those comfortable wordes Howbeit considering his owne vnworthines he durst not presume so much Then it came to his mynd that there might be some great trouble towardes him for the which cause he praied to our blessed Ladie the mother of mercie whome he knewe to be a special comforter of all afflicted persones that she would vouchsafe by that her comfortable promise to make him more warie circunspecte and readie to beare whatsoeuer it should pleased God to laie vpon him And there was some cause also whie he might suspecte such troubles the more bicause he had at that tyme preached against certaine scismatikes that were in the citie of whome he stood in some doubt that they would haue set for him to doe some mischiefe to him and his compaine as they should passe betweene Genua Pisa And so at that tyme he could not vnderstand what that voice should be what it should meane or whence it should come But afterwardes when he came to Tuscan and heard them there tell of the tyme and maner of the holie maides departure he called this strange voice to mynd againe and sawe by the computation of