Ghost in seuerall formes CHAP. 14. ABOVE all the Extasies of this beloued Spouse of Iesus that one was admirable which she had vpon the Vigil of the holy Ghost in the yeare 1585. wherin she remayned eight continuall dayes from the sayd Vigil vntill the feast of the Blessed Trinity returning only to her senses for the space of two houres euery day wherin she recyted her office and prouided for the necessity of her life by feeding only vpon a little bread and water and taking very little rest In this tyme she did euery morning receaue at the houre of Tertia the Holy Ghost in diuers forms of Fire of a Riuer of a Doue of a Pillar of a Clowd of a Wind and of Flaming tongues And at the same tyme she became so ioyfull and bright and did speake so sublimely of the most hidden Mysteries that it was a thing miraculous And yet further whilest she was speaking in the person of the Eternall Father or of Christ or of her selfe her voyce would be changed in such sort that euen without vnderstanding the wordes one might haue knowne that they were diuers persons which discoursed by her tongue So many were the spirituall intelligences which our Lord communicated vnto her in this Rapt as that being set downe by the Religious as she produced them they make a iust volume whereof is compiled an addition to the third part of her life But to giue some patterne of the aforesayd Extasis I say that on the Vigil of the holy Ghost which came that yeare vpon the eight of Iune she was called by the Eternall Father in these words Come my spouse the rest yet the impulse of my spirit Wherupon she remayned suddainly abstracted from her senses sayd Ecce venio venio citò citò venio And hauing beene a while in contemplation she began thus to speake in the person of the Incarnate Word Before thou enter into the admirable knowledge of my holy Ghost I will make knowne to thee what I meane to do with thee therfore be attentiue Heere she stayed a while and then resumed the discourse still in the person of the Eternall Word Know that vntill the day where you there below do celebrate that feast whereon thou didst so intrinsecally knit thy selfe to me and I in so great aboundance gaue my selfe to thee which was meant of the Profession which the yeare before she had made vpon the day of the most holy Trinity thou shalt be vnited to me in such sort that thou shalt be made partaker of diuin treasures Yet further know that for the space of fiue yeares as heertofore I told thee I will depriue thee of the feeling of my grace but not of my grace it selfe for that shall euer be in thee That priuation shall be made for the glory of my Father for the ioy of the Angells and of all the blessed spirits which stand assisting at the Throne of the most holy Trinity for the example of mortall creatures for the greater torment of damned soules for the confusion of Diuells for the ease of the soules in Purgatory and for the comfort of thy self I will also proceed with thee like to a valerous Captaine who before he exalt his souldier to high honour doth put him to many proofs and so I before I will exalt thee in the sight of my Father will proue thee first Thou shalt therfore indeauour to haue in thee the knowledge of thy being nothing and to be euer seconding and executing the internall inspirations which I will giue thee as hitherto thou hast done But although thou hast heeretofore done it with much indeauour yet heereafter thou must do it with much more Thou shalt procure to obserue nay I command thee that thou do obserue interiourly withall sincerity all the directions which I haue giuen thee Thou shalt reproue the defects of others speaking euer all truth I tell thee yet further that in all the Feria's Sexta's if thou wilt be attentiue at the houre when I dyed vpon the Crosse thou shalt receaue the spirit which I rendred to my eternall Father and although thou feele it not yet shall it euer descend on thee And as the creature cannot liue without a hart so I cannot be without thee whensoeuer thou shalt haue the knowledge of thy being nothing which as long as it remaynes in thee thou mayst well be confident that thou shalt euer be vnited to me And my peace shall be with thee although it may seeme to thee that thou art in continuall warre because in this probation which I will make of thee many infernall Lyons will come forth against thee beating thee and giuing thee torments Nor shall they only striue to beate thee exteriourly but also interiourly with greater fury yet they shall not be permitted by me to haue power to conquer thee but thou shalt euer be stored with this same grace of myne which now thou hast Nay how much more they come towards thee with violence so much more shall my fauourable assistance towards thee superabound although it is to be without any feeling comfort of thyne To this she answered cheerfully sufficit mihi gratia tua And after hauing beene a while in silence the discourse of the Incarnate Word followed on with great earnestnes and aboundance of speach to this effect There will not be wanting such as I haue appointed to fauour thee this was sayd by her Patron-Saints in bringing to thee spirituall food and thou shalt speedily flye vnder the shaddow of my purity not making any motion or operation without that although yet euen this shall be without the feeling of my grace Against the fiue grieuous temptations by which thou shalt be most assaulted thou shalt arme thy selfe with the gifts which already I haue communicated to thee Thou shalt take in the first assault my purity In the second my hart and thyne In the third my woundes which thou hast of me In the fourth the crowne of thorns which I wore In the fifth the great desire which thou hast of the saluation of my creatures And if all the Diuells in hell come with great fury to fright thee thou shalt not yet be afrayd for as their Enuy hath no end so I will neuer be wanting to continue my grace in thee And faile not thou to relate that which thou shalt participate therein This was meant by the high Intelligences which he would be pleased to graunt her as afterwards appeared After these words she hauing heard those heauenly directions replyed in her owne person O thou only begotten O Incarnate and humane Word who can execute thy great workes In respect of thee they are little but for me they are great Vpon this thought she remayned a while in silence finding her selfe still to be filled more and more with the Spirit of God she followed thus Who shall euer be able to resist so great assaults but such a one as is transformed into thee O my God
Pharo's Court in despite of al his guardes That the wedge of the hatchet leaped instaÌ„tly vp to the helme wheÌ„ it was put into the water That the sight of a man borne blind was giuen by meanes of applying durt and spittle to his eyes That sicke persons were cured by walking only in another mans shaddow These thinges and many other like to these are recorded in holy Scripture and yet no Christian man must presume so much as once to doubt therof So as the only strangnes or supernaturallnes of any euent cannot authorize any modest and wise person to deride it but may iustly ought in prudence oblige him to doubt thereof or rather to deny his assent therto till it be conueniently proued The authority therefore is that wherupon the credit of any supernaturall thing doth depend whether it be more or lesse and not only the meere strangnes of the thing it selfe And from hence it is that whatsoeuer is recorded in holy Scripture how wide soeuer it falleth in respect of our experience or how far soeuer it ouershooteth in respect of reason must cheerefully vndoubtedly be assented to because it resteth vpon an infallible authority which is the Reuelation of God and the proposition of his Catholike Church And such an authority doth declare whatsoeuer thing to be as certainly true as truth it selfe is true and that no man may doubt thereof but vpon the price of being either an Infidell or an Heretike There is another kind of inferiour authority standing vpon humane and morall proofe exhibited vnder the Oaths of many persons being eye witnesses and free from all exception both concerning the very actions themselues of Saints and the miraculous works of God shewed in honour of them by the meanes of their intercession whereof no man that hath perfect information of the particulers can so much as doubt without extreme imprudence nor once deride without profanenesse But he that deserues to weare that Liuery will not only laugh at me translating heere the life of this moderne Saint but will make as little scruple to laugh at all our Saints Liues though written by other Saints themselues and other most excellent persons as S. Bonauenture writing the life of S. Francis S. Bernard of S. Malachias Paulus Diaconus of S. Gregory S. Gregory of S. Bennet Possidius of S. Augustine the incomparable Doctour S. Hierome of S. Paul the first Eremit of S. Hilarion Malchus a great number of most holy Virgins Cassianus of whole troops of ancient Eremits S. Ambrose of S. Agnes and S. Athanasius of S. Anthony who all relate miraculous things of those seuerall Saints in great abundance As little difficulty I say will he make to laugh at these which I heere relate in the person of my Authour whilest yet whosoeuer he be he cannot bring the tenth part of that proofe whereby he would be taken for his Mothers Sonne or the heyre of his Fathers land or that the very name he is knowne by is his owne which I will offer to the eye of any indifferent man for all that is affirmed heere concerning this great seruant of God And that any person either absurdly incredulous or prophanely blasphemous may see how little reason he hath in rebelling thus from the laws of human society and planting his owne either humorous imagination or impious assertions in place thereof I will addresse him to that excellent Treatise De vtilitate credendi written by that Top and Crowne of wits S. Augustine who by a number of most pregnant reasons and most palpable experiments doth demoÌ„strate it to be a point of sottish pride and impertinency and not of wit or iudgment for men to be euer questioning or doubting to admit of nothing which hath passed vnder the testimony of their owne eyes We therefore that are Catholikes shall make no difficulty to imbrace with a most pious affection the beliefe of this history and Protestants I hope will find no true cause to doubt thereof And moreouer if it were but euen out of nouelty these later me thinkes ought to flye vpon this kind of studdy with great appetite for as much as concernes the vnderstanding part because in their owne Communion they haue in effect none at all of whome they write and recoÌ„mend the liues of Saints nay I scarce know of any ancient Saints whom yet they will though extremely against the very appearance of common sense pretend to haue beene of their Religion whose liues they haue written or in whose honour they haue so much as published any Sermon which yet they might do at least for admiration or imitation though they will not do it for Inuocation I cannot say what the reason heerof may be vnlesse they know not how to reâ—ompt the ancient Saints Liues vntruly without being reproued and confuted by vs and â—hey cannot do it truly without casting shame and confusion of face vpon themselus through the extreme vnlikenes that would instantly appeare both in the beliefe and life of these â—ew men who are but like so many prety fayâ—ings being compared and ranged with those venerable and sacred antiquityes of the Church which on the other side are as so many exquisite Statues drawne by the life of that deere Originall our B. Sauiour Iesus Christ himselfe of whome it was sayd to vs Inspice fac secundum exemplar c. Behould and do according to this example or â—atterne I confesse it would be excellent sport if it were not extreme pitty to see how much these good men make of a little and how they do not only gape but euen gaspe againe after the findinge of somwhat which may seeme to carry some small shew of sanctity in any of their owne brethren whilest they despise ours Wherin yet if yow come to particulers whatsoeuer truth they will tell you or euen whatsoeuer they will but aspire vnto shall not eâ—tend it selfe beyond the latitude and obligâ—tion oâ— an honâ—st morall man of any Religioâ— As that such an one is no great Gamester that he is no Swearer that he owes no man â—ny thing that he enioyes a good report anâ— doth his neighbours no wrong that he follow sermons close and perhaps that he is stuâ—ious and frequents not Tauernes or Playes Thâ— much they will say and they may say it truelâ— of many whome either the precepts of good education or the custome of good conuersatioâ— or the piety of naturall inclinatioÌ„ doth dispoâ— so well And thus much may be also most trulâ— sayd of many men in Turky or Barbary who haue not so much as a beliefe in Christ. But if you will further aske what heroicall acts haue beene performed by them what great estats they haue wholy giuen awâ— for Gods sake what sacrifice they haue made oâ— themselues in imitation and vnion of thâ— high oblation which our B. Sauiour did 〈◊〉 much to his cost make for vs to his Eternaâ— Father what corporall punishment they haâ— inflicted vpon
I am one day to iudg thee with power and Maiesty 14. Thou shalt esteeme thy Rule and Constitutions thereof togeather with the vowes as I will haue thee esteeme my selfe procuring to ingraue in the harts of all the Religious the zeale of that state to which I haue called them and of thy Religion 15. Thou shalt haue great desire to be made subiect vnto all and thou shalt haue it in horrour to be preferred before the meanest and least of the company 16. Thou shalt not conceaue that thy comfort repose and solace consisteth in any other thing then in contempt and in humility 17. Thou shalt forbeare to let the creatures know what thy desires are and what my will is excepting those whom I haue giuen to liue with thee and my Christ 18. Thou shalt be in continuall oblation of all thy desires and actions togeather with all my members vnto me 19. From that houre wherein I left my pure mother that is from within two howres before Sun set thou shalt be in continuall oblation of my Passion of thy selfe and of my creatures to the Eternall Father and this shall be thy preparation for receauing of me sacramentally and betweene the day and the night thou shalt visit my body and bloud 33. times 20. The last thing shall be that in all the operations which I shall suffer thee to performe as well internall as externall thou art to be transformed into me After this she remayned for some tyme without speach and she proceeded in the person of the Word saying This is the Rule which the beloued of thy soule in act of loue hath giuen to thee Therefore thou shalt receaue it and such thinges as are conteyned therein thou shalt keep at thy hart and put them in execution excepting only when Charity and Obedience do hinder thee from visiting my body and bloud After these wordes she returned from the rapt And how exactly these Rules were obserued by her the progresse of her life will shew The great excesses of loue which she had in the contemplation of Christ Iesus CHAP. 11. YET was not the vapour of this burning fornace so very hot but sometymes the flame increased which made the most ardent fire of diuine loue euen breake from her breast out of her mouth In so much as in her Rapts fixing her most pure vnderstanding vpon the contemplation of infinite loue which moâ—ed Almighty God to do so much for the most vile creatur Man Note the great excesse of her loue to God expressed in this and the next chapter she could not conteine her selfe from exclayming thus with a loud voyce O loue O loue O God how thou louest thy creatures with pure loue O God of loue O God of loue O my Lord no more loue no more loue it is too much O my Iesus the loue that thou bearest to thy creatures Yet not too much for thy greatnes but too much for a creature which is so vile and base Wherfore dost thou O my God giue me so much loue who am so vnworthy and so vile Being once againe in Rapt taking a Crucifixe into her hand she went running about the Couent and easing her hart towards the diuine Word with inamoured discourses and inflamed desires she cryed out O loue O loue O loue This did she with so gracefull smiles with a countenance of top full of ioy that the very sight of her gaue occasion to take vnspeakable comfort Sometimes she would be fixing her eyes on heauen sometimes vpon the Crucifixe sometimes she would imbrace and presse it vpon her hart kisse it with excessiue feruour and the while she would not cease to cry and cry againe O loue O loue I will neuer cease O my God to call thee loue the very ioy and triumph of my hart the hope and comfort of my soule Then turning about to the Sisters which followed her she would thus say on Know you not O deere Sisters that my Iesus is nothing els but loue yea that he is euen as it were fond with loue Fond with loue I say thou art O my Iesus and I will euer say so Thou art all amiable and ioyfull thou art recreatiue and confortatiue thou art nutritiue and vnitiue thou art pennance solace labour and repose life and death both at once Finally what is that which is not in thee thou art wise and cheerefull high and immense admirable and vnspeakable in excogitable and incomprehensible Then she kept her eyes still fixed vpon the wounded side of the Crucifixe wherein she seemed to discouer strang thinges and spake at large of the suprem loue which God beareth to mankind and of the highest Misteryes which the Incarnaâ—e Word wrought on earth for our redemption And againe she exclaymed O loue O loue then casting her eye vp to heaueÌ„ she sayd Giue me so strong a voyce O my Lord that whilest I call thee Louâ— I may be heared from the East to the West throughout all the parts of the world euen to Hell it selfe that thou mayâ— be known reuerenced as the true loue O loue O loue which only dost penetrate and transcend which breakest and bindest which rulest and gouernest all thinges Thou art heauen and earth fire and aire bloud water thou art God and Man And who shall euer be able either to expresse or thinke of thy greatnes since thou art infinite and eternall In these so liuely excesses of Loue she did often spend the whole dayes so as it seemed that she drew on apace towards an Angelicall life and that she was fed with banquetting dishes from the table of heauen In these acts her speach was so deuout so inflamed and so compassionate towards her Iesus hanging on the Crosse that not only in name but in deed she resembled that Maddalena who was so much wounded with griefe vpon mount Caluary when the VVord Incarnate gaue vp his Spirit to his eternall Father Sometymes being vrged by the heat of celestiall fire she would runne with speed into the Quire and getting vp to the Rood lost where there was a Crucifixe she would vnnayle it from the Crosse with incredible agility Then sitting downe she would keep it in her bosome and taking of her veyles from her head she would dry with them the sweat and bloud which she seemed to see runne trickling downe from the face of her beloued Spouse And this would she do with so great feruour of spirit that the Religious who were present would feare that her hart was not able to indure such an ardent fire of loue It is an admirable thing to tell how when the Sisters had taken those veiles linnen-clothes wherewith she had performed those offices of deuotion to the Crucifix they found them so full of sweat and so very wet that it seemed as if she had held in her armes the dead Iesus in such sort as he was when in the middest of those cruell torments of the Crosse he
most gracious God those singular gifts which are deiuered in the second part that is The sacred woundes in her soule the crowne of thornes the being espoused by Iesus his hart and the participation of his diuine purity so on the other side she vnderstood that she was to be assaulted by fiue most grieuous tentations First in the points of Fayth she was to indure many difficultyes Secondly by tentations of Pride Thirdly by diuers motions of sense Fourthly she was to fall into so great obscurity of mind that she might haue run into many acts of desperation if she had not beene most vigilantly carefull And lastly the inordinate appetite and desire of meates was extremely to assault her with other tentations which were to be in a manner infinite Heereupon she sayd often afterwardes that there remayned not as it were any tentation which she had not proued and by the excessiue furiousnes thereof she suffered griefe almost insufferable But among these that sorrow was most piercing beyond al estimation which she tooke by the horrible sight o◠the Diuells who were still vnder seuerall apparences discouering and representing to her the multitude of mens enormous and shamefull sinnes Besides this she heard now and then such horrible skreaming and roring in her eares togeather with hideous blasphemyes which so possest her hearing that oftentymes she could hardly hearken to what the Religious would say vnto her Nor did those diuellish assaults giue her ouer heere for sometymes the enuious spirits would throw her downe the staires and sometyms she was cruelly bitten by thē as by so many venemous vipers whereby she suffered extreme payne When by night she would desire to repose her body it is hard to expresse in how great paine she consumed very vsually foure or fiue continued houres In this manner she passed many many monthes away so as now she was come to the 14. of her probation when on S. Margarets day of the yeare 1586. being in the Quire in celebrating the sacred Office of the Church she was rapt in spirit she vnderstood from her deere Iesus that he was pleased vntill the end of October following to ease her in som sort of those tentations So as during that tyme she was often abstracted from her senses and enriched with celestiall treasures by the vnderstanding of high Misteryes But much more was she formerly afflicted by the great feare she had least the Diuell should delude her Therefore for the securing of her that whatsoeuer happened was by the diuine Will and not accompanyed with any illusion it pleased God whilest once she was by excesse of mind transformed into him to shew her cleerely the truth of all that processe he gaue her this for a signe that she should miraculously remaine 15. dayes successiuely without taking any materiall food at all excepting only the Sundayes and Thursdayes which should occure Vpon the Thursdayes he was pleased that she should susteyne he◠selfe by a little bread and water and vpon the Sundayes by some food of Lent This she obteyning first licence of her Superiours did punctually execute At that tyme all her solace comforts were placed in the holy food of the Angels which she receaued euery morning with vnspeakable deuotion but otherwise besids the sadnes which long fasting vsually carryeth with it she was assaulted at that tyme with most furious tentations and once lying vpon a hard sacke of straw she was dragged horribly beaten by the Diuells for the space of fiue houres togeather It seemed to her then that she was sometymes cu◠in peeces sometyms so cruelly bruzed that she was forced to vtter these dolefull speaches which S. Antony vsed when he was in like manner beaten by Diuells O my Lord where art thou But afterward being eased of that agony she was liberally rewarded by Almighty God with heauenly graces She deliuereth a child possessed by a Diuell CHAP. 17. SO much was our Lord pleased to shew himselfe powerfull and wonderfull in this deere seruant of his that not only he did enrich her with many celestiall gifts made her appeare to be a heauenly spirit euen heer on earth but he would also shew his wonders by making her do those thinges which to the frailty of flesh and bloud are impossible This was made euident by many miracles that she wrought in her life tyme which as testimonyes of her sanctity are set downe in the course of this Story according to the tymes when they were wrought and the first of them was this The daughter of a Gentleman of Florence named Catharina was much afflicted by a maligne spirit which possest her body She was brought by her Mother in the yeare 1586. to this seruant of God and whilest she was speaking with her the child began to be tormented as her manner was by the Diuell in so much as through the much paine she endured she foamed aboundantly at her mouth seemed to be suffocated But as soone as Suor Maria Maddalena had in the name of God commanded the foule spirit that he should depart the child was presently freed and from that tyme forward was neuer troubled She speaketh in a Rapt to the Cardinall Archbishop of Florence who was afterwardes Pope Leo the eleuenth and by whome she was found to be sound in spirit CHAP. 18. THIS beloued soule of Iesus had vnderstood that the Cardinall Archbishop of Florence who was afterwards Pope Leo the eleuenth was desirous to speake with her of many important things when he should come vnto the Monastery about the election of a new Superiour And the Confessarius togeather with the Prioresse hauing heard therof and fearing least the Cardinal might take some disgust by somewhat that she might say they resolued to procure in dexterous manner that she might haue no occasion of speaking with him Note But to shew that no counsaile though neuer so wisely conceaued is of force against the will of God it happened directly contrary to their appointment For Suor Maria Maddalena being gone to communicate on the 29. day of September 1586. which was the day of the Cardinalls comming she was rapt in that very place where the election of the new Prioresse was to be made and she was by the spirit of God placed there with such stability as it was not possible for them by any meanes to remoue her thence And in that very place the Cardinall found her after that she had remayned there for the space of eleuen houres to whome yet in Rapt as she was she presently began to deliuer that with great zeale which our Lord had commanded her to say This was somewhat concerning the due execution of his place Wherunto the Cardinal made answere benignely according to his custome but not without great wonder And the Hymne of Veni Creator Spiritus being sung for the election of a new Prioresse she returned from her Rapt and gaue her voyce amongst the rest The ceremony being ended the