B L E S S E D G A B R I E L , O F O U R LA D Y O F S O R R O W S .

T h e Life o f Ble s s e d G a b rie l

o f Ou r ‘

La d y o f S o r r o ws
GAB R EL I PO S S EN TI

of th e Co n g re ga t io n of the P a Ss io n ,

Beg u n éy
REV H Y AC I N T H
.
H
I
AG E C P , , . .

Rewr i t tefz a nd Enl a rg ed

By
REV N I C H O LAS
.
W AR D C P , . .

W I TH AN IN TRO D UC TION B Y C ARD IN AL GIBBON S .

W h o is th e Ang l t h a t with e '

so m u ch j oy ,

In t o th ey e
e s is i oo k i n g
’

of o u r ! u ee n,

En a m o edr so th a t h e s ee m s m ad e of fi re P
DAN T B S PARADIS O , C AN T O xxxi
’
.
, to} .

s UPERIOR UM PERM IS S U .

P H ILAD ELP H IA
H . L . KILN ER Co .

PU BLIS H ERS .
p ermis s u S u perioru m:
STAN IS LAUS GRENNAN ,

P r ov i n ci a l i s, C P.
‘

mu mM is tat
JACOBUS F LO U GH LI N , S T D
. . . .

Cen sor Li ér or u m .

1! mpt tma tu r
PAT RI PI US JOANN ES
'

Ar c/2221 ) P fi zl a a ellé fiien

’
’
. .

! CI A2 5 9 8 2 8
.

Copy righ t, 1 9 1 0, by H L . . KI LN ER Co
.
 Pl a n o f W o rk .

S EC U LA R LIF E .

C hil dho od .

Youth .

Vocation .

RELI GIO US L I FE .

Novitiat e .

Scholasticate .

W O RK OF PER FECTIO N .

C ardinal Virtu es .

T e m p e ra n c e ,

Justic e ,

Fortitu d e,

Pru de nc e .

T heologica l Vi rtu e s .

Faith Hope Cha ri ty , , .

M EAN S OF PE R FE CTIO N .

Evang lical Couns ls

e e .

M n tal Pray r
e e

D votion to Passion D voti o

e
, e n to M a ry ,
C ommunion o f S aints .

C ON S UM MATIO N IN D EA TH .

G LO R I F I CATIO N
I ntr oduc tion o f C aus e Voic e from H eaven ,
,

Judgm e nt o f C hu r ch .

Bea tifica ti on.

 Pro t e st a t io n

TH E following pages are the res u lt of a lo n g

and loving study of all the biogra phical material
in French and Italian but the volume is founded
principally upon th e s worn d e pos 1 ti o n s con tained
in t h e E piscopal and A postolical Proc esses .

It mus t be specially noted that every tes timony

quoted and every instance of miracle or prodigy
,

related are faithful extracts fro m those offi cial

,

documents .

Mindful ho we v er of the dec ree of U rban VIII ,

I here by d isclaim any Intention of antici pating

the final j u dgment o f the Church concerni n g this
accoun t o f the life virtues or miracles of the ,

BI S ervant of Go d Gabriel of the Virgin of

.
,

D olors T his pu blic and offi cial judgment h as

.

already b ee n commenced by the promulgati on ,

of the decree of his solemn b ea t i fi ca tion in S t

’
Peter s Rome on May 3 1 1 9 08 and it will be
, , , ,

com pleted on the day Of his future canoniz ation ,

Whenever God Wills .

NI C H O L A S W ARD C
, . P .

S t M i ch a el
.
’
s M on a s ter y ,

Wes t H obok en ,
'

N . J .

(4 )
 CONTENTS .

CR AP . P AGE
I NT R OD U CTI ON BY CARD I NAL GI BBO NS
BIR T H A ND PA RENTAG E
CH IL DHOOD
YO UTH A ND S C HOO L LI FE
,

R ELI G I O U S VOC AT I ON
H IS J O U RN E Y TO T H E NOVITIAT E
LI F E I N T H E NO VIT IAT E
H IS A FFE CTIO N S S PIRI TU ALI ! E D
H IS C LER I CA L S TU D IES
T H E S TR U GG LE FOR PER F ECTI ON
T EM PERAN C E A ND MO RTI F I CATIO N
C H AST IT Y
H IS HU M ILI TY
H IS M EEK N ESS .

H IS C H EE R FU LN ESS
.

H IS S PIRIT O F RELI GIO N

H Is RE G U LARIT Y
'

H IS S PIRITU AL C O U R A G E
H IS P R U D EN C E
H IS S PIRI T O F FAI T H
H IS L IVEL Y H O PE
H IS ARD ENT C H ARIT Y
H IS LO VE O F GOD
T H E EVA NG ELI C AL C O U N SELS
H IS S PIRIT O F P RAY ER
H IS D EV OTI ON T O T H E PASSI O N
H IS D EV O TIO N T O M AR Y

5
6 C O N TE N T S

C R AP PA G E
.

OT HER S PEC I A L D EVOTIO N S

H IS LAS T I L LN ESS
H IS H OL Y D EAT H
H IS GR OW I N G FA M E
O UR LATES T W ONDER W O R K E R
-

W H AT G A BR IEL H AS DON E F O R I SOLA

H IS S OL E M N B EATI F I C ATIO N

I LLUS TR ATI ON S
PA G E

B LESS ED GA BR I E L O F OUR LADY O F S O RR O W S I V

PASSIO N IS T M ON AS T ER Y M O RR OVAL L E 58 v

B LESSE D G A BR IEL K N EELI NG B E FO R E O U R LADY O F S O R RO W S 206

N EW T O M B O F B LESSE D GA BR IE L 250 V

B L ESS ED GA BR IEL I N G LO RY 29 2
 Introdu c tion .

MERE natural virtue, however e xcell ent and

prai s eworthy ca n never raise m a n to t h e sub
,

lime perfection which is the end Of hi s creation .

’
D ivine faith and grace joined with man s co Oper a
tion alone justi fy the so u l unto eternal salvation
,
.

“
If thou wil t enter into lif e keep the command ,

a nd the fir st and the

”
ments (M att xix . .

greatest commandment is : Thou shalt love the

”
Lord thy God with thy whole heart (Mark .

xi i Matt xxii )
,
.N o other plan of sa lvation has
.

God ever given either in the Ol d di spensation or

,

in the new To facili tate the road to thi s per

‘
.

fecti on Christ gave Hi s disciples the evangelical

,

counsels of poverty continency and obe di ence , ,

and when accepted as ir revocable obligations ,

they place the disciple in a new state of life ,

which is therefore the state of perfection ,

If .

thou wilt be perfect said C hr ist to the young ,

man go sell what thou has t and give to the

, ,

poor and thou shalt have treasure in heaven

, ,
”
and come follow Me (Matt xix
,
It was . . .

from among those who had left all thi ngs to

follow Him that He chose His apostles Here
,
.

unto likewise He invited Christians In every age

, ,
“
when he said : E very one that hath left house
(7)
8 I N TR ODU C TI ON .

or brethren or sisters or father or mother o r

, ,

wife or children or lands for My name s sake ’

,

shall receive a hundredfold and shall possess life

,
”
everlasting (Matt xix In these passages '

. . .

of the gospel Christian tradition has ever seen

,

the institutio n of the state of perfecti on which ,

the Church of God has prudently adapted to the

circumstances of pl ace and time embodying it in ,

various rules and constitutions just as she has ,

acted with relation to the sacraments surround ,

ing them with appropriate rites and ceremo n ies .

Thus were the different form s of the religious

life introduced : eremitic and monastic clerical ,

and lay ; wherein a steadily increasing number

of Christians male and female dedicated them
, ,

sel ves to the exercises of the contemplative or

active life A part from this variety of forms
.
,

one thing ever remained com mon to all as the ,

very essence o f the state of perfection namely ,

an irrevocable profession of the three evangelical

counsels whereby t h e s t a te of perfection became
,
'

synonymou s w ith the religious state and t hose ,

wh o professed it became r el i gi ou s properly S O

called .

From the earliest times t oo the Church a c , ,

c e t e d this profession in God s name regarded

’
p ,

the whole religious life as a state of con se cra

tion and those that belonged to it as sacred : i n
,

somuch that the same canon law that pro tected

’
the Church s m l n l s ter s from violence also s afe
 I N TR O D UC TI ON . 9

guarded the religious and rendered him that

,

profaned the person of a religious or a cleric ,

equally guilty of sacrilege .

S o complete I s the sacrifice implied by t h e r e

l ig i o u s profession that the early fathers have
,

compared it to a holocaust the v ictim of which

,

dies to the world t o live o n ly for God The .

world assumes that such self annihil ation 1 s of

-

“
no publ ic utility : but if the grain o f wheat
fa lling i nto the ground die it bringeth forth
,

much fruit and every unpreju diced observer

”
,

may infer the rich harvest of b en efi ce n t works

accruin g to the general public from religious in
the past from what is now accomplished by the
,

numerous r eligious i nstitutions that dot the fair

terri t ory of these U nited S tates .

In the life of the youthful Passi onist now pre

sented for the first t ime to American readers ,

the excellence of the religious state is plainly set

forth in a more than ordinary degree A child .

of our o w n times whose days barely cover

,

twenty four years of the middle of this expiring

-

century t h e sancti ty of the RI Gabriel Pos

, .
-

senti has been made illustrious by the wonders

wrought at his grave since 1 8 9 2 His early life .

presents this unique feature that it contained

,

no presage of h i s future holiness until he crossed

the threshold Of his Cloister home The five -
.

S hort years in which the work o f his spiritual

perfection was accomplished were spent in th e

,
10 I NT R OD UC T I ON .

obscurity of the retreat d evoted to the perform ,

ance of common duties as if God wished to em ,

h a s i z e onc e more in the eyes of the world th e

p ,

sanctifying effi cacy of the religious state .

Moved by these considerations no sooner was ,

the extraordinary virtue Of this S ervant of

God brought to my notice than I conceived for
’

the youthful hero a love and admiration w hi ch

were but the outcome of my profound esteem
for the religious state I recall with pleasure
.

that in 1 895 together with ou r illustrious breth

,

ren i n the S acred Coll eg e Ca r d in a l Parocchi of ,

‘

R ome and Cardinal Vaughan of L ondon I was

, ,

o n e of the three bishops who first petitioned the

'

Holy S ee for Gabriel s b ea tifi c a ti on I then rep

’
.

“
resen ted to the S overeign Pontiff what honor
would thereby accrue to the Church what salu ,

tary profit to Christian people and especially ,

what assistance to youth so sorely straightened ,

”
in these days by the spirit of wickedness (E pis .

tola Postulat Aug 4 th

,
.S imiliar petition s
,

have since been forwarded t o the Holy Father

by twenty nine cardinals and as man y arch
-
,

bishops and bishops ; and now that the petition

has been granted we gladly introduce to the
,
“
public this L ife of the Venerable Gabriel of ,
”
the Passionist Congregation .

B esides this little volume is a new departure

,

in hagiography and one to be commended A

,
.

g la nce at the fundamental plan which under lies

 I N TR ODUCTI ON . 11

the work will reveal the object of th e author .

After the h istorical portion that leads up to

Gabriel s correspondence t o his religious voca
’
.

tion we follow step by step the development of

, ,

his interior perfection Helped by divine grace

.
,

and guided by a wise and prudent director the ,

young religious applies himself first to overcome

the passions of r ebellious nature passing thence ,

to the acquisition of the moral virtues that form

the character of the man Thus we come to .

sympathize with Gabriel as a brother before we ,

are consciously drawn to admire and imitate

the saint The heart being thus purified and
.

strengthened free scope is given t o the opera

,

tions of grace which works by faith hope and

, ,

charity unto the perfect union with God wherein

,

consists our supreme perfection Then only are .

we shown h o w marvelously this work was fos

t er e d by the means proper to the state of per fec
tion, until we see its consummation in a holy
death and its wonderfu l sanction by the voice
,

of heaven .

Whi lst showing the excellence of the religious

life it is hoped that this little book will be an
,

encouragement to those whose vocation is in the

world showing them that holiness is not to be
,

sought for in wonderful deeds but rather in the ,

ordinary duties of life when sanctified by the

love of God : in this alone, es s en ti a l p erfecti on
consists .
12 I N TR ODUCTI ON .

To those who overestimate the value of moral

virtue it will show that this is only con s equ en t
,

p fi e eeti on
; that is valuable,
only III proportion

t o the amount of grace and divine charity that

animates it ; bereft of which the most h er o IC
“

deeds are deserving only of human praise and an ,

earthly reward .

L et us a dd in conclusion that for th ose more

, ,

privileged souls who live in the C loister this ,

little book w ill be a gentle reminder that the r e

l ig i ou s state as such is not ready made sanctity
, ,
-

put on with the religious habit but only a means ,

( i n s tr u m en ta l
p rf
e ec ti on as theologians
,
call it )
to be used u nto an end the acquisition of vir —

tue .

J CA RD GI BB ON S . . .

Ba lti m or e, Fea s t f
o S e Al oy s iu s ,
. 1 899 .
14
'

LI F E OF B LESSED GAB RIEL .

th e constell ation which h a s made this province

the land o f sweetest saints The late bishop of .

A ssisi Ni ca n or Priori a truly holy man wrote

, ,

E ven as this city in t h e most troublous times ,

o f the churc h bro u gh t forth the B lessed Francis

,

and other men of great holiness forechosen of

Go d that by their splendor and example they
,

might enkindle the faith purify the morals and , ,

by the foolishness o f the cross confound the wis

d om of the w orld even s o in these latter and ,
-

more evil times did it gi ve bir th to another ,

Francis surnamed Possenti (and afterward

,

amo n g the Fathers of the Passion Gabriel of the

S orrowful Virgin ) who hav ing followed the ,
—

example of the first sho wed himself principally ,

t o th e young a despiser of the world a follower

, ,

of all good works and an ardent lover of the

‘

,
”
Cross of Chris t .

His father S ante Possenti was a lawyer of ex

, ,

c e pt i on a l talent wh o during his long life o f

,

eighty t w o years deserved well of his native

-
,

land When barely twenty t wo years ol d Signor

.
-
,

Possenti was appointe d governor of U rbania In

R omagna He was continued in this o ffice i n
.

various places with successive promotion by five

, ,

Popes until in 1 8 4 2 Gregory XV I nominated

, ,
.

him Grand A ssessor o f S poleto in which capacity ,

he continued to serve his country u p to the date

of his retirement from public life in 1 85 8 .

His mother belonged t o on e o f the most con

 B IRT H A N D P A REN TAG E . 15

families o f Civitanova in the Marches ;

s pi cu ou s

but the distinctio n s of fortune and birth were e u

hanced in her by a treasure far m ore precious
and praiseworthy the blessing o f a lively faith
—
,

s hining forth in works of charity and religion .

The union of this distinguished couple was a

happy one and God blessed them with a numer
,

ous family thirteen in all four of whom received

, ,

the crown of innocence in their tender years all ,

the rest walked in the footsteps of their holy

parents t wo being raised t o the prie s thood ;
,

while Francis the eleventh Of their children was

, ,

destined to be the brightest gem in the diadem

Of their paren tal love Happy the parents of .

virtuous children ! blessed the children of true

Christian parents
Following the laudable custom of Catholic .

countries Francis was baptized on th e v er y day

, '

of his birth a n d by a gracious dispensation of

,

Providence he was regenerated at the same font

,

where eight hundred years before the glorious , ,

patriarch of Assisi S t Francis had been born,

.
,

t o grace O ur little Francis was entrusted to a

.

nurse during the first year of his life on account ,

of the delicate health o f his good mother but on ,

his father receiving the appointment of Governor

of Montalto in 1 8 3 9 t h e child was restored to his
,

family The official duties of the father as well

.
,

as the frequent changes of residence implied in

his various appointments left him but little time ,
16 LI F E OF B LE SS ED GAB RIEL .

to share either the burdens or pleasures of home

‘

l ife ; but his devoted wife consecrated herself

“

with all the greater solicitude t o the Christian

education of her children ; and already at so ten
der an age she began to a r Ou se in Fran cesco s i n
,
’

fant soul the first awakenings of the faith and

,

grace of his holy ba ptism .

A t last the day dawned when in consequence

of S ignor P o s sen ti s appointment to S poleto the
’
,

loving parents might hope t o live henceforth u n

disturbed i h a permanent home B ut alas .
,

hardly had a few months passed by when one of

the children R ose only seven months old took
, , ,

her fligh t to join her two angel brothers Paul

an d L ouis in heaven ; then a few week s later
, , ,

Adel e a lovely maiden of nine summers passed

, ,

a way ; and finally after a melancholy interval of

a few weeks the bereaved family in deep m ourn

,

ing and sorrow laid the mortal remains of the ir

beloved mother to rest Agnes Fr i s ci otti Pos .
—

senti young in years but rich in merits died

, ,

February 9 1 84 2 S he sleeps in the church of

,
.

t h e O ratorians a t S poleto waiting fo r the day

when she will shine before the world as th e

a sain t
o
n ot/t ee (
y
“
:
.
 C H ILD H OO D . 17

C H ILD H O O D .

GO D S providence has its mysterious ways

’
,

the cross mus t try and perfect h i s elect The .

widowed father bowed his head in tearful r es ig

nation then with the solicitude o f a mother and
'

the fortitude of a Christian he looked duty in ,

the face undaunted S urrounded by a family of

.

nine children the d u ti es of his important office

,

hardly left him time t o sit at table I n their

midst ; so at last he resolved to entrust the gov
,

e rn m e n t of his household as well as the care of ,

the famil y to a respectable and experienced lady

,

named P a c i fi ca The imputation of harshness

.

whi ch we find recorded of her may well be ex

c u se d o n the score of necess ity if we consider ,

the age and number of the boys and girls com

m i t t ed to her ch arge ; while time and results
proved that S ignor Possenti had n ot been mis
taken i h his choice and the affection and respect
,

ever shown her in after life by his family well -

,

attest h o w worthy she was of the absolute confi

dence placed in her None however cherished .
, ,

a more grateful remembrance of her than

Francis as his letters amply attest
,
.
18 LI F E OF B LES SED GAB RIEL .

A t the very outset we might as well inform

,

our rea ders that the child whose life story we

, ,
-

have undertaken did n ot in his early years man

,

i fes t any o f those extraordinary sign s o f preco

cions holiness so often found in the lives of the
saints In fact Francis was if anything more
.
, , ,

lively than any of his brothers and Sisters and ,

as he grew up his gay and sym pathetic nature

,

brought more than its expected share to the noise

and bustle Of the Possenti mansion Then too .
, ,

ou r hero was not without his faults He began .

to show unmistakable signs of anger giddiness , ,

and disobedience The impetuosity of his nature

.

would Often break ou t in fits of passion which it ,

was n o easy matter for h im to control His .

earliest biographer states that when corrected by

his father Francesco would give way to his
,

angry feelings his face would become inflamed

,

with the violence of his unruly temper and he ,

would leave the company abruptly B ut the .

flame would subside almost as quickly as it had

been enkindled ; his better nature would assert
itself and then it was beautiful to see him after
,

the absence of a few moments return to his ,

father weeping and confused beggin g pardon

, ,

for his hastiness B ut his father would pretend

.

n ot t o care fo r t hi s change of feeling and would ,

“
dismiss h i m saying ,
Francesco what I want , ,
”
is that y ou learn t o behave yourself Then .

would the boy throw h i mself upon his father s ’

 C H ILD H O O D . 19

neck embrace and kiss him until the parent con

, , ,

quered and moved would assure his son that he

,

loved his dear little Francesco still B lessed the .

s on who learns betimes to revere and love h i s

father ! Filial affection will mould his character

into manliness more effect u all y than the rod : the
human reason unfolds only in the light of reason ,

the human heart is conquered onl y by the con

v i cti on o f love
’

S ignor Possenti had not been slow t o realize

that his paternal admonitions even when em ph a ,

sized i n his absence by a watchful and d evot e d

governess would hardly prove a su fli c i en t aid
,

and safeguard for his growing sons ; so a tutor

was selected for them a young cleric of piety
,

and ability wh o should be to them an e xper i

,

e n ce d friend and constant compan ion guidi n g ,

them in their studies and associating with them

in all their recreations S uch a measure ma y
.

appear strange to our American ideas Of self

educatio n bu t it was a custom among families of
,

rank and consideration in other days and other

lands ; and it will hardly be denied that habitua l
intercourse with a more trained and m ature c om
panion is likely to form a more manly character
in the young than if they grew up with those of
,

their own age and tastes and dispositions H o w

, ,
.

ever i t is n ot ou r object to become the advocate

,

of any system depending as it must needs do so

, ,

largely upon n ationa l tra its an d loca l circum

 0 LI F E OF B LESSED GAB RIEL .

stances ; suffice it to say that a worthy and con

genial com panion was provided fo r the youn g
.
,

sons of S ignor Possenti in the person of Philip

Fabi When he wa s installed in his new office
‘

he was ten years older than Fr a n Ci s and sur ,

v i v e d him by many years B y reason therefore

.

of his close inti macy he b e came a valuable wit ,

ness to his pupi l s conduct as a secular when th e

’
,

juridical processes w ere set o n foot .

Fabi s task was by no mean s easy About this

’
.

time we are told, that F r a n ces co s ch aracter was

,
’

very chang eable ; all inclined t o piety on e d a y ,

and on th e morrow equally given up to wor l d l i

ness : now all studiousness and fervor then all ,

tepidity and languor Yet in the midst of this .

,

fi ck l en ess his piety would burst into sudden

,

flame revealing the fire of virtue that lay s m ou l

,

dering in his heart .

L e t it not be supposed however that it wa s , ,

S ignor P o s s en t i s intention to give a private

’

tuition to his sons : he was fully aware of the

blessing of public education and as the first mag ,

i s tr a t e of the city he was t oo public spirited to

,
-

seek any for his boys but the comm on schools ;

he feared fo r them n ot their contact with the
,

poor b u t the contamination of the wicked ; and

,

the advantages Of select schools were far ou t

weighed i n his mind by the dem ocratic idea of
spirited emulati on with talent and merit , in ,

whatever Class of society they might be found .

 2 LI F E OF B LESSED GAB RIEL .

statue placed over the entrance l a sa n ti s s i m a ,

Ver gi n e d el P or ti co as it was called ,

My .

brother s moral conduct w a s ever unblemished

’
,

writes his D ominican brother Louis (who had , ,

lived with Francis until the latter had reached

his twelfth year ) yet I remember that when he
was very young he was not very strict in the
custody of his eyes ; it seems that little Fran
cesco was a trifle too wide awake ; he thought it -

hi s prerogative t o gratify his natural curiosity

in seeing and knowing all things .

“
Then too healthy boys are partial to fruits
, ,

and sweets of a ll kinds and ou r Francis was by ,

no means an exception t o the rule ; but his

generous nature would n ot enjoy what he could
n ot share with others ; and his sense o f honesty

was t oo deep rooted t o allow of his ever a p

-

r o r ia tin
p p g anythi n g whatsoever that was not
his o wn The little fellow was besides full of
.
, ,

courage He could n ot bear t o see any one

.

su ffering unjustly and full often h e championed

,

the cause of those older than h imself if they ,

happened to be reprimanded or punished without

reason B ut on the other hand his sense of
. .

justice would not allow t o pass u nnoticed any

fault whether in the domestics his brothers and ,

sisters or his companions ; he was outspoken

, ,

perhaps even forward but it was n ot hard to see

,

that all this came from the uprightness of an

honest heart .
 C H ILD H O O D . 23

O n the whole Francis was both the terror and

,

the favorite of t h e home whilst his playful dis

,

position made him a welcome companion to all

his schoolmates U sually rather careless about
.

his personal appearance he was n o t exempt from

,

a tinge of vanity ; still his heart was too mag

n a n i m ou s to receive any lasting I mpressio n from

any kind of vulgar worldly show : with the same

facility with which his eye would take to s u ch
things he would put them aside and sometimes
,
.

disregard them with contempt saying : C after , ,

all what do I care

,

This nobility of character wa s n ot entirely

due t o the watchfulness Of P a ci fi ca or to the ,

influence of the good B rothers at school most of ,

it must be credit ed to S ignor Possen ti h imself in ,

so many respects a model Christian fath er This .

go od man yielded to no o n e his place as the

effective leader and teacher of his children and ,

he walked before them both by precept and

example .

S ignor Possenti was a man of piety and faith ,

and with the exercise Of h i s religion he allowed

nothing to interfere R ising early in the morn
.

ing he began the day by devotin g an entire hour

,

to h i s morning devotions He would afterward

.

repair to the church t o hear Holy Mass taking ,

with him most o f his children Then relying on .

,

the assistance of God and strengthened by the

,

testimony o f a good conscience he would turn ,

24 LI F E OF B LESSED G AB RIEL .

his a t ten tl on to his judicial duties This good .

Christian had like wise a remarkable love for the

poor : both Officially and privately he exerted
himself to relieve their necessities and he bene
“
,

fi t e d by every occasion not only to perform an

,

a c t of charity but t o instil into the hearts of his

,

children a practical sympathy for the suffering

members of Christ To the fathe r s great delight
.
’
,

Francis learned the lessons of charity at the cost

of personal self denial
-
From his earliest years
.

the boy showed great compassion for the poor ,

often giving away half of his lunch during th e

recess at school R eturnin g home if he h a p
.
,

pened to meet some unfortunate creature whose

misery moved him to pity h e would go at once,

to P a cifi ca and ask for bread ; but it sometimes

,
’
happened that the good woman s generosity was
n o t all commensurate with the demands tha t

Francis saw fit to levy upon it ; then would our

“
young hero remonstrate with her saying : Why ! ,

father Wants us to be charitable ; we

’
ought not to d e s pl s e the poor for we don t know
,

what we may on e day be ourselves In the .

evening after the labors of the w ell filled day

,
-
,

S ignor Possenti was accustomed to gather his

sons and d au ghters in his room and after the ,

recitation of the rosary in common hold with ,

them such converse as was appropriate to their

age and their needs In the intimacy of such
.

conversations he would open his heart to them ,

 C H ILD H OO D . 25

incul cating those Christian principles wise coun ,

sels and useful maxims that were t o guide them

, ,

on the path of life ; he would speak to them of

their duties toward God of the respect and
,

gratitude we o we t o His Church of the obedience

,

commanded by parental authority ; above all he ,

would inveigh with all the warmth of his a ffec

tion against the dangers of bad company and ,

impres s upon his children s minds the vanity Of

’
f

the world and everything In it Then having

,
.

received the blessing of such a noble Christian

father t h ey would retire to rest Truly did the
, .

parental blessing rest upon his family ; tr u ly by

such a blameless life di d S ante Possenti deserve
the love of hi s children and the glorious title of
,

bei n g tit e f a tit er of a s a i n t

 LI F E OF B LESSED GAB RIEL —
.

Y O UT H . AN D S C H O O L LI F E .

I N 1 8 23 Cardinal della Genga a native of ,

S poleto ascended the papal throne under the

name of L eo X II and on e of the first things
.
,

that claimed hi s attention and solicitude was to

provide for the youth of his native city the very
best of educators Instruction is n ot education :
.

the latter term implies the formation of the heart

as well as the cultivation o f the mind ; and it
must be remembered in the words of a solid
thinker of o u r o w n day that the teacher s per ’

s on a l i ty far more than his learning determines

, ,

his value as an educator Thus the two great .

1

teachin g orders of the Church came to S poleto ,

the sons of L a S alle and of L oyola the Christian ,

B rothers and the Jesuits U nder the patronage .

of A rchbishop Mastai Ferretti (afterward Pius —

I X ) the Fathers o f the S ociety flourished so

.
,

that when in 1 8 4 2 the Possenti family was

,

established at S poleto their college was already

,

illustrious by the fame o f its professors and the

n umber o f its students .

S ignor Posse nti who was highly cultured

,

1 L if and Education C hap vi

e . . . B
( p . Spalding of P oria e ,
 Y O UT H A N D SC H O O L LI F E . 27

himself rejoiced at this opportunity of affording

,

his sons a liberal edu cation and in 1 8 4 9 it came

,

t o pass that h aving finished his elementary course

of instruction with the good B rothers ou r ,

Francis followed his elder brothers to the Jesuit

College until he graduated in philosophy at the
,

age of ei ghteen U nder such accomplished

.

masters Francis made rapid progress in secular

,

a s well as sacred knowledge His success in his

'
-

studies may be gauged by his acknowledged

talent and from the honorable place accorded
,
’

him in public examinations His name is often .

mentioned in the pr ograms which it was usual to

“ ”
print at the D istribution of Pr emiums His .

brother Henry say s that the prize in philosophy

was awarded t o him and his Sister Teresa is ,

still in possession of a medal of honor won

“ ”

by Francis at the end of the scholastic course ,

when such distinctions were far from being

co m mon .

O ur young hero had a bri ght and open mind

together with a tenacious memory He wa s .

certainly one of the aptest scholars writes his ,

professor o f mental philosophy ; and on e of his

companions his senior in the Passionist novitiate
, ,

attests that he must have gone through his studies

with great success judging from the knowledge
,

with which he was well furnished

Al l this however was enhanced in Francis
, ,

by external qualities that made his talents more

28 LI F E OF B LESSED GA B RIEL .

valuable still His directors used to select him

.

as pu blic reader both fo r the sodality and in the

college chu rch when the catechism took place
,

there on festivals N 0 on e could surpass him in

.

this exercise both for readiness and inborn grace

,

ful ness Nature had endowed him with a clear

.

and sonorous voice and while reading he was so ,

penetrated with the author s meani ng that he ’

seemed less to repeat the se n timents of others

than to express his own Hence many foresaw .

in him the valiant missionary recognizing in the ,

graceful reader the gifts of the distinguished

,

p reacher He succeeded
. eq ually well in the aca
demic dissertations and the classic authors all ,

which he would read with such feeling and nat

u r a l n ess that it almost seemed original declama

tion S uch is the testimony of Canon B onaccia

.

his college companion A s years went o u it b e

'
‘

,
.

came evident to all that Francis Possenti was ,

one of those wh o gave well grounded hopes of -

brilliant success in his future career whatever ,

that professional career might be .

While commanding admira tion his natural ,

distinction offended nobody because his frank , ,

noble and generous d isposition dre w all to him ,

and s u rrounded h i m with the sweet halo of a fi e c

tion and esteem A nd n o wonder for ever smil
.
, ,

ing kind and obliging t o all respectful to his

, ,

superiors he became the favorite of the S pol eta n

,

Colleg e as he was the sunshine of his o wn home

,
.
30 LI F E OF B LESSED GA B RIE L .

S uccess in these soir ees and the priv a te theatric

,

als which often formed th eir most prominent

,

feature increased in the heart Of Francis a love

,

fo r the stage The brilliancy Of the illuminated

.

t hea t re the splendid assembly the realistic s e en

, ,

ery and dramatic action the symphony of the ,

orchestra and the singing of the artists render

i n g the grand opera Of the Itali an masters all ,
—

these had for him a fascination of which he was

l ess consciou s than those w h o Observed him
closely Whatever m a y be said theoretically of
.

the stag e as a factor in popular education are ,

n ot its advantages outweighed by its dangers ,

especially t o the young

To these dan gers the boy added another and
, ,

on e which prove s most hurtful to a very large

number ; he took t o the readin g of novels and

romances N ot that he ever took into his hands
.

the vile literature that a wakens and i n fl a m es t h e

impure passions ; indeed the press and the stage,

were under strict surveillan ce in the pon tifi ca l

domain ; and we must add that such was Fran
c e s c o s wisdom and p rudence that he would fr e
’
,

quent no place nor read any book without the

,

knowledge o f his father However the effects .

,

o f the worldly spirit which was insinuating itself

into his s on can hardly have escaped the vigilant

,

eye of S ignor Possenti ; still less those of his

zeal ous teachers whose prudence could n ot so
,

easily be blinded by affection in fact it became ,

 Y OUT H A N D S C H O OL L I F E . 31

evident to his companions P a r en z i writes .

Francis had an ardent temperament much i n

c l i n e d t o pastimes The last t w o years he s pent
.

at S poleto he gave himself up to a life of amuse

,

ment ; he was fond of the theatre the drawing ,

room and the dance showing in his dress and

,

manner a marked degree of downrigh t va ni ty .

“
He was naturally disposed to noble deeds ,

writes B onaccia his e nthusiastic companion but

, ,

the beauty of h is soul was clouded by levity and

vanity And why seek to conceal it Francesco
.

showed himself extravagant in hi s dr ess which ,

had to be in the latest fashion his hair was care ,

ful ly parted and perfumed the least stain on hi s

,

clothes would m ake him indignant ; he was im

moderately fond of company and taken up with
frivolities ; this was the predominant passion of
”
h is youth . Yet this worldliness did n ot pr o
,
'
c eed from a soft e fl em i n a t e nature fo r Francis
, ,

was ever a b oy among boys always at home in a ,

crowd of jovi al compani ons ; the vanity and ex

t ra v a g a n ce of which we have spoken above h e ,

came noticeable only during the last peri od of

his college life ; and eve n then only on those ,

occasions (frequent though they were) when h e

”
appeared in society A t other times like other
.
,

boys he was rather negligent in his dress and

, ,

ready to take a leading p a rt in every manl y

.

game and recreation The S pol e ta n lads enjoyed

.

walks over the hill s that encircle the city and ,

32 LI F E OF B LESSED G AB RIEL .

when th e season permitted they w ould shoulder ,

their guns and attired in corduroy (somewhat

,

after ou r football fashion) they would spend th e

day in the woods .

If athletic sports like everything human are

, ,

accompanied with some dangers their i n con v e n ,

i e n c es a re more than counterbalanced by the a d

vantage s they procure and n ot the least of these,

is that they are a w holesome salt against moral

corruption by spending in healthy exercise the
,

animal Spirits of ardent youth a n d training the ,

boy into self control and self possession

-
How -
.

many o we to a g reat extent the chastity of their

body and the purity of their soul to this disci
pline of th e fl es h ‘

A lbeit that Francis was fond Of appearin g in

”
society writes his brother H enry who lived
,
,

eighteen years with him he never failed in that ,

m o d e s ty a n d reserve which he had learned from

,

ou r good parents
”
B oys are fair j udges of one
.

another : the freedom with which they treat each

other gives them a clearer insight into one a n
,

other s souls than could be h a d by either parents

’
,
’
or teachers Yet neither Francesco s brothers
.
,

n or the companions of his school days ever wit -

,

n es s e d anything in h i s con d uct that even savored

o f i n delicacy B ut our young hero strove to

.

merit the protection of heaven in t h e midst o f ,

his dangers He was a strict Observer of all his

.

practices of pi ety ; never did he neglect his daily

 Y O UT H A N D SC H O O L LI F E . 33

devotions ; every morning he assisted at the

Holy S acrifice Of the Mass ; he did not fail to
visit the Blessed S acrament frequently ; showed
a particul ar devotion t o the S acred Passion of
our R edeemer and recited the rosary of ou r
,

L ady every night Join to this his frequent r e

.
,

c e t i on Of the Holy S acraments and the evident

p
fervor of his dispositions testified t o by his
,

brother Henry and some of his companions .

S till this conduct howe ver exemplary would

, , ,

n ot have saved hi m fr om eventual ruin ; for dur

ing the last years of his secular life the youth

was evidently playing with danger trifling with ,

grace ; and the abnormal mixture of worl di n e s s

with devotion could n ot go on indefinitely Cer .

” “
tainly remarks his first biographer if such a
, ,

mode of life were longer to continue the world ,

would ultimately have pre vailed and great ,

”
would have been its conquest .
34 LI F E OF B LESSED G AB RIEL .

H IS RELI G I O US V O C A TI ON .

IT i s but natural for a youth with life and

prospects before him to cast his glance U pon the
world and make his plans ; it is but the noble
ambition of a man on the verge of the social
battlefield to ask himself where is his post of
duty ; it is but meet for a Christia n b oy a n x
i o u sl y to pray and seek for counsel that he may
’
know God s will and fulfil h i s mission
, .

A nd yet of that future n o w so near at han d ,

Francis did not even seem to think ; for his

career he manifested no concern : but in truth
this was the only th ing over which his candid
!
,

nature drew the veil of secrecy even with his ,

most trusted friends H ad they but known !

.

O ur Francis w a s n ot indiff erent to his

future prospects : he felt that the L ord Himself
was asking for the complete sacrifice of his
heart that a career more glorious than worldl y
,

h eroes dream of was marked ou t for h im

,
H ow .

”
m any times writes B onaccia
,
do I remember
,

seei ng him during h i s thanksgiving after commun

i on his head bowed in deepest reverence his
, ,

hands clasped his eyes moist with silent tea rs

, ,
 H I S RELI GI O US V O C A TI ON . 35

as if he were pondering over some great thought ,

”
and maturing with Go d some great design .

’
The truth is that a struggle of some years
standing was going on in his heart and in pr o ,

portion to his seeming unfaithfulness to grace

his vocation all the more clearly revealed itself :
’
b e wh o watched over Francesco s soul as its
Master constantly reminded him of his duty ,

while b e protected him from serio u s danger .

Th e first warning cam e u nder the form of a

grievous sickness which brought h im to death s ’

door In his distress the child felt inspired to

.
,

have recourse to God through O ur L ady s i nter ’

cession promising that i f she obtained his cure

, ,

he would spend the rest of his life in a religious

order The promise was seemingly accepted for
.
,

he rapidl y recovered and from that hour he eu

,

joyed greater health and strength than ever b e

fore B ut his cure led to nothing defin ite : he
.

a llowed the grace that he received to become

barren After the lapse of Some years Francis

.
,

was roused from his apathy when the L ord

a flfli ct e d him a second time He was suffering .

from a severe inflammation of th e t h r o a t acute

laryngitis O ne night the inflammation became
.

so great that respiration was failing and feeli ng ,

that he was smothering without the ability t o ,

help himself or even cry for the assistance of

others he thought he was about to die S ud
,
.

d e n l y he r emembered a picture o f the Jesuit

36 LI F E OF B LESSED GAB RI EL .

martyr B lessed A ndrew B obola which he r e ,

ce i v e d from one o f his masters He a t once .

wrapped the picture round his neck begging A l —

,

mighty God through the merits of his servant t o

, ,

rescue him from his peril and solemnly renewing ,

his promise to become a religious Presently he

fell into a gentle slumber and aw
.

oke in the ,

morning cured The inflammation n ot onl y sub

.

sided but had almost completely disappeared ;

,

his breathing was easy and on the picture of the

,

saint there was a stai n of matter as it were a ,

token of the favor bestowed Thi s time hi s .

mind was made up he presented hi mself to the

Father Provincial of the Jesuits asking to be r e ,

cei v e d into the S ociety and hi s re q uest was

,

granted B ut alas from day to day he deferred

.
,

the fulfilment of his prom i se until truth to say , ,

Francis was once more under the spell of the

secular world with all its works and pomps He .

did n ot indeed positively contradict God s in

,
’

spirations ; n ot for a moment did he doubt his

vocation but he was ever pu t ting off to a future
,

day the execution of his design He was lik e .

o n e w h o wak ing from sleep and remembering

,

the call of duty instead of rising instantly gives

, ,

way to his sloth is overcome by drowsiness and

,

falls asleep again D espite all appearances to

.

the contrary there wa s n o peace in Francesco s

,
’

heart : for wh o hath resiste d God a n d hath h ad

ea ce
p
38 LI F E OF B LESSED GAB RI EL .

truths and to receive th e holy sacraments fr e

,
~

quently : in a word let them make y ou hate the

‘

world its maxims and desires and all that savors

, ,
”
of it .

S o the meaning of it all was that he should

, ,

wait and pray O f a certainty he prayed ; as

.

for waiting nothin g was more congenial to him

,

just then and by slow degrees he fell back again

, ,

into his sleep of worldliness .

The Possenti family had been considerably r e

d u ce d In numbers s i nce the death of their mother
in 1 8 4 2 T wo of the children Paul and L au
.
,

rence followed her within ten years and two

, ,

more left the parental roof shortly after ; on e (a ,

daughter) to be a bride the other (a s o n ) to be a ,

D ominican religious Mary L ouise the el d est .

, ,

remained at home devoting herself t o her aged

father and with her four brothers closed round
, ,

him with all the greater affection as their num

bers were decreasing O ld P a c ifi c a still s u per i n .

tended the household with energy and devoted

ness ; yet as Mary Louise grew up she came nat
u r a ll
y to be looked upon as a mother by her
much younger brothers From his very infancy .

Francis had found in his sister all a mother s ’

love and care ; no on e had greater influence over

him or wa s more willingly obeyed than she and
, ,

n o t w o of the family u nderstood each other bet

ter Mary L ouise had just passed her twenty

.

sixth birthday when toward the close of May

, ,
 H I S RELI G I O US V O C A TI O N . 39

1 8 5 5, the dread cholera having broken out in

S poleto she fell as its first victim
,
.

When the frightful scourge had passed a r ea c ,

tion speedily set in throughout the city Mourn .

ing and bereavement seemed to be forgotten

the theatre and the drawing room were reopened -
,

and all sought to drown in gaiety thei r recent

sorrows Francesco was received in the families
.

of his friends with sympathy and compassion

in manner he was reserved at first then yielding ,

to his buoyant spirits and b ecom l n g Interested

,

in proportion to his success he once more gave ,

ful l rein to his passion for pleasure and worldly

vanity Through the great mercy of God the
.
,

final awakening for Francis took place shortly

after under t h e follo wing circumstances
,
.

In the cathedral of S poleto there is venerated

an ancient picture of the Mother of God which ,

on account of its eastern or 1 1 n 1 s ca ll ed I con or

g
image It was presented to the cit y by the E m
.

e r or Frederick B arbarossa who sought thereby

p ,

to conciliate the citizens after he had laid waste

the surrounding country with fire and sword in ,

1115 . The emperor treasured the sacred image

as an heirloom brought by his forefathers fr om
Constantinople and thus saved it from the sense
,

less fury of the iconoclasts of the eighth century .

It was accepted by the city as a Sign of r econ ci l i

ation and peace and from that d a y the merciful
, ,

Mother r eward ed th e piety o f her S pol e ta n

40 LI F E OF B LESSED GAB RIEL .

clients and the ! con became for them a fountain

,

o f graces In the year 1 8 5 6 however a signal

.
, ,

miracle excited to gratitude the faith of all and ,

made all her dear children of city and country

flock to the cathedral to celebrate the festival of
the A ssumption with far more than customary
pomp D u ring the cholera that decimated the
.

city the Christian population had recourse to th e

Mo ther of Mercy : the sacred Icon was solemnly
carried to the loggia (or balconied chamber over
lookin g the square in front of the cathedral) a n d
the sorrow stricken city wa s blessed with it
-
.

From that moment n ot a single new case of

cholera was reported and all th es e that were
,

then S I Ck were wonderfully cured .

O n the oc tave day of the A ssumption there

fore the titular of the ca th e d r a l a solemn service
, L

of thanksgiving was held in S poleto the c on cl u d

, ,

ing feature of which was a devout procession in

which the miraculous Icon was carried .

With the grateful and enthusiastic multitude ,

ou r Francis repaired t o the church more through ,

pious curiosity than any particular devotion as ,

he himself afterward acknowledged Amidst .

the festive chant o f the litany the Icon was ,

drawing near Francis raised his eyes and from ,

her image Mary cast upon him a glance that

,

penetrated into his inmost heart piercing it as ,

with a dart of fire ; at the same time he heard a ,

voice within his soul a distinct interior locution ,

,
 HI S RELI G I O US VO C A TI O N . 1

that said to him : Why ! thou art not made for

the world ! What art tho u doing in
the world Hasten become a reli ,

g i ou s !
NO sound had st ruck the external air the I con ,

passed by and soon the echoes of the litany

,

ceased and the people dispersed to their homes

, ,

but the b oy remained kneeling his head bowed , ,

his heart basking in the sunshine of interior

peace The victory was won ! S uch was the
.

e ffi cacy Of that voice that it w a s forever e n

'

shrined in his memory and as an additional ,

proof of its celestial origin from that moment ,

a complete transformation cam e over his a ffec

tions and inclinations he had no thought n o ,

desire but that of follo wing his vocation When

,
.

he realized the greatness of the favor accorded to

him giving way to his feelings he burst into
, ,

tears Mary who in the midst of his dangers

.
,

had always protected him : Mary by a miracle ,

conquered all his repugnance and changed his ,

S pirit of procrastination into determined resolu

tion . He was to be a Passionist O n .

arriving home the traces of his emotion were

,

visible on his countenance but he was more than ,

u sTI a ll
y C heerful : he h ad made up his mind a n d ,

peace was in his soul At once he sought his .

confessor F B ompiani S J who was likewise

,
.
,
.

his instructor in philosophy a n d the following is ,

“
his accoun t of what transpired I do not re .
42 LI FE OF B L E S S E D GA BRI E L .

member that Francis P ossenti had ever mani

fes te d to me any inclination for the religious
state ; s o quite unexpectedly a certain S unday ,

afternoon In A ugust 1 8 5 6 he asked for a private

, ,

interview He then candidly opened his heart

.

concerning his intention of becoming a Passionist

religious I examined the matter thoroughly
.
,

both o n account of its novelty and its strange

ness (considering the boy s character) I cross ’
.

questioned him as to his motives and made the ,

most of the difficulties that he would encounter

in the religious state of life Ou r conversation .

in fact lasted quite a while but the signs of a

, ,

real vocation were s o unmistakable that I a d ,

vised him to notify his father of his intentions , ,

and take the necessary steps to carry them into

effect A t once he made formal application to
.

the Provincial of the Passionists including in his ,

letter F Bom pi a n i s attestation of his moral

.
’

character and proficiency in studies and waited ,

patiently (perhaps we should say impatiently ) for

a favorable reply Meanwhile the scholastic
.

year was drawing to its close and the commence ,

ment was at hand Francis determined that

.

whether the reply to h i s appl ication came before

that day or n ot it would be the utmost limit of
,

his wa iting A nd it seems that he h a d grave

.

reasons for n o t delaying because as he afterwa rd

,

acknowledged t o his spiritual director he soon ,

found o u t that had he tarri ed a single day longer ,

 H I S RE LI G I O US VO C A T I O N . 43

the world and the devil were pr epa r in g for him ‘

a snare o f such a nature th at he might indeed ,

have set hi s vocation aside ; and that furthermore

he was intimately convinced that ou r L ord would
never have called hi m again .

B ut n o w came the pai nf ul task of acquainting

hi s father with hi s resolution and askin g his co n ,

sent and blessing S ummoning courage and

.
,

beggi n g interiorly the di vine assistance on e ,

night after the usual devotions of the household

,

were over he informed his father that he desired

,

to speak t o him in pri v ate B ut n o sooner were .

they alone than Fran cis overpowered by his

, ,

feelings burst i n to tears and sobs unable for the

, ,

moment to deal a blow that was so p ai nful .

S ignor Possenti wondered at such an u nl ooked

for d emonstration and encouraged him to open
,

his heart with freedom and all candor When .

Francis could tr u st hi mself to speak he said , ,

Father I have made up my m i nd t o become a

,
”
reli gious and I desire your consent and blessing
, .

O n hearing such a declaration S ignor Possenti ,

could har dl y refrain from laughing outright .

“
Y ou want to be a reli g ious my s o n ,
” “
why said he sm ili ng your life has been one
, , ,

of vanity and plea sure How would

.

u wear a rough cassock who have always

y o
y o u ,

been so particular about your clothes ? Then

see my dear boy yo u r vocat ion is nothing but a
, ,

sudden notion : n o sooner has the fancy str uck

44 LI F E OF B LESSED GA BR I EL .

than want t o run ofi somewhere or

you , y o u

other and then perhaps come back in disgrace

,
.

My S on that will never d o : y ou must take time

, ,

and discuss the matter with your director If .

”
y o u have a real vocation time will,
tell B ut .

Francis foresaw these obj ections and was well ,

prepared to ans wer them .

” “
Father said he y ou are mistaken in sup
, ,

pos ing that my desire to enter the religious state

is g rounded on a sudden fancy : I have thought
it o v er for a long while : in fact I had a lengthy ,

intervie w with my spiritual director A t firs t .

he spoke to me just like y ou but at last he ex ,

pressed himself fully satisfied : and it is with his

approval that I broach the subj ect to you : he
told me to d o it B esides father fearing my
.
, ,

o w n weakness and procrastination I have already ,

made application to the Provincial of the P a s

”
S i o n i s ts t o be received amongst them .

Here was a double surprise for the good man .

That his s on sho ul d wish to become a religious

was serious enough but what about becoming a
,
“ ” “
Passionist ? My s on said he what do you
, ,

know about those religious Have y ou any idea

h o w hard their rule is A nd then the afflicted
father with all the affection o f his heart backed
by the subtlety of the practiced lawyer began ,

to represent all the d ifli cu l ti e s that he could think

o f if n o t t o disabuse his s on of his resolution at
, ,

le a st to gain time B ut Francis threw himself

.
46 LI FE OF B LES S ED GAB RIEL .

ter y ? Yet he was a Christian a man ,

o f fai th . It might break his heart to lead this

child o f his love t o the mountain of sacrifice but ,

if Go d s o commanded h e would obey ,

.

T wo persons principally were t o help the pru

dent father t o come t o an enlightened decision ,

his o wn s on A loysius a D ominican Wh o was then

, ,

on a visit t o h i s family and the Vicar General of

,
-

L oretto F C aesar A c q u a c o t t a a m a n of piety

,
.
,

and learning and an Old friend of S ignor P OS

,

senti .

Francis had n o great difli cu l ty I n winnin g over

his brother t o his side A loysius reported favor
.

ably to his father and that sam e even i ng the

,

general arrangements fo r d eparture were agreed

upon Father A loysius o n the w a y back t o h i s
.

religious home had to pass thro u gh L oretto and ,

after visiting the sacred sh rine of O ur L ady they ,

were t o call o n F A cq u a cot ta. Francesco was .

t o present a letter from his fath er t o the vicar

asking the latter as an ol d friend of the family ,

t o examine the boy s vocation and authorizing

’
,

him to give in S ignor P os s en ti s name the n e ces ’

,

sary approval and co n sent Furthermore as a .

last resort t o test his son s vocation it was agreed

'
’
,

that from L oretto a visit should be made to M o r

r o v a l l e not far distant where the Passionist n o
, ,

vitiate was situated Perhaps thought the pru

.
,

dent parent a visit to th e lonely monastery might

,

have more effect than all other arguments com

 H I S RELI G I O US V O C A TI ON . 47

b i n ed , and divest his son

s resolution of the glamour
’

of poetry and enthusiasm when standing face to ,

face with the uninviting reality .

Francis was well satisfied with such a plan In ,

fact nothing could have pleased him better ; for

in his sincere determination he felt proof against ,

any persuasion or hindrance whatsoever The .

next morning he was found kneeling in gratitude

before th e i m a g e of O ur L ady of S orrows in the
church of the S ervite Fathers This day the .
,

5 th of S eptember 1 8 5 6 was the last day he was

, ,

to spen d in th e wo ald as a secular ; it was like

“ ”
wise the date Of the commencement exercises
at the Jesuit College The audience assembled.

in the spacious hall and wa s composed of the

.

most brilliant society of the city Monsignor .

Gu ad a l u pi the A postolic D elegate presided sup

, , ,

ported by the A rchbishop Of S poleto on the on e

side and S ignor Possenti the Chief magistrate
, , ,

on the other It was a day of triumph for our

.

Francis He had been selected t o deliver the i n

.

tr o du c to ry discourse for he was confessedly with

,

out a rival n ot only in gracefulness of person and

carriage b u t especially in oratorical excellence
,
.

His friend B o n accia describes him very minutely

, ,

a s he stood on the stage on that memorable occa

“ ” “
sion His clothes he says were unusually
, ,

elegant ; a matchless and richly folded shirt front -

adorned with jewels ; bright buttons on his cuffs ;

a silk cravat around his neck his h air studiously
48 LI F E OF B LE S SED GA B RIEL .

parted ; add t o this picture his white kid gloves

, ,

and paten t leather Shoes a n d we have a pen pic,

-

ture of young Francis Possenti as he stood smilin g

a n d serene facing his many friends and the dis
,

t i n g u i s h e d audience about to be the pleased spec

,
”
ta t or s of his triumphs I have always felt con
.
,
“
ti n u es his friend and biographer that Francesco ,

thus appeared in all the vain ornaments of the .

world to bid his fare well to it forever a n d to

, ,

S how h o w poorly he esteemed such baubles by

turning his back upon them at the very m oment ,

when he was the recipient of s o many honors and

s o much applause A t the end of the exercises
.
,

when Francis was called before the D elegate to

receive the gold medal for excellence in all his
studies the whole assembly testified its j oy and
, ,

S ignor Possenti w a s voted the happiest of fath

ers In having such a distinguished son the A pos ,

tolic D elegate himself publicly congratulating

him in the warmest terms B ut alas
.
,

H e alone knew his son s

’
poor father .

secret ; and the more he witnessed and realized

his son s merit the more keenly did he feel his
’
,
”
o w n im pending loss .

O n reaching home after bidding good b y e t o

,
-

his many friends wh o all imagined that he was

,

merely going to spend his vacation in the coun

try Franci s found the household i n com motion
,
.

A t the last moment the news had been told by

the afflicted parent The morning of that day
.
 H I S RELI G I O US V O C A TI ON . 49

had dawned o n the brightest hopes its noon had ,

shone on congratulations and glory but it closed ,

in tears.

The great news could not remain a secret .

The next morning it spread among the st u dents

-

and surprise was visible on every face Toward .

the close of the scholastic course the choice of a

,

state of life is generally a topic of conversation

in a college That particular year the Passion
.
,

i s ts Were spoken of fo r t wo of the collegians had

,

left for the novitiate s h ortly before ; but when a

third candidate was mentioned and that o n e ,

Francis Pos s enti it wa s like a thunderb olt from

,

a clear sky ? W hate v er may have been their

opinions and they were various all felt sincerely
, ,

sorry to lose their talented companion whom ,

all loved for his excellent qualities and kind dis

position B ut when they found out their loss
.

Francesco was already miles on the road to the

Cloist er
.
 0 LI F E OF B LESSED G AB RIEL .

HIS J O UR N E Y T O TH E N O VITI A TE .

A m an ’
s n m i s S hall
e e e be th y o f his own hous hold
e e .

FR AN CIS
bade adieu to his good father and
brothers and set ou t for L oretto with his brother
,
‘

F Aloysius on S eptember 6th 1 8 5 6 arriving at

.
, , ,

the holy shrine on the evening of the day follow .

ing Next to Jerusalem and B ethlehem there

.
,

is perhaps n o pilgrimage dearer t o the heart of

’
Mary s children or frequented in greater num
bers than the S a n ta Oa s a or Holy House
, ,
.

L oretto now possesses this inestimable treasure .

This is the very dwelling wherein ou r Blessed

Mother was born in which Gabriel the angel o f , ,

the L ord declared unto Mary and she conceived

by the Holy Ghost the identical house in which ,

the Word was made flesh and dwel t among

us the house that in 1 29 1 was c arried by
angel hands from Nazareth to D almatia to save
-
,

it from the fanatical Turks and was transported ,

once more from D almatia over th e A driatic sea ,

to the laurel fi el d s L oretto where it is now ven

-
, ,

er a t e d .

O ur travelers arrived in the city after the H oly

House was closed ; but the next morning at
 HI S J O UR N E Y TO T H E NO VITI A TE . 1

daybr eak F A loysius says in spite of the

,
.
,

fatigue of ou r journey my brother was already ,

in the church where he remained in prayer until

,

after eight o clock the hour appointed to meet

’
,

ou r uncle the Vicar General Canon A c q u a co tt a

,
-
,
.

He received us with the greatest cordiality and ,

insisted on o u r remaining till the morrow A fter .

a brief intervie w his duties called him away a n d

, ,

we all repaired to the church t o assist at the

solemn office and mass that being the festival of ,

O ur L ady s nativity A t the conclusion of din

’
.

ner my uncle called us apart and he then under

, ,
’
took the task of examining my brother s voca
tion and ch a n gm g his resolution of joining the
,
”
Passionists .

Thi s was to be the first of the last three

’
battles which tried our hero s constancy and all ,

three came from his relations : so tr u e is it that

a man s enemies will be those of his own hou se
’

”
hold The canon commenced by all eging all the
.

arguments he could think of attacking the boy s ,

’

vocation from every quarter : he placed before

him forcibly the diffi culties with which he would
have to contend and the weak ness of human ,

n ature in general to say nothing of Gabriel s ’

,

delicate constitution in particular when me a sured ,

against such an austere rule “

W h o better than .

” “
I said he ought t o know w h at kind of a life
, ,

they lead I was amongst them myself d u r m g

the troubles of 1 8 4 8 a n d I assure y ou I still r e
'

, ,
 LI F E OF B LESSED GAB RI EL .

prospects of life W h y couldn t he save ’

his so u l as a good secular Why couldn t ’

he remain outside the Cloister and edify the world ,

like his good father ? A t least i f h e —

wanted t o become a secular priest all right ,

but for him to bury himself in a m o n as

t e ry and what was worse t o join the P a ss I On i s t s
, ,

why the ve ry idea was silly

,

He ought to have better sense Was it .

’
right for such a clever s on to b reak his father s
heart by leaving home ? o
W a s that all _

his poor father d e s er ve d from him for all that ,

he had done for his son s welfare ’

What could ou r Francis say It is a

hard thing to be misunderstood by those whom
we love it is distressing to be derided by those
,

whom we reverence The warmth Of their wel

.

come was chilled by the sadn ess of parting In .

their jud gm ent the boy was stubborn he was

, ,

obstinate ; but they kn ew right well that he

would soon be sorry and retrace his steps ,
Of —

a truth a man s enemies shal l be they of his

,
’

”
o wn household .

Toward evening the t wo broth ers having r e

sumed their journey arrived at Morrovalle their
, ,

journey s end There was in the t dwn itself a

’
.

Capuchin monastery the superior of which was

,

the uncle of ou r travelers so they determined t o ,

call upon him Here again Francis had to stan d

.

his ground for his zealous uncle s eemed to doubt

,
 4 LI F E OF B LESSED GAB RIEL .

member with painful clearness the hardships of

the P assionist observanc e : and y ou my dear ,

nephe w without any experience brought up in

, ,

the midst of plenty with n o strengt h t o boast of

,

either want t o j oin them ! H o w o n earth will

,

o u be able t o stand the strain by night as well

y
” “
as by day My dear b oy he concluded don t , ,
’

allow yourself to be deceived by a sudden fit o f

fervor This matter is a little t oo Serious for y ou
.

to run any unnecessary risks D on t be in such .

’

a hurry take ple n ty of time and th ink over it ;

but of course if y ou are wedded to your own
,

opinion and come to find your mistake later on

, ,

remember that you l have nobody to b lame b u t

’

yourself ”
.
l
S imply but very earnestly Francis replied to
, ,

h i s uncle s reasoning by assuring him that there

’
,

could be no fair doubt e n tertained of his religious

vocation Then he proceeded t o explain in the
.

greatest detail the history of his call to a higher

,

li fe : that s o far from its being a sudden whim ,

origina ting in his i m a g m a ti on on the contrary , ,

it was a grace against which he had been strug

gling for years and that nothing short of t h e
,

fi r m es t convi ction that it was God s will for him

’

to be a religious induced him t o obey

,
and as —

far as the Congregation of the Passionists was

concerned their austerities w ere certainly n ot
,

more than their rule enjoined ; and if some o f

his companions succeeded why shouldn t b e ,
’
 HIS J O UR N E Y To T H E NO VITI A TE . 55

the genuineness of the young man s vocation ’

.

The battle of L oretto had to be foug ht over again .

” “
L ook here said F John B aptist
,
look at this .
,

poor t u nic of mine : isn t it rough enough for ’

anybody Well I tell y ou that the habit worn

,
”
by those Passionist Fathers is yet worse .

B ut all in vain : with the same simplicity and

‘

firmness with which he pleaded his cause before

the Vicar General Franci s answered the guard
-

ian s objections God had clearly shown that

’
.

He called h i m to that state of life and he was ,

’
resolved t o trust to God s grace and mercy The .

good superior l istened patiently to the y oung

m a n and he wa s not onl y satisfied with his argu
,

ments but with the straightforwardness of an

,

unselfish soul he actually rejoiced at b eing van

,

q u i s h ed and
, pr om l s e d moreover to intr oduce

him the next morning to the Master of Novices ,

w h o was the friar s personal fr iend ’

.

O n the morning then Of the 1 0t h of S eptem , ,

“
ber 1 8 5 6 Francis with h i s two companions
, , , ,

walked to the retreat of the Passionists three ,

miles outside of the city O blessed .

congregation which was about to receive so

g reat a treasure the worthy ofl s pr i n g of pio u s
—
’

Christian parents educated by the sons of L a ,

S alle and L oyola bedewed with grace in the ,

sanctuary of the S ervites of Mary i t belonged ,

—

t o the so n s o f D o m inic and Francis to plant with

their o wn hands in the humble garden of the
56 LI F E OF B LESSED GAB RIEL .

P assion, this predestined soul this blessed seed ,

that w as to bring forth such flowers of virtue

and fr u its of holiness the glory of which belongs,

t o th em all B ut w h o can describe the joy of

.

Francis himself when for the first time he rested

,

h i s eyes o n the blessed retreat that was to sepa

rate him from the world t o bring peace to his ,

soul and unite him to his God The boy s heart ’

leaped for j oy when he stood on the threshold

Of the Cloister and s a w the doors of the monas
,

t er y opening for him .

A nd yet he was not without apprehension

,
.

Would he be received N O a n s wer h a d

‘

reached him from the F Provincial to whom he .

,

had written asking for admission If n o t

‘

expected would he be allowed to remain

,

S uch were his reflections as the company waited

in the plain parlor B ut the cheerful appearance
.

of the Master of Novices dispelled his misgivi n gs

he wa s expected A favorabl e ans wer had been

.

sent but S ignor Possenti probably judg ed it bet

,

ter to keep the letter O n the other hand when .

,

the Provincial heard nothing further fr om the

young candidate and fearing lest h i s letter went
,

astray he wrote a second time reaffi rmi ng his

, ,

acc eptance and urging Francis to solicit his

father s consent and start at once This last let
’
,
.

ter however reached S poleto only a fter the two

, ,

brothers were on their journ ey t o L oretto and

Morrovalle leaving them in a state of g reat u n
,
 HIS J O U RN EY To T H E N O VITI A TE . 57

easiness under the circumstances There wa s

,
.

just one vacancy at the time in the novitiate ,

and the postulant was entrusted to the care of

the Vice Master who introduced Francis t o his
-
,

new com panions He was safe at last h e found

.
—

himself in the midst of th e children of t h e Pas

sion ! The sight of the religious habit the peace ,

ful orator y the solitary cells the simple piety

, ,

and joyfu l mirth depicted on every face all ‘

made him feel happy for among his n e w found

,
-

brethren he was at home .

It had been arranged by their u ncle that this ,

should be onl y a preliminary visit and that Fran ,

cis should return to the Capuchin convent an d ,

o thence o n a v isit to Montegiorgio where his

g ,

aunt lived ; but when he found himself secure in

the harbor of religion it was us eless to expect
,

him to launch his bark anew on the troubled

waves of the secular world H e gently refused .

to leave the retreat H e m ig h t have a chance

.
,

said he to visit those relatives some other time

, ,

but it was plainly ou t of the question for him

“ ”
just then The next morning when I call ed
.
,
“
says his brother Aloysius I found him more ,

than happy He requested me to make known

.

his co n tentment to our father also : and th u s we ,

”
bade one another farewell .
 LI F E OF B LESSED GAB RI EL .

LI F E IN TH E NO VITI A T E .

IT is customary that a pos t ulan t before being

a dmitted t o take the religious habit shall live in ,

his secular dress in company with o u r brethren

fo r some t i me according t o the p
,
rudence and de
termination of the superiors and seniors of the
n ovitiate tha t his suitableness may be gauged
,

by a preliminary trial A fterward he devoted .

,

himself during ten days t o sacred exercises and

pio u s medita tions that being there by more and
,

more enlightened and united with Go d he may be ,

better prepared t o make the sacrifice of him self .

T wo of h i s fellow students from the college had

‘
-

preceded Francis by a few days and were to be

admitted to v e s ti ti on on the third S unday of
S eptember and t o his great delight Francis
, , ,

having made hi s formal petition before the fath

ers of the local Chapter was allowed to com mence
,

his spiritual retreat with his Old frien d s the next ,

d a y after his arrival .

O n receiving the religious h abit the candidate ,

c h anges his name a u s a ge com mon to many

,
—

a n cient orders a n d which we fi n d mentioned

,

freque n tly in the S criptures The fact of im pos .

60 LI F E OF B LES SED GA B RIEL .

retreat Of R ecan ati with their d irector The

, .

latter passing by the chapter room of the n o v -

n ices whilst they were giving an account o f their

,

prayer chanced to overhear a few words that

,

struck him ; and yielding to curiosity he stopped ,

and listened to what was being said at the gath

ering of the novices Now the sentiments r e .
, ,

fl ecti on s and applications were such that they

made an extraordinary impression upon h i s
mind When he called on the master he i n
.
,

quired who the novice was that had given an

account of his prayer : and great was hi s wonder
o n learning that it was a yo u ng man who had

arrived in the monastery only a few day s before .

W hat the day of his betrothal is to a youthful

lover s u Ch to the future religious is th e day on
,

which he is betro thed to the religious institute

of his choice For him it is truly the day of
.
“

”
the joy Of his heart This j oy ca n be realized
.

fully only by those who have actually expe

r i en ce d its ineffa ble consolations ; but it is not

diffi cult t o surmise that these consol ations mu st

have been particularly intense in a soul so well
prepared by the Holy Ghost as was that of ou r ,

dear Gabriel D urin g the ceremony of receivin g

.

the habit his tears could not escape the notice Of

,

his companions ; that same evening t o o he wept ,

when according to custom he knelt in the r efe c,

tory and publicly thanked the community for

,

having re ceived him into the con gregation .

 LI F E I N T H E N O VI T I A TE . 61

He wrote at once to his father and brothers at

home about this great event and the depths to ,

which his soul was stirred are e vident in every

line of his letter It runs as foll ows
.

Morrovalle S ept 21 s t 1 8 5 6 ,
. .

M Y DE A R FA T H ER The day has come at —

last Th e Al mighty had been calli ng me for a

.

lo n g time whi ls t I u ngratefully turned a deaf

,

ear to His voice by enjoying the world and dis

,

pleasing Him ; but His infi nite mercy sweetly

disposed all thi ngs and t o day the feast of O ur
,
-

L ady of S orrows our Mother and Protector I

, ,

was cloth ed in the holy habit taking the name ,

of Confrater Gabriel of the S even D Ol OI S ' '

,
.

Up to the present my dear father I have , ,

not experienced anything but pleasure whether ,

as regards thi s religious co n gregation or my vo ,

cation to it O h rest assured that whosoever is

.
,

called to the religious stat e receives a grace that

he will never be able fully to comprehend !
My excellent F Master and Vice Master send
.
-

their kind regards together with my o wn My .

greetings t o the Jesuits and O ratorians as well ,

as to all enquiring friends .

B egging yo u r blessing dearest Father , ,

I remain your affectionate son ,

C ONF R A TER GAB RIEL ,

O f the D olors of Mary Passionist ,

.
62 LI F E OF B LESSE D GAB RIE L .

Th i s wa s h i s
. first letter to his family and
frien ds : this was the first time that he could
publicly style himself a Passionist and call him ,

self by his new name He gloried in being a

.

K night of Jesus Cr u c i fi e d and never did maiden

,

deli ght in elegant finery or prince in gold em ,

-

broidere d rob e as did Gabriel in the livery of

,

the Passi on that he wore O ften did he assert .

that he w ould not exchange his poor, rough tunic

for a royal mantle ; daily w Ou l d he kiss his habit
with uns peakable devotion .

“
S till ,
the habit does not make the monk .

B y its modest singularity the religious garb is

,

emblemati c of separation from the world not ,

necessarily in body but in customs principles

.
, , ,

and conduct that is in spirit Is it not evident

—
.

“
that the love Of God and the love of the ,

things which are in the world cannot Coexist

in the same heart N O man ca n serve two mas
ters The attempt to e ff ect a com promise b e
.

tween them was as we have seen the error and

, ,

the danger Of this servant of God in his secula r

days until the grace of God triumphed at last
, ,

and s et h im free That such a victory should be

.

t h e fruit o f arduous combat a n d prayer is the ,

ordinary rule of the supernatural life ; but th a t

it should be brought about as it were insta n
t a n eo u s l y is indeed a wonder S uch a remarkable
.

phenomenon however we have now to consider

, , ,

a n d in Gabriel s o wn words it may be aptly

’
,
 LI F E I N T H E N O VITI A TE . 63

”
s tyled his conversion Hitherto he had loved
.

the world as far as wa s compatible with the

state of grace but no sooner did he enter the
,

Cloister than he could say with Christ s apostle ’

“ The world is crucified to me and I to the ,

”
world .

The first great marvel in the life of Our hero

is his perfect aversi on to the world and every ,

thing b elonging to it S uch a transformation

.

wa s effected simply b y th e predilection Of God

for this chosen sou l to whom He imparted the
,

spirit of his vocation n ot gradually and by i n

s ta l m e n t s
,
but rather In its fulness from the ,

very beginning of his religious life All at once .

,

he was a Changed man with a n e w mind a new , ,

heart new desires new aff ections : grace had

, ,

suddenly conquered and tran sformed nature It .

woul d sometimes happen that the Conversation

of his com pa n l on s would innocently t u rn on
some secular t opi cS : on such occasions Confrater
‘

Gabriel would dextrously stri ve to divert it into

different channels ; and should this prove ini
practicable then would he pass such subjects
,

overas lightly and as quickly as possible In one .

wo rd then from the d a y o f his receiving the

,

holy habit Gabriel put on the new man and of

,
s

his former self there was absolutely no trace left , .

Against the pleasures of the world of which he ,

had been so fond he now conceived a hatred that

,

vented itself in his correspondence H e thu s .

64 LI F E OF B LESSED G AB RIEL .

“
writes to one of his old tim e companions : My
II
-

dearest friend : Y o u are right in saying that

the world is full of stumbling blocks and that it -
,

is a very h ard thi n g t o save one s soul in it ; yet ’

y ou must n o t give U p courage for even in the ,

secular world it is not impossible to become holy .

D ear Philip if y o u truly love your soul shun

, ,

evil companions ; shun the theatre I know by .

experienc e how very d i fli cUl t it is while entering

such places in the state of grace to come away ,

withou t either having lost it or at least exposed it

,

to great danger S hun pleasure parties and shun

.
-
,

evil books I assure y ou that if I had remained

.

in the world it seems certain to me that I would

,

not have saved my soul Tell me could any o n e .

,
'

have indulged in more amusements than I

Well and what is the result
,
nothing b u t bit —

ter n e s s and fear .

D ear Philip do not d espise me for it is my

, ,

heart that speaks I as k your pardon for all t h e

.

scandal that I may have gi ven you ; and I protest

that whatever evil I may have spoken about ‘

any on e I now unsay it and beg of you to forget

, ,

it all and t o pray for me that God may forgive

.

me likewise .

That our Gabriel was more than exaggerated

in self condemnation can easily be gathered
-
,

from the preceding chapters ; his friends were

un animous in asserting that nothi n g seriously
re prehen sibl e wa s e ver s ee n in his co n duct ; th e
 LI F E I N T H E N O VITI A TE . 65
.

compani ons to whom he all udes were such as ,

m a y be met with even in some of ou r best col

leges ; the enterta inments to whi ch he refers ,

woul d be cons idered as select from an ordi n ary

standpoi nt ; the theatres of the Ponti fical S tate s
were not as licentious as the best in thi s coun tr y
the romance s of whi ch he spe aks wou ld be
dee med choice literature when judged by the ,

sta ndar ds set up by ou r newspapers magaz ines ,

and cheap novels .

’
Ins tead of decreasing Gabriel s aversion for,

the pl ea sures of the worl d went on increasing in

propo rtion as he became more enl ightened fr om
on hi gh A few weeks before his precious death
.
,

w hen already in the dawn of that li ght that

never faileth he wrote these words in his las t
,

letter to his father : I do naught but bless the

merciful hand of the B lessed Virgi n that rescued
”
me fr om the world These strong words need
.

not surprise any o n e who remembers the lan guage

of S t .John the evangeli st I wr ite to y ou ,

young men because y o u are strong and the

, ,

word Of God abideth in you and y ou have over ,

come the wicked on e Love n ot the world n or

.
,

the things that are i n th e world If any man .

love the world the charity of the Father is not in

,

hi m : for a ll that is i n the world is the c on cu pis

ce nce of the flesh and the concupiscence of the
,

ey es and the pride of life whi ch is n ot of the

, ,

Father but is of th e world

,
And the world .
 6 LI F E OF B LESSED GAB RIEL .

passeth away and the concupiscence ther eof ;

'

but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ,

”
ever .
(1 John 1 1 14 .

B ut if Christ demands separation from the world

i n all H is disciples He re q uires something more
,

perfect from those who wish to follo w Him closely .

To those only who abandon house and brethren ,

and sisters father mother and children and

, ,
’

lands for H is sake does He prom i se the h u n ,

d r e d fol d here below and life everlasting after ,

ward H e alone wh o has m ade this sacrifice

.
, ,

can tell how diffi cult it is : a sacrifice all the

more painful as it imm olates for the sake of di
vine love affections which of the mselves are per
,

fectl y legitimate : all the more heroic as it is ,

only a counsel there being no law that a b s o

,

l u t el y exacts it The memories of Our native

‘ “

land a n d home of former friends and associa

,

tions a r e deeply imbedded in ou r hearts by the

hand of nature : but from the day Gabriel set his
foot in the Cloister he showed himself so co m ,

p l e t el y detached from all s u ch things that he ,

never brought them up as topics for conversa

tion except o n rare occasions and then only for
, ,

the sake of some edifying reflection .

The letters h e received from home he would ,

ne ver unseal even with the permissio n of his s u

,

perior ; he would n ot even take them into his

hands nor read them unless obedience obliged ,

h i m t o do so Do y o u assure m e, h e would
.
”
68 LI F E OF B LESSED GAB RIEL .

when the novice h a d to answer the gentle r e

monstranc es of his anxious and affectionate
” “
father . My dear father he wrote y ou tell , ,

me that I ought to write twice a month but this ,

is imposs ible : still F Master bi d s me inform you

.

that over and above the ordinary times he will ,

not fail to allo w me to write if I ever stand in

need of anything or have any special communi
,

cation to make For the rest be assured that I

.
,

am very well and wi ll n ot fail to avail myself of

,
’

”
the above permission whenever necessary This .

last assurance however had to be re newed more

, ,

t han once to his over anxious arent

p
-
.

'
More j ealous still was our young novice to ”

avoid visits that would have brought him back

to a world from which he was so glad to escape
,
.

H e did n ot wish his solitude to be broken in u pon

by seculars whether relatives or friends The
,
.

reader may reco ll ect that on account of Gabriel s ’

eagerness to enter the novit iate a visit to his ,

relatives in the neighboring city Of Montegiorgio

was deferred N o sooner had the ensuing spring
.

arrived than h i s uncle wrote to S ignor Possenti

,

informing him that they were organi z i n g a large

party to call on Gabriel at his retrea t in Mor
r ov a l l e thinking no doubt that the young reli
, ,
“
gion s would enj oy a day off just as much as
they B ut no sooner did the fervent novice hear
.

o f this than he overcame h i s dislike for letter

,

writing and at once begged h i s fath er to mak e

,
 LI F E I N T H E NO VITI A TE . 69

them postpone their visit until after his pr ofe s

sion ; and with great delicacy he added L et (

n o t the thought cross yo u r mind that I have been

influenced or even advised by my superiors in

this matter Indeed they would show them
.
,

selves indifferent about such things a n d woul d ,

put no Obstacle in my way Pardon me dea r .

,
”
father and kindly comply with my wishes His
,
.

friends showed them selves quite reasona ble ;

’

they only changed their plans but they did not ,

give them up They took him at his word and

.

when his term of noviceship was over th ey pre ,

pared a great rec eption for him at their own

home When Gabriel learned this he wrote
.
,

thus to his father In your last letter you

spoke of the proposed outing to Montegiorgio ,

the time having now arrived when it might be

all owed B ut my dear father shall I speak to
.
, , _

you fr ankly ? Well then let me tell you that I

, ,

see no necessity at all for such a visit : and not

only this but I deem it incompatible with
,

my present state of life and n ot at all con

d u ci v e to my spiritual welfare B esides such .
,

visits are n ot customary amo ng Passionists .

How then could I only just professe d dare, ,

to ask my superiors for a privilege which

‘

the senior religious do not request S till if I ,

h ave to pass through t h at city (and it is likely

enough since we are about to open a retreat
,

h a rd by) then I may avail myself of the oppor

,
7U LI F E OF B LESSED GAB RIEL .

”
tu n i ty , and per m IS S IOn will not be refus ed His .

friends were as edifi ed as they were disappointed

by this letter and in face of his ferven t earnest
,

ness they gracefully submitted A few months .

after his profession he was transferred to Pieve

torina where h e was visited by his brother
,

Michael and good Old P a cifi ca O n all such oc

,
.

casions he showed himself extremely courteous

, ,

affable and cheerful but as soon as politeness ,

would allow or the observance bell summoned him

,

t o some community exercise he at once took ,

leave of his visitors O nce only d uring his year .

,

o f probation did obedie n ce bring him into the

,

midst of his r elatives The legal settlement of .

certain family affairs was to take place at Fermo ,

not far distant from Montegiorgio I was the .

”
one who accompanied him writes F Norbert ,
.
,
“
his Vice Master -
He met his sister Teresa in
the office and held converse with her for some
,

time d ecl a r m g his content of mind and happi

ness discoursing on spiritual m atters quite u n a f
,

fe ct ed l y Wha t he said to her I of course do

.
,

n o t know but I remember that she seemed very

,
”
much impressed and e di fi e d Although we .

had n ot met for a long time she Wr ites herself

”
,
“
in the processes my brother never spoke to me
,
” “
until his superior gave him permission We .

”
took occasion of our presence in Fermo F N or ,
.

“
bert continues to pay a visit to the college of
,

the J esuit Fathers with som e of whom , espe ,

 LI FE I N T H E N OVITI A T E . 71

y
ci a l l
F Cardella an d F
. R ossi the rector
. C on ,

frater Gabriel was well acquainted The latter .

took me aside and asked : How does this young

man conduct himself Very well
indeed I ans wered
,
’
B ut Insisted F R ossi
.
,
’
.
,

he used to be somewha t giddy The grace of .

’

’
his vocation has remedied that I replied He , .

is a youth of strong purpose as fer vent and vir,

tuons as ca n be desired and if he so continues

, ,

as we have every reason to hope he will rea lly ,

becom e a sa i n t .
’
72 LI F E OF B LESSED G AB RIEL .

H I S AFF E C TI O N S S P IRI T U A LI ! ED .

I N joining the religious state no o n e is r e ,

qu i red to suppress his God gi ven nature ; or to-

smother the affections of his heart ; all that

Christ asks from a religious is t h at he spirituali ze
l

and purify h i s l ov e : that he disengage his a fl ec

tions fr om all that is merely sensible and selfish .

Ther e are now extant some twenty six letters -

written by Confrater Gabriel during the six ,

years he spent in religion and the greater num

,

ber were addresse d to his father and brothers at

home Written though they were off hand and
.
-
,

devoid o f any special claim to literary excellence ,

they neverth eless reveal in all their naturalness

and beauty the sentiments of a sou l purged of
,

every worldly attachment in which every a ffec,

tion is transformed by the love of God poured

forth in the heart by the grace of the Holy
Ghost .They are replete with counsels Of
heavenly wisdom given with such effusive can
,

d o r and war m th that o n e cannot help feelin g

that they come from a loving heart He took .

the keenest interest in every event that occurred

in his family but f rom a higher standpoint than
,
 H I S AFF ECTI ON S S P IRIT U A LI ! ED . 73

worldly consideratio n s could inspire His father .

lays before h im certain plans regarding himself

and his broth ers : Gabriel writes at once I
see no objection to your taking up you r residence
in Rome ; all the less since my three brothers
- -

may there exercise their profession und er your

eyes B ut you ought to find out whether the
.

air of R ome would agree with you a lthough as

far as the summer heat i s concerned y ou could ,

find plenty of places in the neighborhood to

which you might retire You do not ask me
.

anyt hing about Vincent s state of life nor do

’
,

I dare obtrude my advice thereupon : o nl y I b eg ,

you not to place earthly interests on a par with

those of his soul for what doth it profit a man
,

if he gain the whole world and lose his own

’
soul : Only one thing is necessary .
’

His cousin Peter P o ssenti is laboring under a

, ,

s e v er e a ffli c ti on : Gabriel h astens to comfort him

”
in hi s bereavement I am very sorry he
.
,
,

writes to hear from my father (whose grief is

,

as great as mine) of the death of your good wife

and her newborn daughter Faith teaches us to .

submit to the wil l Of God who permits all things

,

for ou r good D oubtless the shock mus t have

.

been painful but what Shall we do

,
S hall we
allow these di stre ssi ng ev ents to pass by without
deriving wholesome spiritual profit O h no ! ,

Though we cann ot help feeli ng the blow let us ,

not be overcome by our sorro w L et us turn to .

74 LI F E OF B LESSED GAB RI EL .

the L ord and ofi er up our sacrifice with courag e

, .

I will not fail to pra y for the repose of her soul ,

alth ough I trust that she has a lready received

”
the reward of her many virtues True Chris .

tian charity weeps with the m that m ori r n ; but it

rejoices t oo with them that are in j oy Gabriel s
, , .
’

father retires from public life ; his son con gr a t

“
u l a t es him thereupon in the following terms : I
give thanks to the L ord for spari ng you to cele
brate your j ubilee Y o u have no intrigues now
.

to fear any more and will have more leisure to

,

turn your attention to the principal end of man s ’

e xistence here upon ea rth ; for after the short ,

labor of a fe w days we expect from an al mighty

,

a n d g enerous Master peace and eternal jubilee

,
.

M ay ou r B lessed Mother be your special a d v o

cate and thank ou r God in the name of us all
‘

,
”
for all the favors granted to you
In every letter that he wrote he hu m
.

bly ask s
,

his friends and family for their prayers and as ,

sures them of his own B lessed the family that

.

has a representative before the throne of grace !

The annual recurrence of the great church festi
vals always gave him an opportunity to pour ou t
the feelings of his heart This is one of his
.

E aster gre etings My sincere love for y ou ,

my dearest father prompts me to fulfi l my duty

,

both as a Christian and as your child M ay then .

Jesus and Mary themselves cause these paschal

festivities to be a source of joy for y ou and all a t
 6 LI F E OF B LESSED GAB RIEL .

what should be the sentiments of a loving son to

his affectionate father I will n o t expatiate in
vain compliments but I s m c er el y pray that my
,

d esires for yourself and all at home be heard by

the divine Infan t and His amiable Mother .

A gain the following year : The seaso n Of

,

p eace mercy
,
and grace is drawing near and I ,

feel it my duty to wish from my inmost heart to ,

you and all at home a season full of God s bless

,
’

ings a season of true gladness th at will long live

,

in your m emories Yes dearest father brothers

.
, ,

and all may Jes u s be born in your hearts ; may

,

Mary always guard Him there ; may Joseph the ,

holy angels and the childlike shepherds keep

Him company and intercede for us What more .

c a n I wish for y ou than that this holy family

,

take you under their p rotection

The worldling may perhaps smile at such
“
epistolary expressions ; but My thoughts are not
”
your thoughts nor your ways My ways saith
, ,
’
the L ord In vain will on e look in Gabriel s
.

letters for anything newsy or interesting from a ,

mere secular point of view : he was dead to all

mundane concerns but the affections of his heart
,

in being thus purified from earthly dross became ,

all the more ardent and l asting ; those who were

dear to him appreciated and reciprocated his
affection and evidenced it by the eagerness with
,

which they longed for his letters and by the ,

religious care with which they preser ved th em .

 H I S CLERIC A L ST U DIES . 77

H IS C LERIC A L STUDIES .

W H E N the year Of his novitiate was ended ,

Gabriel pronounced h i s vows before the whole
religious community This happy event took .

plac e on Tuesday S eptember 22d 1 8 5 7 It is

, ,
.

ea sier to experien ce than to describe the joy and

“
co ns olation of one s reli gious profession : and to
’

attempt to do anything like justice in describing ,

Confrater Gabriel s profession woul d as F

’
,
.

Ger m a n u s writes be quite impossible

,
A year .

before at the foot of the same altar during the

, ,

ceremony Of h i s v e s ti ti on he had not been able

,

to contain his tears of consolation ; but now ,

during the ceremony Of profession he wa s well ,

ni gh overcome by the vehemence of his a lf ec

tions His countenance was inflamed and his

.
,

whole appearance resembled that of an earthly

”
seraph . The S unday after his consecration he ,
“
wrote thus to his father Through the grace
of Go d and the protection of O ur L ady of
,

S orrows and to my unspeakable joy my desir es

, ,

have been ful fill ed and I have made my holy

,

pro fession S uch a grace can never be valued

.

adequately and therefore as I have been favored

,
 8 LI F E OF B LESSED GAB RIEL .

by A lmighty Go d with such a privilege I feel ,

bound by an ever increasing o bligation to cor

-

r espond thereto I lea ve it therefore to your

.

own judgment whether or no I stand in need of

,
”
the prayers of yourself and others .

Gabriel was destined to commence his pro

fes si o n a l clerical studies in the retreat of
P i ev et or i n a but had to wait in the novitiate for
,

the profession o f some of his future companions .

D uring these five months he a nd his two asso

ciate s attended to their studies privately under

the g uidance of F Norbert his former Vice

.
,

M aster who had been appointed the d irector and

lector of the new class P i e vetor i n a is a lo vely
.

little town of the Marches and on e of the most ,

important o f the district of Camerino : it lies

along the course of the river Chienti in the ,

midst of a plain surrounded on all sides by woods

and hills.

It has ever been customary in our congregation

to scatter the regular students among the retre ats
which form ou r provinces and the constant union
,

of senior and junior r el i gi on s in the common oh

servance has proved Of mutual assistance and
,

e d i fi c a t i on
,
while the occasional change of
scenery and surroundings consequent upon their
,

removal from on e retreat to another helps t o ,

maintain the young men in a healthy condition

Of body and mind S o it came to pass that after
.

having spent nearly a year and a half in Pieve -

 H I S CLERIC A L STUDIES . 79

to rina F Nor b er t s class was transferred to a n

, .
’

other monastery situated i n t h e kingdom of

,

Napl es The students lost nothing by the

.

ch ange for the new retreat is surro u nded by

,

the loftiest mountains and h a s the advantage of ,

the healthiest and most bracing air Tradi tion

-
.

has it that the monastery n o w occupied by the

sons of S t Paul of the Cross was fo u nded by the
.

seraphic Father S t Francis He established her e . .

a family of his sons who under the pa tronage of ,

the Immaculate Virgin served and praised God ,

in these sacred precincts till th e end of the last

century when the sectaries of the French
,

revolution scattered all the religious orders of

the kingdom of Naples N o place could have .

been desired more appropriate for a Passionist r e

treat being situated about two miles and a half
,
-

from the to wn Here it was that Confrater

.

Gabriel passed the last years of hi s short life a n d ,

though the greater numb er of the rel gious who

i

had known him were dead yet when the , ,

processes for his canonization wer e introduced ,

by a special providence of God the few who ,

survive d were Of such a character as to give ,

pecul iar we l g h t to their testimony B y far the . ,

most important of these was F Norbert of S t . .

Mary who though comp a ratively young in years

, ,

when he w as firs t entrusted with Gabriel s dirc e

“
’

ti on showed himself fully worthy Of the con fi

,

l ence placed in him by the higher superiors In .

 0 LI F E OF B LESSE D GAB RI EL .

his d e pos i tI On he speaks as follows I became

acquainted wit h Gabriel on the day h e entered
the novitiate and from that moment we never
,

parted until death separated us He constantly .

lived under my authority : before his profession I

was his Vice Master afterward I became his
-
,

lector and spiritual director O nly a fe w ti mes

.

during m y absence did he confess to any other

religious and I do n ot think that he ever had a
,

S piritual conference with anybody else I hav e .

t herefore been the eyewitness ot is whole life ,

was entrusted with all the secrets of his heart ,

kne w all that passed in his mind was informed ,

of all the dispositions and occupations of his

”
beautiful soul : nothing was hid d en from me .

God so disposed that when th e cause was intro

d u c ed at R ome there still survived Gabriel some ,

of his former friends and companions who could ,

testify concerning every portion of his life In the

world as a secular as well as every phase of his
,
“
religious career so that in the mouth of two or
,
”
three witnesses every word may stand .

I n the scholasticate there begin s for the young

,

Passionist cleric th e second period Of h is reli

i ou s life W hich 1 s a gradual and progressive prep
g ,

aration for the special ministry of his vocation .

This preparation is necessarily Of a twofold na

ture that of the mind and heart : the former
,

must be furnished with knowledge the latter ,

must be inured to the practice of solid virtue .

 H I S CLERIC A L STUDIES . 81

O ne s fitness and willingness for the religious

’

state has been tested and gauged in the novitiate

, ,

and he has been fairly started in his career as a

Passionist What the cleric now needs is less a
.

master to teach hi m the simple theory o f this

spiritual science than a director to guide his still
,

uncertain steps in its difli cu l t practice Hand in .

hand with his growth in holiness is his advance

in ecclesiastical learni ng under the l ea der s h 1 p of
hi s professor or lector so that the future mis ,

s ion a r y ,
the man of God as the apostle says ,

(2 Tim .iii . may be perfect furnished unto

”
every good work It is n ot what he reads in a
.

book or hears In a lecture room that will fit a

,
.
-

priest for his sublime m i n i s tr v but what he as ,

”

“
s im i l a tes by re fl ection and prayer If I had to .

”
make my theology over again said Ven Claude ,
.

“
de la Colombi ere S J I would give two hours
,
.

to medi tation for every hour of study It is onl y .

by medita tion we let truth sink into ou r mind ,

and become able to appreciate and use arguments

”
that are really strong
Confrater Gabriel w
.

a s well prepared by his

coll ege course at S poleto to commence the stu dies

proper to our congregation This curriculum . .

embraces literature natural and exact science

, ,

profane and sacred history and principally the ,

study of philosophy and theology with canon law ,

the Holy S cript u res and sacred eloquence O ur .

young hero completed his philosophical course

 LI F E OF B LESSED GAB RIEL .

at Pi e v et or i n a with great profit as F Germ a n u s

, .

his biographer asserts but he turned far more

,

naturally to th e study of the sacred s ciences as

Isola Herein he could fully satisfy his ardent
.

desire to know God more intimately that he

might lov e H im more ardently His prog ress was
.

as rapid as it Wa s solid a natural consequence Of

,

conscientious a pplication joined to acknowledged

talent and a retentive memory In our Gabriel
,
.

there was no fear that the spirit of perfection

would gro w cold for he assimilated his fund of
,

knowledge in an atmosphere of prayer r ecol l ec ,

tion and union with God zeal for the reg ular
,

Obser vance and th e practice of interior as well

,

a s e xterio r m or ti fi c a ti on.
84 LI F E OF B LESSED G AB RIEL .

out anyth i ng In his conduct particularly wor th y

Of gener al ad miration Were a young man living
.

in the secular world to practice all that a reli

g i ou s does he would be the wonder o f his friends
, ,

and be held up as an example of extraordinary

virtue ; but not so in a comm unity where all this
is but the common stand ard W e must n ee d s .

bea r this in mind if we wish to form a correct

estimate of Gabriel s perfection ; whilst at the
’

sa me time we must U
,
nderstand th e n a tu r e Of spir
i tu a l perfec tion itself N ow noth ing is mo r e
.
,

ca r efull y impressed upon the you n g religious ,

than that pe rfection does not essentially consist in

any external observance but rather in the union ,

of the soul with God by means Of H is holy love .

O n this i n ter i or l if e of love he is taught to con,

centrate hi s attention and efforts all else is but ,

—

a means It is neither the work of on e day nor

.

the result Of a single effort ; it is the occupation

and business of a whole life and is pre eminently ,

the work of the r el i gi ou s life Father Norbert .

,

the spiritual director of the servant of God hus ,

testifies to Gabriel s progressive grow t h in Ol i

’

“
ness . I was charged with his direction up to
the day of his death and can and do testify that
, ,

he never relented in his spiritual progress whether

on account o f aridity weariness or temptation ;
,

whether he had the consolation of sensible devo

tion or not He ever acted with energy o f sou l
.
,

reatness and generosity of mind , never ne lect

g g
 TH E STR U GG LE F OR P ER F ECTI O N . 85

ing himself advertently i n anything ever grow ,

”
ing in the perfection of his interior dispositions .

“
From the beginning of h is religious life he set
himself to practice with all his strength the ,

principle inculcated before all others in the

novi tiate namely of wal king attentively in the
, ,
”
presence of God By this means h e gradually
.
,

acquired s u ch i nterior recollection and such a ,

state Of spirit u al disengagement that nothing ,

whate ver not even work or recreation could

, ,

ever distract him in the superior part of hi s soul .

Without di fli cu l ty he adverted to every movem ent

of his heart every grace bestowed on him every
, ,

word that God spoke to his soul or encourage ,

ment given his will every sting of remorse and, ,

every movement of his interior passions The .

same diligence with which he performed all his

exterior works he also exercised in his interior
,

acts, repressi ng and morti fyin g defective senti

ments and interior movements in order to cor ,

respond with God s grace and inspirations and

’

in all this he was exceedingly faithful He .

grieved over his imperfections he humbled him ,

self deeply ou their account before God he en ,

co u r a e d himself and resolved to do better in

g ,

the future gradually a c qu 1 r1 n g herein such a

,

degree of virtue that I could not have desired

,

more He accomplished all this with a strong

.

wil l with generosity and co nstancy with alacrity

, ,

o f spirit and as he used to say himsel f : cor d e

,
86 LI F E OF B LESSED GAB RIEL .

m a gn o a with a g re at hear t and

i m o r ol en ti
“

an

a willing mind : avoi di ng anxiety and fretting

on the one hand as well as indolence on the ,

other . He most careful ly guarded himself

against useless and even indifferent thoughts and
,

conversations : he was always engaged with

something appertaining either to his ofli ce h i s ,

stu di es or things Spiritual S o then what is ex

, .

t r a or di n a r y in Confrater Gabriel s; life is this : ’

that what ever he did was done with i n ter i or di s

‘

positions that were altogether extraordinary

with an attention to and a practice of the i n , ,

t er i or life quite un common in its degree This .

explains the high esteem In which he was held

by thos e that k new him and accounts for the ,

mature sanctity attained to by such a young ,

servant of God .

Yet F N orbert assures us in another part of

,
.

his testimony Confrater Gabriel never showed

,

any singularity in his ext erior conduct ; in fact ,

he was decidedly Opposed to anything of the

kind : but the punctual ity diligence and good ,

ness of his life could n ot escape the notice of his

brethren wh o wer e in cons equence greatly edi
,

fi ed . These assertions are borne ou t by the tes

“
ti m on y O f Gabriel s companions What w as
’
.

noticed in h im as extraordinary says F B er ,

.

nard was that from the day he put on the s a

,

cred livery of the Passion he went on constantly ,

advancing from virtue to virtue with giant steps ,

 TH E STRU GG LE FO R P ER F ECTI O N . 87

in such a mann er that he soon surpassed all his

,

compa ni o ns in fervor Of Spirit tending toward ,

“
perfection .
”
A nd F Xavier deposed : I was
.

never able to notice in him any wilful defect or

imperfection although I was the on e out of all
,

his classmates who had the most confidential r e

”
l a ti on s with him .

A nd this dear reader is the testimony result

, ,

ing from an intimate companionship of six years ,

by night and b y day in s 1 ck n es s and in health

, ,

from the day our Gabriel entered the novitiate ,

until that of his death ! This is the testimony

given u nder oath by priests Whose judgmen t h ad
been ripened by long experience and wh o them ,

selves became so remarkable for their virtue

, ,

that they were successively elected to the hi ghest

offi ces of the congregation .

“ ”
Many a time says his director have I a t
, ,

t en ti v e l y consi d ere d this young man s life and ’

,

in my own littleness have I asked mysel f whether ,

there was a single virtue b elonging to his state ,

whi ch did not shine forth i n him and whether it ,

would have been possible to wish for any thing

more excellent in his practice Of those virtues ;
and I have been invariably obliged to answer in the
negative I afterward discovered that several of
.

his fellow students had asked themselves the

-

same question and reached the very same con

,
”
cl u s i on as myself S uch was his hunger and
.

”
thirst for all virtues such the assiduity with ,
88 LI F E OF B LE S SED G AB RI EL .

which h e labored for their acquisition that he

!

never l o st an opportunity of practicing them

rather he purposely sought such opportunities
, ,

and knew h o w t o find them everywhere even in ,

things the most indifferent O f a truth it might

.
,

be said that he lived on virtue and existed for ,

the sole purpose of practicing i t S o evident .

was his growth in holiness that it was visible ,

from day t o day ; but during the last year of his

life such was the abundance of graces imparted
,

to him by his God and such his correspo n dence

, ,

that he w a s t o me an obj ect of wonder and a d

m i r ati on . His virtue while ever remaining s pon
,

ta n eo u s and unaffected was enhan ced during that

last year by a something of great er majesty and
mastery i mpossible to describe which awoke in ,

me a sense of deep veneration .

B efore proceeding to consider in detail the vir ~

tu es of this venerable servant of God it will be ,

well to prefix a few remarks on the nature and

practice Of virtue in general .

Virtue is a habit or disposition of the soul

which inclines us to d o good and avoid evil It
. .

is n o t a mere n ega ti v e di sposition ; for the a b

sen ce of a vice does n ot imply the presence of
the contrary virtue ; it is a p os i ti v e disposition of
the soul inclining t o positive acts by which we
do the good and avoid the e vil A gain virtue .
,

must be h a bi tu a l fo r the disposition of the soul

,

must ever be to practice virtuous acts promptly

 THE STRU GG LE F OR P ER F ECTI ON . 89

and easily despite the revolt of our passions

, .

We must also remember that there are two gen

eral classes of virtue ; on e directly infused into
the soul by God the other acquired by repeated
,

acts of ou r o w n will with the concur ren ce of

,

actual grace .

The infused virtues are called th eol ogi ca l b e

ca use they have Go d for their direct object ; the
acquired virtues are call ed moral in asmuch as ,

they regulate ou r moral conduct With the help .

o f God s grace we can grow continually and i n

’

definitely i n the theological and m oral virtues

until the last moment of life Now only those .
,

who have distinguished themselves by practicing

both classes of v irtue i n a h er oi c d egr ee are can ,

did a t es for the sublime honors of canonization ,

for a saint is before and above a ll else a hero of ,

Chri stian virtue This heroism is explained to

mean a certain eminence and supreme degree of
holiness to which man rises by God s grace above ’
,

the ordinary strength of others in s hort heroic ,

virtue may be thus defined : A habitual disposi

tion of the soul inclini ng us heroically to d o
good and resist evil Finally in the ofli c i a l
, .
,

document of information laid before the R oman

“
commi ssion we read as follows
,
That Confrater
Gabriel practiced all manner Of virtues in a h e
r oi c degree is clear from the unanimous testi
,

mony of all the witnesses s o that he could be

,

held up as an excellent model of the high est per

90 LI F E OF B LESSED GAB RIE L .

fec ti o n . A ll admired his promptitude and ea se

in the practice of virtue and spoke of him as a ,

saint It was evident that he kept before his

.

eyes and in his heart the examples of Christ and

His saints whom h e ever s trove to imitate with
,

the greatest earnestness H e was ever a d v a n c .

ing in holiness no matter what the hindrance

,

might be ; like a valiant soldier (whose courage

is tried on the fi eld Of battle) the harder the
struggle the more brightly did his perfection
,

shine forth so that all his acts of virtue might

,

truly be called heroic In this holy exercise he .

persevered until death and no on e was ever ,

”
found to contest his claim to exalted virtue .

This O pl Il l OIl has been shared by illustrious

men cardinals bishops generals of religious
,
—
, ,

orders who having examined into his life peti

—
,

ti on e d the Holy S ee for his b e a ti fi ca ti o n and

‘

canoniz ation .
92 LI F E OF B LESSED GAB RIEL .

themselves with sobriety and temperance says ,

o u r h ol- rule fo r t h e more freely o n e indul es

y , g
\
h i s appetites the more closely and painfully will
,
” “
he be tormented If thou give to thy soul her
.

”
desires she will make thee a j oy to thy enemies
, .

(E c e.li xviii .

From the very beginning of his reli gious career ,

therefore Gabriel set his face against this vice ;

,

and among his resolutions we read : I will never

exceed in quantity I will not eat with avidity
.
,

but rather with reserve and modesty subjecting ,

my appetite to reason H ow faithful he was to

this self imposed r u le hi s director tell s us : The
-
,

greatest d i fli cu l ty I met with in regulating his

exterior m or ti fi ca t i on was to give him a fixed ,

rule that would free liim from all uncertainty in

the matter of food and drink B ut God enabled .

me to guide him S O that his health migh t n ot be

impaired that he m ight have the strength needed
,

for the exercises of the religious observance and ,

the due prosecution of his studies A t first he .

wa s s omewhat concerned from fear of excess but ,

gradually he freed himself from anxiety by the

practice of obedience and succeeded in maintain ,

ing that measure of temperance which avoids a l l

”
extremes equall y Again we read in his resolu
.

tions : I will not speak of what relates to food ,

and much less will I complain I will not take .

food outside of the appointed time I will be .

satisfied with what is set before me with out com ,

o
 TE M P ER AN CE A N D M O RTI F I C A TI ON . 93

plaining either in word or thought mindful that ,

I have vo wed poverty and that our L ord per ,

mits some things to test the sincerity Of my prom

ise
.
”
O ne of his companions having grumbled
about the scantiness o f h i s supper Gabriel chided ,

him gently saying : What s the use of complain

,
’

”
ing P I m s u re we had enough after all
‘
.
’
If , .

what he ate was not to his liking Gabriel took ,

occasion to prao i ce a little m or tifi ca ti on remem

s ,

berin g that ou r Divine S avior n ot only sometimes

had no bread to break His fast but during His ,

agony on the cross He had not e v en a drop of

,

water to quench His thirst If his f ood pleased .

him he diverted his attention by list ening more

,

closely to the rea d ing or by making pious r efl e c

,
~

tions of his o wn If h e felt particularly incli ned

.
'

to gratify his appetite he would mortify himself

,

by waiting a little and eating more slowly thus

, ,

seasoning everything with mor tifi ca ti on and ,

sanctifying a merely anim al occupation He .

that s eeks pleasure in the gratification of the

senses will never fin d pleasure i n spiritual things
,
.

Temperance is guarded and perfected by the

practice of m or ti fi ca ti o n a n d without the habit
,
.

ual exercise of sel f restraint even in things law

-

ful no one can advance in spirituality These

, .

fruits of penance may scandalize a sensual

world but they are dear to all who would follow
,

in the footsteps of a scourged and crucified M as

”
ter . I chastise my bo dy says the apostle , ,
94 L I FE OF B LESSE D GAB R I E L .

and bring it into subjection Gabriel s love

.
’

of self denial was well shown (so reads the sum

-

mary of the Process) by the selection he made of

the rigid institute in which he chose to spend his
life Y e t how much more rigid would he n ot
.
1

have made its rule (the same document continues )

had n ot h i s superiors moderated his a rdent desire
”
to add every kind of m or tifi ca ti on thereunto .

It app ears that the Master of N O vi ces h a d been -

s omewh at condescending in this res pect so that ,

’
F Norbert after undertaking Gabriel s direction
.
, ,

met with some d ifli cu l ty in keeping his ferven t

“
disciple within proper limits I constantly found
”
in him this Father writes a great spiri t of both
, ,

interior and exterior m or tifi ca ti on as well as a ,

habitual desire of practicing it In regard to ex .

t e r i or m or tifi c a ti on he had such a stro n g inclina

,

tion for corporal austerities that had I n o t ,

watched over him and restrained him his fervor ,

would have prompted him to perform so many ,

and of such a nature that in a short time he

,

woul d have ruined his constitution In fa ct I ,

found him immoderately inclined to su ch th i rig s

.

in the beginning and hard to be convinced on

,
.

this special point In order to obtain permission

.

for certain m or ti fi ca ti on s which I deemed inap

propr iate, he would urge upo n me all th e reaso n s
he could imagine and th at with such cleverness
,

that frequently he would have gained his point

h a d I not been extremely careful When I spoke
.
96 LI F E OF B LESSED GAB RIEL .

public ,
that all may see what a man of gr eat
too ,
m or t i fi cat i on y ou are ! Though stung to the ’

quick he did as I told h i m and wore it as I di

, ,

rec t e d ; be sides to satisfy his thirst for penances

,

by giving him more than he asked I made fun ,

of hi m before his companions ; but he without ,

ever replying without showing the slightest im

,

patience t ook everything i h silence nor would

, ,

he even ask to be dispensed from thus becomi ng

”
the laughing stock of all -
.

U nable to satisfy his cravi ng for external pen

a n c es because prevented by obedience Gabriel
, ,

found means to mortify himself interiorly

everything Whether eating or drinking stand
.
,

ing or kneeling d u ring recreation or repose he , ,

found way s to contra di ct nature and self love -

yet he acted with such d exterity and natur al

,

ness that no on e co ul d perceive it unless ,

he were acquainted with the secrets of his

sou l His eyes ears taste and feeling had
.
, , .

each their own m or tifi ca ti on He was par .

ti cu l a r l y zealous in such practices during the

triduums and novenas which preceded the great
festivals A t such times his preparations c on
.
,

sisted n ot in the mere recital of a few ext ra

prayers but in a renewed application to overcome
,

himself interiorly in everything B efore and .

after Holy Communion as a remote preparation , ,

a nd continued thanksgiving he li kewise r e ,

doubled his acts Of self denial H e encourag ed -

.
 TE M P ERAN C E A N D M O RTI F IC A TI O N . 97

himself in these practices by meditating on the

sufferings of Jesus the dolors of his compassion
,

ate Mother and the great trut hs of fa i th thus

, ,
,

maintaining the fervor of his penitential spirit

undiminished until the day of his death The .

followin g maxims we find written in Gabriel s ’

book of resolutions : I will profit by every

occasion of m or ti fi ca ti on that occurs without
,
”
seeking after them .I will fulfil exactly my
ordinary d u ties mortifying sel f in whatever
,
”
would prove an obstacle to perfect obedience .

“
I will mortify my eyes and my tongue ; I will
not leave my cell without necessity ; I will not
inquire after anything through curiosity ; I will
check my desire to talk ; and I will increase the
”
number of such like acts every day A nd
‘

“
again I will mortify myself in ordinary
things a n d in whatever I feel inclined t o do
, ,

saying in my heart : 0 my God ! I will not d o

this thing through mere inclination but because
,
”
it is Thy will .

To all these g enerous resolutions we will add

but one more ; but though exceedingly brief in
.

words it is the most comprehensive and most

,

heroic of all I will strive to resist all my

inclinations.

Ho wever great the care Gabriel took to con

ceal these acts of virtue from all except his di
rector they could not escape the notice of the
,

most observant and experienced among his com

 LI F E OF B LESSED GA B RIEL .

panions O ne of them F B ernard (afterward

.
,
.

general o f t h e whole congregation) testifies as

!

foll ows C onsidering the circumstances of

’
Confrater Gabriel s life as a secular to behold ,

him n o w in religion and even from the very b e

,

ginn ing s o detached from a l l things so humble

, ,

obedient reserved and delicate of conscience

,

must necessarily impress one with the conviction

that he set about the reformation of himself with
a more than ordinary spirit o f m or ti fi ca ti on
all those who treated with him in d aily a n d fa
miliar conv erse could n o t help but r e cogn ize this
fact He did n ot practice any extraordinary ex
.

ternal penances ; but this was n ot for lack of

desire but solely because such penances were
,

prohibited by O b edience to which he submitted ,

with t h e docility of a child The fervent youth .

,

however knew well how to co m pensate for this

,

loss ; for beside the exact observance of his rule ,

he was most attentive at every moment and in ,

every action even the most indifferent not only

, ,

to sanctify the same by the most exalted i n ten

tions but also to accompany them all with some
,
”
s elf imposed enance
p
-
.
1 00 LI F E OF B LESSED GAB RIEL .

Virgin, he preserved unsullied the white garment

o f baptismal in nocence amidst all the da n gers of

the worl d ; but it was only in the s anctuary of the

C loister that this v irtue was made perfect
,
I .

”
find it impos s ible t o express in words writes ,

h i s director the love that Confrater Gabriel

,

nourished for the a n gelic virtue the j ealou sy ,

with w hi ch he watched over it and the care he ,

took to avoid all th at might in the least tarnish

its lustre It would be necessary to have seen
.

him and known him to form an adequate i dea ,

”
o f his virginal modesty It m a y be said that .

from the time of his entrance into the religious

state he truly emulated the angelic S t A loysius
, .
,

to whom indeed h e has been compared by such

‘

eminent judges as Car d inals Parocchi R ichard , ,

Goossens Canossa Manara di Pietro L a Valetta

, , , , ,

Vaughan de R uggiero and others ; but above

, ,

all by o u r Holy Father L eo X III ,

.

It Should be remember ed that chastity is an

acquired virtue and that the effor t required on
,
f

Gabriel s part was proportioned to his ardent

’

and affectionate tem per He was not then a .

stranger to the harassing temptations of youth ;

his chastity was rather a glorious victory over
the common fo e He was so diligent in dr i v
.

ing away every thought and temptation against

decency relates F Norbert that during th e
,
.
,

whole time that I directed him I do n ot remem ,

ber that even once he had any doubt or fear of

 C H A STIT Y . 1 01

”
h a ving failed in any manner whatsoever B ut .

then he used such circumspection in avoiding

,

danger that when reading or studying if he fell

, ,

upon anything suggestive of evil he passed it ,

over at once however interesting it might a p

,

pear He even said that he would never read

.

“
the History of Heresies written b y S t Al , .

h on s u s because their origin and progress are a l

p ,

ways bound up with the spirit of im purity some ,

times indeed scandalously and grossly so Those .

familiar with the biographies of the reformation

worthies will agree that he was n ot much mis
taken .

It is n ot uncommon even with conscientious

young people in the world to gratify their on ,
e

r i os i ty as long a s it does not prove to be directly

‘

S inful ; they take it to be their privilege to see

and hear and enjoy everything that is not posi

ti v el y bad That Gabriel as a secular labored
.
, ,

under the same dangerous error we have already ,

seen from his fondness for theatres and balls ,

novels and other worldly vanities B ut from .

the time of his conversion he fully understood

th at the concupiscence of the eyes must n eces
s a r i l y lead to the concupisce n ce of the flesh ; and

that the freedom of the children of the world is

incompatible with the purity of the children of
God .

Hence to preserve intact the angelic virtue he ,

began to practice the m or ti fi ca ti on of his senses

.
,
1 02 LI F E OF B LESSED GAB RIEL .

and this to such a degree that soon he b ecame ,

an object of admiration even to the most fer

vent ; ever y th l n g seeming to him as if it did not
exist s o completely did he stifle all his n atural
,

inclinations O ne Of the first habits t o which

.

novices are accustomed is custody of their eyes .

“ ” “
L et the brethren says the rule keep a dili
, ,

gent guard over their senses bu t especially r e ,

strain their eyes The moral axiom that u n

.

restrained freedom I n gazing about is i n com pa ti

ble with purity o f heart was kno wn even to
”
,

the pagans of old Hence ou r Gabriel from h is

.

very first days in the novitiate before he r e ,

ce i v e d the religious habit made a covenant with

,

his eyes which he scrupulously observed to his

death If perchance h e met a person of the
.

other sex he wou ld either tur n his eyes i n so m e

,

other direction or else fix them upon the little

,

crucifix or the image of O ur L ady of D olors ,

which we have on ou r beads B ut he did this .

with such a total absence of constraint or a ffec

ta ti on that he Seemed to act as naturally in this
as in all else This reserve was particularly
.

striking when on rare occasions the students

happened to enter the house of som e ben efactor .

N o d oubt s u ch circumspection will appear exa g

gerate d to those of a worldly spirit yet this
was the common practice of the saints of God
either then thei r austerity o r ou r car eles sness
,

must surely be at fault .

1 04 LI FE OF B LESSE D G AB RIEL .

could tell with certainty the color of his eyes .

He always walked in a most modest manner

with downcast eyes according to the advice of,

S t B enedict S t Ignatius as well as our holy

.
,
.
,

Founder but in all this his demeanor was so

,

natural that it did not obtrude itself upon the

notice of others a s a singu l arity whilst hi s very ,

presence breathed forth th e angelical purity of

his soul The mere Sight of him moved all to
.

piety and devotion ; and it Often happ ened that

when persons met him ou t walking i n the midst
.

of h is companions they were seen to st op on the

,

roa d and gaze upon him with compunction and ,

then follow him with their eyes after he had

passed on S eminarians who came to the retreat
.

to make the s piritual exercises before their ordi

nation could hardly keep th eir eyes Off him
,
”
whenever he chanced t o come n ear them and ,

continues his director I could notice that Con ,

frater Gabriel s modesty had a singular i n fl u en b e

’

in moving them to fervor Quite a number of .

them wo u ld not leave till I had allowed them

the privilege of a conversation with him They .

left his presen ce filled with fervor and com pu n c

tion and for a long time they retained the salu
,
”
tary impression made upon them .

This singular reserve and delicacy of the serv

ant of God is not to be confounded with morbid
pr u dery a thing utterly estranged from virtue
,
.

Gabriel s sensitiveness was rather a divine instinct

’
 C H A STI T Y . 1 05

which made h i m feel no longer at home In flesh

and blood as lo n g as they were subjec t to origi
,
”
nal corru ption Unhappy man tha t I am cried
.
,

o u t the apos tle who will deliver me from the

,

body of this death H is spirit indeed groan

eth being burdened until his earthly house of
,

habi tation should be dissolved (2 Cor v ) Ab

”
. . .

s t r a cti n g however from extraordinary grace let

, , ,

us remember that in certain phases of exterior

mo d esty the saints are sometimes less to be i m
i ta t ed than admire d Their extreme delicacy
.

must be attri buted to a state Of which the sen ,

sual world has no clear idea and utterly no sym

,

pa thy In grosser beings the flesh seems to b e

.

come too hea vy for the spirit and weighs it ,

d own to the ear th and its pleasure ; but in more

refined natures the spirit seems to emancipate
,

itself and lift the body up to regions not yet

,

qui te congenial to its present condition until ,

that which i s mort al shall b e s wa llo wed up by

”
life
.
 L I FE OF B LES S E D G A BR I E L .

HIS H U M ILI T Y .

To conquer the pride of

life requires no less of
a s tr u l e than t o overcome the concupiscence
gg
of the flesh and it would be di fficu lt to say
,

which of these two is the g r eater Obstacle to a

spiritual life ; were it n ot that experience as well ,

as t h e masters of asceticism teach th at pride 1 s ,

’
impurity s parent God resisteth the proud and
”
giveth His grace to the h umble True humility .

is the safegua rd as well as the foundation of all

,

the ot her virtues Hence th ere is no virtue in

.
,

which the young religious is more thoroughly

grounded than this from the very beginning and ,

hence t oo our Gabriel with the in stinct of di

, , ,

vine grace strove to lay the solid foundations of

,

sanctity in the depths of the profoundest h u

m i l i ty . He was so penetrated with its impor
tance that frequently in conversation he w ould
,

bring up some appropriate sentence from S crip

ture or a maxim of th e saints and particularly
, ,
“
this one of o u r Holy Founder that one grain ,

O f pride will cause a m ountain of sanctity to

cru mble .

B ut Confrater Ga b riel was a doer to the word ,

1 08 LI F E OF B LESSED GAB RIEL .

n ot acquired without study nor patience without ,

su ff ering s o neither ca n humility be made per

,

fee t with ou t humiliations In the religious life .

there are various practices condu cive to this end .

Taken from the canonical penances of old they ,

are debasing to man s pride but they enable ’

,

those wh o perform them in the proper spirit to ,

follow manfully in the footsteps of a D ivine

Master wh o humbled Himself even unto the death
o f the Cr oss Penetrated with such s entiments
.

o u r Gabriel Composed the followin g prayer the ,

solidity of whos e doctrine is rivall ed by its u n c

tion .

“
B ehold me at Thy feet 0 L ord beggin g for , ,

pity and for mercy ! What wilt Thou lose in

granting me a great love for Thee a profound ,

humility great purity of heart m in d and body ;

,
.

fra ternal charity intense sorrow for having of

,
'

fended Thee and the grace t o offend T h ee no

,

more What wilt Thou lose 0 my God by en

—
, ,

abling me to receive worthily Th y S on in Holy

Commu nion i n assisting m e to act through
—

love of Thee in all my thoughts works penances , ,

and prayers b y granting me the grace of lov

—

ing Thy holy Mother most tenderly and trust

fully ; the grace o f final perseverance in my v o
cation and of dying a good and holy death
,
“
I am a beggar askin g for alms covered with ,

sores and rags 0 see my mis ery ! Here is my

.

proud head my cold heart yes my stony heart

, , ,
.
 H I S H U M I L IT Y 9

Here is my mind filled with worldly thoughts ,

my will inclined onl y to evil my body re b ellious ,

t o every good work .

“
Help me O my Go d !
,
do help m e
to correct myself This grace I ask through
.

Thine ow n goodness through Thine infinite ,

mercy To obtain it I offer Thee the merits of

.
,

Jesus Christ our S aviour a n d L ord I have no

,
.

merits of my own I am destitute ; but His

, ,

wounds will be my plea ; Vu l n er a tu a m er i ta

m ea. Had I shed my blood for love of Thee ,

like Thy S on wouldst Thou not grant me this

,

favor H o w much more oughtest Thou to hear

me n o w smee He shed H as for me
,

Art Thou not He wh o hast promised In Thy

Gospel that whatsoever I ask for the good of my
soul Thou wilt grant : A sk and y o u shall r e ‘

c ei v e N o w as Thou canst not with

,

draw Thy word I beseech Thee to hear me I

‘

,
.

beseech Thee through Thine infinite goodness ;

through the heart of Thy S on wounded with
love for me ; through the infinite charity of Thy
eternal S pirit ; through the love Thou bearest
Thy most holy dau ghter Mary ; and for the
honor of the whole h eavenly court into which I ,

ask Thee one day to admit me Amen . .

’

This prayer was written by the servant of

God shortly after his entrance into the cloister
,

it was the first flower of his fervor and exhales

the fragrance of rare virtue From his written .
1 10 LIFE o r B LESSED GAB RIEL .

’
resolution s then we can easily see Gabriel s id eas
,

concerning the excellence of humility ; let us

n o w hear from those w h o knew him best h o w
,

he put those ideas into practice .

S peaking o f his holy disciple F N orbert de ,

.

“
poses in the processes In the exercise and
pursuit of holy humility he followe d the same ,

method he had adopted in acquiring all the other

virtues ; that is he directed his attention princi
,

pally t o his interior stripping his he art of its

,

vices and clothing it with the opp osite virtu es

, .

He kept before his eyes his o wn nothingness and

misery ; his former life in the world his propen
‘

sit t o evil his unfaith fulness to God his weak

y , ,

ness and helplessness With all these motives he

.

was intimately penetrated especially during the ,

time of meditation ; and by this means he a t

t a i n ed such a humble opinion of himself th a t he
greatly feared and d istrusted self relying in ,
’
all things solely on the assistance of God s holy '

grace H e often said : O f myself I c an do

.
‘

nothing . O f myself I am capable only

’
of sin yes even of the greatest crimes
, ,
He .

spoke thus because he was intimately convinced

of these truths in his heart : and I remember
well that in all he did he placed no reliance on
,

his own powers or efforts or talents even in

, , ,

matters of no great importance However this .

,

mean Opinion of himself and his worth made

him neither m ela ncholy nor slothful ; on th e ,
 L IFE ‘

OF BLES S ED G ABR I EL .

of work ; but Gabriel insisted that I should let

him exchange it for the S ign of another reli
gions l est his o wn S hould occasion some thought
,

o f vainglory and I had to yield

,
Many of his .

companions too have left their Written testim ony

, ,

that they never heard from him any expression

of self praise
-
He took delight in wearing
.

clothes that had been used by others or any ,

thing that was poor or ill fi tti n g E verything In -

.

him was adorned with modesty and humility “

.

His constant self abasement in word and deed -

was itself s o hidden so natural and spontaneous , ,

that it did not bear the appearance of humilia

tion He was an enemy to a ffecta tl on and ex a g
.

e r a t i on in anything but above all in matters of

g ,

humility and humiliation N or was he less .

averse to anything like effusiveness in self abase -

ment ; he c a refully concealed his very sentiments

of humility S eaking as he felt with naturalness
p,

and simplicity giv ing the matter no further

,
”
thought .

Whenever he was subj ected to some h u m i l i

ation or was derided whether on set purpose or ,

merely as a trial t o his virtue he would assimi ,

late i t interiorly and relish his abjection to such a

degree of contentment that it would be hard to ,
”
describe it properly .

It was his custom neither to excuse nor tode

fend himself but simply t o su ffer and be s ilent
,

and if occasionally by mistake he was j udged

 HI S H U M I L IT Y . 113

gu i lty of something that he did not do he could ,

hardly contain his satisfaction and joy He .

looked upon all o thers as his superiors and con

’
s i d e r ed himself everybody s servant When .

1
saying culpa in the refectory or in chapter ,

when performing the usual penances or humbling

himself before any on e it was eas ily seen that he ,

really meant what he was saying or doing Of .

ten have I noticed how dexterously he sought to

be the least of all t o t ake the lo west place to be , ,

served last and to choose the worst of every

,

thing All this however he did so cleverly and

.
, ,

so naturally that unless on e were used to his

,

ways and acquainted with his interior he would

, ,

never have suspecte d but that these things had

so hap pened of themselves yet they left every ,

one unconsciously ed i fi ed Many a time have I .

noticed that when some particular attention was

paid him he felt s o great a r epu gn a n ce t h a t he
,

showed it externally : and on the other hand he ,

would often ask me to reprehend and hum ble

hi m in public and when I n eglected to do so for
,

want of reason or because I could find no fitting ,

occasion he would come to me and gently com

,

plain When I did happen to correct him he

.
,

1 By culpa w e m ean th e public acknowl ed gm e nt o f on e s ’

e x te rio r faults against th e r ul e s .

Th e chapt r is a conve ntio n o f th e re ligious community It is

e
”
.

call d g
e l if co mpos d o f r p r s ntativ s of th whol ord r
e n er a , e e e e e e e e

p ro v i i
nc al i f o f th e p r ovinc e lo l i f o f th e i n d i v idual community
, ca .
114 LI FE or B LESSED GAB RIEL .

would at once kneel down and remain in that

posture until I told him t o arise If I left the .

room without telling him t o stand up he would ,

humbly remai n in that position even for a con

s i d era bl e time either till I returned o r sent a
, ,
,

fellow student with the needed perm ission I of

-
.

ten reprimanded him for what I knew he did not

do A t such times he never excused himself
.

either to me o r to his companions, either then or

aft erward neither by word look nor gesture did,

h e Show that he was not guilty of w h at he was

being blamed for E ven when I d id not mean
.

to reprimand but merely to warn h im of some;

thing he would immediately kneel down with a
,

respect and humility that faithfully bespoke his

interior dispositio ns The reprehension over he
would say on resuming his seat Well I must
.
,
“
, ,

correct myself . I richly d eserved it .

Withal his confidence in me was not in

,
”
any way lessened but rather increased
,
.

It was often noticed that he gladly occupied

himself in the meanest domestic employments ,
“
for m used to say we gain more ,
”
glory than by doing other things
,
O f course .
,

both the devil and his o wn passions fought har d

against him seeking to thwart him in these vi r
,

tu ou s purs u i ts but temptation would only make

,

him the humbler and wou l d seem to encourage

,

him the more to acquire the very perfection of

,

humility a n d to e xercise i t .
116 LI F E OF B LESSED GAB RIEL .

H IS M EEK N ESS .

AF TER he has w on the victory ver the co n o

cu pi s ce n c e o f the eyes and the co n cupiscence of

,

the flesh there remains to the soldier of Jesus

Christ one more enemy to conquer namely the
,

pride o f life N o w this Vl ce 1 s m anifested in a

.

twofold way : by vainglory in his understand

ing and anger in his will : it must therefore be
,

conquered by the virtues of humility and meek

ness ;
Man by pride aspired to be equal to God
God by the Incarnation lowered Himself t o the
level of man and then said
,
“
L earn of Me b e ,

cause I am meek a n d humble of heart and you ,

Shall find rest t o you r souls From the time I

.

undertook the spiritu al direction o f Confrater

” “
Gabri el says F Norbert
,
. I examined the
‘

practices of m or tifi ca t i on which he was wont to

perform I suppressed whatever seemed excess
.

ive considering his constitution as well as the

, ,

austerities of the Passionist observance ; but a t

the same time I gave him wide scope for such
,

m or t i fi ca t i on s as could not overtax his bod i ly

strength and above all for the exercise o f i n te
,
 HIS M EEK N E S S . 117

M ar virtue The latter I insisted on as the most

.

important and thereun to he applied himself with

,

all the energy of his soul .

~
This self conquest naturally Showed itself ex
-

t er n a l l y .N 0 man who had lived with him as

a secular and had become the d aily witness of
,
”
his religious life says F B ernard wo uld have
,
.
,

taken him for the same person : all his vani ty ,

levity impatience arrogance i n fine all those

, ,
—

habits that were so noticeable in him before van ,

i s h ed on his en tranc e into religion and there r e ,

mained of his former personality only those

beautiful traits which afterward blossomed into
”
perfect virtue F Xavier another of his fellow
. .
,

students speaks of Gabriel i n the same strain

, _ ,
“
and then adds Never did he utter a word that
might hurt any one s feelin gs ; never did he ’

S how that he had been wounde d in his own I .

well remember that frequently I took pleasure

in trying his patience but his o nly retort wa s a ,
”
quiet smile Yet the reader will recoll ect that
.

from his very infancy our hero s predomi nant ’

passion wa s that of anger and how frequently ,

in spite of his good resolutions he had to deplore

many a sudden outburst of almost ungovernable
feeling In the cloister his victory was complete :
.

passion would no sooner arise but it was con ,

quered by a resolute Will then would he hum

ble himself deeply for having had even that first
spontaneous motion of anger and thus in spit e ,
 LIF E OF BLESSED GA B R I EL .

of his sensitive temper he became for all a model

,

of patience and meekness growing steadily in ,

every degree of self conquest as his life went on

-
.

H is meekness thus was an a cq u i r ed virtue the ,

fr uit o f an unceasing warfare that required the

exercise of heroic virtue Yet several of his .

companions who had lived with him for years ,

never noticed a sign of the internal struggle he

had to undergo to conquer self they afterward
.

declared that they always thought that Gabriel s '

’

facility in practicing self contr ol was m erely the -

“ ” “
effect of his good nature ! It was by con
t i n u a l recollection as F Norbert says that he
,
.
,

contrived to keep a strict guard over his heart ,

and over self love in particular B y the light

-
.

that God gave him he detected the uprising of

,

every passion (and this with a degree of clear

, .

n ess quite unusual even in interior souls ) : and

was extremely prompt in repressing and contra

dicting them .

“
In h is b ook of resolutions we read : I will
shut my heart against disquiet of any kind ‘

aga inst sadness and displeasure and much more ,

against anything like aversion or reveng e I .

will c u ltivate peace of heart and therefore I will ,

not give any Sign of impatience either in word

or action . I will suppress at once all s u dden
movements and all affections that mi ght ever so
,
”
slightly cloud my mind A nd knowing in the
.

lig ht of God that envy of others an d an over

,
 L I FE OF B L ESSE D G A BR I EL .

1 . HIS C H EER F U L N E SS .

W H E N a Christian by means of temperance

h a s overcome his evil passions he may then rea ,

s on a b l y turn to the more c onsoling work of de

v el opi n g all that good that is laten i n him , by

t
the cardinal v irtue of justice Now j ustice may .

be explained as being the rectitude of intention

which seeks to know the right in order to do it .

“
It is sometimes called the sense of duty
prompting us to give to God the things that are
God s and to all men their due
’
.

Considering the many limitations of our double

nature we were evidently intended to live in s o
,

ci et therefore hath God given every man

y ,
”
commandment concerning his brother Created .

in the i mage of a Go d of infinite goodness we ,

are so to act that we may ever prove ourselves

to be worthy children of ou r heavenly Father
“
wh o maketh His s u n to rise upon the good and
bad and r a i n e th upon the just a n d the unjust
,
.

A nd what is that sunshine that we are to shed

.

upon our neighbors what the refreshing dew , ,

but that spiritual cheerfulness of which the

“
apostle wrote saying : R ejoice i n the Lor d a l
,

ways again I say rejoice ,

 H I S C H EERF U L N E S S . 1 21

Nature had given our Gabriel an abiding cheer

fuln ess of character but divine grace perfected
,

and tr a n s fi g u r ed it While still a secu l ar

.
,

writes B onaccia serenity ever shone on his

,

brow : his glance his smile the accent of his

, ,

voice all revealed a heart in which j oy was pre

,
”
dominant In a religious freed fro m all
.
,

worldly cares and fears we naturally expect to ,

see a peaceful joy which gilds and renders a t

,

tractive both the state itself and those that are

held to represent it The children of S t Paul of
. .

the Cross are no exce ptIOn I n this respect From .

the very beginning a winning cheerfulness has

,

b een their characteristic : it offsets their a u steri

ties and rewards them for their faithfulness
,
.

Yet even in their midst Gabriel s companions ,

’

could not but won d er and look with a holy envy ,

at his ever peaceful countenance For where is .

‘ the man whose horizon is not sometimes o b

\

s oured by a passing cloud where is human na —

ture to be found so tempered by Christian forti

tude and generosity but that experiences mo , .

ments of depression Nothing of the kind ,

however was noticed in ou r hero : not even for

,

a moment did any of his fellow religious see him -

under the influence of either weariness or sad

ness .

It co u ld hardly b e that this unalterable serenity

of mind was a mere gift of nature which cost

him nothing : he t oo had his t emptations mo ,

1 22 LI F E OF B LES S ED G A B RI EL .

ments of interior depression when all seems ,

dark a n d useless but he never allowed these

“

feelings to overmaster him : his resolute will

triumphed over his n atural weakness bearing ,

him on in magnificent reaches toward the heights

of manly holiness and religious perfection .

If our Gabriel avoided the extreme of peevish

ness and sadness likewise did he g uard against
,

the equally perilous extreme of boisterousness ,

that sure index of an inconstant a nd su perficial

charact er F B ernard speaking of his holy com
.

panion says He was the delight of his breth

ren Whoever had to deal with him was struck
.

with wonder at hi s u n r u ffl e d disposition joined ,

”
as it was to the most amiable manners His .

”
presence says his biographer was like a ray
, ,

of heavenly sunshine that fell upon the very soul

of those whom h e approached : it was as if a

source of unearthly sweetness welled up from his

heart and flowed ou t in streams of joy through
”
his eyes and lips and whole demeanor H e was .

an enemy to all singularity : he had none of that

moroseness that sour and silent spirit of cri ti
,

ci s m ,
that chills the mirth of recreation an d
destroys fraternal charity : his manners were
natural but refined his con v ersation often tinged
,

with contagious humor ; and even the witty

pleasantry and innocent joke which hurts n obody ,

and ch eers the heart of man, were by no means

foreign to h
1 24 LIFE or BL E S SE D G A B RIE L .

with a winning smile ; his eyes were large and

deep intelligent and bright modestly lo wered
, ,

u n d e r w el l arched brows ; his forehead was high

‘ -

and broad his hair dark his face oval and sym
, ,

metrical S uch is the pen portrait given u s by

.

his friend and first biographer Paul B onaccia ,

.

'

His manners were very attractive says F ,

.

“
N orbert his ways naturally refined his speech
, ,

was prompt and appropriate n ever failing to ,

”
e n gage and hold the attention In a word he .
,
\

united many beau tiful qualities in a n uncommon

'

degree and it was n o wonder that he won the

,

esteem and love of all even aside from the virtue ,

and sanctity with which all this natural per fec

tion was crowned W hi lst his appearance was .

attractive his conversation forbade anything

,

like familiarity ; while inspiring confidence it ,

commanded respect He was an enemy to every .

degree of hypocrisy and falsehood avoided all ,

flattery and artifice considerate yet candid and ,

truthful In public or in private he respected

.

the good name and reputation of his neighbor ;

'

a fl ect i on a t e to all bearing with all and excusing

, ,

all he never gave any occasion for complaint

,
.

To those who had recently entered the novitiate

he showed particular kindness making them feel ,

that they were Su rrounded by true brethren in

their new home Whilst he j udged hi mself the
.

least of all the communi ty he was fearful lest he ,

might be thoug ht more of than others So .

 HI S C H EER F U L N E S S .

sensitive w as he upo n t h i s point that at times he ,

fancied he was treated with more consideration

than his brethren and dr eaded that any one ,

S hould thereby be deprived of what was hi s due .

More will be said on t hi s interesting and practical

subject in a later chapter when we speak of the ,

supernatural charity whi ch inspired and ennobled

his cheerful n ess and his considerateness .

NOT E W P tr a i t f M B l d G é I Th picture
. e or o e ess e a r ze .
- e

giv n as th frontispi e c of this book is mad a ft e r a painti ng by

e e e e

th I talian a rtist Prof ssor Grandi p

e w d in our r e tr e at o f th
, e , r es e e e

Sc ala Santa in R o m T h original painti g is so w ll don e that

e . e n e ,

a rti sts d clar it to b i m possibl to r prod uc its xpr ssion

e e e e e e e e

e xactly Th r is no auth ntic p rtrait of th bl ss d s rvant

. e e e o e e e e

of G d in xi st nc Grandi s having b n m ade from th e d

o e e e :
’
ee e

sc i ptir of thos who kn w h im b st F Norb rt says

on s e Oh e e . . e ,

how much more han d o m w th d ar s rvant o f G d s H w e as e e e o o

ev r t/ has be co m th popular r pr s nta tion o f th e holy youth ;

e ,
z zs
'

e e e e e

and strang to y i th various m a i f stati ons in which Gab ri l

e sa , n e n e e

has app ar d to thos who hav e invok d hi m h has shown hi m

e e e e , e

s lf so strikingly lik his pictur that on s ing it th y d e cl r d

e e e, ee , e a e

that th young Passionist look e d j ust lik e that !

e
1 26 LI F E or B L ES S E D G A B RIEL .

HIS S P IRI T OF RE LI GI ON .

IF justice requires that man fulfil h i s duties to

himself and his neighbors much more does it de
,

mand that he acknowledge and dis charge his ob

ligations to Go d his Creator and last en d The
,
.

greatest a ct of this virtue is sacrifi ce by which ,

we offer something of ou r o wn in a ck n o wl edg ,

ment of God s supreme dominion : an d in the

’

case of a member of a religious order this s u ,

“
preme act is d one when he makes his pr ofes
”
sion and pronounces his v ows By these vows
,
.

a man sacrifices t o God all that is h i s his body ,

h i s possessions his liberty : he makes of himself

,

a h olocaust s o complete that there is nothing s u b

s ta n t i a l left
. When this religious professi on is
offi cially accepted in God s name by the Church
’
,

it separates us from the world to consecrate us

irre vocably to the L ord : a consecration much
more excellent than that of the s acred vessels of
the altar since it is the result of a deliberate and
,
“

hearty choice AS soon then as a novice h a s

.

caught the true spirit of his vocation he looks ,

forward t o the day of his profession with an

ever increasing longing H o w eag erly ou r Ga
—
.
1 28 LI F E ‘

OF B LESSED G ABR I EL .

“
book he would reverently kiss it
,
I will keep
”
every rule e v en the least he wrote among his
, ,

other -resolutions and he was so faithful to this

,

promise that he could n o t have kept it better

, ,

say s one of his companions : While another de

posed under oath that he never saw the servant
Of God breaking any rule even inadvertently ,
.

He was careful in keeping all the rules without

” “
exception writes F Norbert because he re
, .
,

garded them all a s rules and b ecause he had ,

freely bound himself to keep them N ever did .

he transgress any o f them k nowi ngly nay great ,

wou l d be his sorrow when sickness or some other

unavoidable hindrance rendered some point of
the rule impossi ble ; and it wa s plainly vis ible
h o w much he wa s affected by not being able to
”
be with the community More than once con .
,

ti n u es F Norbert. having dispensed h im on the

,

score of ill health he feared lest I shou l d have

-
, ,

been moved by too much considerateness and he ,

actually had recourse to the higher superiors

whenever they chance d to be available : but
when they gave him to understand that they a p
proved of my dispensation he made use Of it ,

with all simplicity In his Observance of the .

r ules he never took into account t h e discomfort

,

that h i s fidelity would entail ; on the contrary ,

this was for h im an additional reason for regu

l a r i ty since it offered h i m the opportunity of
,

p racticin g sever a l vi r tu es S imultaneously H ad .

 H I S S P I RIT OF REL I G I O N . 29

his superiors allowed themselves t o be influenced

by the eagern ess which he always displayed to ,

observe the rule at any cost he woul d have i n ,

sisted o n keeping m any points from which m oral ,

impossibility would naturally have excused him .

B esides the fact that he was dispensed from any

,

act of the common obser vance did n ot seem t o ,

him a suffi cient reason to extend the dispensatio n

to oth er points though the same r easons existed
,
“
fo r both . When I went to reside in the Re
”
treat Of Isola writes B rother S ylvester Con
, ,

frater Gabriel was already sick though n o t ,

obliged to keep t o his bed y et he regularly fol

,
”
lowed all the community exercises E ven dur .

ing his last illness when he was greatly en fe e

bled h e insisted on making the spiritual reading
,

at the time appointed by the rule ; and when at

last hi s strength failed he begged one of his
,

companions to read out lou d for him .

The due Observance of religious silence is per

haps one of the most di fli c u l t of rules and the ,

o n e most easily broken E xperience teaches

.

t hat the man ner in which either the individual

religious or the whole community stands In rela
tion to this point fixes the degree Of regularity
'
,

for the rest of t h e Observance There are places .

and times determ ined by rule in which no one ,

will be allowed t o speak without necessity ; if

necessity require it it must be done in a l o w
,
”
tone of voice . S uch is the law which is sub
1 30 LIFE OF BLESSED GABR I EL .

s t a n tia l l y
the same in all regular communities .

O ur Gabriel was never kno wn to fail in this r e

spect I will n o t break silence w i thout real
necessity was on e of his resol u tions In the
, .

dormitory and the choir he was especially care ,

ful for in these places says the rule Silence shall

, , ,

always be kept If he had to deliver a m essage

.

to on e Of his companions wh o happe ned to be in

one Of these localities Gabriel would beckon him
,

aside to another place before saying a word .

When there was some pe r m 1 s s 1 on to be asked or ,

some difficulty to b e s u bmitted to his director on

the eve of communion day in order to keep the -
,

strict Silence that commences after night prayers -

he would foresee the necessity and provide for it ,

by going during the day Were he however , ,

prevented b y circumstances from so doing and ,

was therefore oblig ed to delay till after the

rosary he would lay the matter before the s u
,

perior in the fewest words spoken in a low tone ,

of voice and then retire Nor did he limit his

,
.

exactness t o the hour of strict silence : at all

times he was care ful on this point n or would he ,

out of recreation say anything unless it were in ,

some way necessary For instance l n school he

.
,

spoke only Of what referred to his studies a o

‘

counting i t a fault t o bring up irrelevan t matters

at such a time and place .

We have emphasized Gabriel s observance of ’

silence to give the reader an idea Of the careful

1 32 LIF E OF BLESSED GABRI EL .

membered that he was treating with the D ivine

Maj esty : hence t h ere was no distraction no ,

wandering Of his mind no carelessness in his

,

manner or posture A s the ecclesiastical year u n

.

folded the amazing mysteries O f ou r faith to his

view he appreh ended them as living realities as
, ,

though they were then actually happening He .

prepared for all the festivals Of holy Church

wit h faith and love and j oy : but to form any
adequate idea of his d isposition F Norbert as ,
.

sures u s it would be necessary t o have seen Ga

briel at such times and be animated by a spirit
,

Of faith and union with God equal to his own .

His companions particularly remarked that he

spent his last Christmas o n earth in such extra
ordinary recollection and was S O penetrated with
,

the greatness of the mystery that he seemed ,

wholly absorbed In God .

O wing t o ou r custom of chanting the whole

divine Office In choir there I s but little room for
,

singu l arity Of devotion or even for individual

,

notice at all since t h e lines in which we stand

,

before the lecterns (or reading desks) cut us off

’
almost completely from each other s Observation .

Many Of ou r good lay brothers however having , ,

excellent opportunities of Observing the conduct

.

Of the priests and students have testified what

,

they daily saw Of the devotion o f the young serv

“
ant Of God B rother Charles thus deposes :
. I
saw him al ways recollecte d in pray er and h i s ,
 H I S S P I R IT OF REL I G I O N . 1 33

demeanor itself was enough t o inspire o n e with

” ”
piety . I can certify writes B rother S ylvester
, ,

that his whole manner during prayer showed

the liveliness Of his faith the firmness of his ,

hope and the warmth of his personal love for

,
”
Go d. He himself when speaking of the mid
night Offi ce of Matins and L auds O ften said ,

When the world is buried in sleep how beauti ,

ful is it not for us to watch with the angels and

, ,

with them sing the praises of God .

His devotion was no less striking whe n n ece s

s i ty or sickness obliged him to say the ofli c e in

private He would insist on saying it standing

.
,

with his head uncovered : he woul d have said it

on his knees if obedience permitted
,
Moreover .
,

he recited it with such attention and interior de

v o t i on that he spent therein the same amount of
,

time as the community did in choir And be it .

remarked that all this is the more extraordinary

, ,

as our stu d ents are obliged to recite the canoni cal

o ffi ce only through ru l e which does not bind ,

under pain of sin .

His devotion was likewi se displayed in the

manner in which be discharged his Office as sac
ristau It belonged to him to see that every
.

thing pertaining t o the immediate worship of

Go d was scrup u lously clean and in its place He .

was exceedingly diligent in maintaining the

highest degree of cleanliness and order both in ,

th e ch u rch a n d sacristy The a l tar breads for

.
-
,
1 34 LIFE OF BL ESSED G A B RI EL .

insta n ce had t o be lite rally perfec t : a defect

,

which no one else would notice was enough to ,

”
m ake Ga briel discard them O n this point
.
,

says F . had to mortify him more !

than once because he was really excess i ve In his

,
”
requirements I t has never b een the t radition
.

o f the co ng r egation to o bserve religious po v erty

at the expense of our S acramental king a r ound
whose ta b ernacle we are t au gh t to Ofl e r of our ’

bes t : b efore t h e r ea l Presence s hamwax s h a m, ,

flo wers and s h a m gold are strangely out of

”

place ; yet eve n in a place where the hol ies t

, ,

t rad iti ons are d aily reduced to practice Gabriel ,

d istin guished h i mself by consta nt, s u pernatural

a n d qui t e unusu al devo ti on .
1 36 LIFE OF B LESS ED G ABRI E L .

a young er genera tion Judged even b y those .

who were the most exemplary religious In the

various communities i n which he lived our ,

Gabriel was acknowledged as a faultless IIiod el .

He submitted S O heartily to all the prescriptions

and Signals of the regular observance that they ,

seemed to have become for him a second nature .

He would immediately interrupt whatever he

was en gaged in as soon as he heard the com
,
‘

munity bell and would g o at on ce wh er e Obedi

-
,
i

ence called him A t the public acts Of the Ob

.

servance he was alw ays the first When it was

, .

hi s turn t o ring the bell the first stroke Of the ,

clock wo u ld find h i m at his pos t r ope in hand , ,

,

read y to d isch arge his duty .

S uch indeed was his punctuali ty and exactness ,

that no on e could rival him : hence whenever one

was needed t o look after some office or regulation
that required particular fidelity Gabriel was the ,
“
one generally selected U nder this head I r e
.
,
” “
member writes F Norbert that when we b e
,
.

longed t o the community living at Isola we used ,

t o go down to the lower choir in summer for

mental prayer E ither through negligence or
.
,

the difficulty of hearing the clock at such a dis

tance it often happened that the religious
,

charged with the little bell would fail to ring ,

it : S O F R ector ordered Confrater Gabriel t o

.

attend to it ; from that time on the signal was ,

never once omitted .

 H I S REGUL A RI T Y . 1 37

Little by little, his solicitude and punctuality

with regard to the Observance became such a
habit that e v en in time o f sickness it would give
,

h i m great concern and frequ ently would he r e

,

mind his attendants Of the hour lest perhaps the ,

bel l m i ght n ot be rung in time D uring his last.

ill ness it was he wh o notified his companions

, ,

who were watching in his cell that it was time ,

to ring fo r mat ins (at midnight) and he kept up

his solicitude even after he was t oo weak to hear
,

the striking of the community clock D ear .

youth ! he never shrank from duty nor did he ,

throw upon another any burden that he could

possibly take upon himself : yea whenever the ,

R ector gave any directions regarding the stu

dents Gabriel would take it as addressed to him
,

self a n d dil igently perform whatever had been

,

enjoined .

The daily routine of the Passionist life is de

scribed as foll ows i n on e of G abriel s letters to ’

his brother Michael wh o had a sked for a detailed

,
“
account .In the evening earlier or later a o
,

cor d i n g to the season we go to rest and after

, ,
’
five hours sleep we rise about midnight to
chant in choir the office of matins which ,

takes ordinarily an hour after which we apply

,

to m ental prayer for half an hour We then .

go to bed again for three hours in winter ,

a n d two and a half in summer Rising in the .

morning we go to choir to chant prime a n d

,
1 38 LI FE OF B L E S S ED GA B RI E L
‘

tierce followed by an hour Of menta l prayer

, ,

and the slightest little collati on Then for two .

hours an d a half we apply to study then spirit

ual reading for a quarter of an hour on the con ,

cl u s i on of which each on e walks by him self ,

through the grounds for half an hour : then to

ch oir for sext and none after which comes din ,

ner N ext follows the recreation for three quar

.
-

ters of an hour succeed ed by a si esta T hen at

,
.

the sound Of the bell we rise for vespers and , ,

spiritual reading in common A f ter this we .

,

apply again to study as in th e morning for some ,

two hours or so which bein g terminated there , ,

is half an hour s walk O n Thursdays and all’

.

festivals there is no study in the afternoon but

, ,

re creation all the time after vespers The walk .

ended we chant complin have an hour of mental

, ,

prayer and then go to supper When s upper

,
.

(or co ll ation three days a ,

week) is ended we ,

have three quarters of an hour for recreation

-
,

followed by the rosary and night prayers Thus -

.
,

with j oy swiftness and g ood will the day comes

,
-

”
t o an e n d .

“
O ! how pleasant it is said Gabriel on a n , ,
’
other occasion to lay one s self down to rest
, ,

with the consciousness of having served God

”
(however unworthily ) during the whole d ay !
L et the brethren says the rule study to , ,

spend piously the time that rem ains from the com
mon exercises or particular offices of charity to
1 40 LIFE OF BLES S ED G ABR I EL .

XVII .

H I S S P I R IT UAL GO U RA G E .

MA N S life upo n ea r th i s a warfare says holy

’
‘ l
,

Job and the victory cannot b e w on but by a

, ,

fierce and constant struggle Upon every good

.
w

f
Christian therefore d ev ol v e s the Obligation of
fighting the good fight as a soldier of Christ ,

and displaying and exercising the warrior s chief ’

est virtue true moral courage or fortitude

, ,
.

A fter ou r young hero had resolved to walk in

th e foots t eps Of a crucified R edeemer how many ,

struggles mu st he n o t have had t o sustain during ,

all the remaining years of his life ! yet never for ,

a moment did his courage falter o r his resolution

waver : with rare magnanimity he persevered in
the practice Of every virtue becoming to the r e
l igi ou s state up t o his last breath
,
True th i s .
,

magnanimity is to a certain degree common t o

all religious inasmuch as it is i mplied in the r e
,

l i g i o u s state itself ; but it was intensified in o u r

Gabriel by the fac t that he ever sought to real
ize that immolation not only in its substance
, ,

b u t constantly strove day by day and hour by ,

hour t o perfect its spirit in his o wn soul by de

, ,

t a ch m e n t from all creatures and closer union

 H I S S P I R ITU AL O OUR AG E . 41

with God D ocile to grace fearless and n u

.
,

daunted h e withstood and conquered all O h

,

st a cl e s from within as well as from without

ever advancing never pausing for rest on the

,

road he had entered .

For any o n e who has himself set out on the

road of spiritu al perfection it will n ot be difficult ,

t o understand from his o wn experi ence what o b

s t a cl es the ser v ant o f Go d h a d t o encounter so ,

as to maintain that high degree Of fervor Of l ife

which he displayed even in the novitiate ; what
violence he had to do to self what victories t o ,

gain over indolent nature (s o inclined to lag in ,

the exercise of virtue) what a manly fortitude

,

and generosity in being faithful on all occasions ,

”
without ever growing tepid ! S uch are the
“
reflectio n s of hi s director and he adds : In this
,

Confrater Gabriel was endowed with an eminence

o f spiritual courage that wa s alto ether e x tr a o r
g
”
d in a r y .

We have among his papers s ome forty of his

resolutions these were written down by him
from time to time but nearly all shortly after
,

h i s profession N o w these do not at first sight

.

reveal anything extraordinary : both in substance

and expression they appear very simple b u t what
must be accounted as a very rare thing and a ,

proof of the highest virtue is that he kept every ,

one of them to perfection S everal of these res .

ol u ti o n s have already been q oted the remainder

u ,
1 42 LI F E OF BLESSED G ABR I EL .

will be met later o n If the earnest reader de .

S Ir e t o gauge the degree of vi rtue which their

observance would imply let them take up a n y ,

on e o r two Of them and try to fulfil them

p er ,

f ectl
y for a single day He will soon realize the .

magnanimous constancy and the unusual courage

needed In a lifelo n g fidelity to so many and such
difficult promises coverin g the w hole ground of
,

ascetical theology B y reason of this courageous

.

Obedience to grace he acquir ed such facility in ,

practicing virtue that it seemed in hi m to b e

,
‘

quite natural and almost spontaneous Thus .

,

fo r instance to Spe ak to his predominant passion

,

o f anger
’
. The reader will remember Gabriel s
sensitive and passionate nature : now listen to ,
“
Father Norber t : D uring the w hole time of his
religious life I noticed occasionally that anger
,

seemed to boil in his soul and would sometimes ,

appear on his countenance but I do not remember ,

that he even once deliberately seconded its im

pul ses ; rather he was always extremely prom pt
,
”
and firm in keeping it down .

Gabriel s interior struggles however were not

’
, ,
“
limited to anger In order to remain faithful
.

t o Go d he had to sustain with reg ard to every

,

one of the virtues many combats With the pow ,

ers Of hell ; and the struggle was sometim es s o

”
obstinate and fierce says his director that he , ,

would come t o me all w oe b egone for assistance -

.

Yet not even once in all his religious life had he to

1 44 LIFE OF BLE S S ED G ABR I EL .

sonable and severe ; o u r work ou t Of all propor ,

tion to ou r time and strength and ability : add to

this th e natural frictions arisi ng from diversity
,

of education and views characters and disposi

“

tions ; and maybe t oo as in the case of ou r Ga

,

briel we have n o w and then a companion who

,

likes to contradict and annoy us for the express “

purpose of testing ou r virtue We have already .

seen with what cheerful patience the dear serv

ant Of God would meet these li ttle contradictions
-
before his superiors he would hum ble himself ,

promising t o be henceforth yet m ore careful to

avoid faults which as a matter of fact he had
, ,

never committed before his brethren he would

—
,
’
relax into a quiet smile as if to say : Tis all ,
’
rig ht go ahead
,
I know y ou don t mean it !
B ut the beauty Of Gabriel s fortitude shone ’

more particularly in the heroic patience with

which he bore the painful and l i n g er m g illness
that brought him to his grave O ppressed by .

weariness greatly inconvenienced by remedies

,

and attentions (that were supposed t o give relief) ,

and exhausted by the slow progress Of a fatal

disease he yet as all admit never uttered a com
, , ,

plaint or gave the least Sign Of annoyance When .

questio n ed as to h o w he felt he would invariably

reply Thanks be to ou r blessed L ord D uring
his last Sickness writes his companion F Xavier
, ,
.
,

he ever maintained himself in patience and i n

t e r i or peace : he was ready and w illing t o suffer
 H I S S P I R IT UAL O O URA G E . 1 45

even more and gladly availed himself Of an op

,

or t u n i ty Of speaking Of the s u ffer l n g s o f Christ

p
and His blessed Mother He also gracefully sub .

m i tted to the orders of the attending physician

” ”
and t h e direction of his superiors O ne day .
,
“
says F Norbert I feared from certain c on t or
.
,

tions caused by pain that there might be some ,

impatience on Gabriel s part s o I drew near and ’

,

reproved him with severity reminding him of ,

the dut y Of patience so as n ot to give the least

,

displeasure to God or forfeit the merits that we

,

may acquire by courageous resignation A fter .

listening to me with his wonted submission he ,

said with indescribable confidence and sweetness

‘
B e not disturbed Father I assure you I am n o t
, ,

at a ll impatient .
’

Confrater Gabriel was not afraid Of dying : on

the contrary he longed for it and when his hour
, ,

came far from being disturbed at its approach

, ,

he felt such j oy and eagerness to meet it tha t it ,

became necessary to restrain him O nce when .

,

talking to his companions about his death he

asked D O you want me to tell y ou h owI feel
,

about it Well I assure y ou that I am not

,

chagrined at the thought of death rather I am ,

afraid lest in the pleasure I feel at the thought of

”
dying there may be some self love
,
A nd was -
.

n o t the very life he led a continual exercise o f

heroic cou r age N ot merely the religious life in

itself with i ts e s sentia l r estrictions and pri va
,
—
1 46 L IFE OF BLE S SED G ABRI EL .

tions and lifelong obedience but the religious

,
-

life as he unders t ood it a life of complete de

,

t a ch m e n t of absolute self renunciation ; a life

-

which was a fair embodiment of the three degrees

o f fortitude : magnanimity , alacrity and perse

v er a n ce .
1 48 LIFE OF BLESSED G ABR I EL .

are hardly reconcilable with the ignorance and

passions of the you ng : and it would b e all the
more extra ordinary t o find it cultivated where ,

the danger of its absence is scarcely apprehended .

A nd yet we must fairly reckon Gabriel amo n g

the rare exceptions t o the general rule and even ,

admit that he succeeded in practicing prudence

in a heroic deg r ee .

We have seen with what consummate tact he

(

wo n over those who might h ave thwarted his

vocation or at least dela yed his entrance into the
,

mo n astery and h o w he contrived to enjoy his

,

holy solitude unbroken despite their unwise i m

r t u n i ti es These sterling qualities of practical
p o .

judgment and supernatural common sense (if we -

may use such a term) did n ot forsake him in the

cloister.

He did not share that rather general delusion

o f imagining that he would fi n d E verything per
fe e t i n the religious s tate and that everybody l n
,

the monastery would be exempt from all the

miseries Of human natur e S uch people are Often
.

painfully affected by what they actually find in

a religious community they are scandalized and ,

are sometimes tempted t o regret or t o retrace the

step they took in leaving the world A las they
.

forget that perfection may be th e a i m though ,

n o t the con d i ti on Of every good religious and ,

that even saints had their foibles and sh or tco m

ings as long as they lived .
 HIS P R U D E N OE . 49

St . B ernard is repor te d to have said that if

there was any monastery in which there was n o t
a cranky religious it w ould be the abbot s duty
,
’

t o send somewhere else t o g et o n e ; a n d that he

would be worth purchasing at his weight in gold
.

so great is the good resulting to a community from

the presence Of such a member by reason of the ,

virtues he gives occasion of exercising both in ,

himself and in others The religious professi on

.

does n ot absorb the weaknesses o f o u r human na

ture All those living together In a religious
.

house have more or less to suffer from each

other ; and he alone has perfect peace who is de
t e r m i n e d t o forget his r i gh ts and think only of
,
“
his du ti es . It is no small matter to live in a
monastery or in a congregation and t o converse
, ,

therein without reproof Here men are tried as.

”
gold in the furnace (Imitation
. B ook I Chap ,
.
,
.

xvii )
.

If there is a place on earth where the A postle s

,
’

idea of concord is realized it is in a well regulated

,
-

religious community Here differences n ever

.
,

proceed fr Om m alice o r hatred but rather from ,

occasional misunderstandings which do not , on

either side preclude the best of intentions A s
,
.

a rule the mam 1 ss u e is n ot a question Of charity ,

but of prudence or discretion Now it is morally

,
.
,

impossible on a ll occasions to be exempt fro m

this failing : at times we can hardly avoid giving
offence : for although the members of a c Om
1 50 LIFE OF BLESSED GA BR I E L .

munity are brought together by a c om ni on

purpose and in the main are honestly engaged
, ,

in trying t o become perfect yet they ever remain ,

differen t from each other in tem perament and

disposition i n age and in education in talents
, ,

and in sanctity Yet wonderful to relate of a

.
.
,

youth and o n e of such ardent passions as our

,

hero Gabriel was never known to have given

,

occasi on Of complaint t o a n y o f h i s companions '

n or t o have caused the least displeasure in all his

dealings with them Personally he would put .

up with any treatment with u n r u fli e d and smil

i n g countenance dissimulating the offence and
, ,

as it were brushing it Off quietly S uch was his

,
.

exquisite tact his rare prudence constantly dis

, ,

played i n his daily relations to those in whose

society he lived and died Those who knew him .

longest and best both saw and felt that prudence

,

had become habitual with him : his whole con

'
duct was permeated with it ; he was never ofls his
guard never allo wed h i s heart t o be surprised by
,

passion was ever considerate and yiel ding never

, ,

precipitate either in his actions or in his words .

His self possession w a s particu l arly remarkable

-

during the scholastic disputations customary

among o u r students It was a pleasure for his .

confr eres t o have Gabriel pitted against them in

argument O thers there were as skilled as he in
.

logical wrestling but none could submit to de feat

,

more gracefully or S how g reater generosity in

,
1 52 L I FE OF BLE S S ED G ABR I EL .

with imprudence in embracing a mode Of life ex

r a t e d (they say in its continual aust er ity : a
a
gg e )
conte ntion apparently borne out by Gabriel s pre ’

mature death B ut let all such reflect that it i s

.

n o t m or ti fi ca ti on but precisely i ts abse n ce I n the

,

world that brings t o an untimely grave thousand s

,

immolated on the altar Of pleasure : whereas a

severely regulated life is c on ducive to longevity ,

as the statistics of religious orders will abundantly

S how .

B esides ou r special m o r ti fi c a ti on s are not left

,

to t h e caprices Of individual fervor but are ,

regulated by Obedience while even the common ,

exercises prescribed by rule are tem pered by the

“
paternal ch arity o f watchful superiors With .

o u t the superior S permission (the rule says ) let

’

the brethren d o nothing under the guidance Of

their private judgment without the merit Of
Obedience to which they are specially bound
,

and sometimes also with the loss o f health with ,

n o gain either to discipline or the religious com

munity .
’

’
There was then no lack of prudence in Gabriel s
manner Of life whether from misguided zeal or
,

transien t fervor ; nei the r was he bl ameworthy

o n the score Of undue application to his studies :

for the immoderate vigils and absence Of regular

recreation which destroy the constitution Of the
,

carel ess student are impossible under a wise rule

,

and the vigilance Of conscientious superiors .

 HIS P RU D E N OE . 1 53

Health a nd vigor are precious gifts Of God

that cannot blamelessly be despised or tr ifl e d
with n or was o u r Gabriel faulty i n this pa r ti cu
lar ; for d u ring his religious life he was n ot
guilty Of neglect being always perfectly docile
,

t o the directions Of those pl a ced over him A nd .

yet after all supposing o u r hero t o have short

,

ened his days by h i s fervent life as a P a Ss i on i s t ,

what follows hence ? Is life worth living if it

“
be not consumed in God s service Venerable
’

old age is not that of long time nor counted by ,

the number of years says the wise man ; but

,

the understanding Of a man is grey hairs and a ,

spotless life is Old age B eing made per

.

fec t in a short space he fulfilled a long time ; for

,

his soul pleased God ; therefore he hastened to

bring him o u t Of the midst Of iniquities The .

just th at is dead condemneth the wicked that are

living ; and youth soon ended the long life of ,
”
the unjust (Wisd iv
. . .

We n o w come to the subject Of the literary

studies the purpose of which i s clearly outlined
,
“
in these words Of ou r rule : that t h e young
.
,

men may become fitter for the care of souls and ,

may labor with all their strength in ou r L ord s ’

vineyard they are Often rem inded th a t s tu dy

“ ”
is the special Obligation Of their state In a .

l etter to his brother Henry o u r Gabriel gives a

,

fair idea O f his own sentiments and conduct in

“
this regard Apply to study my dear brother , ,
1 54 LIFE OF BLE S S ED G ABR I EL .

and believe me that one of the things which .

frighten me most in having t o ascend (if so it

please God) to the priesthood is the thought of ,

how much I Should know beforehand How .

” “
ever he adds for the past four years I have
, , ,
’
through God s grace applied to my studies a
little less negligently than formerly when I was ,

at home with y ou
The truth is that he appli ed him self w
.

,
ith all
the ardor of his soul to t h e mastery of the sci
en c e s especially o f philosophy and theology in
, ,

order t o render himself capable of teaching and

preaching to the people the truths of ou r holy
faith and con vert to Go d the misguided souls of
,
“
poor sinners . The servant of God must be
”
read y for every good work he used to repeat to ,

him self and t o his companions in the words of ,

the apostle (2 Tim iii t o which he would

. .

’
add : N O one can profitably labor in the L ord s
vineyard unless he be well provided with holi
ness and knowledge ”
O ften would he recall
.

with lively feeling that practice Inculcated by

Ven Vincent S trambi that at their studies the
.
, ,

stu dents should imagine themselves surrounded

by multitudes of poor abandoned sinners eagerly
cr aving for the blessing of instruction and spirit
ual encouragement The fruit he derived from
.

such considerations was evident from his cOn

stant and rapid progress in learnin g S ome of .

his companions might be accounted more tal

 56 LIFE OF B L ESSED G ABRI E L .

manner in which he availed himself of the a d

vantages Of spiri tual direction He who does .

n o t feel the need of spirit u al guidance has n o t

yet enter ed upon the practice of a true interior

life D ifficult ies and perplexities occur in which
.

we need counsel and encouragement and these ,

must come t o us from on e who is skilled in the -

ways of th e spirit and ca m appl y this knowledge

,

according to our individual necessities Those .

who are wisest and most prudent in directing

others have n ot dared t o trust their own lights
,

t o direct themselves Who is the man that ca n

.

understand his own way asks the Holy Ghost .

(Prov xx . He . alo n e is secure who acts ,

under prudent counsel and directs him self by ,

“
Obedience He wh o is his o wn master is the
.
,
” “
disciple of a fool (Prov Ibid ) . L et the breth . .

” “
ren says ou r rule approach their director with
, ,

confidence as to a father make known their

, ,

wants l a y Open the secrets of their hearts tell

, ,

him their anxie t ies of mind the temptations of ,

the d evil and their troublesome thoughts ; hold

ing it for certain that as often as they piously do
this they will gain abun d ant fruits of virtue and
,

seasonable helps from Go d and will return n ot ,

”
only consoled but also full of peace and joy
,
.

O ur dear Confrater is a living proof of the

good results accruing to a soul that is faithful
“
and prudent in its Obedience t o direction It .

wa s a consoling task to have the care of Gabriel s ’

 H IS P R UD E N OE . 1 57

“
interior conduct wrote F Norbert ,
From his . .

director he kept nothin g concealed ; he com

m i t t e d his whole soul into my han d s the —

thoughts Of his mind his intentions and desires ,

the affections of his heart and the movement of

its passions ; his temptations difficulties a n d r e ,

s o that his whole conduct whether

p g
u n a n ces —
,

interior o r exterior might receive th e direction

,

and blessing of Obedience A nd it was sufficient .

'
for me t o say just once : Co nduct yourself in ‘
‘

this or that manner I was certain b eforehand

that he would do what I suggested nor would ,

there be any occasion for me to repeat my a d

“

vice In the manifestation Of his heart he acted

.
,

with a simplicity and candor truly worthy of

”
imitation .

The conferences however which he h a d with

, ,

his director were not unduly prolonged The

,
.

prudent young man would have his q uestions

well prepared and even written ou t on a slip Of
,

paper The answer was received without dis

.

cu s s i on o r reply fo r he went t o seek direction

, ,

not to give it ; nor did he imitate the conduct of

those who try to have their o w n ways and views
approved and then delude themselves into b e
,

lieving that they are acting under obedience !

O ne Of the Signs of an evil inspiration espe ,

ci a ll y when it is masked under the appearance Of

“ ”
good is that the tempter the d umb devil de
, , ,

mands secrecy and silence from his victim O ur .

1 58 LI F E OF BLE S S ED G ABR I EL .

Gabriel avoided all these snares by an humble

manifestation of all that passed in his interior ,

and the greater the difficulty he felt the more ,

resolutely would he conquer self in this r epu g

nance .

“
When we consider the whole tenor of Ga
” “
b r i el s life
’
concludes F Norbert it clearly a p
,
.
,

pears that he possessed th e v 1 r tu e of prudence .

He always knew either by himself or by the ,

advice of others h ow to choose and practice the

,

proper means t o attain his ultimate end to avoid ,

the snares and temptations Of his enemies to ,

exercise the virtues t o conquer h i s passions and, ,

t o c orr espond with God s exalted purposes in

’

calling hi m t o the religious state ; and he did all

this with alacrity Of spirit sincerity of heart , ,
”
simplicity and courage o f will .

B ut if we j udge from the standpoi nt of the

gospel the supreme a ct Of prudence in his ex
,

em l a r y life that o n e which became the foun

p ,

tain head Of all others and enveloped them all

-
,

in its o wn light and fervor is the fact that he ,

“
became a r el i gi ou s What shall I do t hat I
.

may receive life everlasting K eep the com

m a n dm en t s B ut he answering said to him
.

Master all these I have observed from my youth

,

what is yet wanting t o me P A nd Jesus looki n g ‘

on him loved him and said t o him : O ne thing ,

is wanting unto thee : If thou wilt be perfect g o ,

s ell whatsoeve r thou hast and give it t o the poor , ,

1 60 L IFE OF BLESSED G AB RI EL .

XIX .

H I S S P I R IT OF F A IT H .

T H E presence of grace in the soul is manifested

by the practice of three supernatural virtues that
spring from grace as from their seed and are ,

like it and with it infused into the soul by God s

,
’

goodness and mercy These virtues are faith

.
,

hope and charity ; and they are called theolog

ical o r divine because they come directly from
God and have Him for their immediate object
,
.

The first Of these and the source or foundation

,

of the t wo others is faith by which man believes

,

all the truths Of God s revelation

’
.

B aptized on the very day that he opened his

eyes to the light of the w orld brought up under ,

the care of eminently Christian parents ; having

b een taught his fi r St formal lessons in religion
by the B rothers o f the Christian schools (whose
motto is the S pirit of o u r you n g hero

wa s n o doubt u nusually privileged beyond the

“ ”
average Catholic child This spirit Of faith
.

communicated to him by his earliest teachers ,

left upon his soul an influence that is traceable

in the whole afterwork o f his s a n cti fi ca ti on ; it
a ff orded an anchor to his masters at the college
 H IS S P I R IT OF F A IT H . 1 61

to bring him safely through the perilous season

of youth when vanity and passion cloud the
,

mind and heart with dangerous darkness ; so that

when at last he found himself secure in the harbor
of religion it was clearly seen that an abiding
,

spirit of faith became on e Of the most striking ,

characteristics Of his sanctity It manifested i t .

self as many witnesses tell us in every circum

, ,

stance but especially in his conversation

,
He .

” “
was so filled with it says F Xavier that he ,
.
,

would be wonderfully inflamed whenever he was

”
led to speak on religious matters His joyous .

subm ission in believing t h e mysteries Of revealed

truth was plainly noticeable on his countenance
, ,

and he had ever ready a collection of little max

ims that naturally and appropriately voiced his
interior sentiments .

An d yet we must likewise record that o u r

,
’
Gabriel s faith was often severely tried by the
“ “
devil . S on says the wise man when thou
, ,

comest to the service of God stand in justice ,

and in fear and prepare thy soul for t em pt a

,
“ ”
tion (E cc l i ii A gainst
. faith. writes his ,
“
di rector Gabriel had fierce and pro tracted
temptations to sustain but he despised them all ,
.

They annoyed him usually at prayer Whatever .

the mystery might be that he had sele cted for

his meditation he experienced the most violent
,

suggestions against its truth B ut the servant .

of God would n o t on this account abandon this

1 62 LIFE OF BLE S SED GA BR I EL .

holy exercise ; rather he applied himself to it ,

with greater attention of mind a n d unswerving ,

loyalty a n d energy Of will Without excitement .

or an x iety he would simply take the shield o f

,

faith where with he repelled all th e fiery darts of

the evil on e turning thereby all the attempts of
,

the devil t o his greater confusion Far from suf .

fer i n g from such assaults Gabriel derived from ,

them an i n crease O f s t r e rig th : they could only

make him c r y ou t all the more fervently In the
words of the apostles : L ord I ncrease ou r faith ‘
, .
’

(L uke xvii .

“
O ur rule requires us to be men of faith In
all things let the brethren consider God as pres
ent : thus we will pray continually easily shun ,
”
vice and follow virtue
,
N ow so perfectly did.
,

Gabriel carry ou t this practice th at at all times , ,

and in every place his mind was filled with the

,

thought Of God : nothing could distract him from

it : it was his food his life S O thoroughly had
,
.

he familiarized himself with it that his attention ,

t o the D ivine Presence had become a second na

ture : whether walking o n the public road con ,

versing with his brethren or occupied in study ,

”

o r recreation he kept his mind ever raised to

,

G od and from his countenance and demeanor it

,

was evident that he was engaged in serious

thought .

Hence too tha t peace of mind which he main

, ,

ta i n e d under all circumstances in spite of con ,

1 64 LIFE OF BL E SSED G ABR I EL .

HIS L I V EL Y H OP E .

“
W H E N man realizes by d ivine faith that eye
hath not seen nor ear heard neither hath it e n
, ,

t e r e d into human heart what things God hath,

”
prepared for them that love Him then he turns ,

his thoughts and his longings away from the per

i s h a bl e things Of earth and centres them o n
,

those Of heave n : this is Christian hope E ven .

as faith makes us judge of all things from the

highest standpoint s o does hope raise us far
,

above this earth by desire : as by faith we b e

lieve in God as ou r first beginning s o n o w by
!

hope we tend to Him as ou r last end It is h dpe .

that comfo r ts us in ou r trials lifts us above ou r ,

contradictions excites us to greater efforts ; it

,

becomes the soul of fortitude it a nimates to ,

magnanimity to courage in the performance of

,

duty to patience in enduring t o constancy in

, ,

persever ing .

Gabriel s confidence in God was unlimited and

’

unshak en it kept him always tranquil in mind :

,

it made him almost actually certain o f his future

salvat i on for h e seemed t o h ave n o more doubt
of being everlastingly happy in the possession of
 H I S L I V EL Y H O P E . 1 65

God and endowed with eternal happiness than

, ,

he had of his m ortal existence His director tes .

t i fi e s that the virtue Of hope in his saintly young

ch arge wa s of so singu l ar a character a s to seem ,

to him inexpli cable That painful doubt that

.

makes even saints tremble Shall I be saved

— did n ot frighten him in whose heart w a s an
unshaken confidence of obtaining everlasting life :
and when he was told tha t his course on earth
was well nigh over although unexpected death
-

, ,

frightened him not R ather w e must say that

.

he longed to die by reason Of his hope Of being

,

inseparably united to God of being freed from

,

the danger of offending Him and of b eing for ,

ever i n the society of His Queen the dear Mother ,

of God This spirit of his hope and trust in God

.

far exceeded that of an affectionate s on for his

earthly father His condition in life did n o t i h
.

deed subject h i m to those extraordinary trials

which we read of in the lives of so many of the
saints ; yet Gabriel was not exempt from the
temptations so Often used b y t h e inf ernal enemy
‘

to destroy or at least to diminis h S O comforting

a virtue in ou r soul In this however the devil
.
, ,

never succeeded : on the contrary such t e m pta ,

tions defeated their own purpose ; for the holy

young man not only r esisted and conquered but ,

waxed stronger in hope and perfected his filial

,

confidence in God There were t o be sure sug

.
, ,

gestions tha t o ccasionally clo u d ed his soul for a

‘
1 66 LIFE OF BLESSED GABRI E L .

season and Shook his heart with fear the r e

,
—

m e m b r a n c e Of the faults he committed b efore

his entrance into religion the knowledge he had,

Of his perso nal u nwo rthiness the inscrutableness ,

of God s judgments , the fear o f failin g in fidelity

’

and other reaso ns yet like the frightened child

—

that takes refug e in the bosom Of his mother and ,

there finds security and assu rance so did Gabriel ,

in those moments Of fear promptly fly to the ,

loving heart of Go d and sweetly nestled there

,
.

He did this with such fulness of love ; such art

less confidence such abandonment in God s mer
,
’

c i fu l goodness that his interior peace was uickly

, q
restored ; and once the struggles were over there ,

remained not the least vestige of uncertainty or

doub t He frequently recalled to his mind those
.

sentences Of holy S cri pture that speak of hope

and trust in the L ord ; he rem inded himself that
hope is a strict co m mand ; he reflected upon the
infinite goodness of God His loving heart and , ,

the pleasure and honor we give Him by cu l tiva t

ing sentiments o f confidence in Him He wa s .

wont to encourage himself to hope by saying

“
If God has done S O much for me as to give me
H is o wn S on what is there I ought not to hope
,

for from Him ” “

If Jesus Christ became man
‘

.
,

and actually d ied on the cross for me can I pos ,

“
s i b l y fear t hat He will n o t d o the rest Were
”
o u r salvation in ou r o w n hands h e used also to
‘

,
“
sa y
, we would indeed have reason to fear ; but it
1 68 LIF E OF B L E S SE D GA BR I EL .

HIS AR DE N T C H ARI T Y .

“
BY this all men shall know that you are my
,
” “
disciples says the L ord if y ou have love for
, ,

on e another but to excel in this virtue is con

,

fe s s e dly no easy task L et the gentle reader con

.

sult his own heart and compare its innermost,

promptings with the standard set up by S t Paul .

when he wrote Charity is patient is kind ; ,

charity envieth not dealeth n o t perversely is ,

n o t puffed up is n o t ambitious seeketh n o t its

, ,

o wn i s not provoked t o anger ; thinketh no evil

, ,

rejoiceth n ot in iniquity but rej oiceth with the ,

”
truth ; bear eth all things endureth all things ,
.

(1 C or xiii
. In
. order t o assimilate perfectly
this divine virtue Gabriel labored continually
,

with mind and heart especially durin g the time ,

Of meditation proposing to himself the most

,

powerful motives for its perfect practice ; dre w

up rules fo r his o wn conduct foresaw and pro ,

v id e d for contingencies so as to be ready on ,

every given occas i on We may here cull some of .

t h ds e resolutio n s for o u r e difi c a t i on and e n c ou r

“
a em en t I will n o t speak of the faults of
g .

others even if everybody knows them already ;

,
 H I S A R D EN T C H A R IT Y . 1 69

n or will I Sho w any sign of disesteem fo r them ,

either in their presence o r behind their back I .

”
will speak of every on e with great regard I .

will try not to provoke anybody by using sharp

words nor will I speak in such a way as to make
,
“
o n e feel bad I will shut my heart against
.

anything like anger displeasure or chagrin,

much more a gainst every movement of envy or

” “
revenge I will rejoice at oth ers success : any
.
’

”
feeling of envy I will reckon a fault I will .

practice charity and kindness especially in my ,

actions assisting serving and pleasing my

, ,

brethren My answers must be meek; my words

.

mild my manners agreeable I will shun alto

,
.

gether particular friendships so as to Offend no ,

”
body .

L ovi ng all With an equal affection he yet de ,

lighted i n the company of the lowly He sho wed .

no preference for the society of th ose whose

talents were most congenial to his own but ,

rather t o those who were less endowed He .

.

gracefully accommodated hi mself t o their tastes ,

sympathizing with their feelings and inclinations ,

“
for he sought not t h e things that were his
” “
own but made himself all things t o all :
,

hence the good lay brothers felt themselves per

fec tl y at home with him In the words o f
.

F Ger m a n u s nature and grace combined in Ga

.
,

b r i el s heart to make of him one o f those en tirely

’

lovable characters which are only t oo rarely met

,
1 70 LIFE OF BLESSED G AB RI E L .

” “
with here below We all noticed in him a
.

singular kindness and concern for his brethren

“
writes F Franc is Xavier
. If any one fell sick .
,

Gabriel at once volunteered to wait upon him ; if

he noticed any on e in trouble he showed his ,
“

anxiety to comfort and console him Further .

more Gabriel s tenderness for his neighbor had

,
’

nothing sensuous or worldly about it : it pro

c e e d e d from principles purel spiritual and m
y a n ,

i fe s te d itself even in spite of n atural aversion If .

t h e superior had sometimes o c ca s I O n to penance

”
on e o f the religio u s writes this same witness
, ,
“
Gabriel Would interest him self in favor of his
brother and g 1 v e himself n o rest until he o b
,

t a i n e d a dispensation for him : when however , ,

the superior was unwilling to let the fault pass

unpunished Gabriel w ould offer to bear the
,

penalty himself This often happened especially

.
,

in the case of the younger members wh o had but

’
recently entered the novitiate .

L ater on t o o all his companions ackn owledged

, ,

that Gabriel never denied or even put off any

appeal for assistance ; as soon as the request was
made leaving his o wn work aside he would at
, ,

once charitably help his brother Mor e than thi s .

,

he would try t o foresee the necessities of his com

panions and without waiting t o be asked he put
, ,

h imself at their service He was faithful to the

.

very letter as well as the Spirit of the gospel a d

vice Give to him that asketh of thee and from ,
1 72 LI FE OF BLE S SED G ABR I EL .

I want to see you r generosity this time and

as the slice looked rather small Gabriel said ,

with a stonishment and pity : Poor m a n ! why ‘

,

that bit is not enough to reach his stomach ! ’

The duty of distributing alms usually devolved

o n this brot h er and to urge him to be liberal
,

Gabriel often said t o him : When y ou want to‘

g ive something let,

it be something worth while
—
and be sure to give it with a go od heart ! - ’

Habitually he stinted himself at table in or

der that there might be wherewithal to assist
the needy He did n ot believe in leaving on his
.

plate Simply what he did n ot want himself ; but

from the beginning Of the meal he deliberately ,

set aside what was most palatable and would ,

justify the custom t o his companions by saying ,

The poor deserve the best morsels : wh y should

“
we leave only the S ometimes ,
“
writes F Norbert when we were resting on
.
,

the road from ou r walk if a beggar chanced to

,

pass by Gabriel would ask leave t o speak t o him

,
.

He profited by such occasions t o teach the poor

h o w t o bear the burden Of their misery : he
would I nculcate a filial devotion t o the Madonna ,

he would remind them that the S on of Go d chose

t o be poor and t o submit to all the i n c on v en
,

i e n c es of poverty ; he urged them frequently t o

remember the passion and s u ff erings Of Jesus
Christ ; he spoke to them Of the great reward
prepared for the sanctified poor in heaven ; and
 H I S ARDE N T C H AR IT Y . 1 73

thus having comforted and encourage d them he

,

dismissed those unfortunate bein gs Whose soul s ,

were perhaps more famished than their bodies

‘
.

In his letters too he frequently pleaded the

, ,

cause of the poor asking his good father and the

,

entire househ old to be generous in their behalf

,
.

In these appeals we find the following senti

ments : Rest assured Of this my dearest father , ,

that charity never impoverished a n y on e : on

the contrary the blessing Of the poor wil l call
,

down upon you and the whole family the bless ,

ing Of hea v en Jesus Christ has told us that

whatever we do for the poor He considers as ,

done for Himself O ne of the greatest consola

.
’

tions at the hour Of deat h will be to remember

that y o u never sent the poor away from your
door em p ty
To sum up in a fe w words all that might be
said on this subject Gabriel s charity was uni
,
’

versal and inexhaustible and was truly habit u al

, .

To the full extent Of his power by deeds pray , ,

ers and words he strove to encourage the needy

,

comfort the afflicted and assist the poor Affable

,

and kind t o the extreme doing good to all mak

, ,

ing himself useful to all the servant of Go d ,

S howed a charity O f such a character that it may

,

be held to have been heroi c ”

S uch are the con .

cluding words of the compendium Of the O ffi cial

Process in its chapter on Gabriel s charity for
,
’

his neighbor .
1 74 LI FE OF BL E SSED G A BRI EL .

XX II .

HIS L OV E O F G OD .

T H OU shalt love the L ord t h y God with thy

whole heart a n d with t h y iw h ol e soul and with
, ,

thy whole mind This is the greatest and first

.

”
commandment The Observance of this law
.

constitutes ou r essential perfection : all else is

but accidental Temperance justice fortitude
.
, ,

and prudence : yea even faith hope and charity

, ,

for the neighbor have no supernatural merit save

“
‘

what they derive from the love of God He .

”
that loveth n ot abideth in death .

B ut how can we ever succeed in d es cr i b m g the

ardor Of Gabriel s he art in its love for God
’
If
’
he s o tenderly cherished his neighbor for God s
sake h o w much more ardently did he n ot try to
,

love God for his o w n sake

“

His heart
was ever occupied with Go d breaki n g out u n ,

c ea s i n l in aspirations Of love n o w t o Jesus in

g y ,

the B lessed S acrament n o w to the Blessed Vir

,

gin D uring the domestic O ffices (sweeping a n d

.

dusting the house) in his studies conversatio n s

, , ,

walks everywhere and at all times his heart gave

, ,

way to burning affections for Jesus and Mary

yea they were the Objects around which his
,

fancy played in dreams .

1 76 L IFE OF BLE S S E D G ABRI EL .

wild flowers Of the field to the stars of heaven ,

were as s o many mirrors in which he beheld the

manifold perfections o f Go d Nor wa s it only .

from external nature but from any ci rcumstance

,

or event whatever he would naturally draw

,

some reflections that helped him to rai se his

mind to Go d and to direct thither the hearts o f
,

his companions also This exercise became so .

habitual and familiar t o him that all things made ,

his thoughts and affections rise spontaneously

heaven ward .

S uch love could not long be concealed : can a

man hide fire in his bosom and his garments not ,

burn From the very beginning Of his life in

the cloister his companions remarked his extra
,

ordinary fervor His prudent superiors coun

.

s el l e d him to watch and check this tendency o f

making public the secret of his soul and the ,

o bedient youth whose docility kept pace with

,

his fervor succeeded in controlling the flame

,

that b urned in his heart B ut at times during .

,

m ntal prayer for instance when he ceased to

e
,

advert t o the presence o f others he forgot him ,

self and d espite his good will could n o t help

,
-
,

betraying his mighty affection by ardent sighs

and aspirations .

He continually spoke of Go d : for out Of the

abundance of his heart what else could he speak ,

of and when he was once started o n such a topic ,

”
his impetuosi ty was remarkable says F Xavier , . .
 H I S LO V E OF G OD . 1 77

It was necessary t o restrain him ; and some

'

times ou r director woul d mortify him calling ,

h i m a busybody and on e w h o only wanted to

’
,

monopolize the convers ation preventing every ,

body else from saying a word Yet the evident .

,

sincerity of his conversation never proved u n

welcome to his hearers their o w n fervor made
,

them delight in all he said and drew t hem as it ,

”
were irresistibly o n t o follow him .

It is no wonder th at o n e who loved God s o

m uch and with S O absorbing an aff ection would
,

desire to die If he found it so delightfu l to

.

comm une with his God even here on earth he ,

was n aturally filled with an ever increasing de -

s ire Of contemplating and possessing the S upreme

Good without fear Of separation From the .

days of his novitiate he was anxious t o die :he

,

used t o entreat ou r L ord to that effect with ,

most fervent prayers ; and such was the ardor Of

his desire that his director began t o fear lest he
should be heard all too soon for the e difi c a ti on of
the religious community that gloried in possess
ing such a youn g seraph B ut though great was
.

his desire t o go t o heaven greater still was his ,

submission t o the will Of God ; and often would

“
he repeat with inimitable earnestness May
the most holy adorable and amiable will of God
,
”
be ever done by all creatures
,
S teadily h o w .
,

ever the interior fire of di vine love became so

,

ardent that it was Slowly con su m m g the weak

,
1 78 LI FE OF BLESSED G ABRI EL .

frame that was its earthly furnace and when the ,

supreme hour came at last we may say with ,

“
Cardinal Parocchi that it was the vehemence
,

o f divi ne love rather than any corporal S ickness

,

that snapped the frail bond th at kept his soul

here below and permitted it to unite itself
,

eternally to the on e obj ect of its a fl ec ti on a t e

longings .

There was however one great c ompensation

, ,

for his exile on e a n t1 c1 pa tion of future glory

, ,

one secure pledge of heaven : the S acramental

presence of Jesus Christ in h i s church and as ,

God s in finite love i s concentrated in this wonder

’

ful sacrament S O all the love of Gabriel s life

,
’

was centred in the tabernacle He reckoned .

himself fortunate in being allowed to spend

regularly between five or six hours daily before
his K ing chanting the Office or silently c om
, ,

muning with Him in mental prayer : not only

this but being permitted to receive his L ord
,

thrice a week and o n all feast days ; being able

,
-

to come and kneel in the A do rable Presence any

hour . Wha t a life for on e who loves
God E ven to the fervent community of which
he was a member Gabriel s devotion to the ,
’

B lessed S acrament was an Obj ect Of admiration .

”
What I can remember and testify writes his ,
”
director is fa r less than was the reality
,
He .

w a s truly enamored of his sacramental L ord He .

would Often converse on this topic to his com

 80 LIFE OF BL E SSE D G A B RIEL .

intended them to see When duty hindered him

.

from actu ally visiting our L ord he the n visited ,

Him in spiri t : quite frequently to o he would ,

ask h is guardian angel to go and adore their

common Master especially in th e places where
,

He was most a b andoned TO his companions he

.

recommended these pra ctices and he would add,

A t the hour Of death we will be able to say ,

My Jesus I p aid you ever s o many little visits

,

d o not abandon me n o w O J esus my L ove

, ,

Now love is by its ve ry nature unitive it

, , ,

tr ansf orms a soul into the Object of its affection ;

hence in a soul that loves God wholly God b e ,
“
comes l tS life as the apostle says : He who
‘

,
”
adheres to the L ord is on e spirit This is the .

highest stage o f the spiritual life the life of ,

union For this we have to overcome the evil

.

that is in u s by penance humility a n d m or ti fi ca

,

tion : for th is have we to develop the good that

is in us by ever increasi ng faith hope and charity
-
,

all this prepares us for the last a n d perfect state

that o f intimate u nion of ou r soul with God .

Though we can never deserve s o great a favor ,

we may nevertheless d ispose ourselves for it by

the exercises of the purgative a n d illuminative
states waiting in all humility and faithfulness
,
”
until the Master bids us come up higher .

Thus at last there comes a time w h en God

,

takes complete possession a n d control Of our

m i n d, en light eni ng our understanding with the
 HI S L O VE OF G O D . 1 81

light o f His presence and directing ou r will by

,

t h e influence of fl i s will so that the former b e

,

comes the docile instrument Of the latter In .

this n e w state the intellect s o lives in God that

,

even in the midst o f distracting occupations it ,

remains conscious of His pres ence while the ,

will becomes so united w i th God s will that it ’

ceases to desire any thing whatever save God s ’

good pleasure ; whether we l ive or whether ,

”
we die we are the L ord s
,
O ne s pa s s IOn s i n
’
.
’

deed may still reb el but they disturb the mind

,

n o longer temptations may be experienced but ,

they do n o t move the will ; the night Of aridity

may sorely try the faithful heart but it cannot ,

blot ou t the brightness of that light wherein th e

soul basks at the feet of Go d
.
.

This exalted state of u n l on 1 s usually granted

only after long years of purification labor a n d ,

fervor ; but it was bestowed upon Gabriel after

a fe w years of his religious life and it continued ,

ever to increase unto the full light of glory If .

at any time he were suddenly to be asked of

what he was thinking he could have an swered
,
”
God ! Never d i d he entertain willingly any
other thought ; and as soon a s such presented
themselves he banished them All this was a c
, .

companied by the a ffectl on s of his hea rt so that ,

he found therein such nourishment and s a ti s fa c

tion that his interior peace and j oy were reflected
“
in his whole external appearance A s the r e .
1 82 LIFE OF BLESS ED G A B RIE L .

”
sult of this interior union o f love F Norbert ,
.

continues he kept his heart fixed and absorbed

“
,

in Go d even while engaged in bodily work the ,

o n e h el m instead of hindering the other in a

p g ,

wonderful manner Whether at study or recrea

.

tion whether w alking alon e or in company

, ,

wh ether in school or in choir h e was uniformly ,

'

recollected and united with God in the superior

”
part o f his soul Consequently when entering
on his spiritual exerc i ses there was n o need for,

him to make any preparation or introduction ,

fo r in truth his prayer was unbroken His .

” “
heart F B ernard writes was in continual a o
,
.
,

t i v i ty : at all times there sprang up in him a

succession o f holy thoughts and b u r m n g a ffec
tio n s A lways modest and recollected it seemed
.
,

as if there wa s n othing in this visible world that

”
concerned him or deserved his attention
,
He .

experienced greater ease and relish in commun

ing with the D ivine Majesty than others find in
the most congenial occupations whilst contrari
wise for him t o turn his mind away from God
,

and holy things was p r actically impossible God

,
.

had become his life because He had become the,

o n e Object o f his love ; and the eace of heaven

p
that s u r pa s s e th all understanding S O possessed
his heart and mind that he Often said : My
life is full of j oy what more ca n I desire In this
vale of tears I could not be happier than I
) 3,
am .
1 84 L IFE OF BLESSED G ABR IE L .

must Of course consider how he Observed these

counsels of perfection ; mindful to o that for the ,

religiou s these counsels become strict precepts

, ,

by r e a s dn o f the self assumed obligation of the

-

religious vo ws .

“
He that does not renounce all that he pos
”
sesses cannot be the disciple of Christ De .

ta ch m en t o f heart from temporal possessions is

the necessary condition of salvation but actual ,
“
renunciation is the c ondition of perfection If .

thou wilt be perfect g o sell what thou hast and

, ,
”
give to the poor B y his v o w of poverty the
.
,

religious renounces forever the right of lawfully

exercising any act o f proprietorship for h i s o wn
personal benefi t Hence he can neither receive
.

n or g i ve n or dispose of anything withou t per

,

m 1 s s i on since he has simply the use Of what he

,

needs In food raiment and shelter he i s further

,
.

more dependent upon his superior even for the

use of such things s o that he becomes in reality
poorer than the very beggar .

N o sooner had Gabriel entered into religion ,

than he seemed to have absorbed thoroughly

the spirit Of poverty Thencefor ward there was
.

nothing in his demeanor that perpetuated his

former fondness for vanity and Show He wa s .

so completely transformed in m anner and tastes ,

that it gave him particular pleasure t o wear Ol d

clothes patched with many pieces : yet he was
never untidy fo r in divesting himself Of worldly
,
 THE E V A NG EL I C AL C OU N SEL S . 1 85

vanity he was n o t expected to cast aside that

,

neatness which is the ornament of reli gious po v

er t
y
,
and that cleanliness which if n o t always ,

next to godliness certainly goes a long wa y in

,
”
rendering it attracti ve Poverty says the .
,
“ ”
rule is laudable but dirt is blamable
, ,
In the .

distribution of common articles of clothing ,

whenever it was in his power he would choose ,

the worst ; but if he could n ot succeed h erein ,

he would try to Obtain leave t o exchange with

others giving the better and keeping the worse
,
.

Never could he be induced t o keep for his pri

vate use any thing that was not strictly necessary
,
.

A S the Passionist is his o wn servant Gabriel ,

k ept his cell and all it contained scrupulously

, ,

neat and in perfect order : namely a small table , ,

two chairs an d a straw bed ; but beyond this he

,
'

wanted nothing a n d rigidly excluded everything

,

superfluous With regard to his books he would

.
,

not keep any that had beautiful bindings no ,

matter h ow plain they m ight otherwise be but ,

he studiously selected such as were well worn .

Never could he be prevailed upon to keep in his

room any b ook that was n ot indispensable for
his studies or Spirit ual reading ; and when told
that such or such a work might be of real use to
him some time or other he answered that when ,
”
some time or other came he would ask permis ,

sion for the book in question He did n o t even .

wish to keep writing paper pe n s or pencils for his

-

,
1 86 L IFE OF BLESSE D G A B RIE L .

own use r efer r m

get these things
t just when
p, g o

t h ey b e c a m e actually necessary but he was di ,

r e c t e d to co n form t o the common custom and

,

avail himself of the permissions allo wed by the

rule .

I will not take any food outside of the a p

pointed time we read i n one of his resolutions
, .

I will be contented with what is served with ,

out ever complaining either in word or th ought

mindful that I have made a vow Of poverty .

Faithful to this resolve he never brought u p the

,

subject of food in his conversation but with a ,

thankful heart partook of whatever was put b e

fore him and daily prayed fer vently for our
,
“ ”
benefactors We are poor he would Often
.
,
!

“
say a n d we Should demean ourselves accord
,

i n gl y . The poor are so frequently in

want even Of what is necessary ; we too shou ld
be willing to put up with o u r inconveniences
If some poor people had what
we h a V e they would thi n k that every day was a
,

feast . O gni giorno farebbero Pasqua If .

,

while at the common table it sometim es hap ,

pened that Gabriel was passed over and did n ot ,

receive wh at had been served to the rest he a b .

stained from making any Sign whatever : he was

even anxious that it should not be remarked d o ,

ing all in his power lest the nearest religious

should perceive it O n the other hand he was
.
,

a ll attention that nothing should be wan ting to

 88 L IFE OF BL E SSED G A B RI EL .

it away altogether With his crucifix before .

“
him Gabriel ever considered Him who when
,

H e was r Ich became poor H e considered the

,
.

great G od of Heaven and the Master of earth !

b eing born in a stable su ffering hunger and ,

thirst heat and col d persecutions a n d contempt ;

, ,

not having whereon to lay His head dying naked ,

and forsaken on the cross : all this stim ulated

him to walk in the footsteps of the Master and ,

to imi tate the poverty of Jesus Christ .

A s we have already spoken of Ga b rI el s chas ’

tity and virginal modesty under the head Of tem

r a n ce we will pass t o the third evangelical coun
p e ,

sel : obedience It is just because thi s vow crushes

.

ou t the pride Of life o u r chiefest Obstacle to sal

—

vati on and takes away all solicitude about the

—

ordering Of our conduct that obedience is the ,

foundation of the religious life and the corner ,

stone of evangelical perfection L et the breth .

ren therefore of this least congregation take care

, ,

not only to profess obedience by word of mouth ,

but let them also display it i n a holy way in

their actions W hen comman ded let them obey
.
,

promptly simply and gladly When called in

,
.

any manner to any services or duties let them

, ,
”
immediately fly to the performan ce In these .

lines the rule sum s up the teaching Of the ascetic

,

Fathers as found in substance in the rule Of all

,

religious orders and congregations .

O f Gabriel s own views on this subject we

’
,
 THE E VA NG EL I C A L C O U N SEL S . 1 89

have an exact compendium in the following reso

l u ti o n In what relates to obedience I will be ,

p u nctual I will obey the voice of the superio r

.

and of the bell as if they were the very voice o f

,

God Himself In my Obedience I will examine

.
,

neither the h ow nor the wh y I will conform my

judgment to that Of the superior reflecting that ,

for me the order is from Go d and I will say : I ,

Obey O L ord because it is thy wil l

, ,
.
’

His fidelity to these resolutio n s is attested by

‘

“
a l l who knew him O ne of the most singular
.

”
things noticed in this young man Writes F ,
.

B ernard Mary was his submission and docility

in all things : and this was the more remarkable
in Gabriel since his most notable fault as a sec
,

ular had been precisely his ungovernable temper .

No sooner had he joined the congregation than ,

b e reformed to such a degree that he hardly

'

, ,

seemed to b e himself any longer the will of

\

his superior were it only intimated by a Sign

, ,

was enough to i n fl u en c e him to do whatever was -

”
desired .

In these days when the false principles of Prot

es ta n ti s m and infidelity have made independence

and self assertion the main features of manliness

and character it m a y n ot be easy for the young
,

to see at a glance the nobility of a life of sub , .

mission However to a thinking mind it must

.
,

be clear that our reason exercises its highest act

, ,

when enlightened by God s truth ; so our will ’

 LI F E OF BLESSED G ABRI EL
‘

e njoys its grandest independence when govern ed

by the divine will The full liberty Of the will
.

is therefore secured by obedience as the full il ,

lumination of the mind is produced by faith .

Yet as faith ultimately requires a n act of Obedi

,

ence from ou r will s o does Obedience finally sup

,

pose the truth Of faith i n ou r intellect if its

.
I

greatest excellence is to be realized When then .

,

a religious voluntarily submits to a superior ,

commanding accordin g t o a rule approved Of by

the supreme judgment of the Church he knows ,

that he is submitting to the will of God A nd .

even as a Christian s faith finds an objective i n

’

fallibility in the teaching Of th e sovereign Pon

.

tiff in all that pertains t o doctrine and morality ;

,

s o likewise does a religious find in Obedience a

, ,

subjective infallibility in whatever the superior

commands within the sphere Of the rule He .

”
that heareth you heareth me
,
Gabriel s d i r cc
.
—
’

’
t or deposes : N 0 child in its mother s arms
could be more tractable than this youth und er ,

the guidance Of his superior for him the voice .

,

Of his prelate was the voi ce Of Go d ; and the

least desire was tantamount t o an order which ,

he was anxious to fulfil : consequently I h a d to

be very careful in his presence n ot to Show a n y ,

Si gn of desire or inclination lest he should co n

,

strue it as a command and think himself obliged

,

to carry it ou t.

No doubt the world and those wh o are imbued

,
92 LI F E OF BL E SS ED G A B RI E L .

X XI V .

H I S S P I RI T OF P R A Y ER .

BY the irrevocable Ob h g a ti on an d observance

of the evangelical counsels a religious is freed ,

from the world and is thereby disposed to raise

,

his soul t o God by love N o w the actual rising

.

of our soul t o God is called mental prayer !

or a ti o es t a s cen s u s m en ti s i n B ea m From this .

it follows that a religious will become perfect

just in proportion as he habituates himself to
‘

mental prayer .

There is nothing on which ou r rule insists

more urgently and repeatedly than thi s salutary
practice and ou r H oly Founder never ceased to
,

assert that the spirit of His institute was the

spirit of prayer .

U nder the direction of his spiritual guides ,

Gabriel imbibed this spirit from the beginning

it was the exercise of mental prayer that led him
s e cu r el v through the various phases of the spirit

ual way bringing him ultimately t o that intimate

,

union with God by love that has been already

descri b ed . From the first days of his n ov iti
” “
ate writes F B ernard he so fixed his thoughts
,
.
,

an d affectio n s on s pirit u a l thing s that it s eemed

 H I S S P I R IT OF P RA Y ER . 1 93

as thou gh they had hitherto been the only things

that he cared for : n o sooner had he given him
self u p to the practice of mental prayer than he ,

was so ful ly convinced Of its advantages that he

felt for it an insatiable longing and found such ,

sweetness in this holy exercise that a whole hour ,

passed by as though it were only a moment .

This do u btless was a special gi ft from the Father

, ,

of lights from whom descends everything good

,

and perfect but still as Gabriel s di rector ob

, ,
’

serves it is no wonder that having given him self

,

to God with a ll hi s heart and soul this young ,

religious received in retu r n so sweet and pa r ti c

u l ar a communication fr om Go d that on merely

comm encing his medi tation his mind was flooded ,

with holy thoughts and his will with holy a i

,

fecti o n s thus making mental prayer and r ecol

,

lection of spirit his constant delight With all .

careful ness t hen he availed himself of every op

r tu n i t of communing with God spending
p o y ,

herein even the scraps of time remaining from

“

his regular employments : and even in these ex

t er i or occupations his mi nd was so fixed o n God
,

that with his director we can truthfully say

,

that his prayer was twenty four hours long every -

day Without ever growing tepid in th is holy

.

exercise even in the season of aridity he main

, ,

t a i n e d his love and practice Of it his whole life

long and at last Obtained the gift of the most
,
”
el evated kin d Of pray er .
 LIFE OF BLES S ED G ABRI EL .

D u r In g his last sickness he grieved that the ,

pain he felt in his head prevented h i m from a t

tending to meditation but he was directed to be,

content with maki n g fervent aspirations from

time to time offering up his sufferings in penance
,

fo r his sins ; and he gave himself with such

h earti ness to these ejaculations that sometimes
his attendants judged it prudent to moderate his
fervor A bove all did he delight in the time set
.
,

apart for the formal exercise of mental prayer ,

experiencing therein as much ease and s a ti s fa c

tion as many others find displeasure and Un con
genial effort Had he been allowed he would
.
,

likewise h ave spent in prayer the h our of the

afternoon Siesta so necessary in southern coun
,

tries . S imilarly he wished to continue his

,

meditation from the m idnight o ffice Of matins

till dawn but his constitution and h i s studies
,

forbade it and the covet ed perm ission was never

,

granted .

“ ”
From the b eg i n n In g F Norbert testifies,
.
,

the maxims and mysteries upon which he medi

t a t e d impressed him so deeply and s o filled his ,

soul with affections that unconsciously he would

,

break forth into sighs and tears s o that I often ,

reprehended him for distracting the religious Wh o

were all engaged together at their usual medita
tion .
”
F B ernard writes that during his prayer
.
,

Gabriel s appearance was beautiful to behold : he

’

e mained immovable like a s tatue, showin by

g
r
1 96 LIF E OF BLESSED G ABR I EL .

he co u ld spend the whole time set apar t for it

without being disturbed by any distracting
thoughts .

Ou r Gabriel h o wever did n o t attain such a

state of continued and elevated prayer with out
“ ”
personal exertion From his very novitiate
.
,
“
writes his director the s ervant Of God strove t o
,

dispose himself for the gift of prayer by purify ,

i n g his soul ever more and more emptying his ,

heart o f all affections and disengaging his mind ,

from all thoughts that were not about God or

holy things W ith great diligence he checked
.

his natural curiosity curbed his self love and ,

-
,

avoided all useless thoughts He was averse to .

listening to mere worldly news saying : It is ,

‘

useless t o spend time in such discourses ; after

all what comes of it ? E ven did it entail n o
,

other inconvenience it may prove distracting to

us in ou r prayer Time spent in talking about
.
’

such things is time lost let us rather keep nearer

t o Go d His aversion for indi ff erent topics of
’
.

conversation was s o w ell kno wn to his com

panions that if they happened to be engaged on
,

such subjects during recreation no sooner did ,

Gabriel j oin them than they at once substituted

,

either som ething devotional or else some topic rel ,

ative to their studies He frequently spoke about

.

mental prayer and remarked that God Often i n

,

spires u s t o mortify oursel v es in some little thing

or other that is retar ding o u r growth in holiness ,
 H I S S P I R IT OF P RA Y ER . 7

and if we do not correspond to the inspiration ,

we do not succeed in ou r prayer either .

’

He also paid particular attention to spiritual

‘

reading so highly esteemed by the masters of

,

ascetic theology as an admirable help t o m ed i ta

,

tion and interior recollection prudently using ,

those books that his director judged best adapted

to his spiritual progress N or was he less careful
.

in hearkening t o the advice of the Holy Ghost

“
B efore prayer prepare thy soul and be n ot like ,
”
a man who tempteth God E
l

( cc l i xviii . . .

TO succeed the better in his prayer he always ,

chose and prepared the subject beforehand : then ,

having guarded his spirit with extraordinary care ,

he entered upon his meditation with the greatest

interior relish .

The kind reader must have noticed that when

speaking of prayer we have repeatedly used the
,

word m ed i ta ti on by which we mean the reason

ing ou t of some spiritual maxim or truth Of faith .

It would be i m possi b l e e s peci a ll y for beginners

to apply oneself for any length Of time t o the
exercise of mental prayer wi thout the assistance
of meditation I n m ed i ta ti on e m ea ea a r d es eet
.

i gn i s (P.S xxxviii . It is in meditation

. that
the fire bursts o u t that is the fervor Of charity
, ,
.

Now this meditation is a science the science o f

, ,

the saints and its principles rules and methods

, ,

are learned from accredited masters A lthough .

S t Paul Of the Cross h as n ot b ound h i s children

.
 1 98 LIFE OF BL ES S ED G ABR I EL .

to follo w any particular metho d of prayer a fe w ,

simple rules are laid down in the novitiate and ,

these o u r Ga briel mastered even before he was

clothed in the holy habit S till after the theory
fi
.
,

of meditation is mastered it lo n g remains the ,

mo st diffi cult as well as the most laborious part

,

o f prayer ; and because they shrink from making

the necessary eff ort many never become familiar

,

with t h is holy exerci se which is the royal road ,

unto union with God by love Not so w ith Ga .

briel He applied to meditation with an ear

.

n e s t n e s s that neither sensible co mf ort n or s i rit

p ,

ual aridity could relax He realized th a t zh a b i t

.

ual prayer is a gratuitous gif t of God b u t he

“

likewise knew that the personal la bor of medita

tion is its condition However duri ng th e last
.
“
,
‘

year of his life and a little mor e I

,
sa y s F ,
.

Norbert to forbid him the exerc is e of formal

,

meditatio n because the manner i n which h e a p

,
i

plied himself thereunto really injured hi s alr eady .

shattered health S ome of our rea ders Will e a si l y

”
.

realize what a sacrifice this prohibition m a y

have bee n for the fervent youth ; ob ey ed
with the docili ty of a child It Inu st b e r e .
L

marked f u rthermore that this prohi b ition was

,
!

laid on him only to ward the end Of an d

then only with regard to formal meditation; the
habi t ho wever of i n terio r recollection and cem
, ,

J
munion wi th God (which is true mental p ray e r)
continued as we have seen in Gabriel wi th out
, ,
200 LIF E BLESSED G ABRI EL
'

OF .

XXV

H I S D E V OT I O N To TH E P A SS I ON .

“
LET the meditations generally be about the
divine attributes and perfections and also about ,

the mysteries of the life passion and death of

,

ou r L ord J esus Christ from which all religious

,

perfection and sanctity takes its rule and i n

”
crease . S uch is the commencement Oi the
chapter on mental prayer in our rule .

God himself could find no more excellent way

t o manifest H is attributes and perfections and ,

abov e all His love for man than by the passion

,

and death of Jesus Christ ; and man can fi n d no

more po werful motive than this to avoid s in to ,

practice virtue and to love his God .

“
The Passion was the ordinary subj ect of Ga
” “
b r i el s meditations
’
writes his director ; but he
,

did not rest satisfied with a few superficial con

siderations and affections ; he e n t e r e d i n to it in ‘

such a manner as t o be penetrated with the rea

sons for which Jesus suffered and died investing ,

himself with his sen timents and motives espe ,

ci a l l y his infi nite love and to render these me d i

t a ti o n s practically useful he considered in par
,

t i cu l a r those virtues O f which o u r suffering L ord

 H I S DE V O TI O N To THE P AS S I O N . 201

gives us such bright examples b r i n g m g home to ,

himself their circumstances and divine per fec

tion In the light Of these considerations Ga
.
,

briel humbled himself for his faults and short ‘

comi ngs conceived a high esteem and love of

,

virtue encouraged himself to practice it form

, ,

ing at the same time t h e strongest resolutions .

These he carried away in his heart kept them ,

continually before his mind and tried to incor ,

”
or a t e i nto his daily life
p .

T h us the passion Of the S on of Go d became

deeply engraved upon his hear t so that a mere ,

glance at the crucifix would instantly recall the

considerations affections and resolutions Of his
,

prayer and thus t oo he conformed his life ever

, ,

more and more to the life of Jesus P a s s i o .

D om i n i n os tr i J es u Ch r i s ti si t s emp er in cor d i

ba s n os tr is
this was his motto symbolized by ,
“
the S ign that we wear on our breast May the .

Passion Of our L ord Jesus Christ be ever in our

”
hearts ! Truly was it impressed o n his ! N o
conversation pleased him if not seasoned with
the memory Of our suffering L ord Ges a Ap ,
f

p a s s i on a to as the expression runs in his native

tongue Truly could he have spoken of himself
.

in the words of the apostle : I judged not myself

to know anything among you but Jesus Christ
”
and Him crucified (1 Cor ii . . .

From the commencement of his religious life

‘

when he beg an to meditate seriously on this sub

202 LIFE OF BLE S S ED G A BR I EL .

the ser vant of G o d applied all the ower

j
e ct,
p s

o f his soul to it S O that as F B ernard deposes it

, ,
.
,

s e em d as if his mind could fix itself o n nothi n g

p
else and a s if the love and gratitude of his heart
,

co u ld be centred on nothing else It was enough .

merely to allude to Christ s su fferings to make ’

his fervent spirit burst ! into sudden flame like ,

flax when touched with fire He would at once .

begin t o speak with wonderful fluency and e n th u

sia sm ,
and this he would keep up for a consider
able t ime A t such ti mes Our companions wh o
.
,

before had been conversing among themselves ,

would as by a common impulse turn to Gabriel ,

and captivated by his extraordinary and touch

ing words listen eagerly to h im as he spoke of
,

o u r d iI t of mourning over the sac red passion Of

y
”
Jesus in union with His B lessed Moth er O ften
,
.
,

t oo did he call their attention to their distinctive

,

Obligation as Passionists to promote accordin g

t o their ability devotion t o the su fferings and
,

death Of ou r B lessed R edeemer in the hearts of

”
the faithful A few times only he was chosen
.
,

t o d eliver a little discourse in the church attached

t o ou r retreat and then he plainly showed t o
,

all h i s zeal and fervor t o th e great spiritual edi

,

fi c a ti on and profit Of his hearers : but it was not

Often given him to promote this grand work in
publi c daily however he earnestly beso u ght our
,

L ord to assist all those that advanced this s alu

tary devotion .
204
'

LIFE OF BLES S ED G ABR I EL .

b efore their eyes and Often take refuge in its

,

sacred wounds and accustom their hearts to send

forth freq u ent darts Of love toward their s o v er z -

e i n G ood ” Gabriel fully entered into the spirit

g .

Of this regulation ; for he kept his crucifix on his

table by the side Of his book or even held it in ,

his hand : and so frequently did he press it to

his lips that he actually wore it away It was
, .

principally at the foot of his crucifix that he

spent those few minutes of meditation before
spoken of ; his first thought in the morning wa s
Jesus Cr u ci fi e d ; with His image closely pressed
to his heart he fell asleep a t night ; while reciting
the divine Offi ce in choir he had continually b e
fore his eyes a devout little picture of the cruci
fi xi on joined t o which was a still smaller one of
,

the Virgin of D olors For Gabriel the crucifix .

,

became the book of life ; therein he studie d the

mystery of a crucified God humility patience , ,

and lo v e supreme ; from it he imbibed a prefer

ence for poverty humiliation and suffering thus
, ,

B earing a bout in his body the m or ti fi ca ti on of

Jesus ”
. In the words Of his biographer Ga ,

b r i el s so u l W a s like an altar on which was c o n

’

t i n u a l l y Offered some act of interior m or tifi ca t i o n

or exterior growing thereby into the
likeness of Him who was as a worm and n o
man the reproach Of men and the outcast of his
,
”
people This is the explanation of those ex
.

cesses and extravagances (as the world would

 H I S DE V O TI O N To TH E P AS S I O N . 205

style them) which we adverted to wh en speak

ing of his poverty and m or ti fi ca ti on h is charity ,

and humility his regularity and Obedience The

,
.

young worldling o f S poleto had learned from the

cross to love and even seek to be despised that ,

he migh t the more easily attain to religious per

fe cti on .This asceticism however is not peculiar
, ,

to the Passionist rule : it is the pith of all Chris

tian spirituality ever since the days Of the apostles .

L et this mind be in y o u which was also in C h rist

,

Jesus who being in the form of God debased

,

Himself humbled Himself even

unto the death of the cross (Phil .ii 5 . .
,
206 LIFE OF BLESSED GABR I EL .

XXVI .

H IS DE V O TI O N To M A RY .

IT would seem natural for the kind reader to

conclude from the foregoing chapters that he ,

h a d formed a fair estimate o f the extent a n d

,

Character Of Confrater Gabriel s holiness ; but ’

the present chapter will we hope entir ely dis

, ,

abuse him of such an idea : for strange as it may

seem the mainspring Of Gabriel s sanctity its
,
’
,

largest ingredient its master key openin g fo r us

,
-

the most intimate recesses Of his heart h a s not ,

yet been mentioned Though sanctity is essen

.

t i a l l y the same in all the saints yet it assumes in ,

each great ser v ant Of God certain traits more or

,

less clearly defined that enables the church to

,

sing of him : N on es t i n ven tws s i m i l i s i l l i His

f

”
like hath n ot been found .

Now Gabriel s director tells us that his devo

,
’
,

tion t o the m ost holy Virgi n was his greatest

characteristic S O devout was he t o Mary s o
.
,

filled was his heart with love for her that any ,

d escription of it would prove inadequate He .

d oes not hesitate t o assert that n ot only did he ,

never see in any on e else s o singular a devotion ,

but that he had scarcely ever met with anything

 H I S DE V O TI O N To M AR Y . 207

similar t o it even in books and only in the li ves

Of the greatest saints wa s its parallel t o be found
at a ll In hi s supplicatory letter to Pope Leo
.
,
“
Cardinal Parocchi expressly says Mary was
the very sou l of Gabriel s life the source and ’
,

model of the sanctity to which he attained ; so

that it may be truly said that i n hi s devotion to,

the great Mother Of God he has scarcely been ,

equaled by any even of the greatest saints .

”
Thi s devotion of his continues the cardinal , ,

was evidenced by so many deeds of unusual

piety that it was the belief Of those th at knew
,

him that th is holy youth had been raised up in

,

the Church by Go d t o serve as a model of filial

,

love and reverence to a ll the cli ents Of the most

”
holy Virgin .

S uch is the judgment of the illustrious cardi

nal after reading the testimony of the Offi cial
,

process for Gabriel s b ea t ifi cati on ; and be it a l

’
,

lowed us to say that we are deeply thankful t o

,

o u r Bl essed Mother for having (besides the many

favors received from her mercifu l hand) deigned

to give to ou r congregation s o clear a servant of ,

hers O wi ng its very foundation to the Mother

.

Of S orrows ou r little congregation will n o t con

,

sent to be outdone by any other in filial piety ,

“
and love L et them entertain a pious and ar
.

dent devotion toward the Imm aculate Virgin

”
Mother of God says S t Pau l of the Cross in
“
,
.

“
our rule let them strive to imitate her sublime
,
208 LIFE OF BLESSED G ABR I EL .

virtues and merit her seasonable protection

,

amidst S O many dangers .

Gabriel s devotion could n o t but expand under

’

a u s pfces so favorable ; and in fact it w as soon ,

an Object of admiration to all and gently stim a ,

lated them to greater fervor A mong the saints .

he honored with espec i al a fl ecti on those w h o ,

had been most devout to Mary and among their

books he showed a predilection for those that
treated of her greatness Two books in pa r ti c u .

lar were ever dear to him and served to inflame ,

his piety toward his heavenly Queen : the Glories

”
of Mary by S t Alphonsus and The L ove of
.
,

Mary by D om R obert a Camaldolese Hermit ,

.
l

The second Of these was h i s ch osen favorite In .

the little volume he found his delight : it was ,

besides his sure guide in h i s devotion to the

,

Madonna O wing t o his daily use of it for the

.
,

S i x years Of his r e ligious life he wore the little ,

manual to pieces he fed upon its pleasant pages

with ever renewed fervor .

“ ”
A fter reading these t wo books says F B er ,
.

nard Gabriel s heart became a furnace of love

,
’

toward the Queen o f heaven his mind was in a

manner transformed into Mary s o that he could ,

no longer speak n or think n or act without h a v

, , ,
”
ing her present before his mind .

1 “Th Lov o f M ary has b n translat d in to English and

e e
”
ee e ,

was publish d in N w York in 8 5 6 by Ed w D unigan an d B ros

e e 1 , . .

A ne w dition was sinc put on th m ark t

e Th r
e ma y di e e . e e a re n e ~

t o s o f th classi cal wo r k of S t A lpho su

i n e . n s.
 10 LIFE OF BLES S ED G ABR I EL .

Therefore Mary is all that a mere creature could

,

ever be ; for theology and common sense teach

that even Go d could n ot create a h i g h e r or holier
Offi c e ; than that to which Mary was predestined .

O nly on e could ever stand in such a relation to

the Most High : only on e could look with ador
ing love into the face Of her Go d and say , ,
“ ”
Thou art my S on !
We need n ot wonder then when we a re told ,

by F B ernard that Gabriel seemed to live and

.
,

act under the hall o wed charm of the Virgin

Mary : a passing thought a casual word about,

her was enough to enkindle h i s devotion and

, ,

pl u nge him into sweetest contemplations of her

unparalleled greatness Whenever he thought
.

of Mary he most naturally thoug ht of God also

, ,

whose mother and ma sterpiece she is : In a w ord ,

he saw God in her and her in Go d In on e Of

,
.

“
his earliest biographers we read : A fter God
, ,

the S upreme Good Mary was Gabriel s life his

,
’
,

s weetness and h i s hope ; devotion to her clothed

all his virtues with a new and gracious splendor ;
and even as the singular graces wit h which God
adorned him were reflected from his cou n te
nance nay his whole demeanor ; s o too did it
, ,
’
seem that they also reflected Mary s beauty on ,

account of the continual and tender affection

”
which he cherished fo r her S O congenial t o
.

mind and heart was this exercise that merely ,

“
by recommending himself to her by one Hail
 H I S D E V O TI O N To M AR Y . 21 1

Mary it would have been quite easy for him t o

,

spend any hour o f the day or night in rapt com

munion with her : for it never happened that
her image w a s quite abseh t from his mind .

D uring his novitiate when the young m e n w e r e

,
~

n o t left free t o select their subj ect for mental

prayer b u t had t o follow the directions Of the

,

F Master it grieved ou r Gabr iel that he could

.
,
~

not always meditate o n our B lessed L ady ; so he ,

used to repeat : R ecede a me D Om i n a : D epart ,

”
from me O L ady depart from me !
, ,
It seemed
as if all his though ts were concentrated On the
”
Madonna writes his director and that his con
, ,

stant desire was to meet her approval ; and I

must acknowledge that to explain fully how his
heart was filled with love fo r her would not be ,

possible ”
D uring his last i llness on acount of
.
,

his sufferings it gave him great pain to talk t o

,

any on e or even to listen t o others : still when

, ,

the subject broached was the B lessed Virgin ,

then whether it was that he forgot his sickness

, ,

o r that he experienced some kind o f relief in his

sufferings n ot only did he love t o listen to s u ch

,

discourse but he would himself take part in it

, ,

showing his reluctance to discontinue it at all .

He had made it a law t o himself t o practice the ,

counsel Of S t B ernard : N on r eced a t a b or e n on

.
,

r eced a t a cor d e L et the sweet name Of Mary be

ever on your lips and ever i n your heart He ,
.

always pronounced it with a reverence a n d love

21 2 LI F E OF BLE S S ED G ABR I EL .

that showed h o w de eply it affecte d him S ome .

times forgetting th e presence of his companions

, ,
“
he would murmur in an undertone : Maria mia
and h I S face would be all lit up with j oy When .

ever he heard others mention that s weet name ,

he would uncover his head and bending lo w ,

would thus salute his ! ueen It was from a .

~

particular love fo r her that h e asked t o have h er

,

holy name as his ti tle choosing to be called Ga

,

briel of the Holy Virgin Of S orrows Urged .

moreover b y the ardor o f his devotion he ever ,

sought n e w means of m anifesting his love .

Hence many a time his director informs us he

, , ,

pleaded for permission to burn the holy name of

Mary into his breast with a red h o t iron This .

bei ng refused he proposed what seemed to him

,

very much more all owable : he asked leave to

cut the name into his fl esh with a sharp knife .

O f course such petitions were never granted but ,

t h ere is n o doubt of eith er the sincerity or ex

t r a or di n a r y fervor which pr o
,
mpted the you n g
religious to think o f such very unusual pra o
tices .

E ven as Gabriel s devotion to o u r L ord r e

’

c ei ve d its special f eature from th e Passion S O did ,

his piety toward O ur L ady take its distinctive

coloring from her Compassion To his heart
’

,
.

Jesus a ppea l e d b y the greatest manifestation of

His love for us H e was Ges it App a s s i on a to so
t o o did Mary appeal t o his heart by the greatest
21 4 LI F E OF BLESSED G A BR I EL .

read th er em to recall frequently during the day

, ,

the remembrance of the Passion of our S aviour ,

and the dolors Of His most holy Mother as the ,

spirit of ou r institute requi res

“ ”
The rul e itself .

“
is more emphatic s t ill Th ey (the religious of
the congregation) should honor with due devo
tion the B lessed Mary Mother of God ever Vir
, ,

g i n ; have her for chief pa t roness constantly ,

commemorate the most bitter sorrows which she

su ff ered in th e Passion and death of her S on a n d ,

promote her veneration both by word and by ex

ample ”
. Gabriel s devotion to th e sorrows of
’

” “
Mary was most tender w rites F Xavier and I ,
.
,

think he even felt it more than his devotion to

the Passion o r the holy E u charist h e spoke of
,
—

“ ”
her sorrows very Often His devotion says.
,

his director which as we have seen was quite

, , ,

extraordinary was concentrated in the A d d ol o

,

r a ta . S he was his predominant thought his ,

”
heart h i s a ll If during the d a y he had a little
‘

,
.

free time were it never S O short he would em

, ,

ploy it in this exercise : and further m ore he i n ,

c u l c a t e d t h e s a me t o his fellow students in that -

affectionate and winning way that was his own

When we have t wo or three minutes left over
”
from o u r Office he would say h o w ca n we use
, ,

them to better advantage than in c om pa ss i on a t ,

ing ou r dear Mother L et us n o t forget her a n

guis h and at the hour o f deat h the Madonna
, ,

will console and assist us : yea if expedient for ,

 H I S DE V O TI O N TO M AR Y . 21 5

'

ou r soul she w i ll show herself to us then and

, ,

she will manage that we will n ot feel the pains

Of death ”
O f a truth these words were literally
.
,

realized in his own happy passage for it was like ,

a gentle sleep .

“ “
O ne S aturday says F B ernard ,
I asked .
,
'
Ou r dear companion whether he had made his

meditation that evening on h ea/ ven that being ,

’
ou r usual subject fo r S aturday N O indeed ‘
.
, ,

replied h e my heaven is the dolorous heart of

-

my dear Mother ! This F B ernard was sec

’
.

o n d only to F Norbert in bein g the confident

’

,
.

of the secrets of his soul He tells us that hav .

ing applied himself to his meditation on the Pas

sion of Jesus Gabriel rested therein with a ll the
,

Strength of his mind B ut u nderstanding from

.

the beginning Of his spiritual career that this

‘

Passion was wholly reflected in the most holy

heart of B lessed Mary as in a mirror ; Gabriel ,

then took up hi s abode in that pure heart of hers ,

and united with it in compassionating the su ffer

ings Of the D ivine R edeemer and in weeping ,

over them From thi s there naturally followed

.
,

a sentiment of compassion for the sorrowing

Mother herse lf ; and this it was that seemed
most to affect the sensitive heart of my young
”
companion L ike a traveler selecting his stand
.

point from which t o study at leisure the details

,

of a vast landscape Gabriel surveyed the mys ,

t ories Of the agonizing hear t Of Jesus from the ,

21 6 L IFE OF BLESSED G A B RI EL .

vantage ground o f Mary s heart the d earest and

-
’
,

the nearest to Him of all human hearts Hence .

,

it was in that heart and f r om that heart and , ,

I
wi th that heart that he henceforth learned to
weep over the mysterious abasement unto death ,

o f t h e Incarnate S on o f Go d : and he saw that

the sword that pierced M ary s soul through a n d ’

through was none other than the blessed Passion

,

o f Jesus In these meditations he realized h o w

.
,

much he had been loved by her how much h e ,

had cost her h o w much he had received from

,

her and these thoughts spiritually digested in

, ,

his heart made it bleed in sympathy and com

,

passion his whole life long

,
.

S u ch then was the special characteristic of

Gabriel s devotion ; hence whosoever would be
’
,

th oro u ghly acquainted with the sanctity Of this

dear servant of Go d must look at him from this
point Of view Gabriel Of the S orrowful Virgi n .

Having consecrated himself unreservedly as

the servant nay th e child Of Mary he ever
, , ,

sho wed unlimited filial confidence in her patron

!

age If h e happened to find himself in some

.

sudden perplexity which at the time he could ,

n ot submit t o his director Gabriel would at ,

once tu rn to the Madonna commend himself to ,

her from his heart and then choose with assur ,

ance whatever seemed the best thing to be d one .

In fact before beginni n g any action especially

, ,

those of importance he made an Offering of it to ,

21 8 LI FE OF BLESSED G ABRI EL .

”
i n exhaustible trea sures of a good Christian He .

held fo r certain the opinion of S t B ernard th at .

,

all the graces won for us by ou r S aviour are d i s ,

e n s e d t o m ankind through His B lessed Mother

p .

B ut if Mary s dolors were Gabriel s sorrows

’ ’
,

her joys to o were his joys ; her honor and wor

,
”
ship his ambition
,
He rej oiced exceedingly
.
,

says F N orbert whenever he heard any extra

.
,

ordinary honor paid to the Madonna or any r e ,

markable grace obtained through her i n terc es

sion O n the other hand it made him sad to
.

hear that the great Mother of God was forgot

ten that h er worship was neglected and that
, ,

the irreligious were enraged agains t her In his .

fervor he composed for h i msel f a long series of

’
articles which he styled The Madonna s
,
”
Credo it is a cento Of the teaching of the
greatest doctors and th eol ogl a n s of the Church
it is a crown of praise in which faith love and
, ,

confidence shine like a cluster of brill iants .

S O inflamed was his innoce n t loyal heart with, ,

the love of his Mother and Queen that n ot satis ,

fi e d with loving her himself he sought every ,

possible me ans t o make her known honored and ,

loved by every one else : nothing short of mak

In
g her clients be as numerous as all mankind ,

would satisfy him His zeal on this point was so

.

ho n est and so constant that even from the days

,

of hi s no vi tiate he wished to bind himself by a

,

formal vow to promote devotion to the holy

,
 H I S DE V O TI O N To M A RY . 21 9

M other of God to the extent of his ability A t

,
.

first h i s req u est was n ot granted for a vow is ,

quite a serious thing to undertake ; and a per

e tu a l vow may be repented of when it is too
p
late B ut Gabriel soon proved beyond a reason
.

able doubt the solidity of his devotion and after

, ,

five years of patient demand and trial after a ,

thous a nd tokens of affection and zeal he was at ,

last permitted in the year 1 8 6 1 to bind himself ,

by vow to be O ur Lady s champion for life ’

.

”
This he did says hi s director to the unspeak
, ,
” “
able joy Of his heart and (he adds) to the great
, ,
”
profi t Of his soul O n her part the loving
.
,

Mother of men wishing to testify h er a ck n owl

,

e d m en t of this extraordinary and gene rous act

g ,

rewarded her saintly son with the inestimable

gift of never thereafter committing the least de
liberate imperfection Thus it was that the
.

gracious S overeign wh o h onored Gabriel wi th a

vocation to the religious state among her chosen
servants herself crowned the edific e Of his per
,

sonal holiness and raised it to the summit of

,

perfection by the royal favor of being preserved

,

from even the least wilful fault .

220 LI F E OF BLESSED GABR I EL .

XXVII .

OTH ER S P E C I AL DE V OT I ON S .

T H E Church of Christ is now divided into

three p arts the church tr i u mp h a n t in heaven
, ,

the church s uf er i n g in purgatory and the church

,

m i l i ta n t on earth A m on g these three parts

.
,

there is an org anic unity with a constant inter

,

communication of merits and prayers This .

mutual participation we profess t o believe under ,

“ ”
the name Of the communion of saints .

What is more cheering in this vale of tears ,

than to realiz e that we are only bodily separated

from ou r departed fri ends and that we can make
,

the m fe el the sincerity and permanence of our

affection by relieving their sufferings and
, ,

hastening the time Of their deliverance by means ,

of our prayers and good works and above all , ,

by the holy sacrifice o f the Mass and the a ppl i ,

cation Of indulgences .

E ven as a secular ou r young hero was noted

,

for his charity toward the faithful departed ;

and one Of his college companions says of him ,

that among the sodalities and confraternities

that were there established young Poss enti was
,

enrolled in such as held ou t the greatest spiritual

222 LIFE OF BLESSED G ABR I EL .

Purgatory He nobly endeavored to induce all

.
’

who came within the sphere of his influence to ,

’
make the heroic a c t but we cannot say that ,
”
his efforts were rewarded with uniform success .

To some he seemed to be t oo forg etful of his own

interests o v er generous in fact His reply on
,
-
,
.

“
such occasions was : Charity which makes r e
” “
strictions is n ot the right kind of charity This .

“
is my commandment says the Master that
, ,
”
you love one another a s I h a v e l ov ed y ou S ome .

ti mes when he was pleading most fervently on e

, ,

of his fellow students would half seriously inter

- -

pose Confrater who will think of y ou ,

Of m e ? he would answer ,
“
with surprise who will think of m e
—

Well of course my dear mother will

, ,
.

A nd I kno w the goodness Of God will and the ,

”
holy souls themselves will too ! B ut ,

if his faith and devotion were thus exercised by

communing with the members of the Church
‘

S uffering no less S cope was afforded by the

,

glorious citizens Of t h e Church Triumphan t He .

loved and rever enced all the saints and it was a ,

sweet thought to his enlightened faith that as a ,

child of God he could choose as many Of them

,

as he desired and make them p er s on a l f r i en d s

,

o
f h i s own friends to whom he could confide
his hopes and fears and would take a sincere and
,

efficacious interest in his welfare .

Naturally he felt a special attraction for such

,
 O TH ER S P E CI AL DE V O TI O N S . 223

saints as had shown a more than ordinary de v o

tion to the Madonna ; and therefore above all ,

others he cherished a tender devotion to S t

,
.

Joseph O f this glorious patriarch he spoke with

.

admiration exalting h i s sanctity greatness and

, ,

power He had been particul arly impressed by

.

the words of S t Teresa who affi rms in the most

.
,

positive manner and in the broadest terms that

, ,

she had n ev er asked this saint for any grace or

favor in vain Gabriel honored him with touch
.

i n g earnestness t o O btain for himself a holy and

,

happy death : which grace he undoubtedly Ob

ta i n e d as we will see further on
,
In S t Joseph s . .
’

honor he recited daily prayers consecrated to

, ,

h i m the W ednesday of every week celebrated ,

with extraordinary fervor his three festivals : his

espousals his patronage and his death ; prepar
, ,

ing for the last feast on the seven S undays pre ,

ceding the 1 9 th Of March by various ex er ,

cises B esides this he never let a favo rable oc

.
,

casion pass by without confessing the feelin gs of

his tender heart for the Fos ter Father of Jesus -

Christ and the most pure S pouse Of the Im m a cu

,

late Virgin whom moreover he was wont t o call

, , ,

by the most endearing names .

Gabriel had also a filial love toward ou r fath e r

and founder S t Paul of the Cross who had
,
.
, I

been raised to the honors Of the Bea t i fi e d by

Pius IX in 1 8 5 2
.
,
.

Hi s next patron wa s S t Franci s of A ssisi, the .

224 LIFE OF BLESSED G AB R I EL .

S aint of the Cr u cifi e d the seraph of love the , ,

herald of evangelical poverty the chivalrous ,

Knight Of O ur L ady It will be remembered

.

II
that ou r holy student first s a w the light of day
in the native city of S t Francis that he wa s bap .
,

tiz e d at the same font in the Cath edral was ,

known by the same baptismal name : in short

the spirit of the patriarch of A ssisi seemed to
have been imparted to his you n g namesake ,

countryman and client The former as well as .

,

the latter was carried away by his buoyant

,

nature and for a time yielded to the attractions

,

of the world ; yet both were saved from d efil e

ment by their love of Christ s poor and by their ’

,
’
devotion to Chris t s mother ; they both after
’
ward despised and reno u nced the world for God s
sake and consecrated all the ardor of th em Inno
,

cent hearts to God alone D eu s m ews et

5m m
(

Great too was Gabriel s devotion toward S t

, ,
’
.

A loysius with whom he had in common very

,

many traits Of resemblan ce : and wh om he had

been first taught to know and love during his ,

college days in S poleto under the zealous Jesuit ,

fathers A deep religious gratitude made him

.

r everence another J esuit saint : the blessed

martyr A ndrew B obola to whom he a ck n owl
m
,

edged the favor of his iraculous cure when he ,

was hesitating between Go d and the worl d, his

father s hom e and the religious cloiste r
’
.
 26.
LI F E OF BL E SSE D GA B RI E L .

XX VII I .

HI S LA ST I LL N E SS .

N OT many years had elapsed since our Gabriel

had been clothed in the religious habit and from ,

the beginning his brethren entertained th e hope

,

that he would be blessed with a long life both ,

for the sake Of witnessin g his marvelous growth

in virtue and that the church might enjoy the
,

advantages Of his labors for the good of souls

but Go d had disposed otherwise .

Meanwhile during those Short years his soul

, ,

had grown ripe for heaven and it became so ,

pleasing to the D ivine Master that he prep a red ,

t o take it to Himself D uring the last year of

.

Gabriel s life it was n ot difficult to foresee that

’
,

the evenin g o f his earthly career was rapidly

coming o n He seemed to have had a secret
.

presentiment of his approaching end n or did he ,

make any great effort to conceal this feeling

ra ther he gave expression to his interior joy at
,

the summons of death E ven had there been no .

exterior man ifestation that the sun o f his life

wa S s l o w l y setting it could not have escaped the
'

vigilant eye of his spiritual director that another ,

light the sun Of eternal day w a s fast rising on

,
 H IS L AS T I LL N E S S . 227

the horizon of his soul : for more than ever in ,

that last year his soul had fallen under the direct
,

i nfluence of the very fountain of light His i n .

ter i or wa s illumined no longer by rays but by ,

streams or torrents o f light that flooded his

, ,

min d and consumed hi s heart more and more

and hence there sprang up in hi s soul a longing ,

a thirst for heaven A s the hart panteth after

the fountains of water so doth my soul desire ,

after Thee Oh my God : when shall I come and

, ,

appear before Thy face R eflecting t oo on the ,

danger of offending God and growing t epid in ,

the divi ne ser vice Gabriel prayed for the grace

,

to die : he even asked for the very malady which

eventu al ly carried hi m off viz consumption ; and , ,

for no other reason than to be able to make acts

,

of love until h e drew his last br eath F N or . .

bert hearing of this and fearing to lose so fer

, ,

vent a disciple whilst approving of the petition

.
,

in itself yet dir ected him to pray under condition

,

Of its being for God s glory and the greater a d

’
,

vantage of his soul D ocile as Gabriel ever wa s

.
,

he at once changed his prayer and did as he was

bidden .

For the first four years of his religious life he ,

had enjoyed at least apparently very good

, ,

he a lth better indeed than he had had in the

,

world as a secular ; for the regularity of m o ,

nastic life was well calculated to strengthen his

constitution ; but durin g the fifth year he com ,
228 LIF E OF BLESSED G A B RI EL .

m e n ce d t o feel an ever increasing weakness which

-

degenerated into unmistakable sy mptoms of tu

b er cu l a r consumption Fervent prayers were
.

at o nce Off ered by the community and were r e ,

quested from outsiders as well A s was sai d .

above Gabriel himself h a d to join h i s prayers to

,

the heartfelt petitions of his brethren that he be ,

spared if it were for the greater glory of God

,

and his own spiritual welfare .

From the fi rst clear symptoms of his fatal

malady he was exempted from the more burden
,

some exercises Of the Observance such as the ,

fasts of r ul e and r IS In g at midnight for matins ;

,

but for awhile the fervent youth gently 1 n s1 s te d

that he was well enough to follow the entire o b
servance for dispensations were to him more
,

onerous than the observance itself .

D espi te all the care and attention shown him ,

h i s malady went o n increasing until at the end o f ,

the year 1 8 6 1 it broke ou t into a violent hectic

,

fever reducing him to a pitiable state of weak

,

ness that lasted u n til the middle Of February

of the following year when his hemorrhages ,

began ; and then he was in such a state of ex

h a u s ti on that the physician advised the last
sacraments t o be given : the poor patient mean
while remaining perfectly tranquil as though
nothin g unusual had happened When he was .

definitively told that there was real danger Of

death , and that he s hould prepare for the recep
23 0 LIFE OF B L ESSE D GA B RIEL .

given : then In tenderness and tears h e r ecei ved

h i s L ord with extraordinary devotion .

S hortly after his communion F N orbert bein g ,

.

al one with his young disciple wa s asked by him ,

to search the papers Of the writing table for a

“ ”
small notebook I have
. r ecorded said he , ,
“
in that little book all the graces that God has
,

bestowed on me t hrough t h e hands of the Ma

donna I am afraid lest the devil m a y tempt me
.

to vainglory on account of it N ow Father ,

.
, ,

will you take it away and ne ver Show it to any

,

on e ? The director promised H e went even .

farther for he s aid that he would not even look

,

at it himself : then leaving the room the book ,

w a s destr oy ed : a thing for wh i ch F Norbert . .

acknowledged himself very sorry afterward .

W ell may we all regret this irreparable loss for ,

that precious little volume was the record of Ga

b r i el s growth in holiness
’
.

The community at Isola feared that Gabriel

would die that very night ; but he reassured th em ,

saying that his illness would be prolonged for

“ ” “
a while ; but he rejoined if the L ord wishes
, ,

to call me to night His will be done !

,

Whatever happens may the most holy most

, ,

amiable most adorable will of God be ever

,
”
done !
His presentiment was fully real i z ed for the ,

violence of his fever sensibly abate d and the ,

first sudden outbreak was succeeded by a slo w

 H I S L A S T I LL N ESS . 23 1

declin e which lasted nine days : this was r e

garded as a d isposition of divine Providence to
increase his servant s merits and to give all an
’
,

opportunity to be further ed i fi e d by his example .

His narrow cell became for his brethren a school ,

a university of virtue Whoever entered there .

,

priest cleric or lay brother ca m e forth deeply

,
-
,

impressed Often bathed in tears they would a ll

,

gladly have remained there indefinitely withou t ,

think ing of repose or anything else

,
.

His patience was admirable and most touch

in g
. Though he lay for hours motionless upon
his bed of suffering without being able to change
,

his position on account of his extreme prostra

,

tion he never uttered a sy llable of compl aint but

, ,

encouraged himself to bear with the i n con v en

fences of his sickness by recalli ng to mind the ,

agonies of Jesus on the cross and the sorrows of ,

the mother standing beneath it When asked .

occasionall y what pain he felt he would mention ,

n o other than the weakness and weariness result

ing from hi s monotony of posture ; yet as a mat

ter Of fact he had a very high fev er wh i ch Often
,

made hi s mind wander and then he would u h ,

consciously show how great his sufferings really

were by the writhing Of h i s body an d the groans
, ,

that were wrung from him in these paroxysms

of pain B ut he watched m ost carefully lest he
.

Should betray how much he suffered as long as ,

he was fu lly master of himself : he refrain ed

23 2 LI F E OF B L ESSE D G A B R I E L .

even from moaning no matter at what cost t o

,

himself in ord er t o spare the feelings of those

,

around him and not to disturb them however

, ,

slightly .

Nor was he satis fied with practicing patience

in spite of his condition he found means to ex ,

e r ci s e himself in m or tifi ca ti o n as well He took .

with the greatest avi di ty the most disagr ee

able medicines but he swallowed them with de
,

liberate slowness i n order t o mortify his palate ,

and he cheerfu lly submitted to many things eu “

tailing physical pain when ordered by the i n ,

fi r m a r i a n or the attending physician even when

, ,

he knew full well that they would be of no use

“ ”
whatev er . Yet writes his director when I
, ,

happened to be alone with hi m he woul d com ,

plain to me of being so i m m or tifi ed of not hav ,

ing the courag e to suffer and of being wanting ,

in virtue I strove to comfort him by bidding

.

'

him be satisfied with Ofl er i n g up to God what

ever he might have to suffer : and I ordered him
not to hesitate to tell th ose in the room when ,

ever he stood i n need of anything : that in this

manner he could practice both obedience a n d
,

m or ti fi c a t i o n of will and h i s companions exer

,
”
cise fraternal charity .

More striking however than his patience or his

m or ti fi c a t i o n was his cheerfulness
,
To judge .

from his look of peacefulness one mi ght have ,

concluded that the dear youth was in perfect

23 4 LIFE OF BLE S S ED G ABR I EL .

them suddenly the servant o f Go d turned to his

,

companion and said ,

My dear Confrater the ,

favor y o u ask fo r is n ot according to God s will ’

,

yo ui know : it is a cross that y ou will have to

carry until death O n hearing this the reli ,

i ou s wa s as it we re stunned for a while

g , ,
re ,

g ardin g t h e whole thing as plainly supernatural ,

Since he gave Gabriel n o inkling whatsoe ver of

what his intention was ; but coming t o himself ,
“
he sai d Well may God s will be done !
,
As ’ —

a matter o f fact the prediction was verified : the

,

ailment continued to trouble him all h i s life long ,

but encouraging himself by remembering his

saintly brother s words he submitted with per
’
,

fect resignation commendi n g himself anew to

,

Gabriel s prayers after the latter had exchanged

’
,

this world for a throne Of glory in heaven .

When the time came for administering the s a c

rament of E xtreme U nction Gabriel asked that ,

its effects be once more brought to his mind and ,

with fervent senti ments of faith and contrition ,

b e disposed himself t o receive it A s the fever .

had impaired his hearin g he begged the Offi ci a t ,

ing priest to read the prayers in a rather loud

tone of voice so that he might understand e very
,

thing and accompany the sacred rite with intel

,

l i g e n t devotion .

D uring the whole course o f this illness says ,

his director he only continued ( bu t with even

,

greater heartiness) what he had been doing all

 HI S LA S T I LL N E S S . 23 5

th rough his life ; that is uniting his soul with , “

God making frequ ent aspirations n ow to Jesus

,

in the B lessed S acra ment n o w to Jesus Cr u ci fi e d

, ,

as well as to the Mother of dol o rs He used to

'

hold his profession cross in his hand or he asked

-
,

to have it placed b efore his eyes : the same he :

did with his little picture of the A d d ol or a ta .

and upon these t wo objec ts of his heart s love he ’

,

frequently pressed his burning lips ” D uring his .

life b e used to make his ejaculations interiorly

‘

or at most in an undertone so as n o t to a t ,

tract the attention Of others ; but during the

time of his sickness he uttered them aloud ; he
even made them i n such a strong voice that his
_

di rector had Often to chide him for it ; but the

progress of the m a l a dy m a d e him forget the rec
’

o m m e n d a ti o n .

The hour fixed by God s holy will for G a b r i el s

’ ’

departure from this world was now rapidly a p ,

r oa c h i n His bodily fram consumed by an

p g . e ,

unconquer able fever wa s nearing its dissolution ;

,

but the spirit within more Vi gorous than ever

,

before seemed to thrill with joy at the prospect

,

of deliverance No more fitti n g time could have

.

been chosen for a Passionist to die , for just then

the community was c el eb r a t m g the octave Of the
solemn commemoration of the Passion Of Jesus
Christ .
23 6 LI FE BLESS E D G AB RI E L
”

OF .

XX I X .

HIS H OL Y DEA T H .

IT was the night of the 26 th of February and ,

’
as the symptoms becam e more serious Gabriel s ,

fellow students did n ot leave his bedside even for

-

a moment bu t his director perceiving no imme

, ,

diate danger of death decided t o rest a while for

, ,

he was exhausted with fatigue and loss Of Sleep .

S till try as he would , he could not fall asleep : a

persistent feeling told him that he was desertin g
his post of duty A s to him alone were known
.

the secrets of G a briel s conscience who else could

’
,

comfort him i n case Of need N 0 longer hesi

tating F Norbert returned t o the sick room de
,
.
-
,

t er m i n e d to watch over his dying child to th e

last He soon found out that he had been guided
.

by the mysterious Providence of Go d for as he , ,

was sitting in a corner of the room suddenly he ,

heard Confrater Gabriel say in a loud voice and ,

with m u ch feeling : Vu l n er a tu a m er i ta m ea ,
“
Thy wounds O L ord are my merits ,
At
,
”
first the director tells us I did not take great
, ,

account of th is because the patient often recited

,

little prayers in a similar tone Of voice But .

soon he repeated a second and a third time the

, ,

same words in a louder and stronger voice A t

, .
23 8 LIFE OF BLESSED G A B RIE L .

lo ng The devil hoping to profit by the weak

.

ness Of a dying man returns co wardly to the as ,

sault reproducing upon Gabriel s imagination

,
’

the Same indecent images This wa s his third .

and last combat N O sooner was he aware of .

’
the nearness of danger than he sho wed his aver
‘

sion to it How could that lady get in here

.

“
he cried .They are n ot allowed here Why .

did you let her in Chase her ou t right away ! ,

O my mother my L ady drive her away !

, ,
A nd ,
—

in saying these words he Showed such a loat h ,

ing for those indecent suggestions and did such ,

violence to himself a nd resisted with s u ch heart,

i n es s that th e bystanders knew n ot what to a d

,

mire most the firmness of his courage or his

, ,

purity of h eart .

Thrice had he been exposed to great danger ,

’

thrice did his cruel enemies close in a r ou n d h i s

poor dying soul but trusting in his Mother s ,
’

help a n d wi th her name upon his parched lips

'

, ,

he completely routed the fiends Of hell and ,

passed uns cathed through th e ordeal To spare .

themsel v e s further defeat they troubled him no ,

more ; and Gabriel enjoyed thenceforward an

unbroken peace The remaining hours of the .

night until daybreak he employed in his wonted ,

fervent aspirations to Jesus Cr u c ifi ed to his ,

B lessed Mother and to the dear S t Joseph His

,
. .

eyes were fixed either on his crucifix or the pi c

ture of the A dd ol or a ta , but these exercises were
 HIS H O LY DEA T H .

interspersed with many little acts o f kin d ness and

gratitude in favor of those wh o waited on him
, .

A s the sun was rising on the morning o f the

twenty seventh of February Gabriel unexpect ,

e dl
y turned to his spiritual d irector w h o was sit

ting a t his bedside and joyfully said to him ,

“
Father you might give me absolution n ow
, ,
.

A s there was however no change for t h e worse

, ,

in Gabriel s condition t h e director did not think

’
,

fit to accede to the request but simply replied ,

’
My son it isn t time yet : but I ll attend to it
,
’

”
my self when the time does come
,
Gabriel .

made n o reply He seemed notwithstandin g to .

,

be well aware of the nearness of death that in

fact he had only a few minutes more to live
,
.

S o then after a ve ry short interval he turn ed to

, ,

F Norbert and said

. I have just made my act
,
”
of contrition : Father do give me absolution , ,

at the same time uncovering his head and join

i n g his han d s This time F N orbert absolved. .

him and promise d that he would renew the a b

,

solution later on especial ly when he was actually ,

dying Gabriel then asked for his little picture

.

of O ur L ady of S orro ws A n old print fro m .

his breviary all soiled fro m daily use r epre

, ,

senting Jesus Cr u ci fie d and the Q u een of Mar

ty rs was given him Taking it eagerly in
,
.

both hands he pressed it to his lips bathed it

, ,

wit h his tears and covered it with kisses Then

, .

addressing J esus and Mary in terms of the ten

24 0 LI FE OF BLESSED GABRI E L .

d er es tlove he pressed the picture to his heart as

, ,

though he wished t o stamp it there indelibly .

A ll in the room were fille d with sentiments o f

reverential awe From time to time his spirit
.
,

ual Father suggested some pious thoughts less i n ,

deed to enkindl e in him the love of God and O ur

L ady than to make it b u rn with a still brighter
,

glow U ncovering his b reast Gabriel put the

.
,

imag e of those he loved so well over his hear t ;

then crossing his hands he embraced the picture ,

with such earnestness such loving fervor such, ,

tenderness that no on e could have remained u n

,

moved ; for on e could see in the dying youth ,

that his saintly sou l w a s reflected in his radiant

face W hen he had thus put the image of Jesus
.

Cr u ci fi e d and the S orrowful Virgin upon his

heart he raised his eyes to heaven with a look of
,

eager and joyful expectancy and cried out in an ,

ani mated voice but with confi dence and love

,

indescribable O my Mothe r make haste ,

A fterward he recited calmly the following

,

prayer separating and emphasizing his words

M a r ia , M at e r g ratia e ,

M a te r m i s er i cordi a e ,

Tu nos ab host e pro te ge ,

Et mortis ho r a s ci pe su .

Mo th er of G rac e 0 M a ry bl e st
, ,

S we t m rcy s fount to thee we fly

e e
’
, ,

S hi e ld us fr om harm and tak e us h e n ce

,

To th y d ea r b oso m wh e n we die
, .
”
24 2 LI F E OF BLESSED G AB RIEL .

picture of J esus Or u c ifi e d and the M other o f S o r

rows his face w a s wreathed in smiles a n d his
, ,

eyes still seeming to drink in that marvelous

vision ? D uring his holy life Gabriel had often
expressed his belief that his gracious Mother and
Qu een would surely come to take his soul with
her to h eaven and it seems that his hope was
,

not confounded Consumed by the ardor of

.

divine love rather than by the violence of dis

,

ease comforted and rapt in an ecstasy by the a p

,

a r i t i o n o f his heavenly Mother (w h om he loved

p
w ith an immeasurable affecti on) he was sweetly
received by her ; a n d laden with merits left for ,
”
heaven (S uch is the j ud gment o f several prin
.

ces of the Church as well as of his o wn spiritual ,

1
director ) .

A ll the religious wer e deeply move d many ,

weeping through devotion O ne of them would .

not believe that Gabriel was dead ; another struck

“
his breast saying : S o m any years am I in the
,

service of God and yet so backward ; while he

,

I n so short a time became a saint and has had ,

such a beautiful d eath ! O thers t oo gave vent ,

to t heir emotion in divers ways .

Gabriel Possenti o f O ur L ady of S orrows died , ,

on Thursday February 27th 1 8 62 in ou r r e

, , ,

treat of the Immaculate Virgin at Isola di Gran

S asso Province o f A bruzzo Italy in the twenty
, , ,

1 C ardi nals Pa rocchi ,

Di Pi tro
e a nd Ma na ra .
 H I S H OL Y DEA T H . 24 3
-

fourth year of his age h a v m g lived in the c on

,

r e a ti on o f the Passion a little over five years

g g
and seven months .

After his death t h e bod y w a s clothed in the

,

holy habit his profession cross was put into his

,
-

hand s (which were joined over his breast) he ,

was then laid upon a bare board in that same

poor cell where he breathed his las t h i s head ,
“

sprink led with ashes and resting on a fe w bricks .

All thi s was done in accordance with the pre ,

scription of o u r rule Toward evening he was

.

carried into the church where on the following

,

morning his solemn obsequies took place ; he was

then privately buried in the vault reserved for
the religious of the community near the door of
,

the church .
24 4 LIFE OF BLESSED G ABR I EL .

XXX .

HIS G RO W I N G F AM E .

No persons are less cred u lous n o persons ex ,

a c t more convincing proofs before recognizing

s u er l o r holiness than those who make r o fe s

p , p
sion of tending toward perfection Yes if there .
,

be a place where it is really diffi cult to b e rated

as a saint tha t place is the monastery or the
, ,

convent A nd yet such was the eminence of

.
,
’
sanctity evidenced in Confrater Gabriel s life ,

that although his love o f humility made him

seek to be unknown he was unanimously a o ,

knowledg ed as a saint proposed to all as an ,

exemplar while all were struck with admiration

,

at his faultless conduct H is blessed death did .

“
but increase h i s fame The reputation of the
.

” “
servant of God sa ys F Norbert did not cease
,
.
,

after his burial : rather all who had known h im ,

personally still treasure his memory as of a great

,

servant of God Coupled with th iS reputation

.
,

w a s the confide n ce that he inspired in h is power

with the Most H ig
‘

for n ot a few ob tained

special and extraordinary favors through his
media tion .

B ut alas ! the revolutionary storm which had

 LIF E OF B L ESSED GABR I EL .

before the empty tabernacle and the sacred re ,

mains of the young and saintly Passionist reli

g i o u s were left to the care of the protecting

angels
It would have been no wonder if in the midst
of such unfavorable circ u mstances the memory ,

of the servant of God were forgotten little by ,

little : but the contrary is precisely what came to

pass In the nature of things the life of a Pas
.
,

s i on i s t student is so hidden in the solitude o f the

retreat that he is almost c ompletely unknown

,

to th e outs ide world E ven i n the retreat itself

.
,

his familiar intercourse is limited to his director ,

lector a n d a few companions Yet after the .

,

lapse o f many years Gabriel s m emory had not,

’

died ou t among the simple people of Isola in ,

whose midst he had lived only fo r a short time

comparatively and whose kno wle d ge of him was
,

gathered from seeing him about the church on

feast days or from meeting him with his fellow
-
,

students on their customary walks through the

country .

It was however in the bosom o f the congre

a t i on o f which he had been such an edifying
g ,

member that his name was cherished with ever

,

increasing confidence and admiratio n The testi .

mony of F Francis Xavier then general of the

.
,

order will stand for all others ; and we have a l

,

ready seen i n an earlier ch a pte r how little i n ,

“ ”
cl i n e d he was t o exaggeration I entertain , .
 H I S G RO WI NG F A M E . 24 7

he says in his deposition a special devotion t o

,

ward the servant of God because I remember ,

with admiration h is many virtues : and often too ,

d o I recommend myself to his intercession for I ,

have always looked upon him as a saint After .

his death h i s 1 e pu ta ti on for sanctity n ot only r e

,

mained undiminished but it has been increasing

,

and spreading both among our o wn rel igious a s

, ,
”
well as among outsiders A s time went on
.
,

there grew in the hearts of all a desire t o see

our beloved brother raised to the honors o f the
altar ; and thus it came t o pass in 1 8 91 that the ,

superiors of the congregation after mature de

liberation resolved that the necessary steps be
,

taken for his b e a tifi ca ti on and canonization .

Toward the autumn of 1 892 a delegation r epr e,

senting the B ishop of Penne (in whos e diocese ,

Isola di Gran S asso is situated) was sent privately

,

to examine Gabriel s place of burial and the con

’

dition of his remains B ut on arriving at the

.

poor deserted church the c om m 1 s s 1 on er s found

,

that some hundreds of persons from the sur

rounding district had already gathered there ,

determined t o resist with all their strength any

attempt to remove the relics of the servant of
Go d . Who had told them o f a project every ,

step of which was c onducted with prudent

secrecy B ut the attendance of the people was
vastly great er o n the morrow the 1 8 th of C O
tober when the delegates o f the episcopal c u r 5a
,
/
 LIFE OF BL E SSE D GA B RIEL .

set out to make the formal recognition and a u

t h e n ti c a t i on of the remains of the serv ant of
God and prepare t hem for removal to a h
,

other retreat The postulator of the cause F

.
,
.

Ge r m a n u s gives us a graphic recital of what then

,

transpired The day and hour had been kept

.

a secret nor did any one outside of the commis

,

sion know what was going to be done Yet no .

sooner had the committee started from the town

of Isola and commenced the journey to the deso
,

late church of the Passionists than a strange ,

sight obtruded itself upon their notice All the .

paths leading to the old monastery were covered

with people Although it was a week da y ; and
.
-

the busiest part of the vintage from all the sur ,

rounding villages the people fi ock ed to the

church singing devout hymns a s th ey hastened
,

o n their way When the delegates reached the

.

hill they found it covered with about four

,

thousand people men and women old and young

, , ,

all attired in their gayest as if they had been ,

urgently entreated to attend some solemn cere

monial What brought them there
. Compara
ti v el y fe w had known Confrater Gabriel person
,

ally (for it was now thirty years after his holy

,

death ) and perhaps the majority of those who

,

were there present had but seldom if ever heard

even of his name Who can explain it save by
.
,

a n instinct of divine Providence that secretly ,

and suddenly moved the hearts of those simple

25 0 LIFE OF BLESSED G ABR I EL .

crowd which h ad patiently waited for several

hours surged round the casket covering it with ,

k isses and tears : some put wreaths and flowers

u pon Gabriel s c ofli n and preserved them after
’

ward as precious souvenirs Verily God had .

,
”
spoken to the hearts of His people writes F ,
.

Ger m a n u s and it was H ewh o had m oved them

,
”
to s u ch singular piety and devotion N Ot less .

marvelous was the orderliness of such a large

cro wd for th ough densely packed in a small
,
'

chur ch though the enthusiasm of their religious

,

sentiments ran high there was neither noise nor

, i

any uns eemly behavior : not a word or action

unb ecoming a place of divine worship .

O n the following day O ctober 1 8 th in th e , ,

presence of the same fai thful people the casket ,

was ca rried to the chapel of S t Paul of th e Cr os s .

'

and was laid in a specially prepared sepulchre on

the epistle side S hortly afterward a mortuary
.

slab was erected with the following inscription

C O R P US SERV I D EI GA BR I EL I S A V I R GI N E
D OLORO S A C O N G R EG ATI ON I S P A S S I ON I S D N . . J . C .

C LE RI C I P RO F ES S I H EI C DE P O S IT U M
X V K AL . N OV . M D C C C X C II .

A NN I S A B O BI T U X X X .

The body of the servant o f God Gabriel of our ,

L ady of S orrows Professed Cleric of the Con

,

r e a ti on of the P aS S I o n of Jesus Christ was de

g g ,

posited i n this place October 1 8 th 1 8 9 2 thirty

, , ,

years after his death .

 LIFE OF BLESSED G ABR I EL .

It is not our inten tion to forestall the solemn

j u dgment of the ch u rc h to wh o m alone it b elongs
,

t o prono u nce sentence in matters concerning t h e

supernat u ral orde r : we will only nar r ate as h u
man h is torical fac ts wha t has been S ee n with the
, ,

eyes and as it were touched with the hands in

, , ,

many par ts of Italy and even in distant lands for

, ,

t h e pas t four years While kneeling a t Gabriel s ’

.

t omb or by using his relics even by de v out ly

, ,

a pplying the d u s t gathered from his grave the ,

blind see the dum b speak the d eaf hear the

, , ,

c ripples the paralytics and those a fll ic ted wi th

, ,
»
‘

the most serious maladies (some of whom were ,

on their deathbed ) ha ve instantaneously r ecov

,
”
ered their heal th by invoking his name
,
Thus .

wro te F Ge r m a n u s in 1 8 96 Up to t h at time
. . .
,

three h u ndred and eighty prodigies were r e

corded but God alone kno ws the exac t n umber
,

o f favors conferred for many good people co n

,

tent themsel v es with offering thanks at Ga b riel s ’

tomb and d epar t rej oici n g on their way without

, ,

maki n g themselves known .

Fo r the honor of God a n d His chosen servant ,

we will n o w n arrate a fe w well authenticated

cases f r om the ofli ci a l doc u ments pre m ising that ,

the first t wo were accepted fo r his bea t i fi ca t i o n

as undou b ted miracles after the most rigid ,

scr u tiny .

No 1. Mary Mazzarella aged twenty lived

.
, ,
‘

with her parents in the village of I s ol a Fo r .

 O UR L A T ES T W O N DER W O RKER - . 25 3

nearly three years she had been suffering

with serious complications a fl ecti ng h e r lun gs ,

s tomach and spine with constant daily fever ,

and headache A t first there seemed to be

.

question only of gas tralgia or neuralgia of the ,

stomach but clear symptoms soon made it

,

evident that acute tuberc u lar phthisis or con

sumption had s e t in Three hemorrhages e n .

sued Gradually losing all appetite the ph y

.
,

s i c i a n allowed her to take any thing she might

fancy but her daily food hardly am ounted to

,

two or three spoonfuls of the potta ge prepared

for the family Her condition steadily became
.

worse I n January 1 892 she experienced great

.
, ,

pains all through her body and six ulcerous ,

wo u nds b roke out These wounds went on e n .

l a rg i n g and prevented her from resti n g either by

,

day or night From five of the wounds putrid

.

matter was discharged S he became so weak .

that she could n o t stand on her feet and was ,

unable to bear the light The summer heat i n .

.

convenienced her greatly so that she could hardly ,

breathe ; then loss of sleep joined with th e

,

consta n t oppression on her ches t so a fl ect e d h e r

voice that she could speak only with d i fli cu l ty
, .

The remedies that were prescribed were of no

avail and she lost all confidence in medicine
, .

In Augus t she was persuaded to allo w D r Ta t ton i .

to attend her A fter a careful examinatio n h e

.
,

declared th e cas e hopele ss Finally she t u rned .

 54 LIFE OF BLESSED G ABR I EL .

to heaven for her c u re : and with all the con fi dence

and t enderness of a lovi n g chil d b esought her ,

B les sed Mo ther t o help her N ow it happene d .

that one day in O cto b er having fallen asleep , ,

S h e saw a beautiful lady wi t h a child in h e r a rms ,

and was told to go and pray a t the tom b of the

holy young Passionis t at the monas tery and use ,

some of his relics assuring her that she would be

,

cured A t the request of her uncle F Ger m a n u s

.
,
.

went t o see her .

This is w h a t he says W hen first I s a w her ,

I was seized with horror S he seemed to me like .

a corpse the o n ly sign of life bei n g a slow and

,

painful breathi n g Propped u p with pillows she

.
,

was lying motionless tormente d wi th six large , ,

purulent ulce r s tha t gave her no rest either by

d a y or nigh t It wa s then three months since
.

she had taken foo d and I remem ber say in g on

,

th at occasion that if the B lessed Virgin cured

,

her it would be a miracle like the resurrection

,
”
of L azarus This visi t took place two days after
.

the ce r emonies descri bed in t h e precedi n g chapter .

F Ge r m a n u s did not give credence to th e story

.

of h e r Vl s l on sayi n g that we ought n o t to tempt

,

God ; nor should the patient be put to the d is

comfor t o f being brough t up to the church ; in
fact h e sai d that such a j ourney m ight even
,

hasten her d eath and tha t if the B lessed Virgin

,

was willing to obtai n for her the grace o f bei n g

cured she would do i t without the jou rn ey at
,
25 6 LI FE OF BLESSED G ABR I EL .

Toward the fi r st dawn of the follo wing day ,

” “
S unday , (to resume Mary s o wn narrative) I ’

told my sister to recite the litany and to join me ,

in p ra y ing to the ser v ant of God While I was .

saying the li tany, there came upon me a q u iet

sleep s u ch as I h a d not had for a lo n g time
, .

A fte r awhile I awoke full of j oy feeling tha t I ,

wa s cured — completely cured My streng th had

,
.

returned th e sores had close d and one of them

, ,

( w hich was very large and was a b out to ope n

) '

disa ppeare d altogether Filled wi th delight I .

said to my sister Ge t up ! I am cured ! Con

,
‘

frater Ga b riel has done the miracle for me ! ’

For well nigh eight months I had been u nable

-

to wai t upon myself : my people had to assist

m e in eve rything N o w that morning I got up
.
, ,

at once dressed my self in haste and went down

, ,

to the kitchen My s i ster would not believe her

.

eyes : she ke pt by my side afraid lest it all ,

might be a delusion somehow or other Bu t I ,

.

went down stairs and s tood before my parents

-

and the serva n t maid who were all in the -

,

kitchen My mother was astounded when she

.

’
sa w me ,
but I said to her : Mamma don t be ‘
,

afraid : Confrater Ga briel has performed the

miracle for me and to reassure my poor mother
,
’

all the more I took the baby from her arms in to

,
”
mine .

Now it h appened that the feast day o f Isola -

was celebrated on that S u nday and there was in ,

 OU R LA T E S T W O N DER W O RKER
-
. 25 7

the vi llage an extraordinary concourse of stran

gers Mary s father beside himself with emotion
.
’
, ,

ran o u t of the house weeping The neigh bors , .

crowded around thinking tha t his daughter had

,

j u st died and lo there wa s Mary among them ,

sound and happy : all were deeply moved and ,

wept for j oy That same morning Mary went

.
,

to the parish church with her parents heard ,

Mass and received holy Communion The next .

day s h e went to the sanc tuary of O ur L ady of

Favors outside of the village ; and on the follo w
ing Tuesday that is o n O cto ber 25 t h t wo days
, ,

after her cure together with all her family a l l

, ,

barefoot hke h erself and accompanied by th e ,

whole population of Isola she went to fulfil her ,

v o w at th e tomb of God s servant S he walked ’

.

all the way going and returning a distance of

, ,

abou t fi v e miles and has enjoyed perfect health

,

ever since This cure has been attested by the

.

s worn statements of Mary herself her parents , ,

Father Ci a v er e ll i and the two physicians D r

, ,
.

Tauri and D r R ossi and several others

, .
, .

By the cure of this young woman the Chris ,

tian public came to kno w that it would not be

deceived in placing its trust in such a powerful
servant of God Thereupon everybody implored
.
,

his intercession and asked for all kinds of favors

, ,

with the most ardent fai th In a biography of .

our dear Gabriel published only six months after

,

this fi rst m iracle Monsignor J ez z on 1 co u ld say

,
25 8 .
LIFE OF BLES S ED G ABRI EL .

There is scarcely any one in all this country

side sick or afflic te d spiritually or temporally ,

ne edy who fails to tu r n to t his young servant of

,

Go d Fro m v illages to wns and cities far and

.
, ,

near the unfor tunate and the s ti i ck e n come or

, ,

are carried t o the li t tle Passionist church at Isola ,

as to one of the mos t renowned sa n ctuaries ; and

ever so m any re t urn to their homes consoled and
cu r ed f
’

No 2 Fo r more than twelve years a peasant

. .

named D ominic Ti b eri o f Colliberti a village , ,

near Isola s u fl er e d from ru pture , Throu gh .

carelessness and the circumstances o f his life as

,

a farmer his c on d ition gre w steadily worse ;

,

a n d a t las t his very life became insuppor t a ble

, ,

s o m any and so grievous were his pains and

inconveniences He wa s horribly ruptured ,

s a id his n eighbors and as his deformity was very,

eviden t to a l l i t inspired terror rather than pity

, ,

and to a d d to the chalice of his bitterness he was ,

often m a d e game of in the pu blic streets .

O ne d a y w h en his pain had become so a go n i z

ing that he th ough t he was at the point o f dea th ,

he d ragged h imself somehow t o B1 Gabriel s .

’

tomb He knelt with the rest as th ey prayed

.
,

each o n e fo r himself and h e asked with lively ,

faith just for a little relief Then bendin g down .

b e touched with h i s hand the marble gravestone ,

and forthwi th passed that hand over h i s rupture .

A t tha t very ins tant all his pains stopped , the

 \

26 0 LI FE OF B LE S S ED G AB RI EL .

Isola so m e fi ve o r six times altogether Al

, .
~

though at that hour he fo u nd the door locked ,

he knel t down as best he might pray ing with ,

gre at earnestness and confiden t as to the res u lt

, .

The last time his p r ayer wa s u n u su a ll y ferven t

,

God heard i t and Titus returned home sound

,

and well The doctors of course examined him

.
,

and great was their surprise on fi ndi n g n o t race

what ever of his former malady He enjoy ed the .

bes t of health for ma n y years and often de tailed ,

t o interested enquirers with tears o f g ratitude ,

in his eyes both the misery which he had en

,

dured for so lo n g and the completeness of his

,

cure The monastery church and B1 Gabriel s

. .
’

tomb were his deligh t ; thither he very fr e

q uently repaire d and i n spite of his havi n g to
,

walk several miles to get there h e was on e of ,

the very first o f the crowd that daily gathered

in that favored sanctuary either to solicit special ,

graces or to thank heaven for having received

,

them .

I t would seem that our Gabriel has been made

in these latter day s the particular patron of those
afflicted with rupture A s a matter of fact the
.
,

number of those w h o have been cured of i t

through h 1 s m t e r ces s i o n m u st be counted by
hundreds : men and wome n the aged and even ,

li ttle children Their unfor tunate mala dy dis

.

appeared i n an instant together with all its con

,

seque n ces ; some by simply invok ing t h e servant

 OU R LA T E S T W O N DER W O RKER -
. 26 1

of God and asking his help ; others by maki n g

o n t heir rupture the S ign of the cross With the

hand tha t to u ched his tomb ; but generally the

cure was effected by apply ing some of the dust
from his grave .

No 4 S is ter Mary o f Pompeii belongi n g to

. .
,

t h e oo n v e n t of R epara tion in Ro m e fell g r i e v ,

o u s l y sic k in May 1 89 0 with acute cerebro spinal

, ,
-

anemia which wa s agg ravated by an obs tina te

,

pleuro p n eumonia and a tumor of the size of

-
,

an oran ge on her right side with concomitant ,

menorrhagia This formidable combination

.
_

brought her to death s door and the last sacra ’

,

ments were ad m inistered The poor S ister lay .

like one already d ead motionless and colorless , ,

beref t of the po wer of either speaking or hear

ing ; confuse d in mind o ppresse d with i n fl a m m a
,

tion of the bra in and by convulsions th a t weak

en ed her more and more ; and finally she wa s
harassed by bronchial troubles that m ade
paralysis of the lungs imminent Her cough .
,

her prostra tion and her difficulty of brea thi n g

were ex treme and at last every kind of medicine
, ,

was discontinued for they b u t aggravated h e r

,

sufferi n gs an d rend ered the taki n g of food mo r e

,

d ifli c u l t a n d sometimes ev en impossi ble

, .

A t this juncture S r Mary and her companions,

.

in religion had recourse to God to obtain her ,

cure from H i m if such were His holy will

,
.

S omebody suggested that they should solicit th e

26 2 LIFE OF B LES S E D G ABR I E L .

intercession of Confr ater Ga b riel of O ur L a dy o f

S orrows whereupon t h e sick S ister with all the
,

co mmunity commenced a novena When i t was .

ended S r Mary was suffe ring more t han usua l

,
.
,

and h e r condition b ecame worse in m a n y way s .

The fol l o wm g af ternoo n when the M S u perior , .

visited her according to custom she sai d to her ,

“
My daughter if you had faith in th e se r vant of
,

G od you d g e t up and go around

,
’ ”
A t these .

words of the su perior the invalid felt a ,

st range m ovement within herself as if her bo dily ,

stre ngth had sud d enly returned and she answered :

”
W ell the n Mo ther gi ve me m y clothes !
, , ,
Be
fore giving them t o her the prayers of the novena ,

were once more reci te d a nd then S r Mary dressed ,

.

herself wi thou t a n y a ssistance and fo u nd herself ,

i n stantly cu r e d so th a t she was a ble to follo w all

,

the exercises of the community that same day .

Th e physician wh o h a d charge of this wo n der

ful case h a s freely a n d ful ly a d mitted all this !

unde r oath and his de posi tion is part of the

“

A postolic Process for Gabriel s b ea tifi ca tio n this ’

,

bei n g one of th e three miracles submit t ed to the

S Congregation of R ites and accepted after the
.
,

most searching scrutiny .

A fe w further details are given by the

Postulator o f the Cause S r Mary s c u re was . .
’

instantaneous and complete so that there was ,

no trace left of all her various ailments Wha t .

is more striking s till her extreme emaciation , ,

264 LIFE OF BLESSED G AB RI EL .

N o 6 In consequence of a serious at tack of

. .

typhoid fever E gidius Gu a g n oz z i of Castiglione

,

della Valle aged sixty t wo was utterly deaf so

,
-
, ,
‘

tha t he could n o t even hear the ringing of the

church bells Medical auth ori t ies teach that
.

when deafness resul ts from such diseases it is of ,

”

a ve ry serious nature and ca n hardly ever b e ,

cured .

Poor E gidius was given up by the doctors and ,

had no hope himself of being cured when s u d ,

d e n l y the thought came to him of prayi n g to the

servant of God He went to the monastery .

church prayed at Gabriel s tomb put some of

,
’
,

the miraculo u s dus t in h i s ears and instantly r e ,

covered his hearing per fectly .

No 7 B lindness cure d R ose Cor i n i aged

. .
—
,

forty of Nereto without any previous sickness

, , ,

suddenly lost the sight of both ey es by amauro ,

sis or paralysis of the optic nerves With h er

,
.

eyes wide open she could fix them upon the sun ,

without the least impression bein g m ad e upon

them The local physicians after treati n g her in
.

vain remanded her to the clinical institute of

,

B ologna there to undergo a surgical operation

,
.

S he ho wever paid little heed to the r eco m m en d a

tio n and continued to lament her misfortune
,
.

B eing in this condition of mind the servan t ,

of God ( who m she had never seen before) a p ,

p ea r e d to h e r in a dream and invited her to pay ,

him a visi t i n the monastery church at Isola .

 OUR LA T E S T W O N DER W O RKER . 26 5

When she a woke she at once resol v ed to go a n d

'

, ,

set out wi th her husband being encouraged by ,

the doctors to make t h e pilg rimage When near .

the hill on whic h th e churc h s tands she heard a ,

numbe r of voices si n ging pious hy mns (i t was a ,

procession on its wa y to the church ) whereupon ,

the poor woman said in a spiri t of fai th Well ,

I am blind now but on my return I w ill be able

, ,
”
to see . S he was led by the hand to the church ,

and w hen she a rrived a t t h e tomb she knel t ,

down praying with c opious tears Then ha ving .

touched the tomb with a handkerchief she a p

plied i t to her face me r ely asking to be abl e to
see with one eye The chu r ch was filled with
.

people devoutly engaged in prayer : all a t once ,

the silence was broken with cries of joy for at

that moment Rose had Opene d her lef t eye and ,

wa s able to see perfectly and the v ery first thi ng

,

she s a w was Gabriel s picture on the monument

’
.

S he at o n ce recognized in h i m t h e you n g r el ig I Ou s ,

who had appeared to her at home .

N o w there was an innkeeper at M o n tor l o In

, ,

whose house R ose a n d her husband had stopped

on their way to Isola This incredulous man h a d
.

remarked that he would indeed bel ieve in the

miracles which were attributed to Gabriel s i n
,
’

t er ces s i o n if this woman retur n ed healed

, Great .

then was his surprise when his gues t came back

cured on t h e follo wing evening .

A first favor emboldens one to ask for another .

26 6 LIFE OF BLESSE D G ABR I EL .

R ose began soon after her return to pray for

, ,

the recovery of her right eye also S he applied .

to it one of Ga briel s relics and by the mercy o f

’
,

God her petition wa s gran ted

,
.

No 8 L ucy Callisti was suffering from ker

. .

a t i ti s or inflam m ation of the cor n ea of th e righ t

e e : but while un der the treatment of D r P e

y .

trilli an experienced surgeo n the ailment ex

, ,

tended also to her left ey e thus completely d e ,

r i vi n her of sigh t Her friends and neigh b ors

p g .
,

touched by such a misfortune in a girl of sixteen ,

Suggested to her mother that L ucy should have

recourse to the in tercession of Confrater Gabriel .

The maiden was brought twice to the tom b of the

servant of God and after the second time she
, ,

went home completely cured .

The atten d i n g physician states that this di s

ease is of so serious a character that even sup ,

posi n g the possibility of a perfect cure this could ,

not occur except gradually and after a lo n g ,

time .

No 9 Anthony E gidius of Capsano a child

. .
,

nine years old became blind in both eyes as the

,

sequel of a disease with which he had been

afflicted R eme d ies were q uite useless : he gre w
.

worse and worse while his spasms of pain were

,

i n describable Feeli n g herself inspired to ask

.

from heaven a cure that human aid could n o t

confer his mother led little A n thony to the
,

grave of B1 Gabrie l Whilst she pray ed with

. .
268
'

LIFE OF BLE S S ED G ABRI EL .

ra ther bad grace S he i n voked O ur L ady under

.

her various ti tles made triduums and novenas to

,

e very patr o n saint b u t without the least apparent

,

advantage S till the nuns o f the convent did n ot

.
,

lose ho pe for they dearl y loved their young pupil

, .

A t las t some one s poke to the m a bou t the wo n

,

de rs wrought by the n e w ser v an t of G o d Gabriel , ,

and they resolved to send her to his tomb to ,

b e c u red S he went t o Isola with some of her

.

relatives and prayed long and freq u ently amid a

,

great crowd of people When her prayer was .

over she prostrated herself on the marble tomb

,

s tone and seemingly fell asleep Her cousi n a p .

r oa c h ed her t a f w grains of the dust fro m

p p u e ,
’
Gabriel s g rave into her mouth and said to her ,

Get u p E lvira and cry out S aint Gabriel be

, ,

praised ! A t tha t moment the girl awoke and ,

in a high clear voice re peated over and over :

,
”
S aint Gabriel be praised ! The nerves and
muscles of h e r to n gue regai ned their former
flexibility and to this day she ex periences no
,

trouble in speaking to the wonder and delight ,

of all Wh o knew her in the lo n g years of her

dumbness .

No 1 2 Francis di B ernardo of B isenti had

. .
, ,

accide n tally contra cted the horri ble disease called

cancerous syphilis For thirteen m onths he lay.

on a bed o f agony ; exhausted covered all over ,

wi th sores like a leper he was truly a l oathsome ,

and pi tiable sight Given up by the physicians.

,
 O UR LA T E S T W O N DER W O RKER -
. 26 9

Bernard sough t the help of th e servant of God ,

and while invoking his intercession with c o n fi

dence he made use of a li ttle of t h e dus t fro m
,

Gabriel s grave Immediately he felt strength

’
.

and vigor re turning to his afflic ted body rose ,

from his bed and walked a b out without d iffi

,

cul ty He contin u ed his novena of prayers and

.
,

o n the eighth day, all his sores were closed and

perfectly healed .

No 1 3 Francis Marcantonio of Morgia aged

. .
, ,

twenty t wo was suffering from spleni t is or i n

-
,

fl a m m a ti on of the spleen His internal organs .

were li k e wise diseased a n d he was enormously ,

s wollen by dropsy Unable to find relief from .

doctors he went to Gabriel s tom b made an a p

,
’
,

plication of some of the mi racul ous dust and was ,

c omple t ely cured during the night of Fe bruary

1 2 1 8 9 3 in the house of B ernard Castelli where

, , ,

he was lodging .

No 14 . In the neighborh ood of A scoli Piceno

.
,

a certain woman wa s afflicted with a grievous

‘

cancer S he washed the diseased parts once

.

with water in which she had mixed some of the

,

wonderful dust and th e cancer was healed In

,
.

the register kept at Isola there is a long list of ,

similar cures of every kind of cancer .

No 1 5 In 1 89 7 Violanta Moretti of R ome

‘

, ,
. .
,

had been suffering from inflammation o f the

lungs o f such a serious charact er that she was ,

given up by the doctors S he wa s ac tu al ly in .

 70 '

LIFE OF BLES S ED G ABRI EL .

her last agony and the attending pries t wa s r e

,

citing the prayers for the d y ing Josephine .

A les sandrini a pious lady then came into the

, ,

room and gave her dying frien d some of the

,

miraculous dust No sooner did the patient take.

it than s h e was ins tan tly restored to perfec t

,

health .

No 1 6 O ne evening in J une 1 89 3 ther e came

. .
, ,

from Acquasanta to the retreat of Isola a cripple ,

named A nt hony Mancini who for many years ,

had los t the use of his limbs i n consequence of

an obstinate arthritis A s the d isease had crip .

pled him in a frightful manner the phys icians ,

attempted to straighten him by b reaking the ,

joints of his thighs and knees ; b u t this only

completed his ruin and deprive d him of all hope ,

of ever being able to take another step Be .

sides the poor man was wasting away through

,

muscular a t rophy so that he could no longer ,

m ove his body and was forced to spend his days

,

seated in a n armchair from which he h ad to be ,

lifted into b e d at night .

S eated thus and e v en bound in his chair (lest

, ,

the motion of the wagon should throw him off)

,
,

he arrived after a lo n g journey at the Passionist

church All who saw him were touched with
.

deep compassion and as he was moved from the ,

wagon a n d carried to the tomb of the servant of

God many j oined with h i m in prayer asking his
, ,

cure from God D uring the night he was gi ven

.
272
:

LI FE OF BLESSED G A BR I EL .

himself The bystanders were greatly astonished

.

a t this because they kne w h i m well : greater still

,

w a s their w onder when they saw the old man

,

making h i s confession with an ab u nda n ce of

”
tears . A fe w days la ter continues the priest , ,

to whom we are inde b ted for these facts as I r e

“
,

turned to the church the man came up t o me qui te

,

joy ful his eyes moistened with tears and said

, ,
‘
O h Father this dear servant of God obtai n ed
, ,

three great graces for me ; b e touched my h eart

a n d b rought me back to my God I have pray ed .
,

and felt myself cured all at once of my paralysis ,

so tha t I am well and ca n walk about with ease ,

you see besides I was afflicted for many years

,

with a rup ture : this too has disappeared this very

hour ! What shall I d o to Sho w my gratitude to
God for so many blessi n gs
Whatever the enticing advertisements in our
daily papers and circulatin g pamphle t s medical ,

science tells us tha t t h e rad ical cure of rupture

( hernia ) is seldom accomplish e d except by opera
tive surgery ; and not a single i n stance has ever
been recorded of an instantaneous cure of hernia
,
.

N o w we read in the processes that G abriel h a s ,

declared himself by facts to be the sp eci a l pro

tector of the ruptured and in 1 8 9 7 we find on ,

the register about ninety cases of complete and

,

instanta neous cure .

N o 1 8 It is not often that we find a person

. .

looking upon a severe physical discomfort as a

 OUR LA T E S T W O N DER -
W ORKER . 273

blessing or considering i t a thing to be prayed

,

fo r
. The subjoined case is an excep t ion to the
general rule and Will ex plain itsel f
, .

A young S icilian W a s d rafted into the Italian

army j u s t befo r e the late A frican campaign .

S icilians a s a rule are n o t overanxious to leave

, ,

t heir country and let themselves b e massac r ed

,

for the glory o f u nifi ed I taly in to whic h they

are incorpora ted to their disgust ; b u t this young
man fel t particularly averse to running s u ch a
risk He therefore besought Ga briel t o come to
.

his assistance and on the very day when he was

,

to present himself for the physical examinatio n ,

there suddenly broke out a rupture of such

gravi ty that the poor conscript was declared
,

permanent ly unfit for military service and was ,

discharged Bu t no sooner had he reached home

.
,

than every vestige of hernia disappeared and he ,

has since continued as sound and h ea l t h y a s he

'

had been b efore .

No 1 9 The son of a druggist in Teramo had

'

. .

fallen sick so d angerously that no remedy would ,

avail and he was at death s door Already were

,
’
.

the necessaries for the funeral being prepared ,

when the boy s parents bethough t themselves of

’

the recent miraculous recovery of a daughter of

the military comman der of the district which ,

wonderful cure had caused quite a sensation i n

“ ” “
the city Why said they since that saint
.
, ,

has so kindly shown favor to the gi rl s father ’

,
274 LIF E OF BLE S SED G ABR I EL .

’
why shouldn t we trus t that he will be equally
kind to us S o t h ey prayed with great faith ,

and i mmediately their son was c u red .

It may appear strange to some of our readers ,

that the bo y s coffi n was being made whilst he

’

was still alive : b u t this practice is q u i te general

in the remo te mountainous province of the .

A b ruzz i No sooner does it become evident that

.

one is in i m m m e n t danger of dea th than a richly ,

adorned casket is prepared ; the n if by s ome ,

s u pern atural interventio n the dy ing person is ,

spare d the casket is carried to the sanc tuary of

,

the s a i n t t o whom they were indeb ted for the

,

miraculous cure and is left there as a n ear c ote of

,
-

gratitude and devotion There are several of

.

these caske ts at Isola di Gran S asso .

No 20 It m u st indeed have been a touching

. .

spectacle as an ey ewitnes s relates when one day

, ,

there came down fro m the mountains a little ,

procession of persons in the midst of whom was ,

a figure all clo thed in white This was a t welve .

year ol d boy who with his father mother

, , ,

brothers and sisters had come from a distance of

,

thirty six miles over a very rough road all walk

-
,

ing barefoot the whole w a y and the dear little ,

fellow carryi n g upon his head th e c ofli n in which ,

he was about to b e carried to the g r ave h a d n o t ,

Gabriel haste ned to his assistance .

N o 21
. Joseph Mary A lbani , a young reli
.

gio n s of th e O rder of the S er vites of Mary in ,

276 LIF E OF BLESSED G ABR I EL .

I al way s car r y a b ou t with me the pic ture of the

ser v ant o f God nor will I ever part with it
,
’
.

“
In a subsequen t lette r he says : It i S n o w ,
‘ ’

m or e than four months S ince I wa s cured and I

II
,

ha ve not suffe r ed from any re turn o f my former

disease Your saint o b t ained that grace for me
.

fro m the B lessed Virgin : I will Show m yself

g ra teful to him as long as I
,

No 22 S is ter Concetta o f S t Michael a reli

. .
,

gions of the convent of Capuchin Nuns at S an ta

Fiora in Tuscany was wasting away from an
,

ulcer in her sto m ac h which fo r five years had ,

been ex te n di n g and was accompanied with all

,

the painf u l phenomena usual in such c a ses All .

human rem edies had bee n resorted to unavail

i n g ly and the attending ph y s i cian himself d e
,

s a i re d o f gi ving relief Yet being a m a n of

p .
,

faith af te r advisi n g his patient to receive the

,

las t sacraments he suggested t h at recourse b e

,

had to Confrater Gabriel o f whom he had heard ,

s o many w onders A n ovena was made i n con

. ,

sequence by t h e whole co m munity ; and o n i ts

,

terminatio n a second o n e was co mmence d all

, ,

prayi n g with the greatest confidence excep t th e ,

poor patient herself wh o i n stea d o f getti n g bet

,

ter stea d ily b ecame worse : in fact at the e n d

, ,

o f the second n ove n a h e r m i sery seemed to have

,

reached its climax S he w a s d isheartened and

.

prayed with cold n ess .

N ow she relat es herself

, j ll S t a little after ,
 O UR LA T E S T W O N DER w o RK E R -
277

midnight of the d a y when the community com,

m e n ce d a third novena (I kno w n o t whe t her I

,

wa s a wake or asleep) I heard some one calling m e

by name in the s wee test voice I ever hea rd I n
,
.

s ta n t l y t h e e n tire cell was filled with light and ,

i n the mids t of a bright globe I s a w a mos t beau

t if u l y ou n g ma n attired in black and wearing a
su r plice of dazzli n g whiteness His face was fa r. .

brighte r and more radian t than the glo ry that

encircled him H e dre w near to my poo r li ttle
. .

bed and I said : O good d ear li ttle Gabriel

,
‘
,

won t you speak to me He ans we r ed A re

o u not going to ask me for some thing Yes
y
I said give me what Mother A bbess wants me
,
‘

to have : c u re me ! Then b e touched me and I

’
,

was at once free from all p ain I thought I .

was in heaven both in soul and body so great ,

wa s the consolation I felt : I could not believe

myself : Am I d reami n g said I as I sat up in ,

bed ,
‘
or wha t s the m atter with me ? I am
’

cured An d so indeed it was A ll this while

,
.
,

t h e servant of God was slo wly Withdrawing

fro m the room leaving me immersed in consola
,
”
tion.

“
The dumb speak the blind see the d eaf hear
, , ,

the lepers are cleansed the lame walk a n d the , ,

devils a re cas t out ”

By these wor d s , Christ our
.

L ord announced Hi s divine missio n and con ,

founded the p ride a n d hypocrisy o f His enemies ,

by sho wing Himsel f to be th e absolute L ord

278 LIF E OF BLES S ED G ABR I EL .

and Master of all na tu r e L uckily for our a f .

fli ct ed h u m anity our merciful God still con tinues

,

to work miracles through H i s S a i n ts O ur war ~

.

r a n t fo r believing this consoling doctrine is found

\

in the Gos pel of S t John 1 4 : 1 2 wherein Jesus

.
,
“
Himself said : A men amen I say to y o u he, , ,

that b elieveth in M e the works that I do he

, ,

also shall do ; and grea ter than these shall he

”
do. Therefore the days of miracles can neve r
,

b e over .

We ha v e seen instances of many different

cures at B l Gabriel s tomb a n d it is only our
.
’
,

want of s u fli ci en t space that prevents our multi

plying the record tenfold There does n o t seem .

to b e a single department of human misery not a ,

single disease or deformity acute or chronic even , ,

awful cases of diabolical possessio n that God has ,

not cured thro ugh the intercession an d merits of

the humble Passionis t student rightl y surnamed ,

the modern Thaumaturgus .

We have hitherto considered some miracles of

God s m er cy wrought in favor of Conf rater
’

Ga b riel s clients ; let us n o w bring this chapter

’

’
to a close by narrating t wo m i racles of God s
u s ti ce avenging the honor of His servant a t
j
tacked by impious m en .

No 23 In the province of Teramo there

. .

lived a man notorious for his bad life and e s ,

e ci a l l for his detestable habit of blasphemi ng

p y .

He was employed by a well to do family as - -

 LIFE OF BLE S SED G A BR I EL .

servant to pardon his blasphemies promising to ,

change his life That very moment all h i s pain

.

ceased n o r h a s it ever returned since A nd rew

,
.

( f )
r suc h is his name has kept his promise a n d
‘
o ,

mended his ways .

No 24 A saloon keeper of Campli o b s ti

. .
-

n a tel
y persisted in ridiculi n g the many cures
that happened in that neighborhood in favor of ,

such as had recommended themselves to Con

fra ter Ga briel .

O ne day u r ged on more than usual by the

,

spirit of blas phemy he went so far a s to ridicule

,

the servan t of God himself with unbecoming

jokes that scandalized all who heard him In .

s ta n t l y he lost his power of speec h being st r uck

, ,

d u mb ; and what is worse he h a s perversely r e

,
’

mained in this unfortunate s ta te e ve r since .

 WH A T G ABR I EL H A S DO N E FO R I S OLA . 28 1

X XXI I

WH A T G ABR I EL H A S DO N E F OR I S O LA .

THE poor church of the retreat a t Isola will

be one of the most illustrious sanc tuaries of
Italy, thus wrote F Nor b ert on Jan u ary 1
”—
.

1 893 , less than three months after the mor tal r e

m ains o f Gabriel Possenti had been brought to
light ; and surely t h e singula r devotio n that has
since been seen a bout his tomb and the number
,

and character of th e prodigies wrough t there ,

bid fair to give the a bo ve assertion some sem

blance of pro phecy .

When this saintly youth was still living upon

ea r th he seemed to be like a m agnet sweetly
, ,

drawing to himself th e hearts not only of his

bre thren in religio n but even of o u tsi d ers A ll
,
.

who came wi thin the magic circle of his i n fl u

“
ence rea lized that his con versation had no bit
te rn es s nor his company any tediousne ss but j oy
, ,
”
and gladness and this i s n o w being daily r e
ne wed s i nce the translation of his relics and is ,

perhaps th e most remarkab le of all the won d ers

wrought Three years ago his name wa s alm ost
.

forgotten ; his body wa s interred i n a co m mon

vault in an abandoned monastery hidden aw a y
,
 LI FE OF BLESSE D G A BR I EL .

in the hills of the A bru z zi ; n o w i t is echoed far ,

and wide it is on the lips a n d i n the hearts n o t

,

only of the common people b u t of the princes of ,

the church as well .

By reason of the persecution of the church In

Italy many of its inha bitants have r em a m ed for
,

a long time without spiritual assistance and in

s t r uc tion as ca n be seen from the many who
,

come to our hospitable Shores The country .

around Isola had perhaps more even than others , ,

felt the sad consequences of spiritual neglect .

“
The churches were no long er fre qu ented the ,

greater number of the people lived es tra n ged

f rom the sacraments m any h a d nothing left of
,

their former Christi ani ty but t h e mere name or ,

at most an extern al and wholly material reli

gion A s to their morals what shall I say ?
.
,

B las phemy d r unkenness licentious n ess and a

, , ,

host of vices that are ever the compani ons of i n

fidelity had incr eased beyond all proportion in
,

every rank of society I am n o t speaking of .

”
past centuries or even decades wri tes F Ger ,
.

“
manus who su pplies these d e tails
,
bu t of a ,

s tate of things that existed a very short while

ago and to w hich thousands of persons ca n bear
,

witness This is the dark side of the picture

.

let us no w glance at the other .

L o n g processions are coming here f rom the

villages all round about : t h eir conduct gives
great e di fi ca ti on Pil gri m s are arriving every
.
 LIFE OF BLE S SED G ABR I EL .

heard o f for these simple f olk of ten say : In

,
—
‘

the presence of s um Ga br i el e and und er his very

,

’
eyes it won t do to commit a u v more sins
, .
’

Tr u ly the servant of God has opened a mission

,

for t hese neglected people and there i s reason to

,
”
hope tha t i t will las t long .

0 Isola ! thou a r t n o t the least amo n g th e

thousands for Ga briel shall be thy g lory !
,

B uried b u t yesterday among thy h i l l s t h i s holy

,
‘

ser vant of God is destined to be famous through

out th e Christian world ; and the child ren of the
uni v e rs al church will ere lo n g co m e as pilgrims ,

from every Christian la n d to honor Gabriel

Possenti to display their faith and their grati
,

tude in a sanct u ary all his own when the hour,

at last comes for h i s solemn canoni z ation May .

God h asten the day !

 H I S S OLE MN
'

B E A T I F I GA T I ON . 28 5

XX XIII

HIS SOLE MN BEA TI F I C A TI O N .

TO WARD the end of the year 1 8 94; the S n

r i or s of the Congregation of the Passion de
p e

li berated about introducing the cause o f th e

venerable servant of God for b ea tifi ca ti on and
canoni zation and in the following mon th the
, ,

c ompiling of the necessary documents began .

Th e commission commenced its work in S poleto ,

with the authorizati on of the Archbishop for it ,

Wa s in that city that our Gabriel spent the first

eighteen years of his life until in fact he co u se
,

crated himself to the service of God in religi on .

From S poleto the commission went to the diocese s

of Terni R ome Albano and lastly to Penne
, , , ,

where many lived who had known Gabriel well ,

and who were thus able to testify as to his

virtues and also as to the prodigies wrought by
,

his intercession O nly thirty years had elapsed

.

since his holy death ; hence most interesti n g and

important depositio ns could be expected from
his three survivi n g brothers and sister his former ,

college companions his masters his brethren in

, ,

religion his confessor and spiritual director who

, ,
“
were alive when this fi rst episcopal process
28 6
'

LIFE OF BLESSED G ABR I EL .

was co m m enced This firs t par t of the work was

.

duly fi nished in abo u t a year a n d the documents ,

we r e laid b efore the Congregation of R i tes

_ ,

where all s u ch causes are offi cially exa m ined .

The Cardinal Prefec t of this Cong r egation him

self took u p the cause of Ven Gabriel and became .

i ts chief advocate ; so that i t is wholly owing to

his loving energy tha t co m plete s uccess was a t
t a i n e d i n a very shor t time .

A t a m eeting held on June 4 1 8 9 5 all the , ,

availa ble Wri tings of the ser van t of God were

exami ned : h is le tters and a fe w of his composi
'

tions Not only were they found free from theo

.

logic a l errors or exaggerated piety but i t was ,

unan imo u sly voted t ha t the solidity of their

doctrine wa s as evide nt as their healthy common
sense Without delay the Holy S ee was then
.

formally peti tioned to a llo w the process of beati

fi ca ti on and canonization to go forward : which
if granted would con fe1 upon the servant of God
,
“
the glorious ti tle of Venerable ”
S uch a pe ti
tion i s usually made only by the most illustrious
personages ; a n d in our G a briel s case it embraced ’

all E u rope and nearl y the whole Christian world

, ,

so eager did the foremos t churchmen in every

land appear to h ave the holy student s name eu ’

rolled upon the list of saints I taly France .

, ,

B elgiu m S pam Portugal Germany Austria

, , , , ,

E ngland and Ireland j oined with the U nited

,

S tates and Canada in an earnest entreaty to th e

28 8 LI F E OF B L E S S E D G A B R I EL .

in all safety Hereupon the Po pe sho wed mos t

.

evidently his interes t and by apos tolic decree

, ,

d ispensed with the required proof of Gabriel s ’

rep u tation for sanctity saying

—

It is as clear as
,

the sun that his reno wn is at this moment spread

abroad everyw h ere and i s increasing day by
,
” ”
day . The A pos tolic Process concerning
’
Ga briel s virtues and miracles then commence d ,

one commission working in the diocese of Penne ,

a second in t hat of Teramo and a third in Rome , .

H ere again the Holy Father exhibited unusual

interes t in hastening the Cause of the holy young
student For the wisest of reasons no Cause ca n
.
,

be brou gh t up for b e a ti fica t io n soone r than fifty

years after a person s death ; besides which ten
’
,

years m ust elapse from the end of the first or

episcopal Process t o the introduction of the
,

Cause before the Co n gregation of R ites The .

Holy Father graciously dispensed with both laws ,

well knowing t he extrao rdinary meri ts of the

case O n July 23 1 9 02 the first of the three l as t
.
, ,

meeti n gs was held ; the second on June 28 1 9 04 ; ,

and the third and last on May in the

presence of the Pope E leve n d ays af terward
.
,

he published a decree solemnly declaring that ,

there was no doubt b u t that Ven G abriel had .

exercised in a heroic degree the theological

virtues of faith hope and charity as well as th e
, ,

cardinal virtues of pr u dence j ustice, fortitude ,

an d tempe r ance .
 H IS S OLE MN BEATI FI OATI O N . 289

The n follo wed the examination of the miracles

required by t h e laws o f the Church as heaven s ’

confirmation of the life and vi rtues of him who

is to be canonize d Three were presented viz
”

,
.

the ins tantaneous c u re of th e young woman

Mary Mazzarella o f Isola di Gran S asso of con
, ,

sum ption described on page 25 2 ; the cure of

,

D ominic Tiberi of Colliberti of a most grievous ,

ru pture described o n page 25 8 ; and the perfect

,

and sudden restoration to heal th of S r Mary of .

O ur L ady of Pompeii described on page 261,

.

Inas much as these three miracles were fully

attes t ed by ey ewitnesses for the most par t t wo
, ,

miracles only were needed accordi n g to the ,

general p ractice of the Co n gregation of R ites ,

and the firs t two were selected The examina .

tion was rigorous and prolonged lasting ove r ,

three years A ll the witnesses and documents

‘

were patiently examined in private and the ,

results discussed in three public meetings co n

vened for this s pecial p u rpose The Holy Father .

publis hed the decree of approval of these mir

acles on January 26 1 9 08 and appointed t h e las t
, ,

day of May for the solemn enr olling of Gabriel s ’

name among those declared B lessed .

R ejoi ce th en 0 Congregation of the Cross and

,

Pas sion of our Bl R edeemer rejoice in the glory

.
,

brought th ee by this thy son ! Many another

h a st thou brought forth and t rained on Calvary ,

at the foot of the Cross where thou hast taken

 90 LIFE OF BLESSE D G ABR I EL .

up thy d welling M any o f these th y children

.

h ave h onored thee by the s plen d or of their heroic

vir tue , a n d by t h e meri ts o f their long laborious ,

and most fruitful apos tola t e Bu t this an gelic .

y o u th
,
Gab riel of the S orro wful Virgin has ,

made thee In these latter days renowned among

all the older O rders of the Church of God ; fo r
he has triumphan tly shown h o w the obser va nce
of thy R ule enables the Christian soul to carry ,

the cross of Jesus Chris t to the h ighes t reaches

o f perfection and become the wond er and j oy of
,

the whole world .

As a conclusion to this life of the B1

fi tti n g .

Gabriel the following description of the cere

,

mony of b e a tifi ca t i on is appended .

The you n g Passionist s tudent Francis Possen ti

’
was solemnly b ea tifi ed in S t Peter s in R o m e .
,

S unday May 31 1 9 08
,
The g reatest and grand
,
.

est church i n the world was made more m a gn i f

i c e n t still by the decorations us ed on the oc
casion The light of day having been c om
.

p l e te l y shut out the vast

,
in terior was fi lled with
the mellow radiance of twenty fi v e thousand -

elec tric lam ps which were artistically arrange d

s o as to recall the Passion of our R edeemer and .
,

the seal of the Passionist O rder Hundreds of .

the gl owing bul b s circled every arch extended ,

along every cornice and were m assed in giga n tic

,

candela bra The walls were every where covered

.
29 2 LI F E OF BLESSED GA BR I EL .

the Cause of b ea tifi ca ti on , F Ge r m a n u s C P .

, . .
,

accom panied by the A rchbishop of L aodicea !

S ecretary of the Congrega t ion of R ites a p ,

r o a c h ed Card C r e t on i P refect of the same

p .
,

Cong r egation and hand ed h i m the A postolic

,

B ri ef asking him to order i ts publication

,
His .

E mi n e nce consented and sent them to ask the ,

per m ission of Card R ampoll a to publish it in .

his church N ext the B rief was read aloud

.
, ,

wherein the Holy Father after praisin g the

‘

virtues of Ven Ga b riel d ecla red him enrolled

.

among t h e B le ssed in heaven

Then all present Cardinals bishops pri ests , ,
“

and fai th ful rose to their feet ; the paint ing of

the n ewly b ea tifi ed (which until then had b een .

draped) wa s u ncovered the electric lights were ,

turned on in greater profusion the bells of S t ,

.

’
Peter s pealed j oyously and the Te D eum the , ,

church s hymn of praise and thanksgiving was

’

,
,

rap turously sung by the m ultitude present The .

‘

portrait and relic were next incensed and sol emn ,

p on tifi ca l mass celebrated A special p l a tform .

was erected near the altar on which was seated

D ominic Tiberi who had been miracu l ously,
’
cured through the servant of God s intercession ;
and Gabriel s own brother D r Po s senti of
’
,
.

Camerino was also there wit h several o f his

, ,

relati ves R ound a b out the altar were many

.

who h a d known th e you n g saint intimately

some of his old fellow students the aged F N or ,
.
B LES S ED GA B R I E L IN GLO R Y
 94 LIFE OF BLESSED G ABR I EL .

Then came the cross of the secular clergy ,

followed by all the parish priests of R ome as ,

well as the Ca u c u s o f the various Basilicas

_
.

N e xt:the R oman Court in all its magnificence

appeared with the m e m bers of the di plo m atic
corps accredi ted to t h e Holy S ee together with ,

the R oman n obility A subdeacon cam e next

.

h ea r i n g the papal cross followed by ma n y A rch

,

b ishops and B ishops from all parts of the world .

A fter the m walked twenty two Cardinals and-

,

finally the elevated chai r (or sedia gestatoria) on

which the Pope was borne surrounded by the ,

noble guard as immediate attendants on th e

'
S u prem e P on ti fl A s soon a s the venerable
.

figure of Pius X was in full view there was a ,

wave in that sea of humanity now falling and ,

then rising as the c rowd knelt to receive th e

papal blessin g .

O nly in the Catholic ch urch ca n One witness

such a sight In that mighty thro n g of thir ty
.

thousand there were men of every profession

, ,

from all ranks in socie ty standing reverently

,

side by si d e with ordinary men and wom en from

nearly every nati o n under the sky O n lookin g .

at them gathered round the Vicar of Christ one ,

nat u rally thought of that multitude that no man

ca n nu m be r of all pe oples and t r i b es a n d tong u es
, ,

together with the choirs of glorified spi rits who

assist about the throne of the Most High .

W hen this g rand and absolutely matchless

 H I S S OLE MN B E ATI FI OA T I O N . 29 5

procession came to the altar the relic of RI , .

Gabriel was exposed ; hundreds of candles were

lighted and tens of hundreds of elec tric lights
,

turned on L as tly when the RI S acrament was

.
, .

like wise exposed the choi r san g the hymn in

,

honor of the newly bea t ifi e d This bei n g ended

.
,

the invoca tion ra n g out i n clear and thrilling

tones f or tb e fi r s t ti m e i n p u bl i c P ray for us .
,

O B lessed G a b riel ! and like t h e sound of many

waters came the universal response That we
”
ma y be made worthy of the promises of Chris t .

The prayer f r om the newly approved offi ce fol

lo wed and closed the official ceremony .

The feast of B1 Ga briel has been fi xed for

.

’
May 3 1 the last day of Mary s month as
, ,
—

though the Church wished her children to have

.

a perpetual reminder of on e of the greatest

‘

causes of Ga briel s sanctity his tender li felong

’
,
—
,

devotion to the B lessed Mother of God S urely .

in this we ca n all imitate him When we reflect .

on the dangers through which our hero passed ,

and then conside r the greatness and grandeur of

his triumph eve n here upon ea r th we ought to , ‘

be inspired to seek safety from the snares and

temptations of the same world where he d i d , ,

that is un d er the mantle of O u r L ady of S orro ws

, ,

who is also the Mother of Gra ce .