Chapter 22: How St. Gertrude was admitted to the vision of God— Of the kiss of peace, and other similar favours

I SHOULD be unjust, in recalling the gratuitous gifts which I have received from Thy charitable clemency, if I ungrate fully passed over what was granted to my unworthiness, by Thy most loving clemency, during a certain Lent. For on the second Sunday, as they sang at Mass before the pro cession, the response which commences Vidi Dominum facie ad faciem, a marvellous and inestimable coruscation illuminated my soul with the light of Divine revelation, and it appeared to me that my face was pressed to another face, as St. Bernard says : "Not a form, but forming ; not attracting the bodily eye, but rejoicing the heart ; giving freely gifts of love, not merely in appearance but in reality."

In this most enchanting vision, Thine eyes, bright as the solar rays, appeared opposite to mine, and Thou alone knowest how Thou, my dearest Lord, affected not only my soul, but even my body and all my strength. Grant, there fore, that as long as I live I may prove myself Thy humble and devoted servant.

But even as the rose is more beautiful and gives forth a sweeter fragrance in the spring, when it flourishes, than in the winter, when it is dried up, and, like the remembrance of a joy that is past, rekindles in us some pleasure to think of it, so I desire, by some comparison, to declare what I felt in this most joyful vision, to extol Thy love, so that if those who read this receive similar or even greater favours, they may thereby be excited to acts of thanksgiving ; and I myself, by recalling them frequently, will inflame the negli gence of my gratitude beneath the rays of this burningglass. When Thou didst display Thy most adorable Face, — the source of all blessedness, as I have said, embracing me, unworthy, — a light of inestimable sweetness passed through Thy Deified eyes into mine, passing through my inmost being, operating in all my members with admirable power and sweetness : first, it appeared as if the marrow were taken from my bones ; then, my flesh and bones appeared annihilated ; so much so, that it seemed as if my substance no longer had any consciousness save of that Divine splen dour, which shone in so inexplicable and delightful a manner that it was the source of the most inestimable pleasure and joy to my soul.

Oh, what shall I say further of this most sweet vision, if I may so term it ? For all the eloquence in the world, if employed daily to persuade me, could never convince me that I should behold Thee more clearly even in glory, O my God, the only salvation of my soul, if Thou hadst not taught me by experience. I will dare to say that if anything, human or Divine, can exceed the blessedness of Thy embrace in this vision, as I consider, I may truly say that, unless thy Divine virtue possessed that person, the soul would never remain in the body after a momentary taste of this blessedness.

I render thanks to Thee, through the union of mutual love which reigns in the adorable Trinity, for what I have so often experienced, and that Thou hast deigned to favour me with Thy caresses ; so that while I sat meditating, or reading the Canonical Hours, or saying the Office of the Dead, Thou hast often, during a single Psalm, embraced rny soul many times with a kiss, which far surpasses the most fragrant perfumes or the sweetest honey ; and I have often observed Thou didst look on me favourably in the con descending caresses Thou didst give to my soul. But though all these things were filled with an extreme sweet ness, I declare, nevertheless, that nothing touched me so much as this majestic look of which I have spoken. For this, and for all the other favours, whose value Thou alone knowest, mayest Thou rejoice for ever in that ineffable sweetness surpassing all comprehension, which the Divine Persons communicate mutually to each other in the bosom of the Divinity !

May a like thanksgiving — or, if possible, one even greater — be rendered to Thee, for an extraordinary favour Thou hast granted me, of which Thou alone knowest, and which is so great, that I can neither fully express it by my feeble words, nor altogether pass it over in silence ; and, lest 1 should lose the remembrance of it through my frailty, I write this to recall it to my memory and to excite my gratitude. But, my God, do not allow the meanest of Thy servants to be guilty of such an excess of madness as volun tarily to forget, even for a single instant, the gratitude which she is bound to have for the visits with which Thou bast hon oured her of Thy pure and gratuitous liberality, and which she has received for so many years without meriting thern^ For, although I am the most unworthy of all creatures, I declare, nevertheless, that these visits with which Thou hast favoured me far surpass anything that could be merited during this life. I, therefore, implore Thy sweetest mercy to preserve this gift to me for Thy glory, with the same goodness with which Thou hast so liberally bestowed it, without any merit on my part, so that all creatures may glorify Thee eternally for it ; since the more my unworthiness is made known, the more resplendently Thy mercy will shine forth.