Chapter 56: Of charity towards an erring brother

As the Saint prayed one day for some persons who had formerly injured the convent seriously by their thefts, and were again committing depredations, our Lord appeared to her as if suffering much pain in one of His arms, which was so drawn back that the nerves were seriously injured : and He said to her : " Consider what torment he

" Facies animae suse.

cause Me who should strike Me with his closed hand on this suffering arm : and reflect that I am outraged in like manner by all those who, without compassionating the danger to which the souls who persecute you are exposed, do nothing else but talk maliciously of their sins and what they have suffered in consequence, without reflecting that these unhappy people are members of My Body ; while all those who, touched by compassion, implore My mercy for them, that I may convert them, act towards Me as if they soothed the pain of My arm with healing ointments : and I consider those who, by their counsels and charitable warn ings, try to induce them to amend their lives, as wise phy sicians, who endeavour to restore My arm to its proper position."

Then Gertrude, admiring the ineffable goodness of God, said to Him : " But how, Lord, can these unworthy persons be compared to Your arm ? " He replied : " Because they are members of the body of the Church, of which I glory in being the Head." " Bat, my God," exclaimed Gertrude, " they are cut off from the Church by excommunication, since they have been publicly anathematised for the vio lence they have done to this monastery." " Nevertheless," replied the Lord, " as they can be restored to the bosom of the Church by absolution, My natural goodness obliges Me to care for them, and I desire with incredible ardour that they should be converted and do penance."

The Saint then prayed that the monastery might be defended from their snares by His paternal protection, and she received this reply : " If you humble yourselves under My mighty Hand, and acknowledge before Me in the secret of your hearts that your sins have merited this chastisement, My paternal mercy will protect you from all the efforts of your enemies; but if you rise up proudly against those who persecute you, wishing them evil for evil, then, by My just judgment, I will permit them to become stronger than you, and to afflict you still more."