Chapter 56: For the Feast of All Saints

Of the different orders of the Church Militant — How to honour the Saints by thanksgivings, that we may participate in their merits.

ON the Feast of All Saints, St. Gertrude received some instructions on the mystery of the Blessed Trinity, and learned how the Trinity, which has neither commencement nor termination, and ever abounds in joy and beatitude, imparts eternal glory and blessedness to the saints. But human frailty is such, that she could not explain what she beheld in the clear mirror of the Divinity, so that she was obliged to explain it by images and comparisons. The King of Glory appeared to her as the Father of a great family, who was entertaining all His neighbours, the princes and powers ; so that the Church Militant and the Church Tri umphant appeared to mingle together, and each took kia place according to his merit — those who lived holy lives in the married state were with the Patriarchs, those who merited to know the Divine secrets were with the Prophets, those who laboured for the instruction and edification of others were with the holy Apostles, and so on. But Gertrude observed that those religious who served God in religious observance were joined to the choir of Martyrs ; and as these were specially adorned in each member of their body in which they had suffered for their Lord, so the religious bad some special reward for each act of selfrestraint which they had performed, whether in seeing, hearing, tasting, walking, or speaking ; and they had the same merit as the martyrs, and received the same reward in heaven. For as they had no persecutors to shed their blood, they had offered themselves daily as a holo caust of sweetness to their God by their continued morti fications and restraints.

At Communion, as she prayed for the Church, but felt a want of fervour, she prayed to our Lord to give her fervour, if her petitions were agreeable to Him ; and imme diately she beheld a variety of colours : white, which indi cated the purity of the virgins \ violet, which symbolised confessors and religious ; red, which typified the martyrs ; and other colours, according to the merits of the saints. Then, as she feared to approach our Lord because she was not adorned with any of these colours, she was inspired by the Holy Ghost, "who teaches man wisdom/'^to return thanks to God for all those who had been elevated to the grace and state of virginity j/ beseeching Him, by the love which made Him be born of a Virgin for us, to preserve all in the Church, to whom He had vouchsafed this favour in most perfect purity of body and soul, for His own honour and glory; and immediately she beheld her soul adorned with the same shining whiteness as the souls of the virgins.

She then returned thanks to God for the sanctity and perfection of the confessors and religious who had pleased him from the beginning of the world, beseeching Him to bring all who were still militant in the Church to a happy end ; and immediately she beheld her soul adorned with violet ; and as she continued to pray for the different states and orders in the Church, her soul was adorned with their respective virtues. As she returned most fervent thanks to God for these favours, she beheld herself clothed in a golden amice ; and standing thus marvellously adorned before our Lord, He turned to the saints, and exclaimed : " Behold her in garments of gold, clothed round about with varieties." * Then He opened His arms to receive her, as she was no longer able to support the torrent of Divine joys with which her soul was encompassed.

As the time for Communion approached, and her strength still failed her, she said to our Lord : " 0 my Beloved ! how can I rise to go to Thee, my Lord and my God, in this Sacrament, when my strength has failed me, and I have not asked any one to come to assist me ? " The Lord answered : " What need have you of human aid, when you are supported by My Divine arm ? I will give you strength to rise and approach Me." Then she arose, sus tained by Divine grace ; and although she had not been able to walk without assistance for a long time before, she went in the strength of the Lord to receive His Body, and so became one spirit with Him.