The remains of St. Gemma Galgani at the Passionist monastery in Lucca, Italy. In the last months of her life, Gemma suffered greatly both physically and spiritually in reparation for sins. She died April 11, 1903, Holy Saturday. (stgemmagalgani.com)
St. Gemma Galgani had great zeal for the salvation of souls, and Our Lord revealed to Gemma the need to make reparation for sins.
Gemma recalled: “Some days ago I had scarcely received Jesus in Holy Communion when He asked me this question: ‘Tell Me My child do you love Me greatly?’ What could I answer? But my heart answered Him by its throbbing. ‘If you love Me,’ He rejoined, ‘you will do whatever I want of you.’
“And then sighing, He exclaimed: ‘What ingratitude and malice there is in the world! Sinners continue pertinaciously to live in crime; weak and heartless souls will not do themselves violence to overcome the flesh; those in tribulation lose courage and despair; indifference keeps increasing daily, and no one amends. I cease not to dispense heavenly graces and favours to all My creatures; life and light to My Church; virtue and strength to him who rules it; wisdom to those who direct souls that are in darkness; constancy and fortitude to those who have to follow Me; graces of every kind to all the just; I send My light into the dark dens of sinners, and even there soften their hearts, doing all I can to convert them. But notwithstanding all that, what do I ever gain? What correspondence do I ever find in My creatures whom I have loved so much? No one any longer cares for My Heart and for My Love. I am forgotten as though I had never loved them and as though I had never suffered for them. My Heart is always in sadness; I am left almost alone in My Churches; if many assemble there it is for other motives than worship and I have to suffer the pain of seeing My House become a theatre of amusement. Many through hypocrisy betray Me by sacrilegious Communions. I can bear no more.’”
Our Lord called Gemma to offer herself as a victim of expiation for the sins of the world, and she responded generously, saying, “You know O Lord, how ready I am to sacrifice myself in everything. I will bear every sort of pain for You. I will give every drop of my blood to please Your Heart and to hinder the outrages of sinners against You.”
Gemma prayed earnestly for sinners. She prayed: “O Jesus, do not abandon poor sinners, think of sinners and of me; I want them all saved.” Sometimes, she would pray for a particular sinner, saying, “That one, I want You, Jesus, to remember particularly, because I want him saved together with me.”
Gemma predicted that the Passionists would establish a monastery at Lucca. When Gemma understood that she would not be able to enter a Passionist monastery, with resignation she predicted: “The Passionists did not wish to receive me; nevertheless, because I wish to stay with them, I shall when I am dead.” Today, the mortal remains of Gemma are enshrined at the Passionist monastery in Lucca.
One day Our Lord said to Gemma, “I have need of a great expiation specially for the sins and sacrileges by which ministers of the sanctuary are offending me.” He added: “If it were not for the Angels who assist at My altar, how many of these should I not strike dead!”
Gemma accepted the call to expiate saying, “Do You not know, O Jesus, that I accept it? Yes, at once, O Jesus; exhaust Thy vengeance on me and be glorified in this Thy miserable creature.”
Hence, in the last months of her life, Gemma suffered greatly both physically and spiritually in reparation for sins. Gemma died April 11, 1903 (Holy Saturday). Her last words were: “Now it is indeed true that nothing more remains to me, Jesus, I recommend my poor soul to Thee … Jesus!”
吉瑪願奉獻作犧牲
聖吉瑪.金錦妮熱衷於人靈的得救。吾主啟示吉瑪，要為諸罪作補贖。吉瑪憶道：「數天前，我剛剛領了聖體後，耶穌問了我一個問題：『告訴我、我的孩子，你真的很愛我嗎？』我能怎樣答呢？我只能用我悸動的心跳作回響。耶穌續對我說：『如果你愛我，你將照我願意你的去做。』然後，祂嘅嘆着說：『世界真充滿忘恩和惡意！罪人執意活在罪惡中；軟弱冷漠的靈魂，不願意出力對抗肉慾；受困苦的人在絕望中喪失勇力；冷漠天天在蔓延而沒有人去定改。我不停地賜下天上恩寵和恩惠給我所創造的人，賞賜生命和光明給我的教會，賦予聖德和力量給教會的管治者，給那些指導處於黑暗中的靈魂的人智慧，給予追隨我者恆心和堅忍，賞給不同的聖寵予義人，遣發我的真光到罪人的窩穴，甚至在那裡也要軟化他們的心靈，用盡方法來感化他們。但縱然如此，我得到什麼？我從我所愛的人得到什麼回應？沒有人再關心我的聖心和我的愛。他們把我遺忘了，有如我未嘗愛過他們一樣，也像從未為他們受過任何苦楚。我心時常在哀傷中，我在我的聖堂中幾乎被遺下；若然有很多人聚集在聖堂，他們的動機不是為欽崇，而我痛苦地見到我的聖所成為娛樂的劇院。很多人以偽善而冒領聖體背叛我。我不能再容忍下去。』」
吾主要吉瑪為世罪作犧牲、做補贖；吉瑪慷慨地應允說：「祢知道的，我主；我已準備在一切事上犧牲自己。我將為祢承受各種苦痛。我將交出我身體每一滴血，為中悅祢心並為牽制罪人對祢的冒犯。」
吉瑪熱切地為罪人祈禱：「噢、耶穌！請不要離棄罪人，請記得他們和我；我希望他們全部都能得救。」有時候，吉瑪會為某一個罪人祈禱：「耶穌，我想祢特別記得這個人，因為我想他和我一起得救。」
吉瑪預言苦難會會在盧卡設立修院，當她了解她不能進該修院，她預言說：「苦難會會士不願收納我；但因我願和他們在一起，在我死後，我將和他們在一起。」果然，今天盧卡的苦難會修院，恭放著聖吉瑪的聖髑。
有一天，吾主對吉瑪說：「我很需要大的賠補，特別為了聖所內的聖職人員冒犯我的罪和褻瀆。」又說：「假如不是我祭台中輔助的天使們，又會有多少的聖職人員應被我擊殺！」吉瑪立刻領受做補贖的召叫，道：「噢、耶穌，祢不知道我接受嗎？對，噢、耶穌，我現在就接受；請耗盡祢的報復於我並在這祢可憐的受造物受到光榮。」
為了賠補罪人的罪過，吉瑪最後幾個月的生命，精神和肉身都受著很大的痛苦。1903年4月11日的聖週六，吉瑪與世長辭。臨終時吐出幾句話：「現在，真的再沒有任何事留在我了，耶穌，我把可憐的靈魂交託於祢… 耶穌！」