Page:Lifeofsaintcatha.djvu/188

 understood her perfectly, and believed more strongly in her word than in death whose presence he felt. And in effect, Catherine's word triumphed over the laws of nature; and divine virtue, more powerful than all human remedies, saved the dying man against all hope.

We were already preparing for his interment, and several days elapsed without amelioration. Catherine arrived and said in the ear of the sick man: "I command you, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, not to die." Life and strength immediately returned. The saintly man rose from his bed and asked for something to eat. A few moments sufficed for a complete cure; he related to us what Catherine had said to him, and that he had felt a divine energy retaining his soul which endeavored to escape. He affirmed that he was not cured by any natural cause, and believed this miracle to be as great as though he had arisen from the dead.

Having spoken of others, I must not pass in silence what Catherine did for me. When the plague was raging in Sienna, I resolved to sacrifice my life for the salvation of souls and not to avoid any pestiferous patient whatever: it is certain that the malady is contagious; but I also knew that our Lord Jesus Christ, is more potent than Galen and that grace is superior to nature. I also saw that many had taken flight, and that the dying remained without assistance; and as the blessed Catherine had taught me that charity obliges us to love the soul of the neighbor more than our own body, I was desirous of assisting as many sick as I could, and I did so by God's grace. I was almost alone in that vast city, and had scarcely time to take a little food and sleep. One night as I reposed, and the time approached to rise and recite my Office, I felt a violent pain in the region of the