Page:Purgatory00scho.djvu/256

 One day — it was the Vigil of the Epiphany — she remained a long time in prayer, beseeching God to alleviate their sufferings in consideration of those of Jesus Christ, offering to Him the cruel scourging of our Saviour, His crown of thorns, His cords, the nails and cross — in a word, all His bitter pains and all the instruments of His Passion. The following night God was pleased to manifest how agreeable to Him was this holy practice.

During her prayer she was rapt in ecstasy, and saw a long procession of persons robed in white garments and radiant with light. They were carrying the emblems of the Passion and entering into the glory of Paradise. The servant of God knew that they were the souls delivered by her fervent prayers and by the merits of the Passion of Jesus Christ.

On another occasion, the Feast of All-Souls, she was ordered to work at a manuscript, and to pass the day in writing. This task, imposed by obedience, was a trial to her piety: she experienced some repugnance to obey, because she wished to devote that whole day to prayer, penance, and pious exercises for the relief of the suffering souls. She forgot for a moment that obedience should take precedence over all else, as it is written, Melior est obedientia quam victima — " Obedience is better than sacrifice." Seeing her great charity towards the poor souls, God vouchsafed to appear to her, in order to instruct and console her. " Obey, my daughter," He said to her; "do the work imposed upon you by Obedience, and offer it for the souls: each line which you shall write to-day in the spirit of Obedience and Charity, will procure the deliverance of a soul." It will be easily understood that she laboured with the greatest diligence, and wrote as many as possible of those lines, so acceptable to God.

Her charity towards the holy souls did not confine itself to prayer and fasting; she desired to endure a part of their