La povera Gemma
15 May, 2008 by PF
Tomorrow is the Feast of Saint Gemma Galgani, whom Pierre Jovanovic (who used to live around the corner from us at Saint Joseph’s, avenue Hoche) referred to in his Enquiry into the Existence of Guardian Angels as The Marilyn Munroe of the Saints. Gemma is the most beautiful and the most fascinating of the saints associated with the Passionists. Her biography, by Father Germano (whose tomb is shown below), was recently placed by one blogger on the top five list of scary spiritual reading .
Last autumn I had the privilege of visiting her tomb at the Passionist Nuns Monastery at Lucca with a group of Passionist pilgrims from Australia. Here we are in front of Saint Gemma’s tomb.
Afterwards we had lunch at the recently-built pilgrims centre. Here is our General, Father Ottaviano, cutting the cake which one of the nuns made for the occasion.
You can find an English translation of Letters of Saint Gemma Galgani at the Library of Congress (-this links to a pdf file).
The question! Padre, the question! You said you were going to answer it!
Did St Gemma have a vocation to be a Passionist nun?
(happy context here.
I did not want to indicate that I did not like her very much. She is indeed one of the Saints I find most fascinating. Only, being a very mediocre Catholic myself (truly very Laodicean…
I find her also very frightening.
What a pleasant surprise to find a passionist blogger (I never really thought to look for one before) and of course this wonderful post about St. Gemma. I felt the urge to re-read her biography a few days ago and just finished last night. I’d associated St. Gemma’s feast with April 11 and totally forgot that her liturgical feast is today, until I got an email from Fr. Bruon De Luca, a passionist in Morrovalle (Italy) who is a very dear friend. So I’d like to post something about her at my blog and have a cross reference to this post, ok? And I promise that I’ll be back to visit!
Happy feast day st Gemma!
One of my favourite saints.
I couldn’t recommend fr Germano’s book enough as it is a first hand account from a person who appears saint like himself!
Scary and frightening aren’t words I would personally use to describe Gemma or this book but captures well the feeling imposed on young cathoilcs who are truly commited to christian living.
Berenike if my memory serves me well Gemma was refused entry to the Passionist sisters on several occasions due to ill health?
ST GEMMA PRAY FOR US
Yes, that is exactly why, in the context of the discussion about what the word “vocation” might actually mean, I wondered.
“she desired continually to suffer with Jesus on the Cross, to live always on the Cross, and to die with Him on the Cross. And in this it would appear that her Divine Spouse satisfied her because in life and death she suffered always a cruel martyrdom of body and soul.”
- Fr. Peter Paul of the Immacualte, Passionist
(from the life of St Gemma Galgani - Fr. Germano)
Not exactly what one would expect to see on a CV today but one that describes well Gemma’s vocation in life.
I felt deep comfort, and found it appropriate the reading yesterday of taking up the Cross on the feast day of St Gemma.
ST GEMMA PRAY FOR US
Scary and frightening aren’t words I would personally use to describe Gemma or this book but captures well the feeling imposed on young cathoilcs who are truly commited to christian living.
I would say, rather of young Catholics to whom, at reading the book, the fact is brought home that they are not in fact, truly committed to Christian living.
I would also be very much interested in an answer to Berenike’s question.
Regarding the French book:
Marilyn Monroe was known for her “figure”, not her face.
It seems in these latter days, not even poor Gemma is safe from the “Spin Masters”.
Edward P. Walton
Regarding the Father General”s luncheon in Lucca:
One can only think of the old adage, “You can’t have your cake and eat it too”.
Edward P. Walton
I would imagine it hard for any believer not to be humbled by the life story of St Gemma Galgani and therefore a relisation of the room for a deeper commitment in their own life. Words such as scary and frightening alienate young people from courageous examples such as Gemma rather than encourage them to become like the saints as our Pope’s Benedict and JP II always encouraged us to do. Sorry for my grammer, this was my point if it was not clear.
Er. The Pope thinks I’m youth, and Notburga is younger than me. We’re not putting each other off. N’s post was (if I do not flatter myself) a fruit of a long skype chat about Pious Stuff, peace and angst, (scary not = angst) so it was just the words used by “young(ish) people” in reaction to courageous examples. We were saying, among other things (correct me if I am wrong, N) that there are things that are scary but in a healthy sort of way, and there are things that can cause angst. The latter, we agreed, include the Imitation. I don’t think the Life of St Gemma was in that group. I think by angst we meant something along the lines of the anxiety St Francis de Sales talks about as being the worst thing to happen to a soul after sin.
In fact one of the instrumental things in keeping me from lapsing as a teenager was the scariness of the Gospel and some of the minor prophets. I thought “oh, this is serious. Right. Er. Better do something about it then.” Scary is not bad. Some things are scary. Bungee jumping. (heh, I have just found a new analogy for the spiritual life! (excuse the Pious Phrase) You know the line will hold, but it still feels like you’re going to crash!)
St F de S also said that thing about catching more flies with a spoon of honey that with a barrel of vinegar. But not all “young people” are flies. By which I mean, lots of us (in which I include myself some years ago) are looking for something serious, a challenge. If it’s not at least a bit scary, then it hardly seems worth it. And it is hard. A priest friend of mine used to joke about people who tell you that believing in Jesus will make everything better. “Ha! Accepting the Gospel is only the beginning of your troubles!” If we tell people that the path of sanctity is happy and easy per se, then when things get difficult they will think they are doing something wrong.
Er. you can tell by the length ofthis comment that I should be doing something else. Sorry.
The eighty-one year old in this community thinks that I’m youth too!
I fully agree with Berenike’s last comment. It has made me aware, however, that, yes, probably the life of St Gemma did not quite fit into the list (and it is only at place five, anyway).
I dearly love Newman’s sermons, and I gained much good through them, not the least that motivation Berenike quoted: If God’s love and beauty and all He did and does for you fail to attract you enough to think them more important than the trifling pleasures after which you run, it is something necessary to see that the matter is seriously serious for you to turn back. Nevertheless, after having read the first two or three sermons of ‘Discourses to Mixed Congregations’ I a state of such absolute dread that I would go to hell that I felt ‘How can I even dare to pray, hideous as I am’ - And that is not a helpful reaction for actually becoming less hideous.
Similarly the ‘Imitation’: it is quite possible to get it the wrong way and succumb into angst. Which, for me, unfortunately also happened, to a lesser degree, after reading St Faustines diary and the life of St Gemma. I found both beautiful - the kind of beauty God confers on the life of those really loving Him, and which urges you on to love Him more yourself. Nevertheless, and that is entirely my fault, both books were angst-causing as well.
So the post maybe was a bit flippant. But it was much more poking fun at my own mediocrity than intending to put anyone off - and I hope it has been understood in that way if any young, potentionally put-off person, has read it.