He and I

On very rare occasions in her early life, Gabrielle had been surprised by a Mysterious Voice, which she heard and felt with awe, and sometimes anxious questionings, which she perceived to be the Voice of Christ. It was only at the age of 62, however, that this touching dialogue with the "Inner Voice" began in earnest, continuing (at least in her notes) until two weeks before her death on June 9, 1950.

The journal that she kept of her dialogue with the Inner Voice has been published in numerous languages under the title "He and I" (see note above) and has become a source of deep inspiration and edification for those who read it. Below are a few excerpts from this extraordinary dialogue between "the Inner Voice" and Gabrielle.

April 12, 1945. In the [train] station at Angers.

Coming from Paris I had a seat in spite of the dense crowd.

"You see what great care I take of My own. Even in the tumult I draw them into solitude where the heart is on the alert to hear the Beloved. Didn't I say to them in the past, 'When I sent you out without purse or staff did you lack anything?' And they answered, 'Nothing'"

'Lord, it is often l who am lacking.'

"For these omissions humble yourself, and don't be astonished by them. Wish to be cured of this lack of carefulness in My service. Take frequent stock not only of the value of your actions, but above all, of the value of your motive in doing them - the forthrightness of your will to glorify Me.

Perhaps if you paid attention more often to what you do for Me, you would intensify your fervor and tender­ness. You would be more faithful in the details - these precious details that can earn so much. They are the specks of goodness that fill life....You get the picture -the invisible grains of sand that make up the im­mense Sahara. Take great care in the very little things, My Gabrielle. Say to yourself, 'They are made to the Measure of My little nature'. And this thought will keep you humble.

Have you noticed how often the work of the hum­ble has to be done again? Put all your heart into it, knowing that you please Me. And since you want to live for Me, since you want to see everything in rela­tion to Me, and pattern your life after Me, then con­sider how short the time is that remains for you on earth. You can give Me glory in that time. Give it to Me unstintingly,"

April 20, 1945 - Le Fresne. At church.

I had seen flowers of all kinds at the edge of a ditch.

"You see how insurgent the spring is! Let a spring­tide of love in your soul blossom out in good deeds of every color. I shall look lovingly at them just as you looked at the flowers in the underbrush. Tell yourself that love alone can make fresh wonders spring forth.

Then give yourself to Love so that Love may pos­sess you. Don't divide yourself into two - one part for you and the other for Me - since I long to have all of you and cherish this hope. Your love quenches My thirst. I am most demanding: you see I want My chil­dren to be wholly and utterly Mine at every moment. So don't withhold a thing. Don't take anything of yourselves away. You would steal from Me if you did, because everything is Mine.

If I require this of you it is because My yearning for you is a consuming fire. And My yearning is born of My love. Do you understand? Do you at last believe? Do you acknowledge My power to love? And if Mine is a love beyond all others, then how could you fail to go beyond your usual ways of loving to make your home in the higher realms - the realms where all is simplicity in our oneness. Above all when you know that it is there that I'm waiting for you and that great is My need to Meet you.

Meditate on this need of Mine and you will call to mind that it is in your power to give Me this alms. Then remember the value of a free gift - the gift of oneself ­when offered out of tenderness. What inexpressible joy will be His who receives it. He will multiply His bless­ings so that the one that receives them will be lost in wonder and gratitude. 'What have I done to deserve the kindness of My God?' he will ask. And I shall reply, 'You loved Him with all your strivings and you let Him love you'"

April 26, 1945 - 'Lord, Your poor little girl, Your poor image is here before you, yearning for You with all the strength of her being.'

"Have you noticed how people talk among themselves, discussing all their personal affairs? They spend so much time this way and it does them so little good. Don't you think that if they gave themselves to Me, their Friend, I should rejoice to have My place in their thoughts and I should know how to reward their confidence in abundance? Don't you think that it would create a moment-to-moment intimacy between them and Me, and this would be a joy for them, because close to Me their lives would lose their tension.

You understand? It would be life together with Me- I carrying the heavy end of things. So again I say: speak with Me, My little ones. Speak with Me. And our hearts will Merge. Isn't this the aim of My Christians? Isn't that why you want to die? Then begin living this heart-oneness. Seize upon every opportunity. Find every pretext. You aren't bold enough. For some of you it is because you are indifferent.

But My close friends, why, why don't they call to Me from their heart's depths? If only their belief were less like unbelief! If their hope were fixed upon My help ... And if, in all simplicity, their love loved Me more. I should be there looking after everything in their day, and when night fell, their eyes would close again on My face."

Aug 12, 1945, Le Fresne Church.

"When you say to Me 'Beloved Jesus, I give You My entire life' do you realize that at the same time I have given you more, since even what you are giving Me is what I've given you? Admit that everything you have comes from Me. It's all a gift from Me, and not to display My power, not chosen at random, but by My most attentive love -chosen especially for you, My children -for your path in life, in order to help you reach the goal that is yours."

"You have everything you need to perfect the Gabrielle I dreamed of in creating you. Did you watch Me creating you? You see, you can have no idea of the tenderness that I pledged to your soul so long ago -from all eternity. Then I ask you not to consider Me too exacting if I say to you, as I do so often, 'Give Me everything'.

March 21, 1946 -Holy hour

"All night long I waited for you in My Eucharist -waited to give Myself to you in the morning. Why should this astonish you? You believe in My presence and a tabernacle, don't you? You believe in My immense love? Then put the two together. And when you wake up during the night, look at the One who is already longing for the dawn to bring you to Him. This will quicken your love and give you confidence in My power. Let Me profit by the days of your life, they are not many. Prolong Me in them as much as you can don't let a day go by without doing something for Me, for there is not a single day that I am not at work, you for your own happiness. Do you believe Me?"

'Yes Lord'

"Then humble yourself for not having responded better to all the loving kindness of your Creator. You know how I love to forgive? You know how your confidence attracts My compassion? Your trust can win anything from My heart. Count on Me. Call Me. Don't you love your name? I love to hear Mine on your lips. Don't deprive Me."

December 19, 1946

"Don't be afraid to discover how little it takes to touch Me. I am the sensitive One and you can never know how your gestures make music in My heart. Be afraid of hurting Me. Always try to give Me joy and above all don't imagine Me to be far off. You realize that I am in you, don't you? And if you do, why don't you think of Me more often? I was going to say, always. Then My longing for you, would be completely satisfied. I am the same for all people. They are all My children. I long for every one of them. So, in offering yourself offer the others to Me with My joy in mind."

February 6, 1947 –Holy hour

"Your desire in itself is a call that pleases Me and gives Me great honor. You make amends for yourself and you make amends for the ingratitude of so many others. Do they think of Me with a little affection even once a year? Do they accept the thought of My love for each one of them? When will you realize that time -the span of earthly life- is too short, that I need all eternity to love them? That this present life of theirs is not their goal, but only a Means given to them to earn the Alder life? Pray for them. You can do a great deal without seeing the fruit. But I see; I hear. I see that in helping others to arise you rise yourself. Do you believe Me? Come to Me and bring others with you."

February 14, 1947 -in a moment of sadness

"Remember that I traveled all of your roads".

"If you want to gain strength to make a sacrifice, don't look at the sacrifice. Look at My joy."

"Don't you realize that I have been waiting a long, long time for you? No two souls are alike. None other can give Me what I expect from you."

March 6, 1947

"Each soul is the object of My special love. That is why I am so grateful to those who are resourceful and bringing back sinners to Me. Keep this in mind then. I gave My life for them in the most atrocious torture, for these poor beloved ones. A humble repentance, and they are already on My heart. So speak gently to them. Speak with tenderness. A brusque remark could drive them farther away.

'I am going to meet one tomorrow, Lord'

"I will give you the necessary tact. As always, I will be in you. You will look at Me and call Me and say 'speak through me'. I will be the listening Brother."

'I have just received telegrams and telephone calls for 101 things'

"That his life, unforeseen events, moving from one place to another, rough weather. But, come what may, remain steadfastly in My heart. Keep your eyes fixed on Me as you ask Me for advice, or as you tell Me that you love Me always. Remember that nothing happens without My permission, and be very calm and serene. There is nothing like serenity for convincing people of the Good. This was My response to the craftiness of the Pharisees. So, be calm in your soul, and happily docile to My will. As you look back over your life, don't you see that My will was always for your good? This is because I love you, and it's the same for everyone, since I love each of you individually. I see you all differently; I see every detail about you, do you understand? My love is not of global love.

I need each one of you as though you were the only person in the world, as though the cosmos had been created for you alone, and My love is greater than the cosmos. So let this thought be a strength to you and your smiling calm.

Let us include My Mother in this life of ours. Do you really believe that Her love is active on your behalf? Oh, My little girl, have faith in the great things that you can do with Us. Without Us…but you are already aware of your nothingness. "

April 8, 1948

"Have you thanked Me for all I did for you, for mankind, for the angels, for My mother? What a concert of blessings, My child! Gather them all as though they were yours and join in the symphony of thanksgiving. Sing your part in the choir of number¬less voices, and I'll know it from all the others. Are there two voices alike in the whole world? Aren't you struck by the diversity in human creation? In heaven too, each saint differs from the other, and if you are enchanted by the variety of colors in your garden, you may be sure that Paradise flashes with a myriad of countless splendid things, all for My glory. There too, I know the voices, for I know you all. My children, I atoned for all of you and I know My redeemed ones.

‘Lord, who will teach me to thank You and what words should I use?’

"The most simple - straight from your heart. Say them to Me at Mass. Say them again after your Communion when we are only one. Once more it will be I who give them to you. How I love to act for Myself in you. Can you believe that? I feel at home, and I feel you are Mine. Be very much Mine ... I was going to say, 'Be your Christ before the Father, before others. Be the gentlest and the smallest'

April 17, 1948 - 'Lord, I should so love to live Your words, and I am always myself, still my old self.'

"Is it so difficult to think of your Lord? Is it so difficult to talk with Him and to keep Him company? When you meet someone in a waiting room, don't you instinctively approach that person and in a kindly way do your best to make the time pass pleasantly for him? And if he were a poet, or a scholar, or someone great in the eyes of the world, wouldn't you go even further and show more joy?

My child, it's a God who is waiting at the door of your heart, a God who is all yours and who is in you. You open to Him when you talk to Him, when you look at Him, when you try to take your thoughts off the things around you so that you may turn them to Him with the utmost tenderness.

Don't think that this is a fable I'm telling you. It is the simple reality. But as it's all happening in the shadowland where everything is imperfection, you find it difficult to believe, and you are slow in acting upon it. That is why I am like that person in the waiting room. If only you could approach Me more often with all your kind charm, you might suspect My long yearnings. You might think, 'He's waiting for the world: Yes, My little child, for everyone, and for such a long, long time ... I came to Bethlehem to seek them and I shall go on seeking them right to the end of the world.

This is the patience of God. This is His love. Then how could you ever understand? Yet it would be very sweet to believe, wouldn't it? So quicken your faith by telling Me about it often. More often. Don't get weary: you will hope more and love more. It's your great God who wants you greatly, My very frail little girl"

November 4, 1948

“I knock at your door. You don’t believe that I need my children, do you? An yet, My God-Love needs your love. That is how it is. Always. You remember My words, 'I thirst'? I am always thirsty. If you knew this thirst, more intense than the thirst of men, you would devise every means in your power to quench it. That is why I knock at your door.

Do you remember the heat of the Sahara? The desert burns less than I. Can you understand My thirst for your awareness of Me, for your desire to be pleasing to Me, for your gratitude for My pitiable sufferings, your compassion for all the disgrace, the filth and the hatred I received during the night before My crucifixion and on the morning of My death? And for the blows, and the torture of My body and mind. Do you sometimes think of it?

Can you measure this love that made Me give Myself up when I could have escaped into the invisible? It was My love that went out to meet the torture.

Don't you believe that I paid for the right to have at least your friendship? You recall what the thief said: 'Remember me when You come into Your kingdom'? And I say to you, 'Remember Me during your life'. Place Me as a lighthouse in the center of your mind, not just a lighthouse that illumines, but one that gives warmth. Where can you be where I am not? When you are hunting for Me, I am already there, and when you love Me, I love Myself in you.

I am your Source. Give everything back to Me in joy and simplicity. So few stop to think about this.

Then tell Me now, do you want Me to knock at your door?"

November 11 - Holy hour.

"Practice being more attractive for love's sake. You could do immense good with an affectionate look and a smile. If you keep yourself for yourself, you are your own slave. But if you go to meet people with delicate thoughtfulness, you bring peace and rest; you give the balm of Gilead. How a smile from you would have soothed X this morning if you hadn't shut yourself up in your ivory tower. There is a demon called the spirit of contradiction; he fraternizes with the spirit of self-seeking.

Remember that love is not puffed up with pride and that it will never pass away. What you do for yourself will perish miserably. What you do for others, for the love of Me, will go on re-echoing throughout all eternity.

Have you tried to see Me in others? Have you understood that I live in that old crippled woman on the 'sunken road' and all others like her? Couldn't you bring Me a little wood for this winter, and some clothing? Won't you give Me something to eat? Suppose she is bitter and doesn't thank you, what difference does it make? Since I am the One who receives, and I am rich.

Don't be shy when you give. Be daring in goodness:' I was thinking that I should be ashamed to wheel a barrow with wood in it right to that place.

"Perhaps. But I shall not be ashamed of you at the last judgment. Don't run away any more from what costs you something, and you will be among the happiest people. Besides, I've done so much for you ... You are free though. You will not even commit a fault by not going. I'll just have the sadness of wanting some¬thing without getting it."

"Lord, I'll go."

December 15, 1949 - Holy hour.

Coming back from Mass in the dark at 7am in the freezing rain. "This too, Lord, may I offer for Your sinners in this Marian year?

"I take all sufferings little and big, and place them in the treasury of the Church - the treasury used for the making of saints. You forget your past sufferings, but they continue to bear fruit in My sight. You have already forgotten your travel weariness, weather annoyances, desert thirst, the fears, exile in distant countries, the slow journeys back, the long tests of endurance, times of illness. But remember that you offered Me everything and that I've kept everything.

You love to look at the precious jewels in your mother's jewel box, or your favorite books in your library, or the unusual souvenirs given to you during your long tours. Often it's only a trifle, something that hasn't cost the donor much. You remember the Moslem's terebinth, the Indian's moose glove and the pressed leaf given to you in Larache? You treasure these things because those who gave them to you wanted to please you. For the same reason I have found joy in all the little presents given to Me by My children. Even, if they have not cost you very much, even if you gave them to Me only because My Father put them into your hand by some circumstance other than your own free choice, you offered them to Me like good and affection¬ate children. And so I treasure them as though they were a part of you. Such is your power over Me! You bind Me to you by a single hair of your head. And the more you believe how utterly disarmed I am by your love, the more My unfathomable tenderness overflows to you. The great wrong is to lack faith in it. Then offer Me everything –every gesture, every thought.

-Looking at the preparations for Christmas- ‘Thank you Lord. How could you come down to earth, knowing that You were going to suffer so much?’

“And, if I had not come down, should I have had the joy of instituting My Eucharist where I remain right to the end of the centuries?”

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The source for this article is from the excellent book "He and I" by Gabrielle Bossis, 1985, translated by Evelyn M. Brown, published by Editions Mediaspaul, Imprimatur- Msgr Jean-Marie Fortier, Archbishop, Sherbrooke, Quebec, available here: http://www.catholicfreeshipping.com/Products/cfs_heandibygabo.html 

Visions of Christ and the disciples

The stigmata appear :

Within a year of being cured of paralysis, the first signs of the stigmata appeared, beginning with the wound above the heart. Therese said:

One night, I was busy with my prayers, without being particularly conscious of the passion of Christ, when for the first time, I saw the Savior in the Garden of Olives sweating blood. He looked at me with a loving expression, and at that very moment I felt as if someone had pierced me through the heart with a sharp object, and then withdrawn it. I noticed that blood was flowing, and I felt this stabbing pain in my heart which, with the exception of Easter Week, has never left me completely.

Subsequently, on Good Friday, April 13 1926, Therese had her first vision of Christ’s entire passion. Once again, whenever Christ looked at her lovingly, new wounds would appear on her body. Therese received these wounds and those that appeared later as God’s will, sent to propitiate the sins of others and to draw souls closer to the Christ.

Visions of Christ and the  disciples :

During her weekly visions of the Christ’s passion, Therese experienced the same physical and mental agonies as Christ. The visions occurred every Friday, except for certain holy days, and increased in intensity during Lent, reaching a climax on Good Friday.

In her ecstatic state, Therese answered questions that elicited more details about the historical events. Linguists confirmed her accurate use of Aramaic and other foreign languages, unknown to her. Each year, Therese also had as many as a hundred others visions of the lives Christ and his disciples.

On August 6, 1926, following a vision of Christ’s transfiguration, Therese experienced no further need of food or drink, and little need for sleep. Therese told Paramhansa Yogananda in 1935: “One of the reasons that I am here on earth is to prove that man can live by God’s invisible light, and not by food only.”

Therese Neumann gave up eating and drinking !!

Soon after the stigmata appeared in 1926, she drank only a small cup of tea daily. That did not attract much attention. But one day in 1927 a vision again appeared before her saying that she no longer needed any earthly food or drink. From, 1927 till her death in 1962 she did not eat anything, she did not drink anything! 

Professors and Doctors were flabbergasted. One Dr. Otto Buchinger arrived in Konnersreuth with his team to expose "the pure fable" with his scientific equipment. After a thorough German fashion investigation, the learned Doctor wrote a book "Wirkliches and Wirkendes" (The Real and the Workable), in which he declared without any hesitation that this was no fraud. Here was something which defied the modern science. 

The phenomena and the miracles were inexplicable by any so called rational thinking. Some mysticism was at work here. How can a human being seemingly in mortal flesh stop eating and drinking? How can a simple woman actually physically suffer the same agony as Lord Jesus suffered on the Cross? And develop the same scene in her own person and body? 

Even the church had sent three nurses to find out the truth or otherwise of the miracle of "inedia" (the ability to survive without food and drink). She was kept under the closest -watch, even when she was bathing, to ensure she is not gulping down any water! When she rinsed her mouth, the water taken in and thrown out was measured, to find whether any water was swallowed. There was no escape. Miracle went on happening. 

(This checking by the Church was done from 14-7-1927 to 28-7-1927.) 

The only thing Therese put on he tongue was the sacred Wafer, which the Church Priest offered during communion ( a kind of collective prayer). The Wafer just disappeared on her tongue! It was observed that at times the wafer would fly from the priest's hand and float through the air into her mouth. This is recorded in a Book: "Therese Neumann von Konnersreuth" by Fritz Gerlich (1929), and even photographed. 

At times during her ecstasies, she would fall to her knees and stretch out her tongue, when a host wafer would suddenly materialise on it! (D. Scott Rego's "Miracles" Contemporary Books Inc Chicago - 1982, page 69) 

Therese's miracles do not end here. There is one more - perhaps most amazing to those who think that science explains everything and that anything defying the laws discovered by science does not exist. It was observed that the blood that came out during stigmata defied gravity. The phenomenon was carefully witnessed on 8-7-1927 by a reporter from "Berlin Hefte' at Therese's home. He was present during the Passion on that day. He reported: - 

"Soon a drop of blood which increased in size formed at one of the foot stigmata. It grew and grew in size until finally it dropped from the wound. Gravity would have commanded that the drop of blood flows downwards. But it didn’t. It flowed almost directly upward towards the toes, exactly as happened almost 2000 years ago on the Cross of the Christ". (D. Scott Rego - ibid page 69) 

This is then the story of a great woman Saint of this century, who defied all the egoistic psyche of modern science and modem thinking. She proved that the Lord of your Love has His eyes on you. He can come to you in unpredictable ways. Only one condition should be satisfied. you should be, as Marcus says, "desperately, deeply, violently in love with Him." 

May you, my Parsi reader, have the same Love and Attraction towards Asho Zarathushtra as Therese had for her Lord. Pray that your consciousness may awaken to the presence of your Paigambar Saheb within you. May His Lightening thunder on the dark clouds of confusion, and the Rain of His grace immerse you fully and completely.

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Dr. Otto Buchinger on Therese Neumann 

" I must declare that despite all care and watchfulness, we were unable to arrive at any conclusion or explanation as to the fasting of Therese Neumann or as to the phenomenon of Stigmata. There is no indication that hysteria is here at work. What we can conclude but that in the truly devout stigmatist of Konnersrenth there is - whether we like it or not – something spiritual which causes these phenomena. All honour to our science and its methods but there is something at work which defies rational explanation." 

("Wirkliches and Wirhendes." - quoted by Dr. Marcus Bach in "The Circle of Faith" Hawthom, 1956.) 

 (Parsi Pukar – JULY 1996 Vol. 2; No.1) 

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Saint Gemma

Gemma cured by Miracle :

Gemma soon began to grow ill. She developed a curvature of the spine. Also, meningitis set in and left her deaf. Large abscesses formed on her head, her hair fell off, and finally her limbs became paralyzed. A doctor was called in and tried many remedies which all failed. She only grew worse.

Gemma began a devotion to Venerable Gabriel Possenti of the Sorrowful Mother (Now St. Gabriel). On her sickbed she read his life story. She later wrote regarding Venerable Gabriel:

“… I grew in admiration of his virtues and his ways. My devotion to him increased. At night I did not sleep without having his picture under my pillow, and after that I began to see him near me. I don’t know how to explain this, but I felt his presence. At all times and in every action Brother Gabriel came to mind.”

Gemma, now 20 years old, was seemingly on her deathbed. A novena was suggested as the only chance for a cure. At midnight on February 23rd, 1899, she heard the rattling of a rosary and realized that Venerable Gabriel was appearing to her. He spoke to Gemma:

“Do you wish to recover? Pray with faith every evening to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. I will come to you until the Novena is ended, and will pray together to this Most Sacred Heart.”

On the first Friday of March the Novena ended. The grace was granted; Gemma was cured.

As she got up, those around her cried with joy. Yes, a miracle had taken place!

On the 8th of June 1899, after receiving communion, Our Lord let His servant know that the same evening He would give her a very great grace.

Gemma went home and prayed. She went into ecstasy and felt a great remorse for sin. The Blessed Mother, to whom St. Gemma was tremendously devoted, appeared to her and spoke:

“My son Jesus loves thee beyond measure and wishes to give thee a grace. I will be a mother to thee. Wilt thou be a true child?” The Most Blessed Virgin then opened her mantle and covered Gemma in it.

Here is how St. Gemma relates how she received the stigmata:

“At that moment Jesus appeared with all his wounds open, but from these wounds there no longer came forth blood, but flames of fire. In an instant these flames came to touch my hands, my feet and my heart. I felt as if I were dying, and should have fallen to the ground had not my mother held me up, while all the time I remained beneath her mantle. I had to remain several hours in that position. Finally she kissed my forehead, all vanished, and I found myself kneeling. But I still felt great pain in my hands, feet and heart. I rose to go to bed, and became aware that blood was flowing from those parts where I felt pain. I covered them as well as I could, and then helped by my Angel, I was able to go to bed …”

During the remainder of Gemma's life, several people, including respected ecclesiastics of the Church, witnessed this recurring miracle of the holy stigmata to the pius maiden of Lucca. One eyewitness stated:

“Blood came from her (St. Gemma’s) wounds in great abundance. When she was standing, it flowed to the ground, and when in bed it not only wet the sheets, but saturated the whole mattress. I measured some streams or pools of this blood, and they were from twenty to twenty-five inches long and about two inches wide.”

Like St. Francis of Assisi and recently Padre Pio, Gemma can too say: Nemo mihi molestus sit. Ego enim stigmata Domini Jesu in corpore meo porto: Let no man harm me, for I bear the marks of the Lord Jesus in my body.

St. Gemma’s Devotion to her Guardian Angel :

Gemma’s Guardian Angel would frequently appear to her. They would carry on a conversation the same way as if one were speaking to his best friend. Gemma’s purity and innocence must have drawn this Glorious Angel from Heaven to her side. Gemma and her Angel with his wings outstretched or kneeling beside her, would recite vocal prayers or Psalms alternately. When meditating on the Passion of Our Lord, her Angel would inspire her with the most sublime insights into this mystery. Her Guardian Angel once spoke to her regarding Christ’s Agonies: 

“Look at what Jesus has suffered for man. Consider one by one these Wounds. It is Love that has opened them all. See how execrable (horrible) sin is, since to expiate it, so much pain and so much love have been necessary.”

St. Gemma’s Last Illness and Heroic Death :

In 1902 Gemma in good health since her miraculous cure, offered herself to God as a victim for the salvation of souls. Jesus accepted her offer. She then fell dangerously ill. She could not keep any food down. Though briefly recovering her health, through Divine Providence, she quickly fell sick again. On September 21, 1902 she began to throw up pure blood that came with the violent loving throbbings of her heart. Meanwhile she went through a spiritual martyrdom as she experienced aridity and no consolation in her spiritual exercises. To add to that her enemy the devil multiplied his attacks on the young Virgin of Lucca.

Satan redoubled his war on Gemma as he knew the end was near. He strove to persuade her that she was entirely abandoned by God. He used hellish apparitions and even rained physical blows on her fragile body.

An eyewitness who was nursing Gemma said:

“That abominable beast will be the end of our dear Gemma - deafening blows, forms of ferocious animals, etc.- I came away from her with tears because the demon is wearing her out.”

Gemma unceasingly called on the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, still the battle waged on. Her Spiritual Director Fr. Germano regarding Gemma’s last struggle stated:

“The poor sufferer passed days, weeks and months in this way, giving us an example of heroic patience and motives for salutary fear of what may happen to us, who have not Gemma’s merits at the terrible hour of death.”

Yet through all these trials Gemma never complained, she only prayed. Gemma was at the end. She was practically a living skeleton but still beautiful despite the ravages of her sickness. She was administered Viaticum.

In her last words she said:

“I seek for nothing more; I have made the sacrifice of everything and of everyone to God; now I prepare to die.” She gasped, “Now it is indeed true that nothing more remains to me, Jesus. I recommend my poor soul to Thee … Jesus!"

Gemma then smiled a heavenly smile and letting her head drop on one side, ceased to live.

One of the sisters present at her death clothed Gemma’s body in the habit of the Passionists, which was the order to which Gemma had always aspired.

This blessed death happened on Holy Saturday April 11th, 1903 when Gemma Galgani was in her 25th year.

United with Jesus -Mystics who died at age 33

Union with Christ -The Mystics who died at age 33
by: Glenn Dallaire

[Pictured in the photograph to the left is the American mystic, stigmatic and victim soul, Marie-Rose Ferron -1902-1936.]

While studying the lives of the mystics of the Church for this website, I began to notice an extraordinary supernatural grace in which I think one can readily see the hand of God.

For centuries it has been a common traditional belief in the church that Jesus died at the age of 33. The number three, of course, referrers to the Holy Trinity; the Father; the Son and the Holy Spirit. And so two number threes together(33) would refer to the second person of the holy Trinity, which is of course the Son- Jesus. Such facts add a deeper understanding and meaning to the longstanding tradition of the crucifixion, death and resurrection of Jesus at the age of 33.

But what caught my attention is that I repeatedly kept coming across mystics in whom, like Jesus, died at age 33. Now, mystics are already a relatively small group in the church, for very few Saints, Blesseds etc. are mystics. And then, to narrow it even further, all 8 of the mystics that died at age 33 were also victim souls, that is, souls who are especially called by God to suffer in union with Jesus for the conversion and redemption of souls. And additionally, 5 of the 8 are also Stigmatics. But, it is precisely that almost all of them are victim souls that makes it so interesting, for the victim souls do not offer or suffer alone---they are mystically bound and united with Jesus, and suffer and sacrifice in union with Jesus for the conversion of souls. But, is it really surprising that these mystics-victim souls died precisely at the age of 33, just like their Jesus in whom they suffered in union with? After all, are they not living images of Jesus' life of sacrifice, and especially His passion?

As one after another I repeatedly kept coming across these mystics, all of whom died at age thirty-three, the revelation of it eventually sunk in. So one day I pointed it out to my wife who nonchalantly replied- “Well, it only makes sense don't you think? These persons mystically suffered in union with Jesus for the conversion of sinners. And so, should not many of them then die with Jesus at age 33?’.
‘Well…..sure!’ I replied, as it really did make sense when looked at from that perspective..

And so it seems that for some mystic-victim souls, their suffering in union with Jesus is brought to a consummation by dying like Him at age 33. Such a fact must then be meant to be a sign of the authenticity of their calling and mission, and a heavenly confirmation of their lives of heroic sacrifice and suffering in union with Jesus for the conversion of souls.

The eight mystic-victim souls (discovered so far) that, like Jesus, died at age 33 are:
St Catherine of Siena 1347-1380 -mystic, stigmatic, victim soul
St Faustina Kowalska 1905-1938 -mystic, victim soul
Sr. Josefa Menendez 1890-1923 -mystic, victim soul
St Michael of the Saints 1591-1625 -priest, mystic and victim soul
Blessed Mariam Baouardy 1846-1878 -mystic, stigmatic, victim soul
Marie Rose Ferron 1902-1936-American mystic, stigmatic & victim soul
Servant of God, Domenica Lazzeri 1815-1848 -mystic, stigmatic, victim soul
Servant of God, Louise Lateau 1850-1883 -mystic, stigmatic, victim soul

I am certain that there are others, especially in earlier centuries, but such are the one's that I have found so far. Of course, I would appreciate suggestions for additions to this list.

Finally, I would like to add that another mystic and victim soul, Maria von Mörl (1812-1868) was given the grace of the Stigmata for exactly 33 years. And, as an interesting side note concerning this mystic, she was a contemporary of the Servant of God, Domenica Lazzeri (one of the mystics listed above). One day Domenica, who was completely bedridden, was found missing from her bed. After an extensive search, she was unable to be found. To the surprise of everyone, she was found once again in her bed a few hours later. She was immediately asked where (and how!) she had gone. She replied: "I was taken to my suffering sister, Maria von Mörl, and we prayed to Jesus together."

Brother Marcel Van -Spirtual Brother of St Therese of Lisieux

The Servant of God, Brother Marcel Van C.Ss.R. (Redemptorist)
-The little spiritual brother of Saint Therese of Lisieux

Brother Marcel Van was born Joachim Nguyên Tan Van on March 15, 1928, in a village in North Vietnam (Tonkin). He lived with his older sister Le and was later joined by a younger sister, Te. His father was a tailor and his mother was a housewife who sometimes worked in the rice paddies. His mother was a very devout Catholic, and was meek, kind and charitable towards everyone. Sadly however, as Van’s childhood years progressed, his father took to gambling and alcohol, causing the family much suffering. As a child, Van was a kind and sensitive boy, full of love and tenderness and did not like to be separated from his mother.

From a tender age, Van showed a remarkable early piety and devotion, and as a child he organized processions in honor of the Blessed Virgin with his younger sister Te, along with his cousins and playmates. From an early age he loved to pray with his mother, and they would often say a rosary together. At age six, he joyfully received First Holy Communion. He would later write of this blessed day:
“The hour has come, the moment so greatly desired has arrived... I gently draw out my tongue to receive the Bread of Love. My heart is overcome by an extraordinary joy... In an instant, I have become like a 'drop of water' lost in the vast ocean. Now there remains only Jesus, and I am Jesus' little nothing.”

From this day on, Van would receive Communion most every day. Shortly thereafter, he received the sacrament of Confirmation. A future prospect took shape in his heart as he later wrote: “I longed to become a priest, so as to bring the Good News to non-Christians.” He discovered later in life that to be a priest was not the will of God for him.

He began school at age seven, however his first teacher was excessively severe with the students, beating them with a cane at every turn. Van's health began to fail: "I became thinner and more pale by the day," he later wrote in his autobiography, “and it is because of the very strict educational system that I have came to such a state of exhaustion.”

Van is called to suffer
Van's mother then entrusted him to Father Joseph Nha, the parish priest in Huu-Bang. This priest ran a “House of God” which was an institution where young boys started more in-depth schooling in religion, while continuing their studies and helping the priest. The most capable among them could be admitted to the Minor Seminary, a goal which Van aspired to since he was hoping to become a priest. For Van, everything started well. He was very fond of his new life, and became a star student. But one of his teachers (called “masters”) named Vinh, would take Van into a private room and beat him repeatedly with a cane, stating that he was training him in what he called “the perfect life”. He threatened him and made him submit to the beatings in secret. After two weeks, the priest's laundrywoman noticed traces of blood on Van's clothes, and Father Nha, made aware of the situation, had the child see a doctor and strictly forbade Vinh from any contact with Van.

At times, Father Nha would present Van as an example to the lukewarm catechist students, which of course drew unfriendly attention to him. The catechists, now jealous of Van, organized a sort of tribunal to “try” him. After several humiliating scenes, they criticized him for receiving Communion every day. This reproach brought about a spiritual crisis: “I was disturbed and I suffered terribly to think that, without being worthy like the saints, I had had the boldness to receive Communion every day... I then saw the faults from my early childhood return.” In this difficult trial, Van turned to Mary and recited his Rosary with a deep devotion.

Each night after evening prayers, the catechists would open the “tribunal” and would question and accuse Van, and for punishment would beat him with a cane, or strip him of his clothing. Along with the “master” (teacher), some of these same student catechists often took to drinking alcohol, and would invite girls of the neighborhood to join them in the Presbytery when Father Nha was absent. Father Nha himself seemed to forget his one time favorite catechist student, and more and more removed Van from his studies and made him his servant.

During this same period tragedy struck at home. Floods had destroyed some of his family's property and possessions, and making matters worse his father squandered what little left that they had on gambling and drinking, leaving his mother, brother and sisters in utter poverty. His mother could no longer send money or clothes, which left him in poverty and under the complete care of Father Nha, who now looked at Van as a servant, instead of a student.

Eventually, Van left the “House of God” with several other catechists, in hopes of entering a seminary and becoming a priest, however unable to find any seminary or work that would accept him, he was obligated to return. The atmosphere at the house did not change much—alcohol, gambling, foul language, the presence of shameless girls. Van had to devote the majority of his time to manual labor. When he reached the age of twelve, he received his certificate of studies” , but he was not allowed to advance to the next level of his schooling, and all his time was spent working.

Eventually, he ran away to return to his parents' home, but because of their poverty they sent him back to Huu-Bang. Two months later, Van ran away again and began living as a beggar on the streets. “My profession,” he wrote, “consisted from then on of holding my hand out to passers-by... After a week of this life, I was unrecognizable. My hands and feet were thin, my skin was tanned by the sun and my cheeks were hollow... And yet I found this life of a poor vagabond not at all difficult. On the contrary, I felt a peaceful joy in suffering for God. I knew that by escaping, I had avoided sin, I had avoided what grieves the Heart of God.”

A terrible temptation
Concerning this period he wrote: “I came to consider myself a despicable creature. The devil made this thought develop in me—if people could no longer endure me, how could God still endure me? I'm going to die soon and I will have to go to Hell.”
As always, Jesus and the Blessed Virgin Mary remained his hope, and he continually gained comfort and peace through praying the rosary. One day, he opened his heart to a priest who comforted him with these words: “Willingly accept all these trials and offer them to the Lord. If God has sent you the cross, it is a sign that He has chosen you.”

A calling from the Lord
Thanks to a friend, Van was admitted to the Minor Seminary in Lang-Son in 1942. Six months later, for lack of funds, the institution had to close its doors, but Van was able to continue his studies in the parish of Saint Therese of the Child Jesus in Quang-Uyên, under the direction of two Dominican fathers. He strongly desired to become a saint, but was frightened at the austere sacrifices that he thought were necessary: “In spite of my great desire to attain holiness, I was certain that I would never achieve it, because to be a saint, you have to fast, lash yourself with a whip, wear a rock around your neck and little chains covered with spikes, a coarse horsehair shirt, endure the cold, the scabies, etc...My God, if it is like this, I give up... All that is way too much for me.”

The appearance of St Therese of Lisieux –The Story of a Soul
One day, Van spread out on a table books on the lives of many Saints. He said a prayer, asking God to guide him, promising that he would read whatever book his hand fell upon. Then, with his eyes closed, he put his hand down at random. “I opened my eyes. My hand was resting on a book I had never read before—“The Story of a Soul “ by Saint Therese of the Child Jesus.”

Marcel Van quickly looked over the book—one that he had never read before, but dismissed it as containing nothing unusual. But he soon reproached himself saying “Ah, by acting like this, you have broken your promise!” I then took the book again with my head full of muddled questions—‘What is this “Story of a Soul”??? Who is this St. Therese of the Child Jesus??? Where did she come from???’ What is certain is that is that she resembles many thousands of other saints.’

“Then I summarized her life in an amusing manner in these terms---'Since her birth until her last breath she had many ecstasies, and performed a number of miracles. She fasted on bread and water only taking one meal a day. She spent the night in prayer and gave herself to discipline until she bled. After her holy death her body emitted a very pleasant fragrance and many extraordinary things happened at her tomb. Finally she was canonized by the holy Church...etc...’

“Today I see clearly how rash these statements were without knowing anything about St. Therese. I had dared to sketch out her life in such a summary manner. Oh my dear sister, you must necessarily be a Saint of great courage to put up with the erroneous judgments that I have held on your life!”

As promised, Van then began to read the book. He states:
“I had scarcely read a few pages when two floods of tears were flowing down my cheeks...What moved me so deeply was little Therese's reasoning:
'If God only stooped to the level of the most beautiful flowers, the symbol of the Holy Doctors, His love wouldn't be quite absolute, because it is Love's nature to stoop to the farthest limit... Just as the sun shines at the same time on the cedars and on every little flower as if it were the only one on earth, so does Our Lord take care of every soul as if there were no other soul like it'

“I understood then that God is Love... Like St Therese, I can sanctify myself through all my little acts... A smile, a word or a look, provided that everything is done in love. What happiness!....From now on, sanctity will no longer frighten me....my tears were flowing like an inexhaustible spring.”

“I had received therefore, that afternoon, a source of grace and happiness. “The Story of a Soul” had become my dearest friend, and followed me everywhere and I did not cease reading or rereading it, without ever getting weary of it. There was nothing in this volume which did not conform to my thoughts, and what pleased me even more in the course of my reading was to see clearly the spiritual life of Therese was identical to mine. Her thoughts, even her yes or no were in harmony with my own thoughts, and the little events of my life. Truly, never in my life have I met a book which was so well adapted to my thinking and feelings as is “The Story of a Soul”.

The next morning, Van woke up and kneeled before the altar of the Blessed Virgin Mary and prayed: “... Blessed Virgin, my Mother: Today is truly the first day that I have been given to taste such a sweet happiness; the day which introduces me to a new way.... From now on, my Mother, guide me in my new way to teach me to love God perfectly, and to offer myself to Him in total confidence. I dare to express a wish to you: That I may be wrapped in your love, as was formerly Therese, the Little Flower. I even wish you to give me this Saint as my guide in her “Little Way”. Oh what happiness there would then be for me since I feel that my life cannot free itself from the feelings of childhood that God has engraved in my soul as an innate gift”

Then turning to Jesus, he prayed: “Oh Jesus, my only and beloved master, you know that I love you and look only to respond to your wishes. You have aroused in my mind the desire to become a saint. Then, you made me find, in a very simple manner, the “Little Way” by which you guided St. Therese of the Child Jesus. You have used the hand of this little Saint to write for the use of souls, the sweet councils to which you have led her on her little way. Today, I know that you love me, and that in your immense love you behave towards me as with a little child. Oh, how you deserve to be loved in return! From now on I have decided to follow in your footsteps as you wish, and so that each of my steps conforms to your Will, I wish, oh my God, that you grant me this favor: Give me St. Therese of the infant Jesus is my guide, so that she can teach me to love you as I ought, since I am very ignorant. Grant me also the grace to persevere in your love right to the end, so as to love you afterwards eternally, in the homeland of love reserved for those who love you.”

Van becomes the little spiritual brother of St Therese
Soon afterwarsa, Van went on foot to a nearby hill. Suddenly, in the silence, he was startled by a voice that was calling him. “Van, Van, my dear little brother!” But, no one was around him! The voice spoke again: “Van, my dear little brother!” ‘I was stunned into little troubled, but I remained calm and guessed immediately that this voice which called me was a supernatural voice—I then let out or hurried cry of joy—“Oh, it's my sister Therese!”— “Yes, it is indeed your sister, Therese... From now on, you will personally be my little brother, just as you have chosen me to be your big sister... From this day on, our two souls will be just one soul, in God's one love... from this moment I will let you know all my beautiful thoughts on love that which has occurred in my life, and has transformed me in the infinite love of God.... it is God himself, who has arranged this meeting. God wants the lessons of love that He taught me before in the secret of my soul to live on in this world, and He has deigned to choose you as a little secretary to carry out His work, which He wishes to entrust to you.... ”

“...God our Father watches over the slightest details of our lives... God is Father and this Father is Love. His goodness and kindness are infinite... But ever since the day that our first parents sinned, fear has overcome the heart of man and has taken away from him the thought of a God who is our infinitely good Father... So God sent his Son... Jesus came to tell His brothers on earth that the Father's love is an inexhaustible source... We are immensely fortunate to be the children of God. Let us be thankful of this and never give in to excessive fear... Never be afraid of God. He is all loving Father. He knows only how to love, and He wishes to be loved in return.. Do not be afraid to speak familiarly with God as with a friend. Tell Him about everything that comes to your mind—your marble games, a mountain climb, the teasing of your friends, your outbursts, your tears, or the little fleeting pleasures'...”—But little sister, God already knows all these things"...'That's true, little brother... However, to give and to receive love, He must stoop and He does this as if He has forgotten that He knows everything, in the hope of hearing an intimate word burst forth from your heart.'

'When you feel joy, offer him this joy which swells your heart, and by doing so you will transmit your joy to Him. Can there be a greater happiness than a couple loving one another and exchanging all that they possess? To act in this way with God is to say ‘thank you’ to Him, which pleases Him more than thousands of touching canticles. If on the other hand, you are invaded by sadness say to Him again with an honest heart: ‘Oh my God, I am really unhappy’ and ask Him to help you to accept this sadness with patience. Believe this: Nothing gives as much pleasure to the good God than to see on this earth a heart which loves Him, and who is sincere with Him with each step, and with each smile; as well with tears as with as with little momentary pleasures.”

This first appearance of Saint Therese of the Child Jesus went on for quite sometime, and one should read "The Autobiography of Marcel Van"

Before leaving Van on this first occasion, St. Therese says in closing: ‘I love you because you are a soul who is a member of my friends of Love. As for you my little brother, my only wish is to see accomplished the works that the divine Love desires so ardently for you. So, little brother, listen to me: from now in your relations with our heavenly Father, do not fail to follow my advice. Now, it is getting late, so allow me to end our conversation here, since it is already mealtime. Tam and Hien are waiting for you, and Tam is getting impatient..... I am giving you a kiss.....We will have plenty of opportunities to talk together again. And we can do it no matter where, without fear that anyone might know.’

“Therese stopped talking, and I was like someone coming out of a dream; half anxious and half happy, and when she said ‘ I am giving you a kiss’ , I immediately felt as if a gentle breeze was likely touching my face. And I was overcome by such a joy that I momentarily lost consciousness. Some of this sweet joy stays with me today, but I do not know what to compare it with exactly.”

A call to religious life
From then on, St Therese became Van’s close companion and spiritual director, intimately guiding him in his spiritual life and his ascent towards God. As stated earlier, Van had always wanted to become a priest. “For that” he wrote, “I had sacrificed everything by imposing many spiritual and physical labors upon myself.”
But one day Therese told him, “Van, my little brother, I have something important to tell you... But it will make you very sad... God has made it known to me that you will not be a priest.”

“Van”, Therese resumed, “if God wants your apostolate to be carried out in another field, what do you think of that?... What remains most perfect is doing the will of our Father in Heaven... You will be above all an apostle through prayer and sacrifice, as I myself was before.” Therese then guided Van's gaze to this very important passage from the Story of a Soul: “I understood that Love alone put the members of the Church in motion... I understood that Love contains all vocations, that Love was all, that it embraced all time and all places... in a word, that it is Eternal.”

Van was wondering what all this meant-- “Therese, my sister, what does this hidden vocation involve, if I am not to become a priest?”—“You will enter a monastery where you will devote yourself to God.”

One night during the winter of 1942-1943, Van had a mysterious dream. "I saw someone coming towards the head of my bed... This person dressed completely in black was rather tall, and his face reflected great kindness... He asked me the question-- 'My child, do you want to...?' But before he could finish I spontaneously answered, 'Yes.' “ Several days later, Van discovered a statue in the house that bore a strange resemblance to his dream.

It was a statue of Saint Alphonsus of Liguori, founder of the Redemptorists. Soon afterwards, St. Therese confirmed his vocation to be a Redemptorist Brother, then gave him notice of new trials. “Little dear brother, you will encounter thorns on the way, and the sky that is now calm will be covered with dark clouds...You will shed tears, you will lose your joy and you will be like a man reduced to despair... But remind yourself that the world treated Jesus like this and that a Redemptorist resembles his Savior... Nevertheless, do not be afraid. During this storm, Jesus will continue to live in the boat of your soul... Little brother, you will no longer hear me talk so familiarly with you as I do now. Do not think that I am abandoning you. On the contrary, I constantly remain close to you like a big sister should... In this world, suffering is the proof of your love, and suffering gives your love all its meaning and value.”

Thereafter, he asked to be admitted to the Redemptorists in Hanoi. Van was received at the Redemptorists in Hanoi first as a household helper and, on October 17, 1944 he was finally admitted as a postulant and received the name Brother Marcel. The day after his religious profession, Brother Marcel Van had heard Jesus tell him: “My child, for the love of mankind, offer yourself with Me so that they might be saved.”
Thus assured of the value of suffering united to that of Christ, he wrote: “Jesus wanted to use my body to endure suffering, shame, and exhaustion, so that the flame of Love that consumes His divine Heart might spread in the hearts of all men on earth.”

After an initial period of joy, crosses appeared, especially in the form of his confreres' ridicule. Starting in his novitiate, at his spiritual director's request, he wrote his autobiography. For two years, Jesus, Mary, and Therese favored him with intimate conversations. But on September 9, 1946, the day after his first profession, Jesus told him, "My child, your portion now is to sacrifice the moments of sweet intimacy with me, to allow me to go in search of sinners... Then, my little Van, know that you will have to suffer because of your Superiors and Brothers. But these trials will be the sign that you are pleasing to My Heart. I am begging for all these sufferings to unite you to Me in the work of sanctification of priests.”

Like his spiritual sister St. Therese, his vocation, in part, was to suffer for Priests. And soon came the “night of the soul” for Brother Marcel. For the most part, most of the mystical graces and consolations disappeared and only the monotony of sacrifice in pure faith remained. In 1950, the young Brother was sent to Saigon, Vietnam, then to Dalat. In July 1954, North Vietnam was handed over to the Communists. Many Catholics fled for the South. Several Redemptorists remained in the house in Hanoi to take care of the Christians who stayed. Brother Marcel understood that Jesus was asking him to join them. “I am going there,” (to Hanoi) he wrote, “so that there might be someone who loves God in the midst of the Communists.” After several weeks, he wrote to his sister Anne-Marie: “Quite often I am overcome with sadness, and I only think, 'Oh, if only I hadn't come to Hanoi... But there was so much insistence in Jesus' voice!”

On Saturday, May 7, 1955, as he was going to the market, he was arrested and taken to the criminal investigation office, then jailed. Five months later, he was transferred to the central prison in Hanoi, where he met many Catholics and priests. He wrote to his Superior: “If I wanted to live, it would be easy for me. I would only have to accuse you. But don't worry, I will never agree to it.” Then, to his confessor: “In the last months, I have had to struggle as hard as I can and endure all the torture of brain-washing. The enemy has used many tricks to make me capitulate, but I have not allowed any weakness.” And to his sister: “Nothing can take the weapon of love from me. No affliction is capable of removing the kind smile that I let appear on my thin face. And who is the caress of my smile for, if not for Jesus, the Beloved?... I am the victim of Love and Love is all my happiness, an indestructible happiness.”

One year after his arrest, calm and self-controlled, he appeared before the court in Hanoi. Upon his refusal to confess that he had electioneered for the president of South Vietnam, he was condemned to 15 years of imprisonment in a “re-education” camp. He was taken to Camp No. 1, where he came across many Catholics. He wrote: “I am very busy, like a little parish priest. Apart from the hours of forced labor, I must constantly welcome the people who come one after the other looking for comfort from me... God Himself has made known to me I am doing His will here. Many times, I have asked of Him the favor of dying in this camp, but every time, He has answered me: “I am ready to follow your will as you always follow Mine, but there are souls that still need you...” Each time Brother Van would submit to God's will.

In August 1957, Brother Marcel Van was transferred to Camp No. 2. After an escape attempt to go look for consecrated Hosts, he was recaptured, beaten, and locked up in an unhealthy cell. Everything became harder for him—no more visits, no more mail, and, at the beginning of 1958, he spent three months in irons, alone, without support and without light, except for that which shone in his heart. Consumed by tuberculosis and beriberi, he flew to God at midday on July 10, 1959, at the age of 31 years, 4 months.

The Cause for the Beatification of Brother Marcel Van as a confessor of the faith opened on March 26, 1997, in the diocese of Belley-Ars, France. Click here for more info on the proposed Beatification of Marcel Van.
_________________
Primary sources for this article:
- www.mysticsofthechurch.com

-“The Autobiography of Brother Marcel Van” Gracewing Publishing, 2006.

-http://www.clairval.com/lettres/en/2004/01/17/2210104.htm

For more information on Brother Marcel Van, contact: Les Amis de Van, 15, Rue de l’ Orangerie, 78000 Versailles, France
Les Amis de Van French website: http://www.wix.com/marcel_van/amis-de-van
I can confess that the story of Therese's soul is the story of my soul....” to read it in its entirety. Upon hearing this, Van began to cry and said “I will never be able to live if I am not a priest...”