Author Topic: I think I have fallen in love (Read 5476 times)

Matto · « **on:** October 06, 2010, 07:18:35 PM »

with Saint Gemma Galgani.

spouse of Jesus · « **Reply #1 on:** October 08, 2010, 01:54:15 AM »

I hope you don't end like me. For a long time I was confusing a purely passionate love for image of St. Gabriel Possenti with a spiritual love.

Cristian · « **Reply #2 on:** October 08, 2010, 09:48:40 AM »

Quote from: Matto

with Saint Gemma Galgani.

Ohhhh one of my favourite saints! She is very beautiful!!

I wrote the monastery of Passionists (don`t remember right now to which one exactly) to ask for relics of her and they gave me 5 (I still have 2!) You should try too!

I love this particularly this picture of her

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_kEFTmMk3e5c/SfCMhkeNx3I/AAAAAAAAA8w/_ecNUYPfj4Q/s400/St+Gemma+Galgani+pictures(4).jpg (below in the left). It was taken while she was ill. Her look is soooo sweet!.

Did you read the biography written by her spiritual director, Fr. Germanus of St. Stanislaus? It is very good!

Cristian

Matto · « **Reply #3 on:** October 08, 2010, 10:22:35 AM »

Good advice, spouse, I will be weary of that.

Cristian, please follow up and find out that information for me if you can (where you sent to get relics of Saint Gemma Galgani), and either post it here on this thread or private message me because I would be very interested in obtaining a relic of Saint Gemma Galgani. That would be amazing.

I have not read that biography written by her spiritual director. I will look into that.

Someone posted a short autobiography on youtube here:

I watched that video. I especially liked how she would pray three Hail Mary's with her hands beneath her knees. Those pictures are very beautiful indeed. Especially the one where her head is tilted to the right. In that picture she looks like the sunrise.

Cristian · « **Reply #4 on:** October 08, 2010, 11:16:05 AM »

Quote from: Matto

Good advice, spouse, I will be weary of that.

Cristian, please follow up and find out that information for me if you can (where you sent to get relics of Saint Gemma Galgani), and either post it here on this thread or private message me because I would be very interested in obtaining a relic of Saint Gemma Galgani. That would be amazing.

I have not read that biography written by her spiritual director. I will look into that.

Someone posted a short autobiography on youtube here:

I watched that video. I especially liked how she would pray three Hail Mary's with her hands beneath her knees. Those pictures are very beautiful indeed. Especially the one where her head is tilted to the right. In that picture she looks like the sunrise.

Hi Matto,

This is the link the book I referred to http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0895556693/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0895556693&linkCode=as2&tag=httpwwwchanco-20

I think Fr. Germanus is Venerable. Anyway there is a story about this book. Fr. Germanus gave it to St. Pius X to read it and after the Pope read it he asked Fr. Germanus "but is it all this true?" and Father responded "Oh what I`ve written is nothing compared with all her wonderful life" (I`m just quoting by heart, but this is the idea).

All the relics I got where second class, from her shirt! :dancing-banana: :) Anyway, I can`t give you right now the address but I`ll do it next week. I think I`ll just have internet access on Tuesday... I`ll PM you!

Cristian

wallflower · « **Reply #5 on:** October 08, 2010, 11:43:08 AM »

So...are you guys excited about these links and pictures because she is beautiful? I have to say that I'm a tiny bit creeped out by the language of this thread and the focus on her exterior beauty. Please tell me I am missing something.

Cristian · « **Reply #6 on:** October 08, 2010, 12:10:10 PM »

Quote from: wallflower

So...are you guys excited about these links and pictures because she is beautiful? I have to say that I'm a tiny bit creeped out by the language of this thread and the focus on her exterior beauty. Please tell me I am missing something.

What you mean by "excited"? If she or some other lady is beautiful, it is not my fault... I`m sure Our Lady is much more beautiful we all can even imagine, so what?

It is not one of my favourites saints because of her beauty, if you mean that... otherwise I would have not read her biography... just seeing her pics!

BTW, my favourite picture of her is probably the "ugliest"...

I don`t know if I answered your question.

Cristian

Catholic Samurai · « **Reply #7 on:** October 08, 2010, 01:50:18 PM »

Quote from: wallflower

So...are you guys excited about these links and pictures because she is beautiful? I have to say that I'm a tiny bit creeped out by the language of this thread and the focus on her exterior beauty. Please tell me I am missing something.

Personally, I dont know what to make of it. Matto didnt exactly expound on his expression.

But then, I gotta admit, St.Gemma was very pretty.

Belloc · « **Reply #8 on:** October 08, 2010, 02:22:29 PM »

True, her pic used at wiki shows an attractive young girl, but as a saint now, cannot be too attracted as a man, but more, as a Catholic to her saintliness and sanctity

Matto · « **Reply #9 on:** October 08, 2010, 03:55:36 PM »

I find her entire life to be beautiful. Her face is beautiful not just because she was born pretty but also because she was a miracle of grace, which is visible in her face. There is a great visible difference between a beautiful female saint who is overflowing with grace such as Gemma Galgani or Therese Martin and a naturally pretty covergirl who is empty of grace and full of demons.

Saint Gemma was once tempted against purity by the devil and threw herself down a well to escape from the temptations. Angels caught her and saved her from harm and brought her up out of the well.

My point is that her beauty was special because to look at her face is to look at the work of the Holy Ghost in all of His splendor. I imagine that to look at the face of the Blessed Mother would cause a good man to die of Joy, or as I read once about a monk who desired to see our Lady, her incredible beauty caused his eyes to go blind and the Blessed Mother had to give him a miracle so he could see again. When we look at something so beautiful it gives incredible joy but also great suffering because we realize that it is so beautiful, but also that it is marred by sin and would have been so much more beautiful were it not for the fall of our first parents and the subsequent fall of all of us poor sinners who are constantly marring the creation with our sinfulness.

I imagine that if one could be in Hell, but look at the face of the Blessed Mother, one would forget about all of the suffering and the torments of hell would be transformed into joys and the very pits of hell would be transformed into another heaven.

Matto · « **Reply #10 on:** October 08, 2010, 04:13:16 PM »

It is not just female saints. For example, I think Saint Maximilian Kolbe is very beautiful in the same way.

wallflower · « **Reply #11 on:** October 08, 2010, 04:17:38 PM »

Quote from: Cristian

Quote from: wallflower
So...are you guys excited about these links and pictures because she is beautiful? I have to say that I'm a tiny bit creeped out by the language of this thread and the focus on her exterior beauty. Please tell me I am missing something.

What you mean by "excited"? If she or some other lady is beautiful, it is not my fault... I`m sure Our Lady is much more beautiful we all can even imagine, so what?

It is not one of my favourites saints because of her beauty, if you mean that... otherwise I would have not read her biography... just seeing her pics!

BTW, my favourite picture of her is probably the "ugliest"...

I don`t know if I answered your question.

Cristian

I mean that there is obvious animation when speaking of her physical beauty. The exclamation points, the italics on 'very beautiful', the dancing bananas, etc... there was an obvious focus on her but it was not centered on her life or her sanctity, it was about her pictures and her beauty. Not that it isn't overwhelming...she is absolutely breathtaking. But would you be comfortable with a couple of women putting pictures up of an exceptionally handsome priest and gushing over him, talking about being in love, deciding which pics are the most and least handsome, how he looks like a "sunrise" etc...? It just seems bordering on an unhealthy attraction. We can and do notice physical beauty in the priests, sisters, saints, but to dwell on it to this extent is questionable in my mind.

Matto · « **Reply #12 on:** October 08, 2010, 06:22:01 PM »

I understand where you are coming from, wallflower. I would say that our whole lives are written on our faces and our eyes, though most of us are too blind to see it. A man like Christ could look at someone's face and tell their whole life's story just by looking at them. To such people there is no hidden sin because everything you do is written on your face. A man like Christ could also read our lives by looking at our works, like a picture we drew, our signature, listening to us play music, eating food we cooked, etc. When someone is very beautiful because of God's grace, by being overwhelmed by their beauty we are actually admiring all of the good works and all of the beauty of their lives which is written there in the eyes and in the face for those with the eyes to see.

Lighthouse · « **Reply #13 on:** October 09, 2010, 12:14:45 AM »

I have this thought that if you had a spiritual director, he would advise you to choose someone you are not particularly feeling this attracted to, someone totally unfortunate in her physical beauty, to study and ask favors of.

I would drop this silly adolescent mooniness, and get on with your salvation.

MrsZ · « **Reply #14 on:** October 09, 2010, 11:23:12 AM »

Quote from: Matto

I find her entire life to be beautiful. Her face is beautiful not just because she was born pretty but also because she was a miracle of grace, which is visible in her face. There is a great visible difference between a beautiful female saint who is overflowing with grace such as Gemma Galgani or Therese Martin and a naturally pretty covergirl who is empty of grace and full of demons.

Saint Gemma was once tempted against purity by the devil and threw herself down a well to escape from the temptations. Angels caught her and saved her from harm and brought her up out of the well.

My point is that her beauty was special because to look at her face is to look at the work of the Holy Ghost in all of His splendor. I imagine that to look at the face of the Blessed Mother would cause a good man to die of Joy, or as I read once about a monk who desired to see our Lady, her incredible beauty caused his eyes to go blind and the Blessed Mother had to give him a miracle so he could see again. When we look at something so beautiful it gives incredible joy but also great suffering because we realize that it is so beautiful, but also that it is marred by sin and would have been so much more beautiful were it not for the fall of our first parents and the subsequent fall of all of us poor sinners who are constantly marring the creation with our sinfulness.

I imagine that if one could be in @#!*% , but look at the face of the Blessed Mother, one would forget about all of the suffering and the torments of @#!*% would be transformed into joys and the very pits of @#!*% would be transformed into another heaven.

I think Matto's subsequent post (above) puts most concerns to rest. But the warnings of other posters should be taken into account as well.