(1878-1903) Gemma Umberta Maria Galgani was born to a pharmacist near Lucca, Italy. Her mother died of tuberculosis when she was eight, several of her siblings died young, and her father died when she was 18. When Gemma was 20, she began having regular mystical experiences, and was miraculously cured that same year of spinal meningitis by Jesus through the intercession of Saint Gabriel Possenti after making a novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. She received the stigmata, the wounds of the crucifixion, at 21, regularly saw her guardian angel, and mystically experienced the scourging and the crown of thorns. Gemma died of tuberculosis at age 25.
Suffering is a great mystery! Certain saints, like Gemma, show us how suffering draws us closer to Christ. How can you make the most of your suffering?
“My spirit is willing but my flesh is weak, weak because I am so lazy. What would I not do for Jesus! For anyone who had just one of His glances, it would suffice; what force, what vigor he would feel!” (Saint Gemma Galgani).
Reflection by Brad Farmer