province of Hainaut, in Belgium, Anne Louise Lateau, the daughter of
Gregory and Adèle Lateau. The family, though of humble condition, were at
the time in tolerably comfortable circumstances. The father was employed
as a workman in a neighbouring metal factory, and the cottage in which
they dwelt, together with the land on which it stood, was their own
property. But a sad change soon took place. On the 30th April, 1850,
Gregory Lateau died of small-pox, leaving the mother and three children
(the infant Louise and two little girls of two and three years of age)
unprovided for. To add to their distress, the widow Lateau was seriously
ill, and the infant had caught the small-pox. Abandoned by all, they were
in danger of perishing of starvation had they not been relieved by the
timely aid of a charitable neighbour. It was a long time, however, before
the mother’s health was sufficiently restored to enable her to better
their condition by her own exertions. When eight years old, Louise was
sent to take charge of an old woman confined to her bed, and almost as
poor as themselves. She afterwards received five months’ schooling, which
is all the education she has ever had. At eleven years old, having made
her first communion, she went as a servant to her aunt, with whom she
remained until her death, which occurred two years later. Her next
situation was with a lady at Brussels, but she was obliged to leave
through illness. On her recovery, she was again employed in a farm at
Manage, where she remained till called home by her mother, with whom she
has since lived, working as a dressmaker. With regard to her moral
character, one of its most important features is charity. During the
ravages of the cholera in Belgium, in 1866, she gave examples of the most
heroic devotedness--nursing the sick when their own relations had fled in
dismay, laying out the dead, and, in some instances, even conveying them
to the cemetery. For the rest, she is of a cheerful disposition, simple
and straightforward in her manner, possessed of good sense, without
smartness or enthusiasm. Owing to the small amount of instruction she has
received, her education is limited, but has been much improved by her own
exertions. She speaks French with tolerable fluency, but is unable to
write correctly or read with ease. The mother of Louise is fifty-eight
years of age, of a frank and outspoken character, upright and religious.
Though poor, she refuses to receive any pecuniary assistance, and
manifests great reluctance to the introduction of the numerous visitors
attracted to her cottage from all parts of the world by the wonderful
accounts respecting her daughter. We now come to the consideration of
those phenomena which for nearly six years have been exciting such
universal interest. On Friday, the 24th April, 1868, manifestations of an
extraordinary character commenced with a flow of blood from the chest. The
young girl, with her accustomed reserve, made no mention of the fact; but
as on successive Fridays the bleeding extended to the feet and hands,
concealment became no longer possible. The phenomenon, as it now appears,
is thus described by Dr. Lefebvre:--
“If in the course of the week, from Saturday to Thursday morning, an
inspection is made of the parts from which blood flows on the Friday, this
is what is seen:--On the back of each hand there is a rather oval surface,
nearly one inch in length. It is rather more pink in colour, and it is
smoother than the neighbouring skin, and does not show a trace of oozing
of any kind. On the palm of each hand there is also an oval surface of a
light pink colour, corresponding precisely to the stigmatized surface of
the back. On the upper aspect of each foot, the impress has the shape of a
long square with rounded angles, the square being a little more than an
inch long. To conclude, there are on the soles of the feet, as on the
palms of the hands, small surfaces of pinkish white colour.
“... The first symptoms indicative of the approaching efflux of blood
occur on the Thursday, generally about noon. On each of the pink surfaces
already described on the hands and feet, a vesicle is seen to commence,
and to rise little by little. When completely developed, it is a rounded
hemispherical prominence on the surface of the skin; its base is the same
size as the pink surface on which it rests--that is, nearly an inch long,
by a little more than half an inch broad. This vesicle is formed by the
epidermis detached from the dermis, and elevated as a half sphere by
serous liquid within.”
We again quote some of the medical details:--
“The phenomenon occurs thus:--The vesicle bursts, and the contained
serosity escapes. This occurs in different ways--sometimes by a rent
lengthways, sometimes by a crucial or a triangular division. In the last
case, the rupture of the vesicle suggests the puncture of a leech; but
this is a mere resemblance, to prove which it is enough to ascertain the
entire absence on the hands and feet of those three-cornered white and
indelible scars which always follow leech-bites. But a still more
decisive observation is that this triangular rent only divides the
epidermis; in fact, if this be removed by rubbing with a cloth, the little
wound is no longer seen, and the true skin is found to be quite intact.
Directly after the rupture of the vesicle and the escape of the fluid,
blood begins to ooze from the bare derma.
“The flow of blood always detaches the piece of scarf-skin that makes the
vesicle, so that the bleeding surface of the true skin is quite bare;
sometimes, however--and especially on the palms of the hands and the soles
of the feet, where the epidermis is very tough--the blood collects, and
forms a clot in the partly-torn vesicle.”[56]
The general appearance of the wound in the side on Friday is as
follows:--The blood issues from three small points of a triangular form at
the distance of half an inch from each other. A vesicle has also been
observed similar to those upon the hands and feet. On its bursting, the
blood flowed through the derma or thick skin over a round surface of the
diameter of about half an inch.
The bleeding on the forehead commenced on Friday, the 25th September,
1868, and, at the present time,[57] takes place every week, and has
extended round the whole of the head. The bleeding circlet on the forehead
forms a band of two fingers’ breadth in width, and the blood oozes from
twelve or fifteen points. There is no appearance of vesicle, nor is the
skin discoloured.
The second extraordinary account of a young girl, who is now marked with
the stigmata, is furnished by the Rev. F. Prendergast, of San
Francisco:[58]--
“Miss Collins was born in England; both her parents are Roman Catholics.
About two years and a half ago she was a pupil at the Convent of Notre
Dame. On her return to this city she left her father’s home, and with a
friend, Miss Armer, commenced the practice of charitable acts--visiting
the sick, clothing the destitute, and instructing little children. Many of
the charitable persons of the city co-operate with Miss Collins, Miss
Armer, and an elderly lady who keeps house for them, in their good works.
The archbishop approved of this semi-religious order, and has paid the
house rent of these ladies since they began this practice. Miss Collins
has always been in delicate health, and has frequently received the last
sacraments of the Church, given to those in a dying condition. She has had
periodical attacks of heart disease, and intense pulmonary congestion.
Soon after Miss Collins and Miss Armer entered upon their charitable and
self-denying duties, the former was prostrated by a return of her
complaint. She recovered but slowly and imperfectly, and on January 2nd,
at the children’s festival in the basement of S. Mary’s Cathedral, she was
seized with a most violent attack. She was taken to her residence; and two
or three days afterwards was again seized with congestion of the lungs,
followed by congestion of the brain. The attending physician, herself, and
all her friends were convinced that there was no hope of her recovery. She
took leave of those who stood by her bedside, and made her final
preparations for death. On Wednesday, January 8th, she was all day in
convulsions.... Towards six o’clock she grew better, but on the night of
the third day became speechless, and was compelled to write her wants and
wishes in pencil.
“At twelve o’clock that night, Miss Armer and the nurse, who watched by
her bedside, believed her to be dying, if not dead. They recited the
prayers for the departing soul, and held the blessed candle by her hand,
according to the custom of the Church. Presently Miss Collins closed her
eyes and drew a long breath. They then believed her to be dead; but to
their utter amazement and bewilderment she revived, and made signs that
she wished to write. They gave her the pencil and paper, and she wrote as
follows: ‘Put three drops of the water from the font of Our Lady of La
Salette in my mouth, and say three Hail Maries with me before the
crucifix.’ They complied with the instructions, and perceived that she
joined mentally in the recital of the prayers. As soon as ended, she
reached out her hands for the crucifix, and kissed, with an expression of
great devotion, the Five Wounds of our Blessed Saviour. She then intimated
that she wished to have a little water. They gave her some, and she
immediately rose up and declared, with a beaming and heavenly countenance,
that she was cured; and she called on her companions, Miss Armer and the
nurse, to join her in saying the rosary for the sick. She wished to
recite the principal parts of the devotion herself, but yielding to the
request of Miss Armer, only made the responses in a clear and loud voice.
She then requested her companions to retire, but seeing they had some
objections, told them she would set the example. She laid down quietly,
and slept without motion or sign till morning, when she ate heartily, and
seemed quite restored to health. Since then she has never for a moment
suffered from any of those diseases to which she had been before a victim,
and which had more than once brought her to death’s door.
“On being questioned about her recovery, she stated to her confessor, her
companions, and others of her friends, that immediately previous to her
recovery the Blessed Virgin spoke to her in a voice clear and musical, but
as if it were coming from afar, directing her what to do in order to
obtain her health, approving her manner of life, and giving her some
counsels for her own guidance. Her recovery was regarded by all conversant
with the facts as being a miraculous one; and, contrasting her subsequent
excellent health with her former miserable condition, there seems to be no
reason to doubt but that she was saved by the merciful interposition of
the Supreme Power of God.
“After some weeks she experienced, without any assignable natural cause,
an intense pain in her temples, which caused her indescribable anguish.
These sufferings suddenly passed away, but in the course of some days
returned with equal violence. So far there were no perceptible marks on
any portion of her body, but during her sufferings on the Feast of the
Five Wounds of our Lord she felt an acute pain in her head, her side, in
both hands, and in both feet. On the Friday before Good Friday, the Feast
of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin, she experienced pains in the
same parts, and on that day the stigmata, or marks of our Saviour’s
Wounds, became clearly visible on the backs of her hands, and blood oozed
from her left side, near the heart.
“Several persons witnessed the stigmata on this occasion, but were loth to
reveal the fact, preferring to await further developments. That night the
pains passed away, and her usual health returned. On Holy Thursday the
same sufferings were experienced, commencing in the afternoon and becoming
very intense during Thursday night. On Friday the stigmata appeared on the
surfaces of both hands and on the upper surface of both feet. Blood also
oozed from her side. During the day her sufferings were indescribable, and
were witnessed by a large number of people.[59] The stigmata and
suffering continued unabated until twelve o’clock on Friday night, when
she suddenly experienced some relief, and was able, for the first time in
twenty-four hours, to take a little water. On the next day she attended
divine service in church, and has since been in the enjoyment of excellent
health. The marks of the stigmata remain on her hands and side. She has
never, at any time during her sufferings, been unconscious, except when
they were so intense as to cause momentary delirium. She prayed
continually, and her countenance, ordinarily indicating extreme agony,
occasionally relaxed into a sweet and heavenly smile. At times her hands
were extended in the form of a crucifix, and became so rigid in that
position that it was impossible to move them.”[60]
As serving still further to illustrate the subject of this chapter, it
should be known that Dr. John Milner, F.S.A., Vicar Apostolic of the
Midland District of England (a prelate eminent both for his high character
and great literary ability), records a supernatural cure, the subject of
which was personally known to himself.
“On March 15, 1809, Mary Wood, living at Taunton Lodge, near Taunton, in
Somersetshire, in attempting to open a sash-window, pushed her left hand
through a pane of glass, which caused a very large and deep transverse
wound in the inside of the left arm, and divided the muscles and nearly
the whole of the tendons that lead to the hand; from which accident she
not only suffered at times the most acute pain, but was, from the period
the bishop saw her [March 15, 1809], until some time in July, totally
deprived of the use of her hand and arm.”[61] What passed between the
latter end of July, when, as the surgeon states, “he left his patient with
no hope of her recovery or of restoring her,” until the 6th of August, on
the night of which she was miraculously cured, can be gathered from a
Letter to Bishop Milner, dated November 19th, 1809, by her amanuensis Miss
Maria Hornyold, of the ancient family of that name:
“The surgeon gave little or no hopes of the girl ever again having the use
of her hand; which, together with the arm, seemed withered and somewhat
contracted; only saying [that] in some years Nature might give her some
little use of it, which was considered by her superior as a mere delusive
comfort. Despairing of further human assistance toward her cure, she
determined, with the approbation of her said superiors, to have recourse
to God, through the intercession of S. Winifred by a Novena.[62]
Accordingly on the 6th of August she put a piece of moss from the Saint’s
Well on her arm, continuing recollected and praying, &c., when, to her
great surprise, the next morning she found that she could dress herself,
put her arm behind her, and to her head, having regained the free use and
full strength of it. In short, she was perfectly cured.”
So much for this portion of Miss Hornyold’s narrative. Now, reverting to
Bishop Milner, his testimony to the fact of the cure having been effected
is here set forth:
“In this state I myself saw her a few years afterwards, when I examined
her hand; and in the same state she still continues, at the above-named
place, with many other highly credible vouchers, who are ready
respectively to attest these particulars.”
The conclusion of Miss Hornyold’s Letter is as follows:
“On the 16th of the month the surgeon was sent for, and being asked his
opinion concerning Mary Wood’s arm, he gave _no hope of a perfect cure_,
and little of her ever having _even the least use of it_; when she, being
introduced to him and showing him the arm, which he thoroughly examined
and tried, he was so affected at the sight and the recital of the manner
of the cure, as to shed tears, and exclaim, ‘It is a special interposition
of Divine Providence.’”
The case of Winifred White, a young woman of Wolverhampton, suddenly and
miraculously cured, is not less important and interesting:--“The disease
from which she was suffering,” writes Bishop Milner, “was one of the most
alarming of a topical nature of any that is known, namely a curvature of
the spine, as the physician and surgeon ascertained, who treated it
accordingly, by making two great issues, one on each side of the spine, of
which the marks are still imprinted on the patient’s back. Secondly, that
besides the most acute pains throughout the whole nervous system, and
particularly in the brain, this disease of the spine produced a
_hemiplegia_, or palsy of one side of the patient, so that when she could
feebly crawl, with the help of a crutch under her right arm, she was
forced to drag her left leg and arm after her, just as if they constituted
no part of her body. Thirdly, that her disorder was of long continuance,
namely, of three years’ standing, though not in the same degree till the
latter part of that time, and that it was publicly known to all her
neighbours and a great many others. Fourthly, that having performed the
acts of devotion which she felt herself called upon to undertake, and
having bathed in the fountain [at Holywell in Flintshire], she, _in one
instant of time_, on the 28th of June, 1805, found herself freed from all
pains and disabilities, so as to be able to walk, run, and jump like any
other young person, and to carry a greater weight with the left arm than
with the right. Fifthly, that she has continued in this state these
thirteen years, down to the present time; and that all the above-mentioned
circumstances have been ascertained by me in the regular examination of
the several witnesses of them, in the places of their respective
residences, namely in Staffordshire, Lancashire, and Wales, they being
persons of different counties, no less than of different religions and
situation of life.”[63]
The result of a solemn Curse, made in the Name of Almighty God, by one who
had been greatly and grievously wronged, is recorded and not unsuitably
here, it is hoped, in the following remarkable narrative--one fresh
evidence of the existence of the Supernatural amongst us, had we only eyes
to see and ears to hear.
The younger son of a Nova Scotia baronet, under promise of marriage,
betrayed the only surviving daughter of a Northumbrian yeoman of ancient
and respectable family, nearly allied to a peer, so created in William the
Fourth’s reign. She was a person of rare beauty and of considerable
accomplishments, having received an education of a very superior character
in Edinburgh. After her betrayal she was deserted by her lover, who fled
abroad. The night before he left, however, at her earnest request, he met
her in company with a friend with the avowed intention of promising
marriage in the future, when his family (as he declared) might be less
averse to it. After-events show that this was merely an empty promise, and
that he had no intention of fulfilling it. A long discussion took place
between the girl and her betrayer, in the presence of the female friend in
question, a first cousin of her father. High words, strong phrases, and
sharp upbraidings were uttered on both sides; until at last the young man
in cruel and harsh language, turning upon her fiercely, declared that he
would never marry her at all, and held himself, as he maintained,
perfectly free to wed whom he should choose. “You will be my certain
death,” she exclaimed, “but death will be more welcome than life.” “Die
and be ----,” he replied. At this the girl, with a wail of agony, swooned
away. On her recovery she seemed to gather up her strength to pronounce a
Curse upon him and his. It was spoken in the Name of the One Living and
True God. She uttered it with deliberation, yet with wildness and
bitterness, maintaining that she was his wife, and would haunt him to the
day of his death; declaring at the same time to her relation present, “And
you shall be the witness.” He left the place of meeting without any
reconciliation or kind word, and, it was believed, went abroad. In less
than five months, in giving birth to her child, she died, away from her
home, and was buried with it (for the child, soon after its baptism, died
likewise) in a village churchyard near Ambleside. Neither stone nor
memorial marks the grave. Her father, a widower, wounded to the quick by
the loss of his only daughter, pined away and soon followed her to his
last resting-place.
Five years had passed and the female cousin of the old yeoman, being
possessed of a competency, had gone to live in London, when, on a certain
morning in the spring of the year 1842, she was passing by a church in the
west end, where, from the number of carriages waiting, she saw that a
marriage was being solemnized. She felt mysteriously and instinctively
drawn to look in. On doing so, and pressing forwards towards the altar,
she beheld to her astonishment, the very man, somewhat altered and
weather-worn, who had caused so much misery to her relations, being
married (as on inquiring she discovered) to the daughter of a rich city
merchant. This affected her deeply, bringing back the saddest memories of
the past. But, as the bridal party were passing out of the church, and she
pushed forward to look, and be quite sure that she had made no mistake,
both herself and the bridegroom at one moment saw an apparition of her
relation, the poor girl whom he had ruined, dressed in white, with flowing
hair and a wild look, holding up in both hands her little infant. Both
seemed perfectly natural in appearance and to be of ordinary flesh and
blood. There was no mistaking her certain identity. This occurred in the
full sunshine of noon and under a heavy Palladian Porch in the presence of
a crowd. The bridegroom turned deathly pale in a moment, trembled
violently, and then, staggering, fell forward down the steps. This
occasioned a vast stir and sensation amongst the crowd. It seemed
incomprehensible. The bridegroom, said the church officials in answer to
inquiries, was in a fit. He was carried down the steps and taken in the
bridal carriage to his father-in-law’s house. But it was reported that he
never spoke again; and this fact is mentioned in a contemporary
newspaper-account of the event. Anyhow his marriage and death appeared in
the same number of one of the daily papers. And although the family of the
city merchant knew nothing of the apparition, what is thus set forth was
put on record by the lady in question, who knew the mysterious
circumstances in all their details; which record is reasonably believed by
her to afford at once a signal example of retributive justice and a marked
piece of evidence of the Supernatural. Names, for obvious reasons, are not
mentioned here. The truth of this narrative, however, was affirmed on
oath by the lady in question, before two justices of the peace, at
Windsor, on October 3, 1848, one of whom was a beneficed clergyman in the
diocese of Oxford, well known to the Editor of this volume,--to whom this
record was given, in the year 1857 (when he was assistant-minister of
Berkeley Chapel), by a lady of rank who worshipped there.
Here, accounts of two cases of miraculous cure through and by the Blessed
Sacrament will be suitably and fittingly introduced. The first is from the
pen of a well-known mission-preacher of the Church of England, and
occurred in the diocese of London: the second, equally remarkable, took
place in the diocese of Metz.
The introductory remarks, so full of truth and piety, which immediately
precede the first narrative, have an equal bearing on that which follows.
Both are instances of God’s extraordinary mercy and goodness to the
children of men.
“The Blessed Sacrament of the Body and Blood of the Lord works its effects
not only on the soul of man, but also on his body. We need not be
surprized at this, for if the body is affected by the soul, so that a
person depressed in mind often falls sick in body; and, on the contrary,
if good spirits are of great use in preserving bodily health--as indeed we
frequently see,--if this be the case, may we not expect that the
Sacrament, which only reaches the soul through the body, will have some
influence on that body through which they are transmitted. The Blessed
Sacrament, then, when worthily received, affects the body in three ways.
First, it tends to moderate what is called ‘concupiscence,’ that is those
natural appetites and desires of the body which dwell in the flesh and
tempt to sin. And this we learn from the words of the prayer of Humble
Access in the Communion Service--that our sinful bodies may be made clean
by His Body.
“Secondly, the Blessed Sacrament gives to our bodies glory in the Day of
the Resurrection.
“Our Lord says, ‘He that eateth My Flesh and drinketh My Blood hath
Eternal Life, and I will raise him up at the last day.’ Not that all men
will not rise from the dead at that day, but that the wicked will rise
with hideous bodies, and the righteous only with bodies like unto our
Lord’s own Body; whilst the glory also of those who are saved will differ
one from another. And so S. Paul writes, ‘One star differeth from another
star in glory.’
“Thirdly, the Blessed Sacrament sometimes works the cure of sick persons
who receive it with faith. Of course this is not often the case, for if
miracles were common they would cease to be miracles. Moreover, there is
but little faith now-a-days, and even when our Lord walked in the flesh
there were some places in which He did not do many mighty works because of
their unbelief. Also He worked bodily cures the rather during His earthly
ministry; because when He gives these more excellent gifts it is less
necessary for Him to show this power by miracles of healing. It pleases
Him however, sometimes even now, to cure bodily sickness by his bodily
touch, and a case of this sort we will now relate:--
“I. Two or three years ago there lived in one of our great cities a poor
woman of devotion and faith. She attended a church where the Holy
Eucharist was frequently celebrated, and the true faith believingly
taught. She received the faith gladly, and lived up to it, communicating
regularly and with devotion. It befell her, however, to be taken with
sickness, which brought on lockjaw, so that she could not eat, and only
small portions of nourishment could be given her through an opening in her
teeth. She was in this state several days, looking forward to certain
death.
“At last, thinking more of the suffering which her loss would bring upon
her family than upon any fear of death in her own heart, she said to her
husband, ‘Surely, the Lord Jesus is very merciful and would restore me to
health if we were to ask Him. For how dreadful would it be for the poor
children to be left without a mother! I have heard of a woman who was
cured of a sickness by our Lord when the doctors gave her up. Why should
we not ask Him to cure me?’ Thus she spoke, and her husband agreed with
her, that they would ask this of the Lord.
“The priest of the church which they attended was visiting the poor
woman, and next time he came she told him of what she had thought, and
asked whether it would be wrong to pray for this object. Seeing the faith
of the poor people, he could not say anything against it, only exhorting
them to be ready to accept the Will of the Lord whatever it might be. ‘It
is not wrong,’ said he, ‘to pray to the Lord for restoration to health, so
long as we add, “Not my will but Thine be done.”’
“Accordingly he arranged that they should have a special Celebration of
the Blessed Sacrament with that intention--to ask of our Lord the cure of
the poor mother. The time was fixed. The woman was to be present herself,
and to communicate, and the priest promised to ask some other devout
people to attend and unite in prayer for the same object.
“At the hour appointed the priest was at the altar, a little body of
devout persons was gathered in the church, and the poor woman was brought
there, suffering, but still with good hope. The service proceeded; the
prayer of Consecration was said; the Lamb of God was upon the altar, and
the priest pleaded the one true and perfect and all-sufficient Sacrifice
on behalf of the poor sufferer, and prayed for her recovery, as did also
herself and her friends. Having communicated himself, the priest brought
the Holy Sacrament to the woman, giving her only a small particle, such as
she could receive between her teeth, and then the chalice of the Lord’s
Blood. The faithful now communicated; the remainder of the service was
said, the Priest gave the Peace and Blessing, and the last Amen was said.
Then the woman fell down in a sort of swoon; but it only lasted a short
time, for presently she got up, opened her mouth, and said, ‘I am quite
well.’ Yes! The Lord had heard her. We were astonished with joy, and
joined in hearty thanksgiving to God for the miracle which he had wrought.
The woman walked home, to the great delight of her family, and was able to
return to her ordinary work.
“A fortnight after the event, the writer of this narrative[64] saw the
woman, and heard from her own lips, as well as from the Priest, the
account of the miracle, which he has related as nearly as he can remember
it.
“We are not to be anxious for miracles, nor to crave after signs; but when
it pleases God to work such as this, it seems to be right for His glory,
and for the dignity of the Most Holy Sacrament, that His mercy should be
made known; and is it not joy to every faithful heart, that the Lord
should manifest His power over all His works, and show to men His tender
compassion of the sick and suffering?”
II. The second case is thus related. It bears a remarkable similarity to
that just set forth:--
“Anne de Cléry, the subject of the extraordinary cure about to be
recorded, was at school in the Convent of the Sacred Heart, at Metz, in
the year 1855. She was then thirteen years of age, and her health and
spirits good. Previously she had lived two years in Africa, where her
father still resides,[65] and occupies the post of Notary-General to the
Imperial Court at Algiers. Madame de Cléry’s health having suffered from
the climate, she returned to Metz with her two daughters, the youngest of
whom--Anne--was very uneasy about her mother’s health, and prayed
fervently for her recovery, offering herself to suffer the pains of
sickness in her stead. Anne’s illness, which was of a very distressing
nature, commenced in the Holy Week of 1856, and continued steadily to
increase, in spite of the prescriptions of the first physicians at Metz,
Aix in Savoy, and Paris. Remedies of every possible kind--some of them of
a terribly severe character--were tried, but without the smallest result,
except to increase the sufferings of the poor patient. The Paris
physician, at length (in the year 1857), pronounced her case to be
incurable. He says: ‘Mdlle. Anne is labouring under the disease known by
the name of “muscular and atrophical paralysis.” I very much apprehend
that no remedies can touch the disease.’ The sufferings of the poor girl
were continuous and severe. Her limbs were deprived of power and strength;
they shrank and contracted, and the muscles under each knee produced a
sort of knot which no power on earth could untie. She would be, as far as
man could foresee, a cripple as long as she lived. Anne de Cléry was,
however, resigned to the Will of God, and supported her heavy trial by a
deep piety and constant prayer. At times her faith suggested the
possibility of a miraculous cure; but she scarcely hoped or wished for
such a wonderful favour. She had a particular devotion to the Blessed
Sacrament; and every week the priest brought her the Holy Communion, which
was her greatest support and consolation. She employed her time, when
able, though in the recumbent position, and unable to lift her head, in
embroidering altar-cloths, and making artificial flowers for the adornment
of the sanctuary. It was while thus preparing for the devotion known as
‘the Forty Hours’ Adoration’ in the parochial church of S. Martin at Metz,
in the year 1865, that the thought sometimes crossed her mind that she
might be cured by the Blessed Sacrament. But she was slow to encourage an
idea which might be an illusion, and deprive her of her resignation and
peace of mind. The devotion above mentioned was to take place on the 12th,
13th, and 14th of June. On the first two days it was impossible to carry
her to the church (whither she had not been taken for a long while), her
pains were so severe; but on the third day, with the greatest difficulty,
and at the cost of much suffering, after having received Communion, she
was carried to the church by her maid Clémentine, who sat on a bench and
held her on her knees. Madame de Cléry and Mdlle. de Coetlosquet knelt
close beside her; but neither Anne nor her friends were expecting the
extraordinary event about to follow.
“After a few moments’ rest Anne became absorbed in devotion, and prayed as
she often did at the moment of Communion: ‘Lord, if Thou wilt, Thou canst
cure me.’ At the same instant she felt so violent a pain in her whole
body, that it was all she could do not to scream out. She prayed for
strength to bear it, and resigned herself to God’s will. Then, she says,
she felt filled with faith and hope, and became conscious that she was
cured. Anne threw herself immediately upon her knees and said to her
companions, ‘Pray, pray; I am cured!’ Madame de Cléry overcome with
emotion, in a state of bewilderment, led her daughter out of the church,
scarcely believing the evidence of her senses when she saw her standing
alone and able to walk. She ascertained that the knots under her
daughter’s knees had entirely disappeared; and then Anne returned to the
church, where she remained kneeling in praise and thanksgiving before the
Blessed Sacrament for three-quarters of an hour, without feeling the least
fatigue.
“Her cure was complete; all the ailments that had afflicted her
disappeared, leaving behind no trace of illness. Eleven days after her
cure, Anne walked through the streets of Metz in a procession of the
Blessed Sacrament, which lasted an hour and a quarter, to the astonishment
and admiration of all who had known her former sad condition. Her
physician, when he saw her rise and walk to meet him, said, ‘Mademoiselle,
what men could not effect, God has done.’”[66]
The Editor has been furnished with many similar accounts; some coming
before him on slender testimony: others on testimony which it is
impossible either to weaken or to reject. In some cases strange and
supernatural events which have occurred of late years--beautiful glimpses
of the unseen world--are treasured up by those who were the direct
subjects of them, though considerable difficulty is experienced in
obtaining such satisfactory attestations of their authentication, (owing
to the fact that persons naturally shrink from publicity,) as would
warrant their appearance in this volume.
Before this chapter is closed, however, it may be well to add the
following, from the pen of an English clergyman well known to the Editor,
which possess some inherent interest:
“This passed under my own eyes a few weeks back. A little child, three
years old, daughter of highly-respectable but poor parents, was
accidentally burnt to death--fell upon the grate, and lingered only some
two hours, it might have been supposed in frightful tortures. Her mother,
who blamed herself for leaving the child even for a moment, seemed in
imminent danger of losing her reason, and was in a state of terrible
despair. The little one raised herself to say, ‘Mother, don’t cry! I’m
going to die;’ and then pointing, added, ‘_Don’t you see that Good Man who
stands there and waits for me?_’ This from a child of three years old.
“Let those who choose, elect to believe that this was an optical delusion:
those who honestly believe that the angels of little children do behold
His Father’s face, and doubt not that angels minister to the heirs of
salvation, will probably arrive at a different conclusion.”[67]
Here is another remarkable case of the Supernatural, provided by the same
clergyman:--
“A lady of my acquaintance, a woman of great intellectual powers, with a
keenly satirical and inquiring mind, chastened, however, by Christian
faith and love--a most devout communicant--was the voucher of these facts.
“Retiring to rest some years ago, late at night, she happened, on her way
to her room, to look out of a window which opened on a court behind the
house. To her surprise (she was not in the least a superstitious person,
nor had her mind been travelling in a ghostly direction), she saw standing
beneath the window, in the full rays of the moonlight, the figure of a
child in white clothing, the arms crossed in prayer, the face inclining
forward, with a kind of white cowl or head-covering, from the body of
which child rays seemed to pass. She was not terrified, but amazed; and
after gazing fixedly some little while, during which the figure did not
move, she went to her room, and sent the nurse down to fetch something,
where she would be likely to see the figure, without saying anything about
it to her. The nurse returned speedily, white with fear, saying, ‘Ma’am,
did you see that wonderful thing all shining?’ The lady inquired what she
meant. The servant’s impressions were identical with her own. Neither of
them went to look again; but the lady thought within herself, that this
might be a warning sent from God to prepare her for the death of an elder
child, a daughter, whose figure and bearing, she thought, resembled that
of the child enshrouded in white linen in the yard; and she consequently
entertained a dread that that daughter might be taken from her. This did
not prove the case; but as another younger child--the very darling of the
mother’s heart, and an infant at the time of this singular
apparition--grew older, the idea was _borne in_ strongly upon the lady’s
mind, that that younger child would be taken from her about the time when
it attained the apparent age and stature of the mysterious visitant, who
seemed to be a little girl of about five years old. This, doubtless, might
be a fancy only: she had not seen the face, only the figure; and when this
dear little one--a peculiarly sweet and engaging child--actually sickened,
and at last, after a long illness, died, at about this age, the mother did
not dare take to herself the consolation it seemed likely to afford her,
as a foreshadowing of her child’s beatified rest. On the contrary, the
mother’s heart was distracted with doubts and fears.... There had been no
direct communion with God, as far as man could judge, near the last;
rather a certain fretfulness, a turning from God to man, a clinging to the
mother as her all. The Christian’s heart was almost paralysed by the vast
and unspeakable terror which took possession of her soul. Was her dear one
indeed saved?... Although she thought all day long of this child,--I knew
her at the time, and she seemed consumed by grief, fast breaking, though
never was God’s house opened without her finding her way thither,--she had
never once dreamt of her, or seen her in her dreams, much to her own
surprise, and despite the constant craving of her aching heart. But at
last, one night she dreamt, and thus: that she had risen from her bed, and
was standing in her chamber; that the door softly opened, and her little
one came and sat upon the threshold, sweetly smiling. ‘What, my own
darling! (she thought she said,) are you come back again to me?’ ‘Yes, my
mamma,’ replied the child. ‘And are you happy, dearest?’ ‘Yes, quite
happy; but not for anything I have done,--only for the merit of my Lord.’
The mother advanced and embraced her child, and thus embracing she awoke.
And now wonderfully was it borne in upon her that the midnight apparition
of so many years ago and the child of her dream were one. Her dream was so
real, that she could not but receive it as a divine intimation, a direct
answer to her prayers. She now felt and believed that her dear one was in
Paradise. For some weeks, despite her longings to renew the vision, she
saw her child no more. Then she did so once again, in a dream. She was
crossing a radiant garden, where she knew not; in its centre was a stately
hall or cupola, and on the marble steps which led to it stood her sweet
one, looking pure and blessed. The mother bounded towards her, when she
espied, within the hall, at the further end of a corridor or long passage,
the form of another child of hers still living! This sight terrified her;
she shrieked out, and shrieking she awoke. That child lives still, and may
it long be preserved to the mother’s prayers! But meanwhile, it is not a
little remarkable, that during nearly three years which have elapsed,
despite every effort on the mother’s part, she has never once dreamt of
her darling! This is what contributes, with the vision of the radiant
child at first, to impart a supernatural character to the whole
transaction, and take these visitations out of the category of ordinary
dreams. On my own mind there is not the smallest doubt that here was a
two-fold supernatural intervention; firstly, vision,--seen, remember, _by
two witnesses_; then by a most strangely corroborative dream.”
Another example, shadowing forth the possible value and power of
prayer,--“the effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man,”--though
briefly told, is not without its own special interest in these days of
Irreligion and Unbelief.
“An English gentleman I knew well was residing in France; his only son was
a barrister in the Middle Temple Chambers in London. This son suffered
from disease of the heart, not known to be immediately dangerous; he was a
professed unbeliever--a scoffer, even; and had, alas! spoken lightly of
Revelation the day before his death. A sudden, violent attack prostrated
him; and, after a few hours of suffering, he departed. That night, the
father, who was not aware of any immediate danger to his child, dreamt
that the spirit of his deceased wife appeared to him, and addressed him,
saying, ‘Rise and pray! William is dying, and there are none to pray for
him!’--or words to that effect. This dream was repeated, I believe,
thrice. The father did rise, and remained in earnest intercessory prayer
(he was a devout Christian man,) for the greater part of the night. This
is a well-authenticated fact, the certainty of which may be relied on.”
This chapter is brought to its close by a most impressive account of sweet
and heavenly music which was heard near the dying bed of one, whose
patience and devotion during sickness were as remarkable as her earthly
life had been pure and holy.
It is from the pen of one who for many years was a clergyman of the Church
of England, but is now a Cistercian monk of the Monastery of Mount S.
Bernard, on the Charnwood Hills, in Leicestershire, and who is known in
religion as Father Augustine.
“On the last day she [Mary, daughter of A. P. de Lisle, of Garendon Park,
Esq.], longed much for a cup of cold water, but it was not thought good
for her; and so, when reminded of our Saviour’s thirst on the Cross, she
offered up her own thirst in union with His, and said she would ask for it
no more.[68] Her faculties, however, continued entire and clear to the
end, and by her particular request indulgenced prayers[69] were recited to
her that she might frequently repeat them. Thus her life ebbed softly
away; the last words on her lips being a prayer to her ‘Sweet Saviour to
have mercy upon her.’ And are not such things as these natural grounds for
having a sure hope that she died in the favour of God? It is true that we
have even supernatural grounds in the fact that on the night before her
decease (whilst she was receiving with devout mind the last anointing of
Holy Church to prepare her for her end) there was heard distinctly and by
several persons the sound of a celestial chant, proceeding from her
chamber, hymned by no earthly voices. Does not this look as if the blessed
spirits themselves had been assisting to prepare her that she might soon
become one of their company?”
“Four men,” continues the author of the Sermon from which the above is
taken, in a note to it, “none of them [Roman] Catholics, heard the
chanting three several times. They all agreed in their conviction as to
whence it came, that it was from the chamber of the dying child. The third
time it was so loud that they could distinguish, as it were, the several
voices that blended in this celestial harmony, some of which sung the
treble notes, while others took the deeper parts. The character of the
music was indescribably beautiful; and one of the men, who had been in the
habit of attending the Catholic service in S. Mary’s chapel, at
Grâce-Dieu, declared that the style of it was exactly like that of the
solemn Plain Chant used in that chapel which he was accustomed to hear
there. They described the chanting as having no air in it that they could
carry away, but the effect was solemn and beautiful beyond expression.
They supposed, at the moment, that it was some service, according to the
Catholic rites, which was being sung in the sick chamber by the priest and
his attendants. When they heard it, therefore, they were not surprised at
the sound, except that its beauty exceeded that of any religious service
they had ever heard; and it was not until the following morning, at the
breakfast hour, when relating what they had heard to their
fellow-servants, and being then informed that there had been no service
_chanted_ in the sick room, that the conviction flashed upon them, as upon
all to whom these facts have been since related, that the chanting
proceeded from heavenly spirits and departed saints, who had come hither
on an errand of mercy, to hedge round the dying bed of the departing
child.”--Note, p. 13.
The Editor prefers to leave these varied records of the spiritual powers
and properties of the Church, these different examples of the presence of
the Supernatural, to the consideration of the reader; himself declining
either to lay down principles, frame arguments, or draw deductions from
facts already set forth.
APPENDIX TO CHAPTER III.
THE FORM OF EXORCISING THE POSSESSED.
[TRANSLATED FROM THE “ROMAN RITUAL.”]
_The Priest, having confessed, or at least hating sin in his heart, and
having said Mass, if it possibly and conveniently can be done, and humbly
implored the Divine help, vested in surplice and violet stole, the end of
which he shall place round the neck of the one possessed, and having the
possessed person before him, and bound if there be danger of violence,
shall sign himself, the person, and those standing by, with the sign of
the Cross, and sprinkle them with holy water, and kneeling down, the
others making the responses, shall say the Litany as far as the prayers._
_At the end the Antiphon._ Remember not, Lord, our offences, nor the
offences of our forefathers, neither take Thou vengeance of our sins.
Our Father. _Secretly._
℣ And lead us not into temptation.
℟ But deliver us from evil.
_Psalm_ liv.
_Deus, in Nomine._
_The whole shall be said with_ Glory be to the Father.
℣ Save Thy servant,
℟ O my God, that putteth his trust in Thee.
℣ Be unto him, O Lord, a strong tower,
℟ From the face of his enemy.
℣ Let the enemy have no advantage of him,
℟ Nor the son of wickedness approach to hurt him.
℣ Send him help, O Lord, from the sanctuary,
℟ And strengthen him out of Sion.
℣ Lord, hear my prayer,
℟ And let my cry come unto Thee.
℣ The Lord be with you,
℟ And with thy spirit.
Let us pray.
O God, Whose property is ever to have mercy and to forgive: receive our
supplications and prayers, that of Thy mercy and loving-kindness Thou wilt
set free this Thy servant (or handmaid) who is fast bound by the chain of
his sins.
O holy Lord, Father Almighty, Eternal God, the Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ: Who hast assigned that tyrant and apostate to the fires of hell;
and hast sent Thine Only Begotten Son into the world, that He might bruise
him as he roars after his prey: make haste, tarry not, to deliver this
man, created in Thine Own image and likeness, from ruin, and from the
noon-day devil (_dæmonio meridiano_; in our version, “the sickness that
destroyeth in the noon-day”). Send Thy fear, O Lord, upon the wild beast,
which devoureth Thy vine. Grant Thy servants boldness to fight bravely
against that wicked dragon, lest he despise them that put their trust in
Thee, and say, as once he spake in Pharaoh: I know not the Lord, neither
will I let Israel go. Let Thy right hand in power compel him to depart
from Thy servant N. (or Thy handmaid N.) ✠, that he dare no longer to hold
him captive, whom Thou hast vouchsafed to make in Thine image, and hast
redeemed in Thy Son; Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the Unity of the
Holy Spirit, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
_Then he shall command the spirit in this manner._
I command thee, whosoever thou art, thou unclean spirit, and all thy
companions possessing this servant of God, that by the Mysteries of the
Incarnation, Passion, Resurrection and Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ,
by the sending of the Holy Ghost, and by the Coming of the same our Lord
to judgment, thou tell me thy name, the day, and the hour of thy going
out, by some sign: and, that to me, a minister of God, although unworthy,
thou be wholly obedient in all things: nor hurt this creature of God, or
those that stand by, or their goods in any way.
_Then shall these Gospels, or one or the other, be read over the
possessed._
The Lesson of the Holy Gospel according to S. John i. 1. _As he says these
words he shall sign himself and the possessed on the forehead, mouth, and
breast._ In the beginning was the Word ... full of grace and truth.
The Lesson of the Holy Gospel according to S. Mark xvi. 15. At that time:
Jesus spake unto His disciples: Go ye into all the world ... shall lay
hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
The Lesson of the Holy Gospel according to S. Luke x. 17. At that time:
The seventy returned again with joy ... because your names are written in
heaven.
The Lesson of the Holy Gospel according to S. Luke xi. 14. At that time:
Jesus was casting out a devil, and it was dumb ... wherein he trusted, and
divideth his spoils.
℣ Lord, hear my prayer,
℟ And let my cry come unto Thee.
℣ The Lord be with you,
℟ And with thy Spirit.
Let us pray.
Almighty Lord, Word of God the Father, Jesus Christ, God and Lord of every
creature: Who didst give to Thy Holy Apostles power to tread upon serpents
and scorpions: Who amongst other of Thy wonderful commands didst vouchsafe
to say--Put the devils to flight: by Whose power Satan fell from heaven
like lightning: with supplication I beseech Thy Holy Name in fear and
trembling, that to me Thy most unworthy servant, granting me pardon of all
my faults, Thou wilt vouchsafe to give constancy of faith and power, that
shielded by the might of Thy holy arm, in trust and safety I may approach
to attack this cruel devil, through Thee, O Jesus Christ, the Lord our
God, Who shalt come to judge the quick and the dead, and the world by
fire. Amen.
_Then defending himself and the possessed with the sign of the Cross,
putting part of his stole round the neck, and his right hand upon the head
of the possessed, firmly and with great faith he shall say what follows._
℣ Behold the Cross of the Lord, flee ye of the contrary part.
℟ The Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed.
℣ Lord, hear my prayer,
℟ And let my cry come unto Thee.
℣ The Lord be with you,
℟ And with thy spirit.
Let us pray.
O God, and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, I call upon Thy Holy Name, and
humbly implore Thy mercy, that Thou wouldest vouchsafe to grant me help
against this, and every unclean spirit, that vexes this Thy creature.
Through the same Lord Jesus Christ.
THE EXORCISM.
I exorcise thee, most foul spirit, every coming in of the enemy, every
apparition, every legion; in the Name of our Lord Jesus ✠ Christ be rooted
out, and be put to flight from this creature of God ✠. He commands thee,
Who has bid thee be cast down from the highest heaven into the lower parts
of the earth. He commands thee, Who has commanded the sea, the winds, and
the storms. Hear therefore, and fear, Satan, thou injurer of the faith,
thou enemy of the human race, thou procurer of death, thou destroyer of
life, kindler of vices, seducer of men, betrayer of the nations, inciter
of envy, origin of avarice, cause of discord, stirrer-up of troubles: why
standest thou, and resistest, when thou knowest that Christ the Lord
destroyest thy ways? Fear Him, Who was sacrificed in Isaac, Who was sold
in Joseph, was slain in the Lamb, was crucified in man, thence was the
triumpher over hell. _The following signs of the Cross shall be made upon
the forehead of the possessed._ Depart therefore in the Name of the Father
✠, and of the Son ✠, and of the Holy ✠ Ghost: give place to the Holy
Ghost, by this sign of the holy ✠ Cross of Jesus Christ our Lord: Who with
the Father, and the same Holy Ghost, liveth and reigneth ever one God,
world without end. Amen.
℣ Lord, hear my prayer.
℟ And let my cry come unto Thee.
℣ The Lord be with you.
℟ And with thy spirit.
Let us pray.
O God, the Creator and Protector of the human race, Who hast formed man in
Thine own Image: look upon this Thy servant N. (_or_ this Thy handmaid
N.), who is grievously vexed with the wiles of an unclean spirit, whom the
old adversary, the ancient enemy of the earth, encompasses with a horrible
dread, and blinds the senses of his human understanding with stupor,
confounds him with terror, and harasses him with trembling and fear. Drive
away, O Lord, the power of the devil, take away his deceitful snares: let
the impious tempter fly far hence: let Thy servant be defended by the sign
✠ (_on his forehead_) of Thy Name, and be safe both in body, and soul.
(_The three following crosses shall be made on the breast of the
demoniac._) Do Thou guard his inmost ✠ soul, Thou rule his inward ✠ parts,
Thou strengthen his ✠ heart. Let the attempts of the opposing power in his
soul vanish away. Grant, O Lord, grace to this invocation of Thy most Holy
Name, that he who up to this present was causing terror, may flee away
affrighted, and depart conquered; and that this Thy servant, strengthened
in heart, and sincere in mind, may render Thee his due service. Through
our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
THE EXORCISM.
I adjure thee, thou old serpent, by the Judge of the quick and the dead,
by thy Maker, and the Maker of the world: by Him, Who hath power to put
thee into hell, that thou depart in haste from this servant of God N., who
returns to the bosom of the Church, with thy fear and with the torment of
thy terror. I adjure Thee again ✠ (_on his forehead_), not in my
infirmity, but by the power of the Holy Ghost, that thou go out of this
servant of God N., whom the Almighty God hath made in His Own Image.
Yield, therefore, not to me, but to the minister of Christ. For His power
presses upon thee Who subdued thee beneath His Cross. Tremble at His arm,
which, after the groanings of hell were subdued, led forth the souls into
light. Let the body ✠ (_on his breast_) of man be a terror to thee, let
the image of God ✠ (_on his forehead_) be an alarm to thee. Resist not,
nor delay to depart from this person, for it has pleased Christ to dwell
in man. And think not that I am to be despised, since thou knowest that I
too am so great a sinner. God ✠ commands thee. The majesty of Christ ✠
commands thee. God the Father ✠ commands thee. God the Son ✠ commands
thee. God the Holy ✠ Ghost commands thee. The Sacrament of the Cross ✠
commands thee. The faith of the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, and of all
the other Saints ✠, commands thee. The blood of the Martyrs ✠ commands
thee. The stedfastness (_continentia_) of the Confessors ✠ commands thee.
The devout intercession of all the Saints ✠ commands thee. The virtue of
the Mysteries of the Christian Faith ✠ commands thee. Go out, therefore,
thou transgressor. Go out, thou seducer, full of all deceit and wile, thou
enemy of virtue, thou persecutor of innocence. Give place, thou most dire
one: give place, thou most impious one: give place to Christ in Whom thou
hast found nothing of thy works: Who hath overcome thee, Who hath
destroyed thy kingdom, Who hath led thee captive and bound thee, and hath
spoiled thy goods: Who hath cast thee into outer darkness, where for thee
and thy servants everlasting destruction is prepared. But why, O fierce
one, dost thou withstand? why, rashly bold, dost thou refuse? thou art the
accused of Almighty God, whose laws thou hast broken. Thou art the accused
of Jesus Christ our Lord, whom thou hast dared to tempt, and presumed to
crucify. Thou art the accused of the human race, to whom by thy persuasion
thou hast given to drink thy poison. Therefore, I adjure thee, most wicked
dragon, in the Name of the immaculate ✠ Lamb, Who treads upon the lion and
adder, Who tramples under foot the young lion and the dragon, that thou
depart from this man ✠ (_let the sign be made upon his forehead_), that
thou depart from the Church of God ✠ (_let the sign he made over those who
are standing by_): tremble, and flee away at the calling upon the Name of
that Lord, of Whom hell is afraid; to Whom the Virtues, the Powers, and
the Dominions of the heavens are subject; Whom Cherubim and Seraphim with
unwearied voices praise, saying: Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Sabaoth.
The Word ✠ made Flesh commands thee. He Who was born ✠ of the Virgin
commands thee. Jesus ✠ of Nazareth commands thee; Who, although thou didst
despise His disciples, bade thee go bruised and overthrown out of the man:
and in his presence, having separated thee from him, thou didst not
presume to enter into the herd of swine. Therefore, thus now adjured in
His Name ✠, depart from the man, whom He has formed. It is hard for thee
to wish to resist ✠. It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks ✠.
Because the more slowly goest thou out, does the greater punishment
increase against thee, for thou despisest not men, but Him, Who is Lord
both of the quick and the dead, Who shall come to judge the quick and the
dead, and the World by fire. ℟ Amen.
℣ Lord, hear my prayer.
℟ And let my cry come unto thee.
℣ The Lord be with you.
℟ And with thy spirit.
Let us pray.
O God of heaven, God of earth, God of the Angels, God of the Archangels,
God of the Prophets, God of the Apostles, God of the Martyrs, God of the
Virgins, God, Who hast the power to give life after death, rest after
labour; because there is none other God beside Thee, nor could be true,
but Thou, the Creator of heaven and earth, Who art the true King, and of
Whose kingdom there shall be no end: humbly I beseech Thy glorious
majesty, that Thou wouldest vouchsafe to deliver this Thy servant from
unclean spirits, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
THE EXORCISM.
I therefore adjure thee, thou most foul spirit, every appearance, every
inroad of Satan, in the Name of Jesus Christ ✠ of Nazareth, Who, after His
baptism in Jordan, was led into the wilderness, and overcame thee in thine
own stronghold: that thou cease to assault him whom He hath formed from
the dust of the earth for His own honour and glory: and that thou in
miserable man tremble not at human weakness, but at the image of Almighty
God. Yield, therefore, to God ✠ Who by His servant Moses drowned thee and
thy malice in Pharaoh and his army in the depths of the sea. Yield to God
✠, Who put thee to flight when driven out of King Saul with spiritual
song, by his most faithful servant David. Yield thyself to God ✠, Who
condemned thee in the traitor Judas Iscariot. For He touches thee with
Divine ✠ stripes, when in His sight, trembling and crying out with thy
legions, thou saidst: What have I to do with Thee, Jesus, Son of the Most
High God? Art Thou come hither to torment us before the time? He presses
upon thee with perpetual flames, Who shall say to the wicked at the end of
time--Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the
devil and his angels. For thee, O impious one, and for thy angels, is the
worm that dieth not; for thee and thy angels is the fire unquenchable
prepared: for thou art the chief of accursed murder, thou the author of
incest, thou the head of sacrileges, thou the master of the worst actions,
thou the teacher of heretics, thou the instigator of all uncleanness.
Therefore go out ✠, thou wicked one, go out ✠, thou infamous one, go out
with all thy deceits; for God hath willed that man shall be His temple.
But why dost thou delay longer here? Give honour to God the Father ✠
Almighty, before Whom every knee is bent. Give place to Jesus Christ ✠ the
Lord, Who shed for man His most precious Blood. Give place to the Holy ✠
Ghost, Who by His blessed apostle Peter struck thee to the ground in Simon
Magus; Who condemned thy deceit in Ananias and Sapphira; Who smote thee in
Herod, because he gave not God the glory; Who by His apostle Paul smote
thee in Elymas the sorcerer with a mist and darkness, and by the same
apostle by his word of command bade thee come out of the damsel possessed
with the spirit of divination. Now therefore depart ✠, depart, thou
seducer. The wilderness is thy abode. The serpent is the place of thy
habitation: be humbled, and be overthrown. There is no time now for delay.
For behold the Lord the Ruler approaches closely upon thee, and His fire
shall glow before Him, and shall go before Him; and shall burn up His
enemies on every side. If thou hast deceived man, God thou canst not
scoff: One expels thee, from Whose Sight nothing is hidden. He casts thee
out, to Whose power all things are subject. He shuts thee out, Who hast
prepared for thee and for thine angels everlasting hell; out of Whose
mouth the sharp sword shall go out, when He shall come to judge the quick
and the dead, and the World by fire. Amen.
_All the aforesaid things being said and done, so far as there shall be
need, they shall be repeated, until the possessed person be entirely set
free._
_The following which are noted down will be of great assistance, said
devoutly over the possessed, and also frequently to repeat the_ Our
Father, Hail Mary, _and_ Creed.
_The Canticle._ Magnificat.
_The Canticle._ Benedictus.
_The Creed of S. Athanasius._
_Quicunque vult._
Psalm xci. _Qui habitat._
Psalm lxviii. _Exurgat Deus._
Psalm lxx. _Deus in adjutorium._
Psalm liv. _In Nomine Tuo._
Psalm cxviii. _Confitemini Domino._
Psalm xxxv. _Judica, Domine._
Psalm xxxi. _In Te, Domine, speravi._
Psalm xxii. _Deus, Deus meus._
Psalm iii. _Domini, quid multiplicati?_
Psalm xi. _In Domino confido._
Psalm xiii. _Usque quo, Domine?_
_Each Psalm shall be said with_ Glory be to the Father, &c.
_Prayer after being set free._
We pray Thee, O Almighty God, that the spirit of wickedness may have no
more power over this Thy servant N. (_or_ Thy handmaid N.), but that he
may flee away, and never come back again: at Thy bidding, O Lord, let
there come into him (_or_ her) the goodness and peace of our Lord Jesus
Christ, by Whom we have been redeemed, and let us fear no evil, for the
Lord is with us, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee, in the Unity of the
Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. ℟ Amen.
WITCHCRAFT AND NECROMANCY.
“To deny the possibility, nay actual existence of Witchcraft and Sorcery,
is at once flatly to contradict the revealed Word of God, in various
passages both of the Old and New Testament; and the thing itself is a
truth to which every Nation in the World hath in its turn borne testimony,
either by examples seemingly well attested, or by prohibitory laws, which
at least suppose the possibility of commerce with evil
spirits.”--Blackstone’s “Commentaries,” book iv. chap. iv. p. 61.