CHAPTER 12

How the soul of Brother The: [sic] was released by prayers in honor of the Five Wounds.

WHEN Brother The: [sic], the lay brother, died, who had labored faithfully for the monastery for many years, St. Gertrude began to pray for him as soon as she heard of his decease. As she was thus occupied, she beheld him in spirit, and his soul appeared black and deformed, as if suffering intense anguish from some remorse of conscience. As she was exceedingly moved to compassion, she commenced reciting five Pater nosters, in honor of Our Lord’s Five Wounds, which she embraced very tenderly. At the fifth Pater noster, as she approached the Wound of Our Lord’s Side, Our Lord emitted blood and water from it, in the form of a vapor; and she perceived that the soul was exceedingly refreshed thereby interiorly, but that he suffered as if from exterior wounds, which caused him intense pain. By the virtue of this blood and water the soul was then transported into a garden of herbs, each of which signified some good work which he had performed when in the world; and on these Our Lord conferred such virtue, in answer to the prayers of the community, that each of these plants became medicinal, and healed his wounds when applied to them; and she understood that if the community persevered earnestly in their prayers, he would soon be entirely cured. She knew also that there were some herbs, which represented his imperfect actions; and when he touched them, his sufferings were fearfully increased.

After his interment, as they chanted the Media vita as usual, at the words, Sancte Deus, sancte fortis, sancte et immortalis,27 when the religious prostrated28 on the ground, the soul elevated itself toward Heaven with exceeding gratitude, appearing to prostrate with the community, thanking God for having had the privilege of living in so holy a convent, where his labors had been specially blessed and accepted on account of the merits of those whom he served. He declared also, wherever he had lived before he entered that house, he had been obliged to earn his bread by the labor of his hands, but that he had never gained thereby from all his exertions as much advantage as he had obtained in the monastery for his soul.