Santa gemma galgani biography of abraham
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God put Abraham to the test.
He called to him, &#;Abraham!&#;
&#;Here inom am!&#; he replied.
Then God said:
&#;Take your son Isaac, your only one, whom you love,
and go to the land of Moriah.
There you shall offer him up as a holocaust
on a height that I will point out to you.&#;When they came to the place of which God had told him,
Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it.
Then he reached out and took the knife to slaughter his son.
But the LORD&#;s messenger called to him from heaven,
&#;Abraham, Abraham!&#;
&#;Here I am!&#; he answered.
&#;Do not lay your hand on the boy,&#; said the messenger.
&#;Do not do the least thing to him.
inom know now how devoted you are to God,
since you did not withhold from me your own beloved son.&#;
As Abraham looked about,
he spied a ram caught by its horns in the thicket.
So he went and took the ram
and offered it up as a holocaust in place of his the LORD&#;s messenger called to Abraham from heaven and said:
&#;I
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From February to May , St Gemma was ordered to write a "General Confession" (Autobiography) by her Spiritual Director, Father Germanus C.P. , in order that he might be able to better direct her spiritual life. It filled 93 pages of a notebook, all hand written.
-She calls it "The notebook of my sins".
The original handwritten Autobiography still exsists, and is on display at Saints John and Paul Basilica in Rome, Italy. Gemma's beautiful handwriting is still very legible, however the remarkable thing is that each page has the appearance of having been burned.
Father Germanus (Germano) C.P., St Gemma's Spiritual Director, explains this phenomenon in his work, "The Life of St. Gemma Galgani":
"Gemma manuscript, when finished, was by my orders given to the charge of her adopted "mother", Signora Cecilia Giannini, who kept it hidden in a drawer awaiting the first opportunity of handing it to
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On April 11, the Church celebrates St. Gemma Galgani, virgin, mystic, stigmatist, visionary, and victim soul. Saint Gemma is the patron saint of: pharmacists, loss of parents, those suffering with back illnesses, back injury or pain, those struggling with temptations and those seeking purity of heart.
Gemma Galgani was born in Lucca, Italy on March 12, , the fourth of eight children. Her mother, who had been a very caring woman, died at the age of thirty - five when Gemma was only seven.
For the next eighteen years the family experienced much grief and misfortune. Gemma looked after her brother who had tuberculosis and who died when he was eighteen. Her father was a prosperous pharmacist but the prolonged illness of others in the family was a drain on his resources and the family was reduced to poverty. To add to this, Gemma's father developed cancer of the throat and Gemma nursed him with great care until his death.
Gemma had an immense love for the poor, and helped them