Saint Veronica Giuliani, Lover of the Crucified Jesus

Saint Veronica wrote a lot under the obedience about her mystical experiences. On the April 30, 1700,on the feast of Saint Catherine of Siena Saint Veronica Giuliani received the mystical vision of Jesus Crucified, Saint Catherine of Siena  and many other saints. As many other times, under the obedience to her spiritual director, she had to reject all of her visions for fear that those experiences could not have come not from God but from the devil who would come to deceit her. She wrote in her journal: “I trusted myself whole heartedly to God so that he would free me from all kind of deceitfulness that may come from the devil, and also that He may give me a true pain for my sins. Suddenly I got that grace and while I was with this pain for my sins it seemed to me, that  I saw coming from the wounds of Jesus five splendorous rays that came towards me, one stopped inside my  heart and the others in my hands and feet.

 I experienced a deadly pain, it seemed to me that a sharp lance penetrated my heart, and my hands and feet with a thick nail. This pain bestowed on me a flame of love toward the divine love and it seemed to me that it was like a magnet that drew myself towards Him. In that moment  more communications were given to me and it seemed to me that the Lord wanted that I took that saint ( Saint Catherine) as my teacher and that I should learn from her the zeal that she had for the salvation of the souls, her deep humility and her other virtues; but the last two  I would had to learn in a special way.

I was in this for long period of time, and those rays were, as I had said before, above me. And it seemed to me that this experience had never happened to me within such a long period of time. While I was with this pain it seemed  to me that those saints were praying for me. I greatly desired that they will obtain for me a true knowledge of myself, and also knowledge of all  that is in me that is not in accordance with God’s will and that hinder me from the unity with Him in the way that He desires.

I also had inside light  about some personal defects:  my imperious talk, my luck of  solicitous charity and humility in all my deeds, and other similar things that I did every day”.