CHAPTER XII.

HER FAITH; HER RELIGIOUS REVERENCE.

"The just man liveth by faith." — Ps. III, 11.

Faith being the foundation and principle of all virtue, let us admire it first in the bright, innocent soul of this servant of God. A holy and insatiable curiosity manifested itself when she was scarcely more than an infant; and it increased through childhood and youth, embracing everything relating to God. It was very noteworthy. She would learn Christian doctrine not in a superficial, but in a solid and serious way, and with an eagerness far beyond what is usually shown at such an age. This holy desire to know divine things was in Teresa Margaret the seed of holy faith infused at baptism and nourished by her ever afterwards. She loved her father with intense tenderness. But this love was due, above all, to the satisfaction she experienced in hearing him speak of God, His greatness, His loveliness, and of the life of bliss promised to His friends. Like a sponge her docile mind drank in the celestial instructions, which she received with manifest joy. She seemed to feed upon supernatural truths. And from her earnest reflections new questions naturally sprang forth, and led to a more perfect knowledge of the good God, towards whom all her intellectual faculties were eagerly drawn. A worthy daughter of our holy Mother Saint Teresa, our young Venerable Sister never was conscious of any temptation against faith. Resting ever on this solid foundation, she would have been glad to shed her blood for the least truth taught by the holy Church. This sentiment, as firm as it was tender, caused in her a holy envy of those who sealed their faith by the bloody sacrifice of martyrdom.

Convinced that faith without works cannot support the spiritual edifice, she had an unceasing horror for even the shadow of imperfection. She sought always and in all things the good pleasure of God, which was her sole glory, "considering herself alone in the world with God alone." According to the doctrine of St. Thomas, faith manifests itself by filial fear and purity of heart. The following chapters will show us the brilliancy of these virtues in the upright heart of Sister Teresa Margaret. Reverence for religion flows from faith, as from its source. She honored in God the Supreme Being, infinitely perfect, our sovereign Lord, and our tender Father. According to Saint Clement of Alexandria, this virtue of reverence raises one above all the other purely human virtues because of the sublimity of its object. Her realization of the divine Majesty was very deep; and her veneration for everything concerning His worship was proof of it. Very great was her respect for the priesthood. The words of the ministers of God, to which she listened only on her knees with a sort of rapture, were to her so many oracles. This veneration, inspired by faith, extended on her part, though in a less degree, to the members of the community. In each one of her sisters she revered a Spouse of Jesus Christ; therefore how great was her respect, her affability towards all. Even with her director, in whom she had entire filial confidence, she never laid aside her respectful behavior. If our Venerable Sister showed in all her actions extreme exactitude and perfection, what can we say of the reverential fear, the scrupulous care with which she handled the sacred ornaments and all that regarded the immediate service of the altar? When assisting in the work of the sacristy, her joyful appearance and reverential devotion made known the union of her heart with God, whom she honored in this employment, in which everything recalled the infinite love of the Savior for souls. Sister Teresa Margaret had also a special devotion for holy images, was eager to have the care of them, to ornament them, happy to attract to them the homage of her companions.

How would it be possible to describe the preparation she made for confession, and above all for Holy Communion; her delicate care to be in the proper dispositions; her ardent desires, and the absorbing love which then consumed her? It was sufficient to see her to experience an increase of faith and charity. The following incident, which occurred in 1768, is worthy of record. When she was cleaning the grill near the communion window she saw a very small particle of a host fly in the air and fall to the ground. Fearing that it was consecrated, the fervent sacristan was filled with consternation, and ran weeping to tell the Mother Prioress. Father Ildefonso, who, thanks be to God, happened to be in the confessional, immediately entered the cloister, piously lifted the particle and performed the ablutions prescribed by the Church. The discovery of this possible consecrated particle was most astonishing, for it was extremely small, the place dark, the day cloudy and she was very nearsighted. In consequence of this accident Sister Teresa Margaret was inconsolable, her heart had been deeply wounded. It could not be mentioned, even long after, without renewing her pain, for this involuntary irreverence towards the adorable Eucharist. So profound was her faith and reverence for religion.

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