"She assisted at Mass with intense devotion. When the celebrant began: 'In nomine Patris,' etc., she contemplated Jesus on the Mount of Olives, and begged for the Faithful the grace of assisting devoutly at the Holy Sacrifice and for priests that of offering It in a manner pleasing to God; lastly, she implored Our Lord to cast upon all as gracious a look as He once cast on St. Peter...

"At the Consecration, she offered the Saviour to His Father for the whole world, chiefly for the conversion of sinners, for the relief of the souls in purgatory, for the dying, and for her Sisters in religion. She imagined the altar surrounded at this moment by crowds of adoring angels who dared not raise their eyes to the Sacred Host. She said to herself that, although it might be very bold in her, yet she could not deprive herself of the consolation of gazing upon her Lord.

"She often saw a brilliant light surrounding the Sacred Host and in the Host a cross of dark color, never white. Had it been white, she would not have distinguished it. It did not seem to be larger than the Host, but the latter was Itself often larger than usual."

The Life of Anne Catherine Emmerich
Rev. K. E. Schmoger, C.SS.R.

Reprinted from Witness Ministries, a lay apostolate dedicated to renewing appreciation for the Mass as the greatest gift which God has given to His beloved spouse, the Church. Their mission is to show how, in the Eucharistic Liturgy, Jesus renews and transforms us–and the world–in His life and love.