Pills of Faith January 11 "Jesus reached out and touched him"

One day, while praying isolated from the world, and he was completely absorbed in God, in the excess of his fervor, Christ Jesus appeared to him, confessed on the cross. Upon seeing him, his soul melted. The memory of Christ's passion impressed himself so vividly in the innermost bowels of his heart that, from that moment, when the crucifixion of Christ came to his mind, he could hardly refrain, even externally, from tears and sighs, as he himself reported in confidence later, when he was approaching death. The man of God understood that, through this vision, God addressed the maxim of the Gospel to him: "If you want to come after me, deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me" (Mt 16,24:XNUMX).

From then on, he put on the spirit of poverty, an intimate feeling of humility and profound piety. While before he hated not only the company of lepers, but even seeing them from afar, now, because of Christ crucified, who, according to the prophet's words, took on the despicable aspect of a leper, he served them with humility and kindness, in an attempt to achieve full self-contempt.