tions, to which she was accustomed, caused her no fear, and that she might not think herself the sport of a dream or a dupe of the devil, they said on entering, " Hail, servant of God, spouse of the Lord! may Jesus Christ be ever with you! " Then they testified their veneration for a large cross and the relics of the saints which their benefactress kept in her cell. If they found her reciting the Rosary, add the same witnesses, they took her hands and kissed them lovingly, as the instrument of their deliverance.
CHAPTER XXIII.
Relief of the Holy Souls — Fasts, Penances, and Mortifications, however Trifling — A Glass of Cold Water — Blessed Margaret Mary.
After prayer comes fasting, that is to say, not only fasting properly so called, which consists in abstaining from food, but also all penitential works of what nature soever they may be. It must here be remarked that this is a question not only of the great austerities practised by the saints, but of all the tribulations, all the contradictions of this life, as also of the least mortifications, the smallest sacrifices which we impose upon ourselves or accept for the love of God, and which we offer to His Divine Mercy for the relief of the holy souls.
A glass of water, which we refuse ourselves when thirsty, is a trifling thing, and if we consider this act in itself, we can scarcely see the efficacy it possesses to alleviate the sufferings of Purgatory. But such is the Divine Goodness that it deigns to accept this as a sacrifice of great value. "If I am permitted," says the Abbé Louvet, speaking of this
