The Venerable Pemene

To see the image of her good Mother of heaven so abandoned, devoid of any ornament, pierced the heart of this good girl, who said to herself: Since I am poor, and I can do nothing to adorn the statue of the Queen of heaven, of the Mother of my Savior, I will come to her feet to make her a crown of prayers. She naively made this promise to Mary, and fulfilled it with scrupulous fidelity. Thus she lived in great innocence and a perfect holiness of life, keeping her purity inviolably for the spotless Lamb.

The Lord, wishing to reward the fidelity of his humble servant, of the virgin so devout to his Mother, sent her, in a short illness, the announcement of her passage to a better dwelling. The poor girl, feeling herself seized by a high fever and seeing herself lying on her miserable pallet, began to prepare her soul and hastened to dispose herself for death. It is so easy to detach oneself from life when it is full of miseries and when the heart is pure!

It happened, while she lay in her cottage, that two religious men were passing through a large wood near the village where Pémène dwelt. Tired from their journey, they stopped for a few moments to rest; one of them fell asleep; the other began to read a spiritual text. The latter soon saw coming along the path that led to the village a troop of virgins, magnificently dressed in gold-brocaded garments, who greeted him with a bow, which he took care to return. Shortly after, another group came, more magnificently adorned, and dressed in dazzling whiteness. Then a little later, a third appeared, dressed in even more splendid ornaments, where the whiteness of snow mingled with the purple of queens. At the head of this last troop was a virgin whose beauty eclipsed all the others: her clothes were covered with white and vermilion roses, and her head with a hat of freshly picked flowers.

The good religious man, quite amazed, bowing deeply to her, dared to ask who they were:

"The Queen of virgins," she replied, "accompanied by the virgins of heav en. The first you sa La Reine des vierges Mother of Jesus, who appeared to Bertrand. w are those who wavered between the two states of marriage and virginity, but who nevertheless died virgins. The second are those who resolutely vowed continence; and these have joined the roses of martyrdom to the lilies of virginity. We are all going to the nearby village to gather the soul of a young girl and place her in heaven." The good religious man, having awakened his companion, told him what he had just seen, and they resolved to attend the passing of the sick virgin.

Arriving at the village, they inquired about her dwelling, and they were directed to the shepherd's hut. They entered, found the young sick girl lying on straw in total poverty, greeted her, and sought to console her. "My Fathers," she said to them, "pray to God that He may let you see the virgins of paradise who are around me." They prayed to ask for this favor, and they obtained it; they heard a hymn of marvelous melody being sung, and they saw the Virgin Mary girding Pemene's head with a garland o f flow Pémène Eastern virgin and shepherdess, known for her devotion to the Virgin Mary. ers, at the moment she was giving up her soul.

Without presenting this life as absolutely authentic, we have felt it our duty to reproduce it at least as a beautiful alleg ory. Abbé Chapin M. l'abbé Chapin Author of the hagiographic biography. , * Une vie de Sainte par jour Une vie de Sainte par jour Hagiographical work by Abbé Chapin. *.