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Thirty-Third Rose
1. There were fifteen
thousand of them in the body of this poor man, because he had attacked the
fifteen mysteries of the 'Rosary;
2. They went on to testify that by preaching the Rosary he put fear and horror
into the very depths
of hell and that he was the man they hated most throughout the whole world,
because of the souls
which he snatched from them through devotion to the Holy Rosary;
3. They then revealed several other things.
Saint Dominic put his rosary around the Albigensian's neck and asked the devils
to tell him who, of
all the saints in heaven, was the one they feared the most, and who should
therefore be the most
loved and revered by men. At this they let out such unearthly screams that most
of the people fell
to the ground, faint from fear. Then, using all their cunning, so as not to
answer, the devils wept
and wailed in such a pitiful way that many of the people wept also, out of
purely natural pity. The
devils spoke through the mouth of the Albigensian, pleading in a heartrending
voice:
"Dominic, Dominic, have mercy on us we promise you that we will never hurt you.
You have always
had compassion for sinners and those in distress; have pity on us, for we are in
grievous straits.
We are suffering so very much already, so why do you delight in heightening our
pains? Can't you
be satisfied with our suffering without adding to it? Have pity on us! Have pity
on usl"
·
Saint Dominic was not one whit moved by the pathos of these wretched spirits and
told them that he
would not let them alone until they had answered his question. Then they said
they would whisper
the answer in such a way that only Saint Dominic would be able to hear. The
latter firmly insisted
upon their answering clearly and out loud. Then the devils kept quiet and
refused to say another
word, completely disregarding Saint Dominic's orders so he knelt down and prayed
thus to. Our
Lady: "Oh, all powerful and wonderful Virgin Mary, I implore you by the power of
the Most Holy
Rosary, order these enemies of the human race to answer me."
No sooner had he made this prayer than a glowing flame leaped out of the ears,
nostrils and mouth
of the Albigensian. Everyone shook with fear, but the fire did not hurt anyone.
Then the devils
cried:
"Dominic, we beseech you, by the passion of Jesus Christ
and by the merits of His Holy Mother and of all the saints,