THIRD PART
Chapter I
Concerning The Witnesses Present At Catharine'S Death, And WHO RELATED THE ATTENDANT CIRCUMSTANCES TO THE AUTHOR.
The ancient synagogue, when contemplating the elevation of the holy Church, and the flight of the soul that God had selected for Spouse, exclaims in admiration: Quce est ista qucs ascendit de deserto, de deliciis a/fluens, innixa super dilectum suum ? (Cant. viii. 5) This passage may be aptly applied to the conclusion of this Memoir. The happy death and the last actions of Catherine, worthily crown all that preceded. The perfection of her virtues leads us to say, with astonishment; Who is this ? that abounding in good works mounts to heaven with accelerated flight; who is this, coming up from the desert leaning on " her beloved," united to God by love, for all eternity."
As she approached the term of her mortal career, she made increased efforts to merit the crown she solicited. Her soul, as it were, naturally ravished in ecstasy, rushed onward to heaven. This impetus arose from the fire which acted and continually mounted upward, I mean that fire which the Saviour of the world came to bring on earth, and which he desired to see enkindled. She will be seen in the last days of her life, becoming likened to her Spouse by suffering, uniting her soul to his, and reclining
