This time St. Rita understood the true meaning of the double call that had fallen on her overjoyed ears, and, inflamed by the fire of Divine love, her heart gave itself up to so fervent a prayer, that she became rapt in ecstasy and saw in a vision the three Saints whom God had sent to aid her. They were St. John the Baptist, St. Augustine and St. Nicholas of Tolentine. And scarcely had they given her to understand that the cup of her heart's desire was to be filled to overflowing, than she heard a celestial voice, the voice of her Jesus, who called and said to her: "Come, Rita, My beloved. It is now time for you to enter the Maddalena Convent whose door was so often closed against you."

Awakening, as it were, from a profound sleep, St. Rita rose from the prie-dieu on which she had been kneeling, went to the window and saw a person of venerable mien and aspect standing at the door. He wore a garment of camel's hair, cinctured with a leather girdle, and he made signs that she should follow him. St. Rita, recognizing that the person who beckoned her to follow him was no other than her patron St. John the Baptist, whom she had seen in the vision, left her house at once, and with her heart filled with spiritual joy and gladness, she followed her holy guide. They climbed together the rugged steeps of the reef called Schioppo, on whose skirt Rocca Porrena is situated. When she had arrived at the summit of the reef, there appeared to her St. Augustine and St. Nicholas of Tolentine, and she felt as if she were standing, so to speak, on Mt. Thabor, so refulgent was the light which radiated from the countenances of her three patrons. Dazzled by the spectacle, St. Rita prostrated herself at their feet and thanked them, with humble and devout reverence, for all the favors they had obtained for her, and again she recommended herself to their protection.

They commanded her to arise and follow them. She obeyed immediately and walked behind them as they directed their steps in the direction of Cascia. Every step she took told St. Rita that she was drawing nearer and nearer to the long-desired goal, and her heart was filled with indescribable joy, as she listened to the heavenly words of her guides as they conversed with one another on the way. It was indeed a memorable journey, and St. Rita must have felt as did the two pilgrims who conversed with Christ on the road to Emmaus; for when she arrived at Cascia, yea, even at the very door of the Maddalena Convent, the desire of consecrating herself, body and soul to her beloved Jesus, was more ardent than ever.

Finding, as was natural, the door and the windows of the Maddalena closed tightly, her guides nevertheless led her into the cloister, and then addressed her these words: "Rita, remain a rational bee in the garden of the Spouse whom you have so long and ardently loved; so that, collecting the flowers of virtues, you may build a sweet honeycomb. You are now in the house of your Spouse, Jesus. Love Him with all your heart and soul, and your eternal salvation is secure. Return thanks to God for so great a favor done in your behalf. Praise His infinite mercy, and publish that there is nothing impossible to God. Rita, the impossible is overcome in your behalf." Having said these words, the three Saints disappeared. St. Rita, overcome with happiness because she was now within the cloister, spent the remainder of the night in giving thanks to the Lord for the singular favor He had bestowed upon her.

When the morning was come, and the nuns of the Maddalena discovered that a secular was within the cloister, they were both surprised and astonished. Who is she? How did she get in? ran from lip to lip, as with wondering eyes the nuns fixed their gaze on St. Rita. Some of the nuns began to suspect that one of the community had secretly allowed her to enter the cloister, while others thought that perhaps through negligence the door of the convent had been left unlocked. However, when some of the surprise that attended the discovery of St. Rita in the cloister had passed away, the nuns, in a body, approached her and asked: What manner of person she was, and by what means she had entered their cloister?

St. Rita with humility written in her gladsome eyes, and with humility guiding the sweet and convincing eloquence of her eager lips, thus answered them: "I am that poor widow of Rocca Porrena who many times asked to be admitted as a member of your community, and was as many times refused as unworthy of so great a happiness. But know, beloved Superioress and Sisters, that God, wishing to do me a singular favor, sent, last night, to my house in Rocca Porrena, His precursor, St. John the Baptist, accompanied by that Sun of Heaven, St. Augustine, and that Star of Heaven, St. Nicholas of Tolentine, to conduct me into your midst. Nevertheless, I ask you, in the name of that God who has favored me with His mercy, to accept me as a member of your community."

The nuns of the Maddalena listened with amazement while St. Rita related how she had been conducted into the cloister, and when she had concluded her story, all the nuns, with one voice, cried out that they accepted her as a companion, and then humbly besought her pardon for having refused, so many times, her request for admission into their convent home.

HOW SHE OBSERVED THE VOW OF OBEDIENCE

THE FIRST resolution St. Rita made after her solemn profession was to arrive at the summit of religious perfection by a strict observance of the vows she had professed in the Chapel of the Maddalena Convent. Being closely united to Jesus by the sacred bonds of her vows, she began at once to climb the ladder of religious perfection by placing her feet on the step of obedience, which is indeed the first step or rung of the ladder of religious perfection. That obedience is the first step of the ladder of religious perfection, we learn from our holy father St. Augustine, who said: "Poverty is a great virtue, because it rules over riches. Chastity is also a great virtue, because it dominates the flesh. But the virtue of obedience is greater than either poverty or chastity, because it rules and restrains the intellect and the will." The Holy Ghost expresses the same truth when He says: "Better is obedience than victims." Hence obedience is more excellent than poverty, or chastity, because the spiritual powers of the soul, which are sacrificed to God, are more excellent than the exterior goods of sensual gratification which are sacrificed by the two other vows.

To understand the nature of obedience, as regards the religious state, we must observe that there are two kinds or classes of obedience. In the first place, there is an obedience that is called blind obedience. This obedience has no eyes, as it were. It inclines the subject to obey the command of the superior without questioning the command, without taking into consideration the difficulty of obeying the command, or without adverting if the command be unjust or impossible. The expression "Blind obedience" signifies not an unreasoning or unreasonable submission to authority, but a keen appreciation of the rights of authority, the reasonableness of authority, and blindness only to such selfish or worldly considerations as would lessen regard for authority." This blind obedience may be called, and is, perfect obedience.

The second kind of obedience has as many eyes, so to speak, as the animals and the wheels of the cart that the Prophet Ezekiel saw in a vision, and the subject who is guided by this obedience understands perfectly the difficulties of the command of his superiors. He feels how repugnant it is to the intellect and the violence it does the will. Yet, notwithstanding this knowledge, he obeys promptly and joyfully, considering easy, even that which is impossible. This kind of obedience is superlative and therefore most perfect.

Jesus Christ Himself gives us an example of this obedience. Being Divine Wisdom itself, He became obedient even to the death of the Cross, though He knew that death was repugnant to His Divinity. And again when He was suffering a terrible agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, did He not cry out? "Father, if it be possible, let this chalice pass from Me"; and then as if recollecting the task that was before Him, He added: "Yet not My will but Thine be done."

The Angels also practice this kind of obedience, and though they are pure spirits, endowed with superior knowledge, nevertheless they not only obey God with diligence and promptitude, but they even make themselves obedient to the welfare of creatures, though they know the creatures are inferior to them in everything. Now since this most perfect obedience, more worthy of reward, because more meritorious than blind obedience, is truly characteristic of the Angels, we may call those persons angels or angelic persons who, on earth, are imitators of the Angels in their obedience.

Judged by this standard, St. Rita was indeed an angelic woman. So obedient indeed was she that when commanded by her superioress to do anything, even though she knew the command was impossible, she obeyed with the same promptitude as if the command was easily executed.

It is related by many authors of the life of St. Rita that the superioress of the Maddalena, in order to put her obedience to a test, commanded the Saint to water daily a dead and withered plant in the convent garden. St. Rita obeyed without saying a single word about the uselessness of her labor. She watered the plant every day for a year, though she knew it would not revive without a miracle. God, however, rewarded the obedience of St. Rita; to the great astonishment of the nuns, the dead plant revived, put forth leaves and flowers, and was the most beautiful of all the plants in the convent garden.

We will cite another beautiful example of the obedience and resignation of St. Rita. Pope Nicholas V had declared the year 1450 a jubilee year, to which were attached many indulgences that could be gained by those visiting Rome. As some of the nuns had received permission to make the journey, St. Rita prompted by motives of piety and zeal desired to accompany them. She therefore went to the superioress and humbly asked permission to go to Rome with the other nuns, so that she might gain the indulgences of the jubilee. The superioress, looking at the disfigured forehead of St. Rita-----of which we shall speak in another chapter-----did not at first feel inclined to grant the permission. However, after a few moments of consideration, she dismissed St. Rita saying: "Sister Rita, I will permit you to make the journey to Rome, provided the wound on your forehead be healed when the sisters are ready to start on the journey."

Leaving the presence of the superioress, St. Rita went at once to the chapel to ask her Divine Spouse if it were pleasing to Him that she should make the journey to Rome. If so, she supplicated Him to heal the wound on her forehead, but if not, she would resign herself to His holy will and the will of her superioress. God seeing the humble resignation of St. Rita and knowing the obedient spirit of His humble and devout servant heard her prayer, and wonderful to relate, the wound was immediately healed, and St. Rita was granted permission to accompany the other sisters to Rome.

So perfect, indeed, was the obedience of St. Rita that she rather would have died than not to obey the least command of her superiors, whom she considered the representatives of God and her guides and directors. She was like the sheep that always hear the voice of the shepherd and follow him. Free from the slavery of her own will, St. Rita was so perfectly united to the will of God that she had no self-confidence and abandoned herself entirely to God. Hence so Christ-like was the obedience of Sister St. Rita that her every act and all her acts were agreeable to God; for, having once placed her feet on the first step of the ladder of religious perfection, she ascended higher and higher, and nearer and nearer to God, and became what she truly was, a model of the most perfect obedience.