Originally published at National Catholic Register
This 19th-Century Mystic Could Miraculously Sense the Presence of the Eucharist, Blessed Objects — and Wedding Rings
Many years ago in Belgium, in a little village called Bois d’Haine, there lived a beautiful young woman named Louise Lateau. Although she never married, she shone a brilliant light on the beauty of wedding rings.
Born in 1850, Louise loved Jesus very much and had a particular devotion to his Passion. And every Friday, she experienced an ecstasy for many hours at a time. In modern times, the word ecstasy is often used to refer to physical pleasure, but a mystical ecstasy — or supernatural ecstasy — is far different. In a “supernatural ecstasy,” as the Catholic Encyclopedia explains, “the mind rivets its attention on a religious subject” to such a degree that “the activity of the senses is suspended.”
In Louise’s case, the “religious subject” was the scenes of Jesus’ Passion; on many Fridays, she also saw Mary, the Mother of God. And notwithstanding the encyclopedia’s definition, Louise’s ecstasies had somewhat of a twist. The rumor began to spread that, in the state of ecstasy, Louise was able to distinguish between ordinary items (a picture, jewelry, a piece of bread)
