When I was first Sub-Prioress, I made the ten Fridays in honour of St. Xaverius for one of the Sisters who was dangerously ill and despaired of by the doctors. One of my intentions in this devotion was the recovery of her health, if it were for the good of her soul; and another intention was that St. Xaverius would obtain me light to know what I should do to make some return of gratitude to Almighty God for all the favours He had done me.

At the end of the ten Fridays, the sick person recovered, to the admiration of all, and St. Xaverius appeared to me as I was in our cell at work, and bade me write my life and the favours God had done me, giving me to understand that by doing this I should much advance the honour and glory of God, and that this would be the best return of gratitude which I could make. I cannot express the peace and joy I found in my soul. I remained an hour in a rapt; yet I found great repugnance in doing what the Saint required of me, having no talent in writing, nor time for it (I was then in the office of Sub-Prioress and had care of the novices), so that considering the little time I had, I concluded I must be years about it, and even then unable to bring it to anything without supernatural help.