with which at times the living body is endowed by Divine power; the
physical accompaniment of ecstasy; the elevation of the entire body from
the ground, and its suspension in the air for a considerable space of
time; and we have sufficient examples of the mysterious ways in which
the bodies of Saints bespeak the purity which dwells within them, and
in a degree anticipate the corporeal perfections of those glorified
habitations in which the souls of the just will dwell after the
resurrection.

By another class of miraculous powers possessed by Christian Saints,
they are enabled to recognise the true nature or presence of purely
spiritual objects by the instrumentality of their natural organs of
sense. Thus, a mere touch at times reveals to them the moral condition
of the person on whom they lay their hands. A singular distaste for
natural food is accompanied by a perception of a celestial sweetness in
the holy Eucharist. Gross sinners appear to the sight in the form of
hideous monsters, demoniacal in their aspect, or as wearing the look of
the most repulsive of the brute creation. The sense of smell, in like
manner, detects the state of the soul, while the ear is opened to
heavenly sounds and voices, and Almighty God speaks to the inner
consciousness in a manner which, inexplicable as it is when defined
in the language of human science, is shown by incontestable proofs to be
a real communication from heaven to the enlightened intelligence.

In certain cases the animal creation are taught to do homage to the
presence of a Saint. As God opened the eyes of Balaam's ass, and it
beheld the messenger of Divine wrath standing with a sword in his hand,
so birds, fishes, insects, sheep, and the wildest beasts of the forests,
have at times saluted the Saints with joy and sweetness, laying aside
their natural timidity or their natural ferocity, and recalling the hour