During the American Civil War, two Sisters of Charity in Boston were met on the street by a man who angrily insulted them, through hatred of their religious garb and the Faith behind it. Degrading, cutting words were spewed at the good women, as if their vocation made them guilty of a terrible crime.

Sometime later, this irreligious man went into the army as a substitute for someone who had been drafted into it. He was wounded in one of the battles in Missouri, and brought to a temporary hospital run, as Divine Providence would have it, by the same order of nuns he’d ridiculed in Boston: the Sisters of Charity. This irony was not lost on the soldier, who quietly witnessed the great kindness with which he and the other injured men were cared for by the Sisters.

Unfortunately, the best care the hospital could provide was not enough to heal his fatal injuries. When the nun assigned to the irreligious man realized her patient was dying, she begged him to ask pardon for his sins, so he could die a good death. Surprisingly, the soldier was not opposed to contrition, but he felt forgiveness was out of reach. With tones of deep regret, the soldier explained his fear.

"Sister, I have been a bad man, but there is one act of my life that weighs more heavily upon me than all the others."

The memory of it caused pain and shame, especially in the presence of this good Sister. Still, he felt compelled to unburden himself to her.

"I once insulted a member of the Order which has now treated me so kindly. And, sick as I am, were she only here now I would fall at her feet, beg her pardon, and die in peace."

Touched at his heartfelt remorse, the nun gently answered,

"She has already pardoned you." At the soldier’s questioning look, she was quick to explain, "The moment you were brought in here I recognized you by that mark on your forehead, and I long ago pardoned you from my heart."

The man was stunned to be face to face with the one person on earth he longed to make his peace with before the end…and to discover that, all this time, she had already forgiven him! He overcame his shock just enough to ask,

"And why have you been more kind to me than to the others?"

"It is because you insulted me so much, and for His sake," she added, kissing her crucifix.

Amazed and deeply moved, the dying man said resolutely,

"Send immediately for your priest. The religion that inspires such fortitude must be from God."

In a short time, the priest came. Soon after, both he and the Sister knelt together at the man’s bedside. With fervent devotion, they prayed as the soul of the dying soldier passed to God, Whose mercy is above all His works.