St. Philip Neri had such an intense love for God that it caused his ribcage to expand and his heart to palpitate regularly. A short time before his death he said to Cardinal Frederic Borromeo, “Do not think that it gives me any pain, or has ever given me any; for I have always been as free from pain in connection with it as I am now. Moreover, I can check it whenever I wish; but when I am praying I never do so, because I do not choose to distract myself by thinking about it.” (as recounted in “The Life of St. Philip Neri” by Anne Hope.)