Sister Saint-Pierre and the work of reparation : a brief history by the Very Rev. P. Janvier ... Translated by Miss Mary Hoffman

Front matter

IBX£I22 ra,

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

True Image of the Holy Face of our < j Lord Jesus Christ, Religiously venerated J \ and kept in Rome, in the Basilica of Saint > Peter, in the Vatican.

Chap. I. Her Youth,' • • • 19

" II. Ucr Mission, • . . .27

M III. Her Revelations on the Reparation, . . . 41 44 IV. Her Revelations on the Holy Face, . . .51

44 V. Her Prayers for France, 61

" YL The Archconfraternity of the Reparation, . . 73

M VII. Her Virtues, 86

44 VIII. Her Last Sickness— Her Heath, .... 96 44 IX. The Confraternity of the Holy Face, . . .103

Conditions for "being Received into the Confraternity of the Reparation of the Holy Face, 109

APPENDIX.— CONTAINING RULES, PRAYERS AND DEVOTIONS FOR THE CONFRA- TERNITY OF THE HOLY FACE.

Historical Notice, Il5

Rules of the Confraternity of the Holy Face, .... 117 Promises of Our Lord Jesus Christ in favor of all who Honor

Devotion to the Holy Face of Our Lord, . . . .132

Contents.

1»AGE

Pious Reflections upon the Holy Face, 134

Little Scapular of the Holy Face, 142

Little Chaplet of the Holy Face, 143

An Act of Resignation for the Sick, 145

A Collection of Prayers and Exercises, . . . . .146

Litany of the Holy Face, 162

Act of Reparation for Blasphemy and Irreverence, . .167 An Offering of the Infinite Merits of Our Lord Jesus Christ, 169 A Hundred Offerings of our Lord Jesus Christ to His Eternal

Father, 172

The Sacred Humanity of Jesus, 185

An Offering to the Eternal Father, 189

A Little Exercise in Honor of the Five Wounds, . . .194

A Prayer for the Church, 196

Devotions in Honor of the Holy Infant Jesus, . . .198

Gospel of the Holy Name of Jesus, 202

Prayers in Honor of the Maternity of the Blessed Virgin

Mary, 205

Sister Saint-Pierre's Prayer to the Queen of Carmel, . . 209

Our Lady of La Salette, . 210

Forty Days' Prayer for the Needs of the Church and State, . 213 Salutation to the Holy Veil of St. Veronica, .... 214 Canticles in Honor of the Holy Face, . . . . .215

Devout Address to the Sacred Face, 227

Preface

HE following work is a translation of the brief Life of Sister Saint-Pierre which was published by the Rev. Father Janvier at Tours in 1882 with the approbation of his archbishop. Her own account of her experiences, and remarkable manifestations of the divine favor, has been already given to the public by the instrumentality of the Carmelite Nuns of New Orleans.* This Life, collated and completed by means of her letters and the annals of her monastery, was published by the Rev. P. Janvier, Dean

* Life of Sister Saint-Pierre, a Carmelite of Tours. Written by herself. Baltimore: John Murphy & Co. 1884. 9 of the Metropolitan Church of Tours and Director of the Priests of the Holy Face. It bears the imprimatur of the Archbishop of Tours ; and the English translation is approved by the Archbishops of Baltimore and New Orleans, and by other prelates.

The present work by the devoted Father Janvier is, as he explains in his preface, an attempt to give the principal facts in the life of the saintly Carmelite, with an account of the Work of Reparation to which the Confraternity of the Holy Face is consecrated. We think it will be read by pious Catholics with much edification and profit. His Grace of Baltimore tells us that " her Life is calculated to promote piety and edification not only in cloistered institutions, but also in the ranks of the secular life."

The Archbishop of New Orleans warmly approves and recommends it, and declares "that lie will be glad to see it rapidly diffused amoDg the faithful, who will find it a treasure of edification and instruction calculated to inspire them with devotion to the Holy Face." The question of the virtues of Sister Saint- Pierre has not been raised at Rome, and the Holy See has thus far decided nothing in regard to the supernatural character of the revelations which she received. But, with the approbation of the Supreme Pontiff, the Confraternity of the Holy Face has been established, and there can be no reason to doubt the many miracles wrought through the instrumentality of M. Dupont, the Holy Man of Tours. The Confraternity of the- Holy Face was established at St. Dizier in 1847, and at Tours in 1876, where now there is an association of priests especially devoted to its interests. It has been enriched by indulgences granted by

Pius IX. of blessed memory, and Leo XIII. gloriously reigning.

The brief of Leo XIII. dated December 9, 1884, recognizes the confraternity at Tours as legitimately established, and, " in order that it may daily increase, opens the treasures of the Church to its members who shall perform the devotions recommended by the rule." These indulgences are also applicable to the souls in Purgatory. Indulgences, both plenary and partial, had been accorded by His Holiness Pius IX. in 1847, 1848, and 1876.

With this high sanction the confraternity has been erected in the United States.

This work, w T hich now we recommend to the devout lovers of Jesus Christ, will fully, though briefly, explain the end of the devotion to the Holy Face of our Lord. By exciting in our souls a stronger personal love to our Redeemer it will lead us to a life more in union with Him. His blessed Face, which represents to us not only all the sorrows which He endured for our salvation, but also all the sweetness of His Sacred Heart, will be before us to attract us more powerfully day by day. It will wean us from sin, from the love of the world, and even from our own foolish pride. Then, with true loyalty, we will be able to make reparation to Him by deeds and words which love prompts and sanctifies. If there be a blessed work on earth, it is that of reparation. If there be an affection which can have complete power over the heart and intelligence, it is the love of our dearest Lord and Saviour. We are convinced that the devotion to the Holy Face will be the means of sanctifying many souls, and that it is especially suitable to the needs of our day. The great Master and Teacher of holiness will accomplish much in us, if we will only seek to live in His sight and obey the motions of His grace. May Pie, of His infinite mercy, deign to show us the light of His countenance, and to look with love and blessing upon our feeble efforts to extend His reign in the hearts of men !

T. S. P.

New York, April 12, 1885.

author's preface.

[HIS little book has long been earnestly desired. Friends of the Carmelites and readers of the Life of Sister Saint-Pierre, written by herself, have asked an abridgment of it which should be the counterpart of our notice on M. Dupont and the Work of the Holy Face. In responding to this desire we have neglected nothing which could render this pious history interesting and popular, and at the same time make it serve as a means of propagating the Holy Work of Reparation. In this we believe we are obeying the orders of our Lord transmitted

16 Authors Preface.

to his servant. " The Lord," says she, " asks of France a Work of Reparation which will be for her the rainbow of mercy. Ah ! if it were extended to all the dioceses, all the cities, I would be without uneasiness, for God is faithful to his promises. ... I have always said, and I still repeat it : it is this which is to disarm the justice of God and sa/oe France. Happy if they know how to profit by this means of salvation ! "

A pious and eloquent layman recently said : " The social edifice is falling into ruins. Humanly s]3eaking, nothing can sustain it. Perhaps you rely on God ? On God ! — as individuals, granted ; but as a nation? Has not France driven him from her government, her laws, her morals ? On God ! when everywhere his Name is blasphemed ? On God ! when his day is profaned and his Church attacked? All that is happening to us,

Author's Preface. 17

is it not the expression of his just anger ? Is it not precisely this anger that is first to be appeased ? In truth, this accomplished, salvation becomes possible ; 'for if God is for us who shall be against us f ' Now, the sure means of softening his anger, and consequently the great means of salvation — the one which God himself, before reducing us to extremities, has deigned to recommend — is Reparation." *

O you who love the Church and France, read, and from the teachings of the pious Carmelite of Tours learn in what consists this Reparation, and, in acting upon it, what you have to do. P. Janvier.

Festival op the Finding op the Holt Cross, May 3, 1882.

* Allocution of General Foloppe, November 12, 1881.

Sister Saint-Pierre.

Chapter I. Her Youth

jjT is to Catholic Brittany, strong in faith and great in heroic virtues, that we are indebted for having given us Marie de Saint-Pierre. She was born at Rennes on the 4th of October, 1816. At her baptism she was given the same patrons as her father and mother — St. Peter, Prince of the Apostles, and St. Francis of Assisium : Frangoise-Perrine being derivatives of these names. Her father, Pierre Elnere, was a locksmith by profession. He married Frangoise Portier, who bore him twelve children. This couple were fervent Christians. The father daily assisted at Mass, every evening visited the Blessed Sacrament, and during the day still found time to pray. He early taught his little daughter the practice of the Way of the Cross, and the mother instilled in her a tender devotion to the Blessed Virgin. Little Perrine was often sick and had a disposition difficult to manage. But, thanks to the guidance of her pious parents, she early learned to govern it and to overcome her faults. From childhood she had a deep abhorrence of sin, and bitterly reproached herself for the slightest imperfections. Her eldest sister, finding her one day in tears, asked her the cause of them. "I weep for my sins," she artlessly answered.

Another day a poor blind man, miserably dressed, passed before the house. He had lost his way, and paused at the corner of the street, waiting for some charitable hand to set him right. A secret instinct warned the child that here was an occasion to curb her pride and self-love. Suddenly darting out, she took his arm, and, giving him her hand, she led him whither he wished to go. Whenever anything disagreeable happened to her she checked her impatience, saying : " My God ? I offer thee this in expiation for my sins." She had such a dread of evil that, having at the age of eight years an uneasiness respecting a little story-book that had been loaned to her, she carried it to her parish priest and asked his advice. When she learned from him that, without being bad, it was a frivolous book, she immediately returned it without having read the first page. The remembrance of the sufferings of our Lord deeply affected her. She thought her sins the cause of his sorrows and pains ; confused and contrite, she would say : " O my Saviour! didst thou see even then, during your Passion, that I would one day be converted and belong entirely to thee?" She often made the Way of the Cross, kissing the earth at each Station. But her chief attraction was mental prayer. At first, not knowing the method, she recited her prayers with great attention, waiting till God should make known to her this holy exercise. She had not long to wait. When she was but ten years old she heard a sermon on the subject which shed a bright light on her mind and heart, and soon made her proficient in this science of the saints.

At twelve years of age she lost her mother. Like St. Teresa at the same age and under similar circumstances, she ran in her wild grief to Mary, threw herself at her feet, and implored her to be a mother to her in the place of the one that had been taken from her. The Queen of Heaven adopted, in fact, this innocent soul, and gave her through all her life sensible proofs of her maternal care. As her father was burdened with a large family, he confided her to the care of two aunts, who were persons of great piety. They kept a large store for the sale of seamstresses' work, and had a number of young women in their employ. There Perrine made new progress in virtue, was a model to her companions, and even to several of them became a preceptress of the Interior Life, striving to make them love and practise mental prayer, in order to be more united to God. She seized every opportunity of devoting herself to works of mercy, such as succoring the poor and visiting and assisting the dying. ISTear to Mr. Elnere's house a poor family came to live, consisting of three members — the father (a day-laborer), his blind wife, and a little boy four or five years old. The young girl looked upon them as the image of the Holy Family of Bethlehem. She conceived for them a great affection, and 6pared no care to relieve their poverty ; she often visited them, instructed them in their religion, made them approach the Sacraments, and, when there was any disturbance, restored peace in the household. Soon after she devoted herself to nursing a poor young woman, who died in her arms. Receiving her last sigh, she hesitated not with her own hands to prepare her for burial, notwithstanding the fear she had of death, and to which she had never before been in such close proximity.

For a moment, however, this soul so pure was on the point of being seduced by the frivolities of the world. She at first relaxed her fervor and had the misfortune to make a few concessions to vanity. God, in love and mercy, punished her. Pressed by remorse, and having, as a member of the confraternity, to prepare herself for a festival of the Blessed Yirgin, she undertook to make a good and serious retreat. She then felt the interior workings of grace, and came forth from these exercises completely changed, resolved more than ever to live for God alone. The desire for a religious life which she had already experienced developed itself strongly in her heart. It was the sole object of her thoughts, of her burning desires. For this end she imposed fasts on herself and made pilgrimages in honor of the Blessed Virgin and St. Joseph. She also addressed herself to St. Martin, the illustrious Bishop of Tours, for whom she had a great devotion, supplicating him to receive her as a religious in his diocese, though' she did not then know that any Carmelites were there.

Still she was agitated by perplexities. Her confessor, who was a man of God, wished to test her vocation. For five years he made her undergo numerous and painful humiliations. At the end of this time she was inspired to make a pilgrimage to a celebrated chapel of the Holy Virgin in the vicinity of Eennes — Our Lady of La Peiniere. There she clearly perceived that God called her to serve him by the practice of religious vows. All her yearnings drew her towards Carmel, while her confessor appeared desirous she should enter the order of the Hospital Sisters. But as she was returning from her pilgrimage our Lord, after Holy Communion, made her interiorly hear these words : " My daughter, I love you too much to abandon you longer to your perplexities. You will not he a Hospitaliere, hut a Carmelite" The interior voice repeated this several times, "You will he a Carmelite " / and she believed the last time was added, " Carmelite at Tours" In the meantime her confessor, without informing her of the fact, had proposed her as an applicant. Therefore what was her astonishment and joy when she heard him say : " My daughter, you are received among the Carmelites " ! She left Rennes on the 11th of November, 1839, under the auspices of St. Martin, whom she had not uselessly invoked. Her virtuous father accompanied and presented her himself. She was then twenty-three years of age.

CHAPTER IL

HER MISSION.

JN the Carmelite convent Perrine gratefully felt she was in her proper place. The fire of divine love filled her soul. From the first her companions recognized in her a solid judgment united with a cheerful, equable disposition ; she was reserved and very discreet ; she shunned all self-seeking and singularity; her modesty, mortification, and obedience were most exemplary. The candor and tranquillity of her face mirrored the innocence and serenity of her soul. A sweet simplicity characterized this elevated nature, as may be judged by the following trait.

On the day of her arrival, during the hour of recreation, she was invited to sing. Without waiting to be urged, she at once began to sing a canticle which, she says, "I had sung in advance while awaiting the fortunate day of my entrance into Carmel ; it commences with these words : ' Blessed be God, I am in a refuge.' . . . They were composed of some fifteen stanzas, and 1 sang them in so joyous a manner that no one thought of interrupting me." The new-comer did not seem disposed to leave one stanza unsung, when suddenly the Mother-Prioress, at first absent, came in. Finding one singing and the others attentively listening, she judged it a fitting opportunity for giving the new postulant her first trial. " Indeed, you have been in a hurry," said she to the latter, "to show off your little talent ! " An embarrassing silence followed, which was broken only when the Mother-Prioress turned to the singer and said : " Let us see if you know any more." "Oh! yes, Reverend Mother,"

she answered; "I have kept the best for you." And without betraying the least annoyance or ill-nature, she began anew. They knew then that the little girl from Brittany, by virtue and temperament, was not one ready to take offence or be easily depressed ; that she possessed the cheerfulness which St. Teresa held as one of the proofs of a vocation to Carmel.

Her first interior attraction was a tender devotion to the Divine Infancy of Jesus. " I looked on myself," she says, " as a little servant of the Holy Family, and consecrated myself to them in that capacity." She mentions having still another ambition, w T hich, with a charming candor, she thus explains : " The Reverend Mothers were making their annual retreat, and during that time the postulants and novices took their recreation in the novitiate. One evening during recreation, when we were all collected before a picture of the Holy Family, I proposed to make a little Bethlehem for the Holy

Family, each of us to especially consecrate ourselves to serve it in the capacity of that beast of burden which should fall to her lot ; for instance, one would represent the ass, another the ox, and so on. The proposal was unanimously adopted.*' The lots were drawn, and, to her great satisfaction, she was chosen to represent the ass of the Infant Jesus. " Thus," she says, "I was his ass in prayer, striving to warm him by my love ; and his little servant in my actions, imagining myself in the house of Nazareth, and performing as if for the Holy Family all the daily duties of my state of life."

She was inspired to honor the Infant Jesus each day of the month by meditating, one after another, 'on the different mysteries of this period of his life. Thus the thoughts of the Divine Child followed her in all her actions, and rendered every occupation easy and agreeable.

On the 8th of June, 1841, she made her profession. To the names which she had borne since her novitiate, and which placed her under the protection of the Queen of Angels and the Chief of the Apostles, her devotion for the Holy Family suggested an additional title. Henceforth Perrine Elnere will be known as Sister Marie de Saint-Pierre of the Holy Family.

The Prioress of the Carmelites of Tours at this time was Mother Marie of the Incarnation, a religious as eminent fa' her prudence as for her exalted virtues. She at once employed the newly-professed in different manual labors, and afterwards gave her the office of portress. This office, so contrary to her natural inclinations, was the means Providence used to elevate her to the highest degree of perfection. The pious Sister dreaded its duties, fearing she would not be able to unite with them the spirit of recollection which was so dear to her. Respectfully she made known to the Reverend Mother- Prioress her distaste and fears ; notwithstanding which the Mother-Prioress retained her in this employment, and she kept it all her life. This disposition was providential; for thus the humble daughter of the cloister in the performance of her duties frequently found herself in relation with pious secular persons who later on were not slow to aid her in her Work of the Reparation.

This mission, for which, during the four years she had been in the convent, grace was secretly preparing her, was to be conferred on her by our Lord himself. It was the 26th of August, 1843, the day after the Feast of Saint Louis, King of Prance ; in the evening the Sister was meditating at the foot of the cross, when the Saviour said to her:

"I have heard your sighs; I have seen the desire you have to glorify me. My Name is everywhere blasphemed ; even the children blaspheme! This frightful sin more deeply than all others wounds my Divine Heart / by blasphemy the sinner scorns me to my face, openly attaclcs me, annihilates my Redemption, and pronounces his own condemnation and judgment. Blasphemy is an impoisoned arrow which wounds my Heart continually. 1 will give you a Golden Arrow, that with the delicious wounds of love you may heal the wounds of malice which sinners give me" And lie dictated to her the following formula: "May the most sacred, most adorable, most incomprehensible, and most ineffable Name of God be praised, blessed, loved, adored, and glorified in heaven, on earth, and in hell, by all the creatures of God, and by the Sacred Heart of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar. Amen."

Such was the Golden Arrow that the Lord gave to his servant, assuring her that every time she repeated this formula of praise she would wound his Heart with a wound of love. "Be watchful of this favor," said he to her ; u I shall ask of you an account of it." At that moment it seemed she beheld issuing from the Sacred Heart of Jesus, wounded by this arrow, torrents of graces for the conversion of sinners, which inspired her .with confidence to say : " My Lord, dost thou then give me charge of blasphemers ? " She did not fail to make known all this to the Mother-Prioress, who, being as prudent as she was experienced, wished to prove and assure herself it was not an illusion. She consulted pious and learned ecclesiastics, and closely watched the conduct of the Sister. Far from encouraging her in this extraordinary way, she endeavored to turn her from it. She even forbade her to recite certain prayers which had been recommended. But several incidents which she could not but look upon as miraculous — among them her own cure, obtained by the prayers of the Sister in accordance with the order of our Lord, and in the manner he himself willed — decided her to relax her severity towards her and to permit her at least to say the prayers of Separation.

Our Lord continued to reiterate his orders to his servant. The poor Sister would sometimes exclaim : " Ah ! if the Divine Master could suffer bitterness, he would be sorrowful unto death on beholding men, instead of making up for their insufficiency by uniting themselves to him and thus glorifying our Heavenly Father, continually blaspheming his holy Name and united with Lucifer and his reprobates. How satisfied, on the contrary, he would feel to see at least a few faithful and grateful children joined to him to love and bless the Name of that Father whom he so tenderly loves ! "

This view of the question brought her to make a heroic act of entire abandonment. "I feel myself," she says, "interiorly urged to make to God the sacrifice of my whole being and all the merits which I can acquire." But she submissively awaited the consent of her Prioress.

On the festival of St. John of the

Cross, one of the patrons of Carmel, our Lord made Ids spouse hear these momentous words : " Till now I have only shown you in part the designs of my Heart, but to-day I wish to show you them in their entirety. The earth is covered with crimes. The violation of the first three Commandments of God has irritated my Father y the holy Name of God blasphemed, and the holy day of the Lord profaned, fill the measure of iniquities. These sins have mounted to the throne of God and provoked his wrath, which will soon burst forth if his justice is not appeased. At no time have these crimes ascended so high. 1 desire, with an ardent desire, that there be formed an association, well approved and organized, to honor the Name of my Father" Here the object of the Work of Reparation is clearly indicated : it is to repair the violation of the first three precepts of the Decalogue, which include all crimes that have a special character of hostility against God and the profanation of the Lord's day.

Amazed and confused, the humble .daughter of Carmel hesitated. But our Lord said to her : " Take good care ; for if, wanting in simplicity, you put obstacles to my designs, you will be responsible for the salvation of many souls ; if, on the contrary, you are faithful, they will embellish your crown." In conclusion lie said : " And to wiiom should I address myself, if not to a Carmelite, whose very vocation enjoins on her the duty of unceasingly glorifying my Name?*'

Thirteen days after, on the eve of the Immaculate Conception (7th of December), the Blessed Saviour returned to the same subject, and this time the culpable nation is named. He made the Sister see how greatly he was incensed against France on account of her blasphemies. " He lias declared to me," she says, " that he cannot longer dwell in this France, which, like a viper, tears the bowels of his mercy. He still patiently bears the contempt shown himself, but the outrages committed against his Eternal Father provoke his wrath. France has sucked unto blood the paps of his mercy ; this is why justice will now take the place of mercy, and his wrath burst forth with greater fury for having been longer delayed. Filled with terror, I tremblingly said : ' My Lord, permit me to ask if this Reparation which thou desirest be made, wilt thou yet pardon France ? ' He answered me: 4 I will pardon her once more; but, mark well, once. As this crime of blasphemy extends over the whole kingdom, and as it is public, so also must the Reparation be public and extend to all her cities. Woe to those who will not make this Reparation!'"

What Frenchman's heart could hear unmoved warnings so severe, so solemn ? The reproach, alas ! is but too well merited, for the crime is evident and incontestable. Everywhere among us do we hear incessantly uttered with impunity that blasphemy designated by our Lord to his servant as a frightful sin. France is pronounced the most guilty of all nations, because she is the most highly favored by Heaven, the most loved of Christ, and the eldest daughter of the Church. Having become in Europe the principal centre of the spirit of revolur tion by the practical atheism she professes in her laws and government, she exerts in regard to blasphemy a kind of universal proselytism, as baneful to individuals as it is to society. Is it astonishing, then, that she is especially threatened with the strokes of Divine Justice? After receiving this communication Sister Marie de Saint-Pierre, as we learn from one of the other Carmelites, came from the choir in a state difficult to describe. She was deathly pale and bathed in tears ; her countenance, usually so cheerful, bore an impress of suffering which it long retained. She appeared as if crushed, annihilated beneath the weight of divine wrath.

In the midst of her anguish a great consolation was vouchsafed her. She learned that the Sovereign Pontiff, Gregory XVI., had, by a brief dated August 8, 1843, permitted the establishment of pious Confraternities for the Extirpation of Blasphemy. "I no longer doubted," she says, "that the work entrusted to me came from God. What particularly struck me and awakened my admiration was the following happy coincidence in this manifestation of Divine Providence : On the 8th of August the Sovereign Pontiff issued Ms brief at Rome, and on the 26th of the same month, and in the same year, the day after the festival of Saint Louis, our Lord revealed to an obscure little Carmelite this great Work in Reparation for blasphemy with which he wished to enrich France as a means of salvation, to snatch her from the hands of his offended and irritated justice."