saint claude de la colombiere booklet

8/14/2019 Saint Claude de La Colombiere Booklet

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SAINT CLAUDE DE LACOLOMBIERE

1641-1682by SCTJM

At whatever the price, it is necessary for God to be happy

Feast Day: February 15

Biography... Act of Confidence...Homily of Canonization....

John Paul IIs Address to Jesuits... Article on the Saints life...

Oh, Hearts, truly worthy of possessing all the hearts of angels and of men! You are from now the rule of my conduct, and in all occasions Iwill try to be inspired in your sentiments. I want my heart to be fromnow on inspired in Jesus and Mary, that the Hearts of Jesus and Mary be in mine so that they can communicate to me their movements, and for my heart not to move, but according to the impressions received from them.
http://www.piercedhearts.org/theology_heart/life_saints/claude_colombiere.htm#biographyhttp://www.piercedhearts.org/theology_heart/life_saints/claude_colombiere.htm#Act_of_Confidence_in_God__http://www.piercedhearts.org/theology_heart/life_saints/claude_colombiere.htm#Homily_http://www.piercedhearts.org/theology_heart/life_saints/claude_colombiere.htm#John_Paul_IIs_Addresshttp://www.piercedhearts.org/theology_heart/life_saints/claude_colombiere.htm#Articlehttp://www.piercedhearts.org/theology_heart/life_saints/claude_colombiere.htm#biographyhttp://www.piercedhearts.org/theology_heart/life_saints/claude_colombiere.htm#Act_of_Confidence_in_God__http://www.piercedhearts.org/theology_heart/life_saints/claude_colombiere.htm#Homily_http://www.piercedhearts.org/theology_heart/life_saints/claude_colombiere.htm#John_Paul_IIs_Addresshttp://www.piercedhearts.org/theology_heart/life_saints/claude_colombiere.htm#Article


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Introduction

The Jesuit Priest St. Claude de la Colombire was the first to believe inthe mystical revelations of the Sacred Heart given to St. MargaretMary in Paray le Monial Convent, France. Thanks to his support, St.Margaret Marys superior also believed, and propagation of thedevotion to the Sacred heart was started.

St. Claude not only believed, but dedicated his life to propagate thedevotion, always spiritually united to St. Margaret Mary and trustingher discernment.

He was a holy and wise priest who knew how to discern well theauthentic divine intervention in St. Margaret Marys soul. Even thoughat this time, many people, theologians and religious thought of her tobe mad and despised her.

Glory for Our God

A contemporary artist of St. Claudes time painted a picture of himwhen he was about 35 - 41 years old: his face was long, his eyes weresmall and brilliant, he had a very penetrating gaze, wide forehead, a

well proportioned mouth, and a pointed chin. It is mentioned that whenClaude entered the Company of Jesus he was robust, joyful incharacter, with elevated ideas, prudent and very pleasing. Whatreligious life did was fully develop his natural gifts.

In his natural intelligence he was accustomed to sincere andpenetrating judgments. Claude loved the arts and maintainedcorrespondence with Oliverio Patru, member of the French Academy of Arts, who praised very much his writings. All these natural gifts wouldhave been worth little in the work of souls if he had not united them tothe interior spirit of a religious thirsting for the glory of God.

The fountain of his interior life was union with God in prayer, fullygiving himself. He habitually reached the way of referring everythingto God. Human respect and worldly motives did not exist for him. Thisextraordinary detachment of the world was his principal characteristic.

His birth and life

St. Claude was born in 1641 in Saint-Symphorien dOzon, near Lyon.His family was well-known, pious and had a good social status. We


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have no special data about his life before entering the Jesuit School of Lyon. Even though religious life was not appealing to him, he managedto conquer this and was immediately admitted to the Company of

Jesus.

He did his novitiate in Avignon, and after two years transferred to theschool of that city to complete his philosophical studies. Upon finishinghis studies he was sent to teach grammar and humanities from 1661-1666. Since 1659, the city of Avignon had experienced terribleconflicts between the nobility and the people. In 1662, the famousencounter between the Pontifical Guards and the group of FrenchAmbassadors took place. Because of this incident Louis XIV sent histroops and occupied Avignon which belonged to Papal territories. This,however, did not interfere with his school work. The Calvinistsincreased presence only lead to more zeal from the Jesuits, who thenconsecrated themselves even more to their apostolic ministry in thecity and the nearby districts.

When peace was established in Avignon the canonization of St. Francisde Sales was celebrated. A great liturgical celebration took place in theoldest convent of the Visitation Order. At this great occasion St. Claudedemonstrated for the first time his gifts as a preacher. Although hewas not a priest yet, he was one of those elected to preach the eulogyof the Holy Bishop in the convent Church.

The text he chose was: From strength softness has gushed forth(Judges 14:14). His sermon was magnificent. In the meantime Claudessuperiors decided to send him to finish his theological studies in Paris,the center of the French intellects. In Paris he was given the task andhonor of watching over the education of two children of the famousColberts. What probably happened was that Colbert discovered theintellectual capability of Claude and chose him for this important task,even though Colbert was not a personal friend of the Jesuits.

The relations between the saint and this distinguished familyterminated poorly. A humorous phrase used by Claude in one of hiswritings was made known to the minister, who felt offended by it andasked the superiors of the Company of Jesus to remove him and sendhim back to his province. This did not occur until 1670.

Proclamation of the Word of God and Exaltation of the Sacred

Heart

In 1673, the young priest was named preacher of the Avignon School.His sermons, on which he worked intensely, were real models because


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of the solid doctrine and the beauty of the language. The saint seemedto have preached the same sermons in England. He preached in thechapel of the Duchess of York, Maria de Modena, who became Queenwhen Jacob II inherited the throne. She is responsible for thepublication of these sermons.

During his stay in Paris the saint studied Jansenism with all its half truths and slander. He combated this heresy from the pulpit, animatedby the love of the Sacred Heart and the greatest devotion against

Jansenism. At the end of 1674, Father La Chaize, rector of the saintreceived the order from the general of the Company of Jesus to admithim to solemn profession after a month of Spiritual Exercises. Heconsecrated himself to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

The saint added to the solemn vows of profession the vow of absolutefidelity to the rules of the Company of Jesus down to the smallestdetails. According to his diary, he had lived for some time this perfectfidelity and wanted to consecrate his conduct under a vow in order tomake it more lasting. At 33 years of age, the same age when Christdied, he was inspired with great desire to die completely to this worldand to self. He wrote in his diary: I believe, Lord, it is time for me tolive in You, and only for You, at my age You died for me in particular.

Chosen by and for the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Two months after his solemn profession in February 1675, Claude wasnamed Superior of the Paray-le-Monial School. It was an exceptionalhonor to entrust the government of a house to a recently ordainedpriest; but on the other hand, the small community of Paray consistedof only 4 or 5 priests, an insignificant amount for the great gifts Claudehad.

This was all a part of the designs of God so that he may contact a soulneeding his help: Margaret Mary Alacoque. This religious was in atroubled period of her life with much suffering due to the extraordinaryrevelations given by the Sacred Heart of Jesus which became clearerand more intimate every day.

Following the indications of her superior, Mother Saumaise, MargaretMary had confided her experience to a learned priest who lackedknowledge on mysticism. The priest thought that Margaret Mary was avictim of the devils deception. This confused St. Margaret Mary evenmore.


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Moved by Margarets prayer, God sent her his faithful servant andperfect friend, Claude de la Colombire.

Father La Colombire one day went to preach to the Visitationcommunity. While he was speaking, Margaret wrote, I heard in myheart these words: He is the one I sent you. Since the first time thatMargaret went to confession with Father La Colombire, he treated heras if he was aware of all that was occurring. The saint felt atremendous repugnance to opening her heart and did not do so eventhough she was convinced Gods will was that she confess with Fr. LaColombire. In the following confession, Father La Colombire told herhe was very happy to know that he was the motive behind her self-denial. Margaret Mary said: Immediately, without hurting me, hediscovered the good and the bad in my heart. It consoled me verymuch and he exhorted me not to be afraid of Gods ways as long as Iremain obedient to my superiors, renewing my offering totally to God,so He can treat me as He pleases. Father Claude showed me toappreciate Gods gifts and to receive them with faith and humility.

This was the great service of Father Claude de la Colombire toMargaret Mary. On the other hand, the saint worked tirelessly,promoting the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. He saw in thisdevotion the greatest remedy against Jansenism.

Testimony before persecution

The saint did not spent much time in Paray. His following occupationwas very different. By recommendation of Father La Chaize, who wasconfessor of Louis XIV, his superiors sent him to London as preacher toMaria Beatriz d Este, Duchess of York. The saint preached in Englandwith his example and words. Love of the Sacred Heart was his favoritetheme. The process of beatification spoke of his apostolate in Englandand the numerous Protestants he converted. The position of Catholicsin this country was very difficult because of the hostility against them.A movement was formed in court to exclude the Duke of York from thesuccession to the crown because he converted to Catholicism. He wassubstituted by the Prince of Orange.

The imprudence of Titus Oates and his followers invented a storyabout a conspiracy of the Papists, in which Father La Colombire wasincluded with the rest of the Catholics. The conspiracys object,

according to the slanderers, was to assassinate King Charles II and thedestruction of the Church of England. Claude was accused of exercising his priestly ministry and of converting many Protestants. He


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was imprisoned, and by intervention of Louis XIV his life was preventedfrom martyrdom.

The saint was simply taken into exile in England. The prison had takenan effect on his weak health. Upon his return to France in 1679, thesaint was terminally ill, even though at times he recovered a little andexercised his priestly ministry. A kidney disease left him restless. Hissuperiors sent him to Lyon and Paray thinking he would recover hishealth. During one of his visits to Paray, Margaret Mary told him thathe will die in this city.

Father Claude arrived at Paray in April 1681, as recommended by thedoctors, to recover his health. During this time there werecommunications between Father Claude and Sister Margaret Mary,sharing the ardor of their souls and apostolic projects in favor of theSacred Heart.

Father Claudes illness worsened. He though of moving somewherewith a different climate, but St. Margaret Mary advised him that heshould stay in Paray if it did not cause a disobedience. She sent himthis message: He has told me that He wants the sacrifice of your lifehere. Such an affirmation eliminated all plans to travel.

Death and glory

After giving a marvelous example of humility and patience, Claude deLa Colombire gave his soul to God in the afternoon of February 15th,1682. The following day, St. Margaret Mary received an announcementfrom heaven that Claude was already in the glory of God and did notneed any prayers.

A very devout person wrote the following on Claude de La Colombire:May your affliction cease. Invoke him. Dont fear; he has more powernow than ever before to help us.

Father La Colombire was beatified in 1929 and Pope John Paul IIdeclared him a saint in 1992. The Universal Church celebrates his feastday on February 15th.

Act of Confidence in God Saint Claude de la Colombire


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My God, Im so persuaded that You watch overall who hope in You and nothing can be lackingto those who await from You all things, that Ihave determined to live from now on withoutany concern, letting go and giving You all of myanxieties. I will sleep and rest in peace because

You, O Lord, and only You, have secured myhope.

Men can deprive me of possessions andreputation; illnesses can take away my strengthand means to serve You; I myself can lose Yourgrace because of sin; but I will not lose my hope;I will conserve it until the last instant of my lifeand all the efforts from demons trying to take it

away from me will be useless. I will sleep and rest in peace.

May others expect happiness in their richness and talents; some maylean on the innocence of their lives, or the rigor of their penitence, orabove all on the amount of their good works, or the fervor of theirprayers. As for myself Lord, all my confidence is my confidence itself.Because You Lord, only You have secured my hope.

No one has been deceived by this confidence. No one who has waitedin the Lord has been frustrated in their confidence.

herefore, I am sure that I will be eternally happy because I firmly hopeto be; and because You, Oh, My God, are in Whom I expect all. In You Ihope Lord, and never will I be confused.

I know very well . . . too well that I am fragile and inconstant, I knowwell the power of temptations against the most firm virtue; I have seen

thestars fall from heaven and columns from the firmament; but noneof this can frighten me. As long as I maintain firm my hope, I will beconserved from all calamities; and I am sure to hope always, because Ihope the same in this unchanging hope.

In conclusion, I am sure that I cannot hope in excess in You and that Iwill receive all that I would have hoped for in You. Therefore, I know

You will sustain me on the most rapid and slippery slopes, that You willstrengthen me against the assaults and make my weakness triumphover the most tremendous enemies.


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hope You will always love me and I will love you without interruption;to take once and for all my hope as far as it can reach. I hope in Youand only in You! Oh, My Creator! In time and for all eternity.

Amen.

Homily of the Canonization Mass for Saint Claude LaColombiereH.H. John Paul II, May 31, 1992

1. So that you love for me may live in them (Jn 17:26).

Christ prays in the Upper Room. He prays on the evening in which heinstituted the Eucharist. He prays for the Apostles and for all thosewho will believe through their word (Jn 17:20) down the generationsand centuries. He is asking the Father that all may be one, as theFather is in the Son and the Son is in the Father: That they may beone in us (Jn 17:21).

To be one: the unity of Divinity and the unity of communion of thePersonsthe unity of the Father in the Son and of the Son with theFather in the Holy Spirit. Unity through Love.

Christ prays for love: So that your love for me may live in them (Jn17:26).

Christ reveals the secret of his Heart. Precisely this human Heart of Gods Son is an ineffable sanctuary which contains all the treasures of love: it is a Heart overflowing with goodness and love (Litany of the

Sacred heart of Jesus).

2. The prayer offered by Christ in the Upper Room continues in theChurch: from century to century, from generation to generation, it is aperennial source of life and holiness (ibid.). But there are particularmoments in history, specially chosen places and persons who almostdiscover and reveal anew this perennial and undying truth about love.

The man whom the Church today proclaims a saintBlessed Claude La

Colombiereis certainly one of these persons.

An intense spiritual movement enlivened the Church in France


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3. In France the 17th century has been called the great century of souls. It was a time of high human culture, of the development of theinstitutions of that prestigious European nation. But it was also a timeof cruel conflict and human poverty. The clergy and religious orderswere often decadent; as a result the people remained far from thelight of faith, the benefits of the spiritual life and of ecclesial

communion. However, after the Council of Trent, after founders suchas Francis de Sales, Berulle and Vincent de Paul, an intense spiritualmovement enlivened the Church in France. A great work of reformtook place: the priestly ministry was renewed, notably through theestablishment of seminaries; religious returned to the authenticity of their vocation, new foundations came into being; evangelization of thecountryside took on new vitality through parish missions; a floweringof mysticism was joined to theological reflection.

In the middle of this century lived Claude La Colombiere, who enteredthe Society of Jesus at a young age. He exercised his mission in Parisand in several provinces; he had a notable influence because of hisintellectual effort, and even more, because of the dynamism of theChristian life which he knew how to communicate.

4. A true companion of Saint Ignatius, Claude learned to master hisstrong sensitivity. He humbly maintained a sense of hiswretchedness so as to rely only on his hope in God and his trust ingrace. He resolutely took the way of holiness. He adhered with all hisbeing to the Constitutions and Rules of the Society, rejecting alltepidness. Fidelity and obedience were expressed, before God, by thedesire ... for trust, love, resignation and perfect sacrifice ( Retraite ,n. 28).

Fr. Claude forged his spirituality in the school of the Exercises. We stillhave his impressive journal. He dedicated himself first of all tomeditating a great deal on the life of Jesus (Ibid., n. 33).Contemplating Christ allowed him to live in familiarity with him so asto belong to him totally: I see that I absolutely must belong to him(ibid., n. 71). And if Claude dared to aim for this total fidelity, it was invirtue of his acute awareness of the power of grace which transformedhim. He attained the perfect freedom of one who gives himself unreservedly to the will of God: I have a free heart, he said (ibid., n.12): trials or sacrifices he accepted, thinking that God only expectsthese things of us out of friendship (ibid., n. 38). His whole taste forfriendship led him to respond to Gods friendship with a loving zealrenewed each day.


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Fr. La Colombiere was active in the apostolate with the conviction thathe was the instrument of Gods work: To do much for God, one mustbelong entirely to him (ibid., n. 37). Prayer, he also said, is the onlyway ... to have God united to us so that we may do something for hisglory (ibid., n. 52). In the apostolate fruits and success come lessfrom personal abilities than from fidelity to the divine will and

openness to his action.

Saint Claude spread devotion toSacred Heart

5. This pure-hearted and free religiouswas prepared to understand and topreach the message that the Heart of

Jesus was entrusting to Sr. MargaretMary Alacoque at the same time. Paray-le-Monial, in our eyes, would be the mostfruitful stage in Claude La Colombieresvery short journey. He came to this town,long rich for its tradition of religious life,to have a providential meeting with thehumble Visitandine engaged in constantdialogue with her divine Master, whopromised her the delights of [his] purelove. He found her to be a religious whoardently desired the all-pure cross( Memoire, n. 49) and who offered her penance and sorrows withouthesitation.

Fr. La Colombiere, with highly reliable discernment, straightawayauthenticated the mystical experience of this beloved disciple [of the]Sacred Heart (ibid., n. 54), with whom he had a beautiful spiritualkinship. He received from her the message which would have greatrepercussions: Behold the Heart which has so loved men that itspared nothing to exhaust and consume itself in testimony of its love( Retraites, n. 135). The Lord asked that a feast be established tohonour his Heart and that a reparation of honour be made to him inEucharistic communion. Margaret Mary passed on to the faithfulservant and perfect friend, whom she recognized in Fr. LaColombiere, the mission of establishing this devotion and of givingthis pleasure to my divine Heart (ibid.). Claude, in the years left tohim, interiorized these infinite riches. His spiritual life thendeveloped in the perspective of the reparation and infinite mercyso underscored at Paray. He gave himself completely to the SacredHeart ever burning with love. Even in trials he practiced


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forgetfulness of self in order to attain purity of love and to raise theworld to God. Sensing his own weakness, he gave himself over to thepower of grace: Accomplish your will in me, Lord.... It belongs to youto do everything, divine Heart of Jesus Christ (ibid., Offrande, n. 152).

6. The past three centuries allow us to evaluate the importance of themessage which was entrusted to Claude La Colombiere. In a period of contrast between the fervor of some and the indifference or impiety of many, here is a devotion centred on the humanity of Christ, on hispresence, on his love of mercy and on forgiveness. The call toreparation, characteristic of Paray-le-Monial, can be variouslyunderstood, but essentially it is a matter of sinners, which all humanbeings are, returning to the Lord, touched by his love, and offering amore intense fidelity in the future, a life aflame with charity. If there issolidarity in sin, there is also solidarity in salvation. The offering of each is made for the good of all. Following the example of Claude LaColombiere, the faithful understand that such a spiritual attitude canonly be the action of Christ in them, shown through Eucharisticcommunion: to receive in their heart the Heart of Christ and to beunited to the sacrifice which he alone can offer worthily to the Father.

Devotion to the Heart of Christ would be a source of balance andspiritual strengthening for Christian communities so often faced withincreasing unbelief over the coming centuries: an impersonalconception of God will spread; individuals, moving away from apersonal encounter with Christ and the sources of grace, will want tobe the sole masters of their history and to become a law untothemselves, to the point of being ruthless in pursuing their ownambitions. The message of Paray, accessible to the humble as well asto the great of this world, answers such aberrations by clarifying therelationship of the human person with God and with the world of thelight which comes from the heart of God: in conformity with theChurchs Tradition, it turns his gaze towards the cross of the worldsRedeemer, towards him whom they have pierced (Jn 19:37).

May Saint Claude inspire Church to live consecration toChrists Heart

7. We give thanks, again today, for the message entrusted to thesaints of Paray, which has never ceased to extend its radiance. At thebeginning of our century Pope Leo XIII hailed in the Sacred Heart of

Jesus a symbol and clear image of Jesus Christs infinite love, a lovewhich impels us to love one another (Encycl. Annum sacrum, 1900).Pius XI and Pius XII encouraged this devotion and saw in it a spiritualanswer to the difficulties which the faith and the Church were facing.


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Certainly, forms of expression and sensitivities develop, but theessential element remains. When one has discovered in Eucharistadoration and meditation the Heart of Jesus ever burning with love forhuman beings ( Retraites, n. 150), how could one let oneself beseduced by forms of meditation which turn in on the self withoutwelcoming the presence of the Lord? How could one be attracted by

the proliferation of conceptions of the sacred which only mask a tragicspiritual emptiness?

For evangelization today the Heart of Christ must be recognized as theheart of the Church: it is he who calls us to conversion, toreconciliation. It is he who leads pure hearts and those hungering for

justice along the way of the Beatitudes. It is he who achieves the warmcommunion of the members of the one Body. It is he who enables usto adhere to the Good News and to accept the promise of eternal life.It is he who sends us out on mission. The heart-to-heart with Jesusbroadens the human heart on a global scale.

May the canonization of Claude La Colombiere be for the whole Churchan appeal to live the consecration to the Heart of Christ, aconsecration which is a self-giving that allows the charity of Christ toinspire us, pardon us and lead us in his ardent desire to open the waysof truth and life to all our brothers and sisters!

8. Righteous Father, the world also does not know you but I know you,and they know that you sent me (Jn 17:25).

They: Claude La ColombiereMargaret Mary Alacoque. The Church.During the Easter season the Church relives the theophanies of herRedeemer and Lordthe Good Shepherd who lays down his life forthe sheep (cf. Jn 10:15).

And the Church looks to heaven together with Stephen the deacon, thefirst martyr stoned to death in Jerusalem. the Church looks to heavenas Stephen did at the moment of his death as a martyr.

Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at theright hand of God.... Lord Jesus, receive my spirit (Acts 7:56-59).

Amen!

John Paul IIs Greetings to French Pilgrims


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Dear friends,

Pilgrims of the dioceses of Autun, Chalon and Macon, who haveaccompanied your Bishop, Msgr. Raymond Seguy, I am happy to beable to briefly meet with you after the canonization of Claude LaColombiere. You have come to share in the entire Churchs joy overthe inclusion among the Saints of this son of your land, this greatwitness of the spiritual history of your country.

In welcoming you the precious memories of my pilgrimage to Paray-le-Monial return to mind. I am happy to greet among you therepresentatives a town with a long monastic and religious tradition,still alive and constantly renewed, with the particular lustre given it bythe Visitation nun Saint Marguerite-Marie and the Jesuit Saint Claude.

In the seventeenth century the Lord chose your town to bring forth anew source of merciful and infinitely generous love on whichgenerations of pilgrims would draw. The fecundity of grace attached tothe cult of the Sacred Heart is especially manifest in the developmentof pilgrimages to Paray over the past few years. The diocese and thedifferent communities present have helped bring many people toshare in the wealth of the message entrusted to the Saints of yourtown.

I am happy to know that Paray nourishes the spirituality of manypriests and religious and inspires the early formation of candidates tothe priesthood. The sessions which bring together young people andfamilies are a true motive of hope for the vitality of the Church in yourcountry and of pilgrims from other nations. You also contribute greatlyto sacred art so that our contemporaries can express the praise of Godand celebrate the treasures of his love more eloquently.

I encourage all who are engaged in daily pastoral life and in theorganization of pilgrimages and sessions: I have in mind mostparticularly the monastic communities, the priests of the diocese, the

Jesuit Fathers, the Community of Emmanuel, the faithful of the city andof the Saone-et-Loire district, as well as all those who are united withthem in this fervor. May Saint Claude La Colombiere and SaintMarguerite Marie sustain you with their intercession and obtain fromthe Lord that Paray-le-Monial radiate still more the spiritual hospitalityhe made of it.

In the joy of this feast-day I willingly call down on you Gods blessing.


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John Paul IIs Address to Jesuits,The Apostleship of Prayer and Other Pilgrims

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

1. I am happy to welcome you to thisspecial audience after yesterdayssolemn celebration in which I had the

joy of enrolling Blessed Claude laColombiere in the list of saints. Iaddress my affectionate greeting toall of you present, with a specialthought for the Bishopsaccompanying you and for the priestsof the Society of Jesus who have seenone of their confreres raised to theglory of the altars.

The decisive event which marked thelife and spirituality of Saint Claude La Colombiere was certainly hismeeting with Sister Margaret Mary Alacoque, which took place in theVisitation Monastery in Paray-le-Monial in February 1675. On theoccasion of a meditation which he gave the community, an interiorvoice suggested to the woman religious to turn to him in confidence:This is the one I am sending you. In face, from her first confession,Fr. Claude was aware of the authenticity of the mystical experience of the young Visitation Sister and Margaret Mary knew she was seeingthe fulfillment of the vision of the flaming heart of Jesus with two otherhearts which became lost in the divine heart: hers and that of thespiritual director who had been sent to her.

In her autobiography the great mystic then fully described the visionshe had on 15 June 1675 in which Jesus, showing her his Heart, said toher: Behold the Heart which has so loved men that it spared nothingto exhaust and consume itself in testimony of its love, and in place of gratitude receives ingratitude from the majority of them.... For thisreason Jesus himself asked that the first Friday after the octave of Corpus Christi be dedicated especially to honoring his Heart withparticipation in the Eucharist and with special prayers of reparation forthe offenses committed against the Sacrament of Love.

Not knowing how to do everything that was expected of her, SisterMargaret Mary hesitantly asked Jesus for some direction; this is whatshe wrote in her autobiography: He told me to turn to his servant


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whom he had sent me to fulfill this plan. Father Claude accepted themission and thus became a fervent apostle of devotion to the SacredHeart and of commitment to reparation.

2. As you know, Fr. Claudes stay in Paray-le-Monial was brief;however, he had perfectly understood that against the coldness of

Jansenism and the religious indifference of many Christians, and evenof consecrated persons, it was necessary to preach and help peoplefeel deeply the true motive behind creation and redemption: Love!Consequently he continued to be the tireless herald of that messagefor the rest of his life.

Today, too, Saint Claude La Colombiere, that master of enlightenedspirituality, teaches us that Jesus Christ alone leads to the true God,that love alonewhich the Bible symbolizes as the Heart, theexpression of Jesus whole Person and missionenables us topenetrate the mysteries of God, our Creator, Redeemer and Rewarder!

In fact, in the Heart of Jesus God shows that he wants to be understoodin his absolute desire to love, forgive and save; in the Heart of JesusGod teaches that the Church, in her ministry and Magisterium, mustalways be loving and sensitive, never aggressive or oppressive,although she must always condemn evil and correct error; in the Heartof Jesus God has us understand that it is necessary to share in his workof salvation through the apostolate of prayer and commitment toreparation.

Justly, therefore, the movement of the Apostleship of Prayer has thesethree ideals and goals: the proclamation of and witness to the infinitetreasures of the Heart of Jesus, who wants only to love his creaturesand be loved; the constant sense of Jesus true presence in theEucharist, maintaining a deep, lively Eucharistic devotion through

Mass, Communion, and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament; thecommitment to reparationincluding sacrifice and suffering, which Jesus himself expressed a desire for in his message to Margaret Mary. Thus Saint Claude La Colombiere once wrote to a person whom he wasdirecting: I do not recognize devotion unless there is mortification( Letters, n. 74).

Conversion, salvation and the sanctification of souls is the true contentof devotion to the Heart of Jesus and of the undying message of Saint

Claude La Colombiere.

3. With pleasure I greet all the French speaking pilgrims present; Iwould especially like to address the Superiors and Fathers of the


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Society of Jesus. With you I give thanks for the canonization of yourcompanion, Claude La Colombiere. You recognize in him a faithful sonof Saint Ignatius, a model and intercessor for the Jesuits of today. Hiswritings, which eloquently testify to his spiritual life, reveal hisprofound experience of the Exercises. He achieved an unlimited assentto the kingdom of God, he gave his consent to the person of Christ.

The sorrow caused him due to sin was equal to nothing but hisunshakable trust in the merciful forgiveness. In the image of the Son,he conformed his will to that of the Father, which he endlesslytranslated into prayer and preaching: Just as I cannot live withoutyou, make me never live but for you ( Sermon, 56).

May the intercession of Saint Claude sustain you in your very diverseministries on all continents, such as spiritual direction, preaching,education, theological research and instruction, the many forms of apostolate entrusted to you, and the mission ad gentes!

Naturally, the canonization of Claude La Colombiere leads me toemphasize the munus suavissimum which he himself received fromthe Lord, to spread and preach the mystery of his Sacred Heart. It isthe whole Society which continues to have this charge, as I myself hadthe joy of confirming for you at Paray-le-Monial, near the tomb of SaintClaude. There is a genuine kinship between Ignatian spirituality andthat of the Sacred Heart. Do not cease to show your brothers andsisters that near the Heart of Christ, the human heart learns torecognize the genuine, unique meaning of its life and destiny and tohave a filial love for God and love of neighbor ( Letter to Fr.Kolvenbach, 5 October 1986).

4. I am pleased now to greet the Spanish-speaking pilgrims present forthe solemn canonization of Claude La Colombiere, priest of the Societyof Jesus. The Church wants to present him as an apostle of devotion tothe Sacred Heart of Jesus. This devotion was spread beginning withFather Colombieres meeting with Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque inParay-le-Monial. In the Sacred Heart of Jesus is represented theinfinite, merciful love which God poured out on the world through hisdivine Son. May the new saint help all of us to be apostles of thisdevotion and witness to Christs love for mankind. Commending you tohis intercession, I impart to you and your families my ApostolicBlessing.

5. To the English-speaking pilgrims who have come for thecanonization of Claude La Colombiere I extend a cordial welcome. Iinvite you to learn from the life and teaching of the new saint the valueof personal and intense fellowship with our Lord Jesus Christ, the


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supreme object and revelation of the Fathers eternal Love. In theHeart of Jesus is revealed, in fact, all the richness of Gods plan to leadman to full maturity and full happiness in the vision of his glory and incommunion with the Blessed Trinity. Holiness, piety and apostoliccommitment in the Church are all essentially related to the strength of our faith in the Redeemer and our imitation of his compassion on the

multitudes (cf. Mt 9:36): Entrusting you and your families to theintercession of Saint Claude La Colombiere, I invoke upon you the giftsof peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

I now affectionately impart my Apostolic Blessing to everyone.

ARTICLE ON ST. CLAUDE LA COLOMBIERE

The beatification of Blessed Claude de La Colombiere cannot bewithout interest to English Catholics, more especially to Catholics inLondon. Anyone passing St. Jamess Palace may recall that for twoyears he lived there, in the last days of Charles II; therefore at thattime he must often have been seen, passing down Pall Mall or up St.

Jamess Street, a singular figure in such a gay world, tolerated becausehe was a Frenchman, protected because he was the official chaplain of

Mary of Modena, the wife of James, then Duke of York. But still moreshould his memory be dear to English Catholic hearts because it is tohim that we owe it that, even in those times of trouble, the first formalpetition for the establishment of the Feast of the Sacred Heart wassent to Rome from London. We may add another reason; unless we aremistaken Claude de La Colombiere is the last resident in England not amartyr who has been beatified. On that account we would claim him asone of ourselves, closely allied with our martyrs.

And yet, when we come to study his career, there is singularly little tobe said about him; indeed one may assert that he has beenremembered more because of his connection with the name of anotherthan on his own account. Had he never come across St. Margaret Maryhe might never have been known, any more than Bernadette wouldhave been known, had it not been for the apparitions at Lourdes. Nor,when he is known, is it easy at first to discover the sanctity in itshighest degree which was his. There is little to show us that any of hiscontemporaries and friends looked on him as anything more than an

excellent religious, and even that on some accounts might haveseemed to need qualification. There are saints whom no man woulddiscover if God did not discover them for him; one of these was La


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Colombiere. There are saints who have never dreamt they were saints;it would seem that of no one could this be more truly said than of him.

Claude de La Colombiere was one of a family of seven children, two of whom died young, four of the rest embraced the religious life or thepriesthood; of his childhood we know practically nothing. At the age of nine he went to a Jesuit school; almost all we know of his schooldays isthat he showed ability; a remark that will have been made of manyof his companions. When he was seventeen he entered the Jesuitnovitiate; we are told that he had a horrible aversion to the life hechose, but he is not the only novice who has felt the same. He passedthrough his course of training very much as any other scholastic; if during his theology he was at the same time appointed tutor to thechildren of Colbert this was nothing exceptional. By an indiscretion of his own he lost that post; this threw him back into the colleges, wherehe held offices suited to one of rather more than average ability, butnot of themselves suggestive of anything exceptional, whether innature or in grace. He then made his third year of probation; afterwhich, at the age of thirty-five, he was sent as superior to theresidence at Paray-le-Monial. During his college days he had taughtrhetoric, and had shown a gift for preaching; at the same time he wasdelicate in physique, and incapable of excessive work. It would seemthat these two circumstances had decided his appointment to Paray,where he could exercise his talent without undue pressure or labor.

His work in Paray was such as might have been expected of a goodreligious, little more. He took a lively interest in the little Jesuit schoolthat was under him; he founded a sodality for men; he helped in thefounding of a hospital; he preached with apparently average success;he was sought for as a confessor and a director of souls; to the outsideworld that appears to have been all. But he was also extraordinaryconfessor to the Visitation nuns of Paray, and in that convent at themoment Sister Margaret Mary Alacoque was causing anxiety. NaturallyFather de La Colombiere soon came across her. He studied her caseand at once, against the opinion of others, he espoused her cause; hewas rewarded, perhaps not altogether at first to his liking, by beingtold by the saint that he was the one appointed by Our Lord to be herchief support in the task imposed upon her. Still he did not shrink. Hebecame her staunch friend and adviser; if we may judge from noteswritten in his journal more than two years later, he accepted thisresponsibility as a further motive compelling him to aim at the highestsanctity.

He lived at Paray-le-Monial only eighteen months, after which he wasappointed chaplain to the Duchess of York, daughter of the Duke of Modena, in London. There he lived, in St. Jamess Palace, for two years,


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a lonely and cramped life, but, if we may judge from his letters, notwithout the fruit which an earnest priest in such a situation might havebeen expected to reap. At the end of that time he was betrayed by aFrenchman whom he thought he had converted. He was accused of reconciling heretics, and of speaking against the king; it was the yearof the Titus Oates Plot, and La Colombiere, a Jesuit, and living in the

household of the Duke of York, must have seemed a likely source of information. He was thrown into prison, cross-examined many times,but clearly knew nothing of what was said to be going on; at length,being a Frenchman, he was banished from the country. But before hecould leave his health broke down; the hardships of his prison, addedto the rigor of the English climate, had affected his lungs, and hesuffered a serious hemorrhage. As soon as he was able he returned toFrance; there he was given light work as spiritual father in the collegeof Lyons. But he never recovered. He was removed to Paray in the

hope that the climate might suit him better; and there he died, onFebruary 15th, 1682, having just completed his forty-first year.

A good man, so his brethren thought, but not exactly what was usuallyranked as a saint. He had worked no miracles; he had written nobooks; he had done nothing in particular. His health had preventedhim from using his talents as they might have been used; he had livedonly six years from his probation, and two of those had been spent inLondon, hidden away, unknown to his fellow religious, bearing no fruitthat could be seen. He was buried as a good man might have beenexpected to be buried, with the usual becoming ceremony; perhapsthere were those among the mourners who regretted that here wasanother good life thrown away.

But when he was gone two precious documents were found among hispapers. It was true Sister Margaret Mary had always spoken of him assomething exceptional, and after his death revered him as a saint, butthis was put down to her natural enthusiasm, perhaps a little to herbiased judgment, a matter of fidelity to the memory of one who hadbeen her staunch support and champion. But these two documentsproved that she was right. None but a man with the highest idealscould have written them; if he had lived up to the standard they laiddown, then without a doubt he had lived a life of heroic sanctity. Andwhen his brethren came to reflect upon it, gradually they saw that hehad. Gradually his name was dissociated from that of St. MargaretMary, and the devotion of which she constituted him the first apostle;it was found that it represented one who on his own account deserveda place in the ranks of the Churchs saints.


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Beneath these great ideals, is it possible to trace the natural man onwhich they are built? We think it is. Colombiere has written his doubleself-analysis, one during his third year of probation, the other during aretreat he made in England, with such simplicity and accurateattention to detail that we are able to infer the things he has omittedwithout much fear of mistake. And the picture we would draw is

something of this kind.

By nature Colombiere was a man given to despondency, to self-mistrust leading almost to despair, even as at one time was hisimmediate predecessor, to whom he had so great a devotion, St.Francis de Sales. He had a keen appreciation of art and literature, withwhich there usually goes great sensitiveness of soul, he felt thingskeenly, above all his own apparent failures, even in the little things of life. Though once or twice he breaks out in expressions of devotion,yet as a rule his prayer was dry and arid; with all his aspirations aftersanctity, he can only resign himself to the commonest planes of thespiritual life and look for perfection in that resignation. Behind all this,the placid exterior,interpreted by his contemporaries, and even bymodern biographers, as a sign of placidity within, in matter of factconcealed a soul unceasingly troubled by a whirl of temptation, and of passions which he had need of every grace to resist.

It is in this light that we would read and interpret the three or fourcharacteristics of his sanctity; they were the outcome of the battle hefound he had to fight, and of experience of himself, more than of anyillumination from without. Margaret Mary had visions and ecstasies,Colombiere had none. She was told what she had to do, even in thematter of her own perfection, Colombiere had to discover all this bythe painful sifting of himself. In the third year of probation he took avow always to do the thing that was most perfect; we can see that thevow was taken, less because of any great light from above, morebecause of the trouble he found in battling with his own nature. Laterhe took another vow, to choose by preference, when the choice wasallowed him, the thing that he most disliked; again we see in it thedetermined conquest of his sensitive nature, more than straining aftersanctity. Throughout his life his ideal of prayer was, as it were, to haveno ideal; to be content with what was given him, and not even toaspire to more; this was nothing else but the recognition of hiscommon experience, and the determination to turn it into what profithe could. Lastly, in regard to sanctity itself he has language almostpeculiarly his own. Much as his soul longed for it, he seemed to thinkthat a nature like his could never attain to sublime perfection; hemeets the apparently hopeless prospect by accepting as his goal justthat standard which is appointed for him and no more. Of all the saints


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in the calendar of the Church few can have been less aware of theirsanctity than was Colombiere.

To illustrate these characteristics of our saint we have only to comparecertain passages in which he expresses his own mind; from first to lastthere is a certain consistency which enables us to read what is goingon beneath. Thus, on the seventh day of his Long Retreat he writes:

On the seventh day, during the morning, I found myself attacked withthoughts of mistrust in regard to the aim in life which I am making forthe future; I see in it hopeless difficulties. Any other life would seem tome easy to spend in the manner of a saint, so it appears to me, andthe more austere, solitary, obscure, separated from all communication,so much the sweeter would it seem to me to be. Much as I dread theordinary things of nature, such as imprisonment, continued sickness,death itself, all these appear to me pleasant in comparison with aneverlasting fight against the surprises of worldliness and self- love, andof that death in life in the midst of the world. When I think on it all, itseems to me that life is going to be intolerably long, and that deathwill not come soon enough; I understand the words of St. Augustine:Patienter vivit, et delectabiliter moritur.

So he wrote in 1674, when he was preparing for his vow of perfection. Three years later, during a retreat in England, we find him recalling thevow with satisfaction, saying he looks on it as the greatest grace Ihave ever received in all my life; nevertheless the next note is this:

I am made miserable on a matter of which I cannot speak; myimagination is mad and extravagant. All the passions toss my heartabout; there scarcely passes a day but all, one after another, stir in methe most unruly emotions. Sometimes they are real things that rouseme, sometimes they are pure imaginations. It is true that by the mercyof God I endure all this without contributing much to it of myself andwithout consenting to it; still, at any moment I catch these foolishpassions stirring up this poor heart. My self-love flies from corner tocorner, and is never without a hiding-place; I feel very sorry for myself.Still I do not lose my temper, I do not let myself feel annoyed; whatwould be the use? I ask God to let me know what I ought to do to serveHim and to purify myself; but I am resolved to wait in peace till itpleases Him to work this miracle, for I am quite convinced that Healone can do it: Quis potest facere mundum de immundo conceptumsemine, nisi tu qui solus es? (Job xv, 4).

Passages parallel to these might be multiplied. They tell with sufficientclearness the struggle that was always going on with an unruly nature;


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their proximity to the places where he speaks of the vow makes onesuspect that the two are connected. In like manner we may judge of his prayer. It is true that in many places he speaks of his attraction forprayer; nevertheless no less often does he tell us of his dryness,always he emphasizes that his prayer is of the common sort, and thathe does not wish it to be otherwise. There is no more striking summary

of his mind than the following, taken from the notes of his retreat in674:

Since by the mercy of God I feel myself somewhat drawn to prayer, Ihave asked of God, with a large heart, through the intercession of theBlessed Virgin, that He would give me the grace to love this holyexercise more and more, unto the hour of my death. It is the onemeans for our purification, the one way to union with God, the onechannel by which God may unite Himself with us, that He may doanything with us for His glory. To obtain the virtues of an apostle wemust pray; to make them of use to our neighbor we must pray; toprevent our losing them while we use them in His service we mustpray. The counsel, or rather the commandment: Pray always, seems tome extremely sweet and by no means impossible. It secures thepractice of the presence of God; I wish, with the help of Our Lord, toendeavor to follow it. We are always in need of God, then we need topray always; the more we pray the more we please Him, and the morewe receive. I do not ask for those delights in prayer which God gives towhom He will; I am not worthy of them, I have not strength enough tobear them. Extraordinary graces are not good for me; to give them tome would be to build on sand, it would only be pouring precious liquorinto a leaking hogshead which can hold nothing. I ask of God only asolid, simple manner of prayer, which may give Him glory and will notpuff me up; dryness and desolation, accompanied with His grace, arevery good for me, so it seems. Then I make acts of the best kind, andwith satisfaction; then I make efforts against my evil disposition, I tryto be faithful to God, etc.

Shortly afterwards he concludes:

Above all things I am resigned to be sanctified by the way that Godshall please, by the absence of all sensible delight, if He wishes it so tobe, by interior trials, by continual combat with my passions.

There seems to be no evidence that he ever deviated from this path,

or rose beyond the prayer of simplicity. In the retreat of 1677 heconfesses that he finds little help in points for meditation, and decidesto fall back upon his favorite method of the practice of the presence of God; that is all. But that is an experience of many souls of prayer, who


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nevertheless are far from being saints; it is foreseen and prepared forby every writer on prayer, within the Society of Jesus as well aswithout.

With all this as a background we may well now ask ourselves what wasthe characteristic of his sanctity. It has al ready been suggested thatthe need of unceasing battle with himself led him to make first oneheroic vow and then another; the faithful fulfillment of those vowsmeant the making of a saint. But as a first characteristic trait we wouldnotice Colombieres childlike simplicity; to the end he remained achild. This is manifest enough in the spontaneous way he writes of himself; it is manifest no less in his correspondence, in the stories henarrates, in the simplicity of his advice, in the confidence he showstowards his correspondents. But most of all does it appear in hisattitude towards St. Margaret Mary. It was simplicity of soul thatenabled him to understand her from the first; the same simplicitymade him think of her, and speak of her with the greatest reverence;what she told him of himself he took as perhaps his chief source of encouragement. For example, what can be more simply childlike thanthe following? He has been speaking of his former temptation tovainglory and human respect:

Formerly (he says) I was so strongly obsessed with this temptation,that it sapped all my courage, and made me almost lose all hope of saving my own soul while thinking of the souls of others. So strong wasit that if I had been free I do not doubt that I would have passed mydays in solitude.

Then naively he goes on:

This temptation began to weaken from a word which N.N. [meaningSt. Margaret Mary] spoke to me one day. For once when she told me

that while praying to God for me, Our Lord had given her tounderstand that my soul was dear to Him, and that He would takeparticular care of it, I answered her: Alas! N.N., how can this agreewith what I feel within myself? Could Our Lord love anyone as vain as Iam, one whose only object is to please men, and to win considerationfrom them, one who is steeped in human respect?--O my Father, shereplied, all this does not really belong to you. It is true that this singleword of assurance gave me peace; from that time I troubled myself less about these temptations, and they grew weaker and less

frequent.

In other places Colombiere falls back for his own encouragement onthe words of St. Margaret Mary. Evidently, if he was her main support,


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she in her turn did no less for him. So simple, and childlike, anddependent was this guide of other souls.

Nevertheless we have not yet touchedupon the quality which seems to us mostcharacteristic of Colombiere. With anature given to mistrust of itself andconsequent despondency, with aphysique which would never permit himto labor to the extent of his desires,placed in situations which invariablyseemed to go wrong, or to give him littlescope for his zeal, lastly with a spiritualexperience in his soul which was moreoften desolate than consoling, it is nowonder that there grew within him anunbounded confidence in God, as theone mainstay on which he could rely. Hespeaks of trust in superiors, of opennesswith his spiritual fathers, of simplicity indealing with others, of his love of friendship; but all these are treatedmore as external signs of self- conquest and charity, they are lessconsidered as supports to himself. When he speaks of confidence inGod it is quite different. He sees his sins, but the mercy of God isinfinite, and he will not despair. He looks up to God in His majesty, tohis Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, to the indwelling of God in thehuman soul, to the union of the heart of man with the heart of OurLord by complete surrender; and he flings himself blindly into the armsof God to find there perfect peace. Nowhere does he write with moreself-revelation than on the last day of his retreat in England. Thepassage is a summary of his life; we have but to read between thelines, giving each phrase its full value, and we seem to knowColombiere well.

On this eighth day (he writes) I seem to have found a great treasure,if only I can profit by it. It is a firm confidence in God, founded on Hisinfinite goodness, and on the experience I have had that He never failsus in our needs. More than that, I find in the memoir which was givento me when I left France, that He promises to be my strength inproportion to the trust which I place in Him. Therefore I am resolved toput no limit to my trust, and to spread it out to everything. It seems tome that I ought to make use of Our Lord as an armor which covers meall about, by means of which I shall resist every device of my enemies.

You shall then be my strength, O my God! You shall be my guide, my


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director, my counselor, my patience, my knowledge, my peace, my justice, and my prudence. I will have recourse to you in mytemptations, in my dryness, in my repugnances, in my weariness, inmy fears; or rather I will no longer fear either the illusions or the tricksof the demon, nor my own weakness, my indiscretions, not even mymistrust of myself. For you must be my strength in all my crosses; you

promise me that this you will be in proportion to my confidence. Andwonderful indeed it is, O my God, that at the same time that youimpose this condition, it seems to me that you give me the confidencewherewith to fulfill it. May you be eternally loved and praised by allcreatures, O my very loving Lord! If you were not my strength, alas!what would I do? But since you are, you assure me that you are, whatshall I not do for your glory? Omnia possum in eo qui me confortat .

You are everywhere in me, and I in you; then in whatever situation Imay find myself, in whatever peril whatever enemy may rise up

against me, I have my support always with me. This thought alone canin a moment scatter all my trials, above all those uprisings of naturewhich at times I find so strong, and which in spite of myself, make mefear for my perseverance, and tremble at the sight of the perfectemptiness in which it has pleased God to place me.

Could St. Augustine be more transparent? When in his sermons wehear Colombiere crying out that even were he in mortal sin he wouldstill never doubt that God would save him, we understand the sourceof his unbounded hope. He was a very human being indeed; perhapsthis was the reason why he was chosen before others to be the apostleof the human Heart of Jesus Christ. Come to me all you that labor andare burdened, and I will refresh you. . . . Learn of me, because I ammeek and humble of heart. . . . You shall find rest for your souls. Itwould be hard to find a more perfect fulfillment of this prophecy thanis found in the soul of Claude de La Colombiere.

This excerpt is taken from the book SAINTS FOR SINNERS by Alban Goodier, S.J., IMAGE BOOKS

EDITION 1959

saint claude de la colombiere booklet

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