The complete reproduction of any article published in this review is forbidden without previous authorization of the editors of MAGNIFICAT magazine. ©All rights reserved MONASTERY OF THE MAGNIFICAT OF THE MOTHER OF GOD 290 7 e Rang – PO Box 4478 – Mont-Tremblant – QC J8E 1A1 TEL. (819) 688-5225 magnificat.ca The Order of the Magnificat of the Mother of God, requested by the Most Blessed Virgin Herself at La Salette, France, was founded in Canada in 1962. The Order includes priests and religious Brothers and Sisters, some of them coming from various Congregations for the purpose of preserving their respective identity and goals, but all following a common Rule: the one dictated by the Mother of God at La Salette in 1846 and approved by Leo XIII in 1879. The Order also includes disciples, that is, lay members, either single or married, who live in the community of goods with the religious and share their labors. It also includes tertiaries, lay members living in the world, but more deeply involved in the activities of the Order than the ordinary faithful. The Order of the Magnificat of the Mother of God exists and operates under its own Hierarchy. Its faith, doctrine, tradition and practices are Christian Catholic. Firmly wishing to return to the evangelical simplicity of the early days of Christianity, the Order wants to keep intact the doctrinal teachings conveyed with continuity, throughout the ages, by the Saints and Doctors of the Roman Catholic Church. The Order of the Magnificat of the Mother of God, also known by the name The Apostles of Infinite Love, is legally recognized in Canada by a federal charter as well as a provincial charter in Quebec. It likewise possesses charters in the United States, France, Guadeloupe, Puerto Rico, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic and Ecuador. The Order is also established in Italy, in South Africa, and in Argentina. Besides perpetual adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament, prayer, study and work of all kinds, the Community lends itself to all the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. However, the particular goal of the Order is the preservation of the Deposit of the Faith by religious teaching in all its forms to adults and children. Another specific goal is the fight against all the abuses that have brought about the decadence of the clergy, the religious state and Christian society. The Order also labors in view of Christian unity, so desired by Jesus Christ: unity in truth. Monthly publication of the Apostles of Infinite Love. Subscription cost for the Magnificat is a minimum yearly fee of $12.00 in Canada, $14.00 in the United States, and 25 Euros ($30 USD) in other foreign countries. Any additional donation to help us cover printing costs would be appreciated. This magazine is published ten times a year. (Translated from the French.) TABLE OF CONTENTS VOL. LVI, No 5 May 2021 Mary, Mother of God and our Mother . . . . . Page 111 Considerations on the Feast of Pentecost, by Monsignor Jean-Joseph Gaume. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112 – Greatness of the feast – History of the feast – Effects of the Holy Spirit – Prose: Veni, sancte Spiritus – Dispositions for Pentecost But Pray My Children... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118 150th Anniversary of the Apparition of the Virgin Mary at Pontmain (January 17, 1871) – The warnings – The punishment – Cry of faith – Heaven’s reply – “An invisible Madonna is blocking our way!” – “But pray My children” – Father Michel Guérin, pastor of Pontmain – The seers of Our Lady Complements: – Our Lady of Hope of Saint-Brieuc and the Rev. Canon Paul-Marie Prud’homme (page 125) – General Antoine Alfred Chanzy and the Prussian’s sudden retreat (p. 132) – Description and symbolism of the Apparition (p. 133) The Virgin of Pontmain in Lebanon: Our Lady of Bechouat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141 – The “Blue Virgin” – A sanctuary three centuries old – Prodigious growth of the pilgrimage Our cover: APPARITION OF THE VIRGIN MARY AT PONTMAIN Our Lady of Pontmain, who deigned to appear and present to us with both hands the bloody cross of Jesus, engrave the love of Your Divine Son forever in my soul. O Mary, You know how much I want to be His, without any kind of reserve, but alas! I have everything to fear because of my inconstancy and my weakness. Come, then, good Mother, strengthenme and helpme. Helpme, I beg You, to remain faithful to Him despite the assaults of evil. Obtain for me, holy Mother, that I may know Jesus more fully every day, love Himmore ardently and serve Himmore perfectly. Amen. Dépôt légal – Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec, 2021 Envoi de Poste-publications ISSN 0025-0007 2104-102-2998 Printed in Canada
Dear readers, The children of Mary are particularly fond of the beautiful month of May, which is especially dedicated to honoring our good heavenly Mother. Among the countless titles attributed to the Blessed Virgin over the ages, there are some that speak more to our heart in the tempests we are passing through, tossed by infernal waves which threaten our frail barks: Mary Help of Christians, Our Lady of Beautiful Hope, Refuge of Sinners, and especially Mother of Mercy. Mother, because although we are sinners, we are Her beloved children; of Mercy, because we are nothing but misery, so our most pressing and felt need is that of mercy. Is this not the attribute that Her maternal Heart is most pleased to exercise? And to try to save us all, today Mary is intensifying this role which She fulfills in our favor. Here is what our heavenly Mother said to us in a message to Father John Gregory of the Trinity on December 8, 1966. These words of maternal comfort are still burningly relevant: “I am your Mother. I will never abandon you. “Men have failed a great deal, they are very guilty. But the greatest fault they have committed is not having recourse to My Merciful Heart. Despite every misery, if they were willing to have recourse to My Merciful Heart, they would still be saved. “I was conceived without sin, and you were conceived in sin, My children. That is why I am so merciful towards you and want to come to your assistance so much, but you do not have sufficient recourse to Me. “My Heart is wide open for you, My children. I tell you again, I am your Mother. I cannot say more beautiful words to you on this day: I am your Mother, and you will never have sufficient recourse to Me. This is what I reproach humanity with now, not having had sufficient recourse to its Mother. I had all the divine powers in My hands; it was a matter of coming to ask Me, and you did not. My maternal Heart would have liked to be able to come without your prayer, but God requires prayer. That is what makes Me suffer so much: I cannot bestow as many graces upon you as I would like, through your fault. “I will not always manifest Myself in such a tangible way, but I will be there all the same, and I will bestow the graces of My maternal Heart.” Therefore, let us comfort our good heavenly Mother by intensifying our prayers. Let us offer Her the bouquets of our Hail Marys repeated with love. O Mary, who by Thine ardent desires and fervent prayers once drew the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles, pray to Him also for me. By the merit of Thy seven sorrows, obtain for me the Seven Gifts of the Holy Ghost, as well as the grace to correspond faithfully to them. Grant, O sweet Mother, that after allowing myself to be led in this life by the Holy Spirit, I may have the happiness of being introduced by Him into Heaven, to forever love and praise in union with You the adorable Trinity, to whom be given all honor and glory! With the assurance of our prayers, Your brothers and sisters of the Magnificat Magnificat Vol. LVI, No 5 111 Mary Mother of God and our Mother
112 Vol. LVI, No 5 Magnificat HE Church wants her great solemnities to be preceded by a long preparation. In this, there is a great knowledge of the human heart. Advent prepares us for Christmas, Lent for Easter, Easter for Pentecost. Eusebius says, “We prepare for the feast of Easter by forty days of fasting, and we dispose ourselves for Pentecost by fifty days of a holy gladness.” Why so much joy? The same historian tells us: “At Easter we receive Baptism; at Pentecost we receive the Holy Spirit, and this is the perfection of Baptism. The Resurrection of Jesus Christ strengthened the Apostles; it was Pentecost that perfected their charity and made them invincible. On that day, the Holy Spirit was given to the Church, with all the fullness needed to subjugate the whole world. That is why I regard Pentecost as the greatest of all feasts.”1 1. Eusebius of Caesarea, Life of Constantine. The ten days preceding it are consecrated by pious Christians to recollection and prayer. They shut themselves up in the Upper Chamber with the Blessed Virgin and the Apostles, in order to prepare to receive the Holy Spirit with the abundance of His gifts. Greatness of the feast All these preparations for our Catholic Pentecost are not exaggerated in the slightest if we reflect on the excellence of this feast. First of all, by the greatness of its object, it leaves all secular feasts far behind. Secondly, it surpasses the Jewish Pentecost as much as the law of grace surpasses the law of fear, as much as the accomplishment of the mystery of our redemption surpasses the types and figures that announced it. The third Person of the adorable Trinity descending on the world to regenerate it, as on the
Magnificat Vol. LVI, No 5 113 day of creation He descended on chaos to make it fruitful; the Divine Redeemer putting the finishing touch to the great work that was the object of all His mysteries; a new people destined to adore God in spirit and in truth, from the rising to the setting of the sun; the face of the earth renewed; Jewish figures replaced by the reality; Paganism struck dead; the universal covenant of God with men, promised during forty centuries and at length perfected: such are the wonders, such are the subjects of meditation and praise to be found in the feast of Pentecost. History of the feast Let us now call to mind the circumstances amid which this mystery was accomplished. After the ascension of their Divine Master, the Apostles returned to Jerusalem, where they awaited the fulfillment of His promise. They withdrew to a cenacle, that is, an upper room, shut off from the other rooms. In Palestine, since the houses have a flat roof, the highest room was the largest and the most secluded. It was here that the Jews had their private oratories.2 It is believed that the Apostles assembled in the house of Mary, the mother of John Mark, the fervent disciple mentioned by Saint Luke. Whatever the place of their assembly, they represented the Universal Church. They were in expectation of their Divine Master’s favors, when on the tenth day after His ascension and the fiftieth after His glorious resurrection, the Holy Spirit descended upon them. It was a Sunday, the day after the Jewish Pentecost, so that the New Law would be proclaimed at the very same time of year that the Old Law, which was to make way for it, had been given on Mount Sinai. But behold the difference! The Old Law had been promulgated in the midst of thunder and lightning and with the peal of trumpets. It threatened offenders with death. It was written on tables of stone. It was tiresome with the multiplicity of commandments and practices to 2. The Empress Helen had a magnificent church built on the very spot that the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles. which it subjected a crude, ignorant people, who had to be bent to obedience by fear rather than by love. The New Law, on the contrary, is a law not of terror but of grace, destined to be written not on stone, but in the human heart. As the work of the Holy Spirit, who is the source of consolation, sweetness and love, it could not be promulgated with the dreadful pomp and the threats that had accompanied the promulgation of the Mosaic Law. God had had slaves long enough: He wanted children. Therefore, on Sunday, Pentecost Day, at about nine o’clock in the morning, as the Disciples were all gathered together, they suddenly heard a sound like that of a mighty wind coming from heaven. It filled the whole house where they were enclosed.3 This signal of the arrival of the Holy Spirit was intended to rouse their attention: it was full of mystery. This wind coming from on high, the harbinger of holy inspirations, was the breath of grace which maintains the spiritual life in our soul, just as air 3. Acts of the Apostles 2:2-3. Descent of the Holy Ghost upon the Virgin Mary and the Apostles
114 Vol. LVI, No 5 Magnificat maintains our physical life. Its impetuosity demonstrates the power of grace to change and enliven human hearts. If it filled the whole house, it is because the Holy Spirit offers His gifts to people of every country, transforms us into new beings and penetrates all our faculties. This first miracle was followed by another. There came down from heaven tongues of fire, which parted and rested on the head of each member of the happy assembly. It was the Holy Spirit Himself, who is pleased to take exterior forms emblematic of the amazing effects that He produces interiorly in souls. I behold Him at the baptism of the Saviour, appearing in the form of a dove, in order to denote the innocence and zeal that are the fruits of the Sacrament of Regeneration. Today His presence is manifested in the form of tongues of fire, an eloquent figure of the unity of belief and love which would make of all humanity one family of brothers. Fire gives light, tends upward, transforms into itself whatever it seizes; similar effects are produced by the Holy Spirit in our soul. That fire appears under the form of tongues rather than in the form of hearts, to make it clear that the Gifts of the Holy Ghost are poured out upon the Apostles not only so that they may love God, but also that they may make others love Him, communicating the fire of their charity to them by their word. This form also announces the gift of tongues, which will enable the Apostles to communicate with the various nations, in order to preach the doctrine of the Divine Master to them.4 Here we behold the Saviour repairing the last effects of sin. The descendants of Noah, having resolved on building the Tower of Babel, were scattered by means of a confusion in their speech. This confusion of tongues, a punishment for pride, brought about a confusion of ideas and a forgetfulness of holy traditions. It also led to hatreds and endless divisions among peoples. The gift of tongues at the proclamation of the Gospel is a happy presage of the future reunion of all nations in unity of belief and love, to form henceforward one great family proclaiming the glory of the Lord from the rising to the setting of the sun.5 Effects of the Holy Spirit The descent of the Holy Spirit immediately wrought a twofold miracle in the Apostles: an interior miracle and an exterior miracle. An interior miracle: All their faculties were enriched with the gifts of God. Enlightened by a divine light, their understanding penetrated without difficulty into the meaning of the ancient prophecies and the sacred books, as well as into the mysteries of faith and all the other revealed truths. The magnificent system of Christianity, with its purpose, its end and its means, the astounding gentleness of their Master and His excessive love for humanity, the depth of the counsels of God and His boundless power in the various dispensations of His grace: 4. It is believed that it was on Pentecost Day, immediately after the miracle of the descent of the Holy Spirit which, by giving birth to the Church, abolished the Synagogue, that Saint Peter celebrated the first Mass in order to solemnly inaugurate Christianity. 5. Psalm 112:3. Suddenly the heavens were opened up and the Holy Spirit descended visibly, in the form of a dove, and came to rest upon Jesus.
Magnificat Vol. LVI, No 5 115 all these abysses, previously unfathomable to the most perfect creatures, were no longer obscure for the Apostles. As for their hearts, divine love penetrated them so deeply that it banished every trace of anything impure and filled them with the choicest graces and the most sublime virtues. In a word, the Holy Spirit turned the Apostles into new men. The authentic proof of this interior change is the exterior miracle of their conduct. Look now at these twelve Galileans, these uneducated fishermen, speaking and writing with an eloquence, a dignity and a wisdom that holds genius in admiration; quoting, when needed, with precision and accuracy, and applying with perfect discernment the most difficult passages of the sacred books. All this showed very evidently to the most incredulous that they were not speaking on their own initiative. What it showed no less clearly was their courage and their zeal for the glory of God. What a strange sight! Behold twelve fishermen; a few days ago, the boldest of them denied his Master three times at the voice of a maidservant. Behold these men, who confront magistrates, kings, the whole world conspiring against them. Saint John Chrysostom says: “You see how valiantly they behave! They triumph over every obstacle as fire triumphs over straw. Whole cities rise up against them; nations band together to destroy them; wars, wild beasts, the sword and the stake threaten them. They are not moved by any of these dangers, as if they were harmless dreams or painted pictures. They are unarmed, and they stand up to armed legions. Illiterate men, they dare to pit themselves against a multitude of orators, sophists and philosophers, and they confound them. Paul alone lays low the pride of the Academy, the Lyceum and the Portico: the disciples of Plato, Aristotle and Zeno are struck dumb before him.”6 These wonders, which the Holy Spirit wrought on the memorable day of His coming, He still works in well-disposed souls. Exterior gifts have never ceased in the Church: only they are less common, because they are no longer needed as much. But we can always obtain the interior gifts, of which we are always in need. The Church invites us to ask for them especially on Pentecost Day. It is right in doing so; for now, more than ever before, the Holy Spirit is indispensable to the world. That is why, in the office of this great day, the tender mother of Christians, the protectress of society, the Catholic Church, places on the lips of her children and sings with them the following prose, so proper for attracting the Holy Spirit into hearts: 6. Saint John Chrysostom, Homily IV on the Acts of the Apostles. “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth was a Man approved by God among you... This Jesus whom you crucified, God has made Him Lord and Christ... This Jesus God has raised up, and we are all witnesses of it. Therefore, exalted by the right hand of God, and receiving from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this Spirit which you see and hear.”
O bright and joyous light! Come and pour forth a sweet serenity upon the souls that are faithful to Thee. Sometimes a sad obscurity settles upon them; fill them with the gladness that comes with Thee. 116 Vol. LVI, No 5 Magnificat Come, Holy Ghost, enlighten us more and more, and let the rays of Thy heavenly light shine continually upon our eyes. Veni, sancte Spiritus, et emitte cælitus lucís tuæ radium. Veni, Pater pauperum; veni, dator munerum; veni, lumen cordium. Consolator optime, dulcís hospes animæ, dulce refrigerium. In labore requies, in æstu temperies, in fletu solatium. O lux beatissima! reple cordis intima tuorum fidelium. Sine tuo numine, nihil est in homine, nihil est innoxium. Lava quod est sordidum, riga quod est aridum, sana quod est saucium. Da tuis fidelibus in te confidentibus sacrum septenarium. Flecte quod est rigidum, fove quod est frigidum, rege quod est devium. Come, Thou father of the poor. Alas! we are poor, especially in regard to the goods of the future life. By this title, we are doubly worthy of Thy visit and of the gifts of Thy compassion and Thy bounty. Pour them out upon us in abundance, O Thou who art the light of hearts and the distributor of all gifts. We drag out our miserable life in toil, sorrow and bitterness. In vain do we look for consolation among men. We find only tormenting comforters who make our ills worse and leave us in the grip of sorrow. O comforting Spirit, Thou art the best of friends, the only One who offers a sweet retreat to the afflicted soul, the only One who obtains for it a pleasant refreshment. In Thee we find rest after our labors, cool shade in the heat of summer, moderation against the violence of our passions. Thou shalt wipe away the tears with which we water this sorrowful journey from life to eternity. Without Thy divine help, we have nothing, we can do nothing, we are nothing; all that is in us is weakness, misery and infirmity. Purify in us all whatever is defiled; water this dry and withered heart; heal the wounds of our soul by applying effective and curative remedies. Bend this rebellious and unyielding heart; triumph over my resistance and my obstinacy; make it pliable under Thy persuasive inspirations; melt this ice which makes it so cold towards the objects that ought to inflame it with love. Alas! it wanders in the ways of iniquity; bring it back into the pathways of justice. We put all our trust in Thee. In whom should we put it? Grant to all Thy servants the seven precious gifts which Thou dost VENI, SANCTE SPIRITUS
Magnificat Vol. LVI, No 5 117 divine balm mingled with poison, the light of the Holy Spirit with the darkness of the world. What relation can there be between truth and falsehood, between the fire of charity and the ice of worldly affections? No, no, the more carnal man becomes, the farther the spirit of God departs from him. This is why Christianity is drifting so far away from men and nations today! bring fromHeaven: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, fear of the Lord, all the graces we so urgently need. Da virtutis meritum, da salutis exitum, da perenne gaudium. Adorn our souls with solid Christian virtues, which alone are meritorious in Thy sight; lead us to the happy term of salvation, to that glory, that joy, those delights which will never end. Amen. So be it. Amen.7 Provisions for Pentecost 7Let us conclude with a reflection useful in regulating our conduct. The two essential means for drawing Him into our heart are an ardent desire to receive the Holy Spirit, and above all a disengagement from all inordinate affection for creatures. See how far the jealousy of the Divine Spirit can go! Certainly there could be no sensible attachment more legitimate or holy than that of the disciples for the bodily presence of their Divine Master. Yet this attachment had to be banished in some degree from their souls so that the Holy Spirit could come and take possession of them and fill them up. The Saviour had said to them, “If I do not leave you, the Paraclete will not come to you.”8 If, then, it is certain that the Apostles’ excessive attachment to the sensible presence of the humanity of Our Lord was an obstacle to the descent of the Holy Spirit into them, who would be so presumptuous as to flatter himself with the prospect that he will receive the visit from the Divine Paraclete as long as he remains a slave to his body? It would be a strange error to think that this heavenly sweetness can be combined with the pleasures of the senses, this 7. Catéchisme de Couturier, Vol. I – It is generally believed that Pope Innocent III (+1216), is the author of this prose. Others regard it as the work of Bl. Hermann Contract, a monk of Mezrow (+1054). 8. St. John 16:8. Prayer O my God, who art all love, I thank Thee for sending the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles, and through them upon all the earth. Never permit me to grieve the Divine Spirit. I am resolved to love God above all things, and my neighbor as myself for the love of God; and as a testimony of this love, I will be greatly afraid of resisting the inspirations of grace. Source: Msgr. Jean-Joseph Gaume, The Catechism of Perseverance (M. H. Gill & Son: Dublin, 1884), Vol. IV, pp. 432-442.
But Pray My chi ldren. . . - The warnings - It was July 18, 1830, half past eleven in the evening. In the convent of the Daughters of Charity on Rue du Bac in Paris, Sister Catherine Labouré was awakened by a melodious voice calling her name: “Sister Labouré!” Close to her bed stood a child of ravishing beauty, four or five years old. “Come, come to the chapel,” he said. “The Blessed Virgin is waiting for you.” Indeed, it was the Mother of God appearing in the chapel, “all lit up as at Midnight Mass.” Sister Labouré, listening only to her heart, hastened to Her side and laid her hands familiarly on Her knees as she would have done with her mother. The Virgin Mary said to her, among other things: “My child, the times are very bad, hardships are going to fall upon France. The throne will be overthrown, the whole world will be shaken by calamities of all sorts.” As She said this, Her face was suffused in profound sorrow. “A time of great danger is coming, when people will think that all is lost. Then I will be with you... Have confidence, do not be discouraged, I will be with you. “There will be victims among the clergy in Paris. The archbishop will die.1 My child, the cross will be despised, it will be thrown down on the ground. Our Lord’s side will be opened once again. The streets will run with blood, the whole world will be in sorrow.” And tears re1. Msgr. Georges Darboy (1813‐1871), the Archbishop of Paris, perished at the hands of the Communards. See Mag‐ nificat June‐July 2020.
150t h anniversary of the Apparition of Our Lady in Pontmain – January 17, 1871 Saint Catherine Labouré kneeling next to the Virgin Mary – Statue overhanging the entrance porch to the chapel and convent in Rue du Bac, Paris. vealing Her profound sorrow flowed abundantly from the eyes of our heavenly Mother, to the point of choking Her voice. Dismayed, Sister Catherine asked herself interiorly, “When will these things happen?” And she distinctly heard, “In forty years!” After some time, Our Lady continued: “Great calamities are going to take place, the danger will be great. But do not be afraid, the protection of God is always there in a special way... I Myself will be with you; My eye is always upon you. I will grant you many graces.” Commenting on these last words, Sister Labouré explained, “Graces will be showered especially upon those who ask for them, but let us pray! let us pray!”2 * * * * * * * September 19, 1846. On the mountain of La Salette in the French Alps, two little shepherds, Melanie Calvat and Maximin Giraud, were grazing their cows. After a frugal snack, having amused themselves by building a little stone house, they felt sleepy. While these innocent children were taking their rest, the heavens opened up and Mary, Mother of God, descended once again upon French soil. Again She wept! When the shepherds awakened and saw Her, She said to them: “Come closer, My chil2. In the evening of January 17, 1871, around 7:00 p.m., Sister Catherine Labouré learned by revelation that the Virgin was appearing in Pontmain, while her companions and their young workers were admiring the extraordinary hue of the sky “full of mystery, as if wrapped in a veil of light crepe.” dren, do not be afraid. I am here to tell you great news. “If My people do not want to submit, I am compelled to let My Son’s hand go. It is so heavy and so oppressive that I can no longer hold it back. “I have been suffering for you for such a long time! If I do not want My Son to abandon you, I am entrusted with praying to Him unceasingly. And as for you, you pay no heed to this. No matter how much you pray, how much you do, you will never be able to compensate for the trouble I have taken for you...” The discourse of theVirgin in tears went on for some time. She gave a secret to Maximin; and then, addressing Melanie alone, She revealed to her a long message “which will not Magnificat Vol. LVI, No 5 119
120 Vol. LVI, No 5 Magnificat always be secret.”3 Here are some extracts of that secret: “God is going to strike in an unprecedented manner. Woe to the inhabitants of the earth! God is going to exhaust His wrath, and no one will be able to escape so many concerted woes. [...] God will abandon men to themselves, and will send chastisements... Society is at the eve of the most terrible scourges and the greatest events; people must expect to be ruled with a rod of iron and to drink the cup of the wrath of God. [...] “At the first stroke of His thundering sword, the mountains and all of nature will quake with terror, because the licentiousness and crimes of men pierce the canopy of the heavens... People will think that all is lost; they will see only homicides, they will hear only the roar of weapons and blasphemies. The just will suffer greatly; their prayers, their 3. “Melanie, what I am going to tell you now will not al‐ ways remain a secret; you may publish it in 1858.” The bro‐ chure The Apparition of the Most Blessed Virgin on the Mountain of La Salette is available from Editions Magnificat. penance and their tears will rise even unto Heaven, and all the people of God will ask for pardon and mercy, and will ask for My help and My intercession. [...] “Who will be able to overcome, if God does not shorten the time of trial? By the blood, tears and prayers of the just, God will let Himself be moved.” The beautiful Lady concluded Her speech with these words, “Well, My children, you will make this known to all My people.” Then, moving away, She repeated without turning around: “Well, My children, you will make this known to all My people.” The day after the Apparition, our little visionaries went to the rectory to tell everything to Father Perrin, the pastor of La Salette. They were received by the maid, who questioned them. Very simply, they told her the story of the Apparition. They were still speaking when the bell rang for Mass. Father Perrin had been listening in the next room; obliged to go to church to celebrate, he opened the door with a bang and exclaimed in tears: “Children, we are lost! God is going to punish us. It is the Blessed Virgin who appeared to you!” And he left to say Mass. Yes, God was going to punish. Various chastisements followed closely upon the threat. If only the people had turned to God, acknowledged their sins in all humility and consented to conversion! Years later, Melanie wrote: “God is irritated by the multiplicity of sins, and because He is almost unknown and forgotten... France [ed. note: and the world] must humble itself and ask forgiveness for its sins, promise to serve God heart and soul and observe His commandments without human respect. Yes, let us pray much and do penance.” And a few days later, “Let us pray, let us pray, let us pray much, let us not cease to pray and ask for mercy.”4 But who wanted to hear the solemn warnings from Heaven? Oh, there was some response from a few good souls here and there, 4. Bl. Melanie Calvat, Letters to her mother – November 11 and 29, 1870.
Magnificat Vol. LVI, No 5 121 in the secret of a cloister or of an obscure parish. Nevertheless, it was too little, too little to disarm the hand of God. - The chastisement - On July 18, 1870, forty years to the day after the apparition of the Blessed Virgin to Catherine Labouré, diplomatic relations between France and Prussia became dangerously unstable. The following day, the 19th, Napoleon III, Emperor of the French, signed the declaration of war. There were manifestations of enthusiasm and scenes of delirium all over France: everyone expected a swift, brilliant victory. “To Berlin, to Berlin!” they shouted on every side. Alas, their dreams of triumph soon turned into a nightmare. A venerable religious wrote: “Future generations will not be able to form a clear idea of this strange period of our history, of this campaign initiated with so much enthusiasm and so many illusions, and continuing – despite the undeniable talent of our generals, despite the value and the exceptional qualities of our troops – with an implacable series of reverses and catastrophes where human reason could see only a dark fatality, but where one sensed the supernatural chastisement of a people for the abandonment of the dignity and the obligations of its providential mission.”5 Confusion in the commands, disease in the camps, indecisive marches and countermarches, phenomenal bad weather...6 All the elements combined to ensure not victory but bitter, humiliating defeat. Indeed, inferior in men and weapons, inadequately organized, the French army recorded an impressive number of reverses. Under the powerful Prussian artillery, cities fell one after the other: Strasbourg, Metz, Rouen,Verdun, Orléans. On the evening of September 2, the nation learned with horror that Napoleon III had been taken prisoner in Sedan with around 80,000 5. Dom Antoine du Bourg, Prior of the Benedictine com‐ munity of Sainte‐Marie de Paris. See the complete reference at the end of this article. 6. See box on next page. men. TheGerman eagle was already swooping down on Paris to begin its siege. Within a few weeks, the military was routed and the Second Empire collapsed.7 Panic and terror spread throughout the people, who trembled at the approach of the ruthless invader. “Who will be able to stop the war that is making so many people in France unhappy?” asked Melanie de La Salette. “France must recognize that this war is purely from the hand of God.”8 - Cry of faith - Under the blow of these national disasters, the faith of a great number finally rekindled. The scales fell from many eyes; it was whispered that God was punishing France. Everywhere, confronted with the peril, with the fear of the victorious Prussians sweeping over the country, the people began to reflect; they promised to change their life and amend themselves, and to build or restore sanctuaries if the war turned away from them. In Tours, its pious inhabitants gathered near the tomb of Saint Martin or in the oratory of the Holy Face and tirelessly raised their prayers to the Most High. Lyons solemnly placed itself under the protection of Mary (vow of October 8, 1870) and promised to rebuild the Marian shrine of Fourvière.9 Paris, starved out and bombarded, hastened to its most venerable churches: SaintSulpice, Sainte-Geneviève, Saint-Roch... A prayer circulated, unceasingly taken up by the faithful, and which one would think was written for our time: 7. Two days after the disaster of Sedan, Léon Gambetta, then a simple deputy, declared the deposition of Emperor Na‐ poleon III and the return of the Republic; it was the end of the Second Empire. 8. Bl. Melanie Calvat, Letter to her mother – November 29, 1870. 9. The city of Lyon, so attached to Our Lady of Fourvière, and rightly so, was not disappointed in its confidence. Thanks to the intercession of Mary, it was doubly protected, first from the Commune (a lesser copy of the one that occurred in Paris in the spring of 1871), then from the Prussians who were defeated at Dijon, thus sparing the Saône Valley.
“O Mary conceived without sin, at Your feet You see sinners and unhappy people, confessing that they are so unhappy only because they are sinners. The majesty of God has been publicly insulted in our midst; His holy day violated by commerce, labor and pleasure; His Church debased, unrecognized and persecuted. We have abandoned ourselves, without measure and without restraint, to sinful joys and selfgratification, shaking off the salutary yoke of all obedience and all respect, and we have pursued only one purpose – material wellbeing – thus forgetting our family duties, our true interests, our eternal destinies... O God, 122 Vol. LVI, No 5 Magnificat come to our assistance! Come, for without You we are lost! We come before You under the patronage of our Mother, the Immaculate Virgin.” The more alarming the situation became, the more urgent the cry of faith became. By January 1871, Paris could hardly sustain the efforts of a heroic defense. Then a spectacle of supernatural beauty took place at Notre-Dame des Victoires. It was on the evening of January 17 – around six o’clock, to be precise. A compact crowd filled the sanctuary, having come to take part in the public novena in honor of Our Lady. Among the initiators of this novena was Father “It may be said that if France was driven to defeat by the weakness of its organization, it also passed through the entire series of adverse odds. For example, there was nothing more fatal for it than the role played by the weather. The meteorological circumstances fought constantly against us. It seemed as if nature had made a pact with our enemies. Every time they set out, they were favored by wonderful weather, while all our movements were hampered by rain or cold. [...] Who does not remember the exceptional weather that prevailed [...] while the Prussian army was marching on Paris and setting up the siege works? Who does not also remember the springlike temperatures that prevailed at the end of January, immediately following the armistice?... As hard as the winter had been for our military movements in the East, so much it was favorable for the return of the Prussians to Germany... Yes, a set of unfortunate coincidences were joined to the organic weakness of France, thwarting all its efforts. This combination of things was such that really, when one considers it, one is tempted to wonder whether there were not some reason higher than physical causes, a kind of expiation of national sins... In the presence of such prodigious misfortunes, one is no longer surprised that religious souls could say: Digitus Dei est hic! The finger of God is there! (Charles de Freycinet, La Guerre en province)
Laurent Amodru, the assistant pastor. That evening he opened the exercises with a few words. But what could he talk about to these souls, if not of the sufferings common to all: the war, the defeat... Then suddenly the priest, obviously inspired, uttered these words which sent a thrill through the congregation: “We will not cross the threshold of this temple consecrated to the BlessedVirgin without having promised to offer Her a silver heart, which will inform future generations that on this day, between 8 and 9 o’clock in the evening, a whole people prostrated themselves at the feet of After the capitulation of Sedan (September 2, 1870), the Prussians marched on Paris. It was no coincidence that it was in the evening of September 19, 1870, twenty-four years to the day after the solemn warnings of Mary at La Salette, that the capital officially entered a state of siege. Entirely cut off from the rest of France, Parisians had to endure the cold of an exceptionally harsh winter, hunger (they went so far as to eat the exotic animals from the Jardin des Plantes), and the bombardments of an implacable enemy. Our Lady of Victories and was saved by Her!” Let us retain the date and the hour... Particularly in the provinces of Western France, those very Christian lands still vibrating with the words of Saint Louis Mary de Montfort, still drenched with the blood of its valiant soldier-martyrs – Cathelineau, d’Elbée, Charrette – the cries of the people rose up to Heaven. Ever since the Battle of Le Mans, definitively lost by General Chanzy’s troops (January 12, 1871), it was no longer fear but terror that reigned over Brittany, Normandy, Maine andAnjou. “It is the Secret of La Salette Oratory of the Holy Face (in 1877), in the home of Venerable Leon Dupont (1797-1876), the holy man of Tours. At the time of the FrancoPrussian War, that great Christian said: “The Prussians are in Orleans. We don’t know whether they will come to Tours. In any case, nothing will happen except by the Master’s permission. Blessed be His holy name!... There is nothing to say, nothing to do but humble ourselves, our head in ashes, letting the justice of God pass through.”
breaking upon us!” cried the peasants of the Vendée. And next to the cross, many of them wrote this invocation above the entrance doors of their houses: “Our Lady of La Salette, hold back the arm of your Son pressing down upon us!” Leaving aside all the towns and villages whose inhabitants succeeded one another night and day at the foot of the altar, let us go straight to Saint-Brieuc in Brittany. There stood an ancient shrine dedicated to Mary Immaculate, seat of the Archconfraternity of Our Lady of Hope. As they had done in 1848,10 the faithful of Saint-Brieuc, especially the members of the Archconfraternity, besieged the chapel of Our Lady of Hope and multiplied their public prayers. Novena followed upon novena, the rosary was prayed in common by an ever-renewed 10. See the adjacent text: Our Lady of Hope of Saint‐Brieuc and Canon Paul‐Marie Prud’homme. host of the faithful. At intervals, the hymn composed by Father Prud’homme, which had become popular throughout the region, was sung again: Mother of Hope... As the situation became more and more critical, the idea of making a vow arose in the hearts of the faithful. “To obtain the intervention of Our Lady of Hope and the assistance of Her protection against the scourges that threaten us, we promise, when these graces will have been granted, to contribute, according to our means, to the donation of a rich banner offered as an exvoto, which will have the image of Our Lady billowing in the air.” This vow, presented to and approved by the bishop on January 17 at about five-thirty in the afternoon, was officially made by some of the associates at six o’clock that same evening. This was followed by a ceremony of public supplications which lasted until nine o’clock. Once again, let us retain the date and the hour. - Heaven’s reply - Pontmain is a charming village in the Mayenne, situated on the border between Brittany and Normandy. Under the guidance of a saintly priest, Father Michel Guérin, its few hundred During the month of June following the armistice, thirty-seven out of the thirty-eight parishioners who had been mobilized returned to their homes. One was still missing, a prisoner in Germany. Trusting in Mary’s promise and the merits of Father Guérin, the missing man’s sister asked the holy priest to say a Mass for her brother’s prompt return. The Mass was set for June 17. The celebrant was about to go to the altar when the young man entered the village, safe and sound. Mary had kept all her proteges! Ex-voto hanging in Pontmain Basilica In honor of the Blessed Virgin, in thanksgiving to GOD for the return of 38 young men who came back from the service without any of them having died. Out of gratitude, they had a Mass celebrated which was attended by all of them and a great number of the faithful. GLORY TO GOD Honor and Love to MARY 1871
Magnificat Vol. LVI, No 5 125 inhabitants lived there as true Christians, in labor, simplicity and peace. But for the past six months, peace had given way to anguish: the country was at war. Soon the order for the mass mobilization of able-bodied men arrived, a call that affected thirty-eight young men from the village. With tears in his eyes but confidence in his heart, Father Guérin consecrated the departing men to the Blessed Virgin, confidently promising that they would all return. As for those who remained, the parish priest asked them to be one heart and one soul and to unite in an unceasing supplication to Heaven. From then on, every Ordained a priest in 1837, Paul-Marie Prud’homme had been named director of the Congregation of the Blessed Virgin of Saint-Brieuc and guardian of the chapel of the Immaculate Conception. Father Prud’homme had a profound devotion to the Virgin Mary and loved to invoke Her under the name of Our Lady of Hope. He regretted that this invocation was not more widespread, saying, “We have Notre-Dame des Victoires, Notre-Dame de la Garde, Notre-Dame du Bon-Secours, NotreDame des Grâces, Notre-Dame de la Délivrance, etc. Why is there not Notre-Dame de l’Espérance – Our Lady of Hope, since this title corresponds so well to the aspirations of Christian souls and since, perhaps better than many others, it is consecrated by the holy liturgy?”1 A miracle of the Virgin which took place in 1847 had given him the opportunity to spread far and wide this devotion so dear to his heart. That year, little Viscount Hyacinthe de Bélizal was dying of typhoid. Kneeling beside the poor patient, Father Prud’homme made this inspired prayer to Mary: “I have nothing more to offer You; You have my heart; I have no possessions, or if I have any, they are Yours. Grant the healing that so many pious souls are asking of You, and I will make every effort to have You called and honored with the title of Our Lady of Hope, for once more You will have proven that You are never invoked in vain by that name.” The Virgin was pleased with his prayer: soon afterwards, against all human prevision, the child began to improve. Faithful to his promise, Father Prud’homme became more than ever the apostle and the tireless propagator of devotion to Our Lady of Hope. 1. I am the Mother of fair love, and of fear, and of knowledge, and of holy hope. Ecclesiasticus 24:24 Our Lady of Hope of Saint-Brieuc and Canon Paul-Marie Prud’homme (1812-1882) morning at Mass, the church was almost as full as on Sundays. The Holy Sacrifice was followed by special prayers for the soldiers and for the nation. In the evening, people gathered once again in the sanctuary to implore theVirgin Mary, Queen of Peace. Even the little children interrupted their school work from hour to hour to sing a verse of the hymn: My sweet Jesus, the time has come at last to forgive our penitent hearts. But it seemed that Heaven was closed to them... More and more alarming news reached the village. Defeats were followed by capitulations, Paris was besieged, Orleans
The Immaculate Conception chapel soon proved insufficient to accommodate the expansion of the Archconfraternity. Demolished in 1856, it was rebuilt (photo opposite) on a much larger scale; Father Prud’homme himself was the architect. What difficulties and obstacles he had to overcome to build a Marian shrine worthy of Her glory! But nothing could deter the faithful apostle of Our Lady of Hope, and the building was completed in less than twenty months. Saint Pius X elevated it to the rank of minor basilica in 1903. When the Revolution of 1848 occurred, the throne was toppled, blood ran in the streets, disorder and panic prevailed everywhere. In Saint-Brieuc the population came seeking help at the feet of Mary in the chapel of the Immaculate Conception. For an entire month, uninterrupted prayer was made for the salvation of France. Witnessing this extraordinary movement of piety and fearing that it would cease as soon as the danger had passed, Father Prud’homme conceived the project of organizing permanent prayer: this was the origin of the Association of Prayers and Good Works for the Salvation of France, under the patronage of Our Lady of Hope. Gathering a hundred members at first, then several thousand, the Confraternity soon had associates all over the world. This new army needed a rallying cry, a hymn that would be the touching expression of its desires and its reason for being. From the heart of Father Prud’homme sprang the following hymn, which Heaven was to answer in 1871: Mother of Hope Whose name is so sweet, Protect our France, Pray, O pray for us! The wishes of the founder of the Archconfraternity were at the height of fulfillment: he saw the faithful gather in crowds beneath the mantle of Our Lady of Hope and hasten to Her sanctuary. Even so, before he could chant his Nunc Dimittis, Mary Herself wanted to give an irrefutable proof of satisfaction to Her servant, as well as a solemn consecration of the work he had undertaken for Her glory. At the very hour that some of the members of the Archconfraternity were making a vow to Our Lady of Hope in the name of all, the Queen of Heaven appeared in Pontmain. There is more: at the request of the venerable pastor, Father Guérin, Sister MarieÉdouard started to sing a hymn to the Virgin, the one composed by Father Prud’homme. As those moving
conquered, Le Mans lost, and the Prussians were advancing, always advancing! They were now just a few kilometers out of Laval, very close to Pontmain. With no news of their soldiers, alarmed by stories of the pillaging of the Prussian army, even those with the most unshakable confidence began to falter. On the evening of January 15, when Father Guérin intoned Mother of Hope, the Saint-Brieuc canticle which usually concluded the prayers, he found himself singing alone. “Pray as we might,” said his parishioners, “God is not listening to us!” At his prompting, they finally agreed to sing with him, but their voices were mingled with tears... And yet, their deliverance was at hand. The evening of January 17 was especially cold, and the clear sky was studded with stars that twinkled with a singular brilliance. In the barn owned by the Barbedettes, the father and his two sons, Eugene (12 years old) and Joseph (10 years old), were pounding gorse to serve as food for the animals. Then, at around half past five, a woman entered. It was Jeannette Détais, who was in a very good mood, for she had news concerning the soldiers of Pontmain, and rather good news at that! Seeing the light in Barbedette’s barn, she had decided to go in because the oldest son, Auguste, was serving in the army. So they interrupted their work. No one knows what prompted Eugene, who had been so worried about his godfather, Auguste, to leave at that precise moment. “I wanted to see what the weather was like,”11 he would say later. Instead of “the weather,” it was a Heavenly vision that unfolded before his eyes. About fiftymeters across from the barn, above Augustin Guidecoq’s house, a beautiful Lady stood in the air, smiling gently at 11. The aurora borealis, an extremely rare phenome‐ non at that latitude, had lit up the sky several days ear‐ lier. Deeply impressed, Eugene was hoping to see another such spectacle. He saw a lot more and much better! verses filled the starry night, the Immaculate Virgin showed Her happiness at being hailed as Our Lady of Hope by gently raising Her hands – having held them down until then – to shoulder height. Then, moving Her fingers with consummate grace as if playing a piano, She looked at the children with a smile brighter and more engaging than ever. “Look, She’s laughing! She’s laughing!” they exclaimed energetically. And the little ones jumped and clapped their hands, repeating with an expression that no tongue on earth can express: “Oh, how beautiful She is! Oh, how beautiful She is! To Her, to Her; if I had wings, I would go to Her...” The entire assistance prayed, laughed, wept for joy. It was a unique moment in that divine drama. Shortly after these events, the humble apostle of Mary wrote: “Have you heard of the Vow we made to Our Lady of Hope on January 17? On that very day, shortly after the approval and subscription of the Bishop, the Blessed Virgin appeared in the diocese of Laval and smiled. She raised Her hands as a sign of prayer and protection while before Her they sang Mother of Hope, the hymn that I composed in 1848 when we founded our Union of Prayer, and which is now being sung everywhere. Is this not a reason to love Her more and more, and to devote ourselves to Her veneration and Her work? Pray to Her for your devoted servant and father in Our Lord. Fr. Prud’homme, ch.” As early as October 1871 he made a pilgrimage to Pontmain, questioned the visionaries, the parish priest and the nuns, who confirmed the marvelous coincidences recounted above, and obtained the joy of having Eugene and Joseph Barbedette as his altar boys. Until his death on February 1, 1882, he rejoiced at the memory of it and always spoke about it with vivid emotion. Magnificat Vol. LVI, No 5 127
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