Mother Mary Jean of the Cross, O.SS.R. Foundress of the Monastery of Dublin (1826 – 1902)

Foundation of the Monastery of Dublin

CHAPTER II. The Monastery and the
church of the Redemptoristines of Dublin.
Virtues of the good Mother

Twelve years had passed since the entry of the Redemptoristines in Dublin, and they still occupied only a provisional home. In 1871, the moment seemed to have come for Mother Mary-Jean of the Cross to build a definitive Monastery. For this purpose, the Most Rev. Fr. Nicolas Mauron, Rector Major of the Community of the Most Holy Redeemer, wrote to her on 1st January 1872: “I am most happy to bless the enterprise to which, after so many years of waiting, you believe you can now put your hand. You have done well to be patient during so long a time; because, in this kind of business, urgency does not attract God's blessings. For the same reason, you have also done well not to bind yourself too early to begin a foundation in England, especially in a locality that would seem not very desirable. It is important for you to establish yourself well in Dublin, and consolidate yourself well there before beginning any new foundation, of which it would be prudent to dream only when you in fact have a superfluity of good subjects. I would like to hope that this delay according to God's spirit will not be an obstacle to the vocation of the lady you have mentioned to me. A well-established Monastery is worth two which are suffering from the lack of personnel, and which almost always means the decline of observance and the loss of its spirit.”

These beautiful words encouraged the good Superior. The Cardinal Archbishop of Dublin, Mons. Cullen, approved the choice of land, the plan of the monastery and the chapel, drawn up by a famous architect, Mr. Ashlin, and on 18th July 1893, he solemnly laid the first stone of the new convent. A gracious detail: the builder had had the measurements taken of the land that the new monastery and the church would occupy, and the Sisters had pegged them out with long sticks painted white, on each of which they had written an invocation from the Litanies of the Most Holy Virgin. The Most Rev. Fr. Coffin, Provincial of the Redemptorists of England, and Fathers. Bridgett and Harbisons were present, as well as a numerous clergy and a considerable crowd. Once the first stone had been laid, Father Bridgett gave a magnificent speech about the role of the contemplative Orders in the world.

Thanks to the builder’s activity, constantly stimulated by the zeal of the Mother Superior, the work was rapidly brought to a good end. On 30th June 1875, at five o'clock in the morning, the Redemptoristines left their temporary home and went there in procession, led by two eminent members of the clergy, to take possession of their new Monastery. The holy Mass was celebrated, the nuns received communion, and until 2nd July, the convent was open to the crowd avid to visit it. On that day, the Cardinal established the enclosure, and the Sisters, to their greatest joy, withdrew forever into their pious solitude. With what gratitude their hearts now turned towards her who had prepared them a retreat so well adapted to their life of prayer! With what rejoicing they began the Divine Office henceforth in this chapel, a real jewel of art, where their prayers were to attract upon Ireland and the world most abundant favours!

The church merits us spending some moments upon it, for it cost so much work for Mother Mary-Jean of the Cross! She elicited the grants of so many generous souls! She received the visit of so many pious souls, so many hearts that suffered and so many artists anxious to contemplate a masterpiece!

It is dedicated to Saint Alphonsus, and the long street that leads to the Monastery has received the name of Saint Alphonsus Road. The church is indeed worthy of the holy Doctor by its rich ornamentation and the piety that it inspires, for devotion to the Most Holy Sacrament, the Most Holy Virgin, Saint Joseph, the holy Doctor and Saint Gerard Majella seem to have established their home there. The main altar is richly sculptured in white marble; on the front, the Last Supper is engraved in bas-relief and decorated with precious marble. The whole of it is the homage of a pious person totally devoted to Saint Alphonsus.

Around the sanctuary, great pictures represent the holy Doctor preaching to the shepherds and the highlanders of Scala; the Bishop of Saint-Agatha praying before the Blessed Sacrament; and Saint Alphonsus rapt in ecstasy before the picture of the Most Holy Virgin. Above the high altar, Saint Alphonsus is represented glorious in Heaven: he is praying to the Divine Redeemer and pointing with his finger to the Most Holy Virgin who is in an attitude of supplication. At the bottom of the picture, an angel is holding the Rules of the Institute of the Most Holy Redeemer in his hands.

In front of the nuns’ grille, a beautiful painting attracts attention: it is Saint Alphonsus giving the Rule to the Redemptoristine Nuns. The life of the divine Saviour is carved in bas-relief right around the church and below it are the stations of the Way of the Cross. On the window arcades are busts of the twelve apostles, in medallions; then, back to back on columns of marble, the wooden statues of Saint John the Evangelist, Saint Teresa, Saint Francis de Sales and the Irish Saint Bridget, sculptured and ornamented in Munich.

Above the tabernacle rises a dome supported by four columns of red marble: two angels on their knees adore the Blessed Sacrament exposed. The door of the tabernacle is surmounted by a cross decorated with precious stones; inside the door, on a silver plaque, the Sacred Heart of Our Lord is engraved, and it is surrounded with as much hearts as the community possesses members.

A beautiful altar dedicated to Our Lady of Perpetual Help is also the offering of a pious soul. The white marble of which it is made, the mosaics with which it is decorated, the ex-votos of gold and silver that surround it, offer an enchanting vision. Finally the altar of Saint Joseph, also in white marble, completes this beautiful whole.

This is but a feeble and incomplete description: however, it will suffice, we hope, to give an idea of the zeal deployed by Mother Mary-Jean of the Cross, for the beauty of the house of the Lord.

Now let us speak of virtues of the good Superior.

* * * * *

Benefactors are not to be forgotten in a religious Order, and so Mother Mary-Jean of the Cross carefully cultivated this beautiful virtue of gratitude which is so pleasing to both God and men. She prayed and had others pray for all the people who had contributed by their offerings to the building of the monastery and the church, and to its embellishment. The generous O'Brien family was in the first rank and then a noble lady, Mrs. Ainsworth, who was to enter the Monastery later as a nun. Let us speak now of this Sister Mary-Anne Liguori of Jesus Crucified, to whom we shall later dedicate a special note. She entered the Monastery of Dublin, and for five years, gave the example of the most beautiful virtues there. She had the happiness of being attended at her death by her worthy Superior, whose most maternal zeal for the sick and the agonizing we have already praised. Let us listen to Mrs. Ainsworth’s historian on this point. “The maternal love and the assiduous care of the good Superior”, he says, “redoubled when one of her daughters was about to die. She would then install herself in a little room next to the infirmary so as to be close to the dear departing. In spite of her sorrow, in spite of her fatigue, she knew how to remain strong and admirable in this supreme moment. When Sister Mary-Anne Liguori had arrived at her last moments, Mother Mary-Jean of the Cross spoke these sublime words to her: “Finally, my dear Sister, the happy moment has come, and Jesus Himself is coming to find you. The Most Holy Virgin, Saint Joseph and Saint Alphonsus are going to present you to Him. Take your Crucifix that you have loved so much, take your Rosary: these are your passports to eternity.” Then she herself put the blessed candle into the hands of the dying Sister and recited the prayers of the agonising in a gentle and firm voice.”

“A Prioress”, wrote Saint Alphonsus, “must also be a Prioress in love, which means the first in loving God; and this is the ruling that I am giving you.” [1]

Mother Mary-Jean of the Cross was indeed the first to love God while observing her Rule. The beauty of God's house doubtless concerned her to the highest degree, and no one could say what vigilance she exercised so that all was worthy there of the divine Host in the tabernacle and so that the Divine Office would be recited there with piety; but the beauty of the interior house, that is to say the kingdom of God's love in her and in her daughters excited her solicitude even more still. Her devotion to the Blessed Sacrament was exquisite: once she was at the foot of the tabernacle, we may say that no one knew how to draw her away from it. On Holy Thursday, it was with fiery words that she reminded her Sisters of the institution of the Blessed Eucharist; on Good Friday, the Way of the Cross inspired from her the accents of the most tender love towards the divine Master crucified for love of us; in a word, by her words, by her examples and by the good order she established, she preached always and everywhere of this divine love which is sufficient for all and which is perfection itself. And so she spread a delightful peace around herself, and the most tender charity united all hearts to her. The Most Rev. Fr. Mauron congratulated her about it one day in these terms: “I rejoice that all the Sisters are very fervent and united to each other by the spirit of charity; and in a word, occupied in their Monastery by rendering the spiritual edifice ever more perfect by their sanctification, and by knowing and appropriating the spirit of Saint Alphonsus more and more.”

Love of the poor was also a distinctive feature of the worthy Superior. She always took keenly to heart the interests of the poor Irish people, greatly admiring their faith, their respect in God's house, and their patience in their hard privations, and so in winter she distributed many clothes to the poor wretches who implored her charity; and her daughters continued after her this noble exercise in generosity towards Christ's suffering members.

An admirable thing! The worries and the expenses of all kind that the building of her convent imposed on her did not stop her from helping the Redemptoristines of Italy, robbed by the Italian government. The Most Rev. Fr. Mauron congratulated her more than once on this. He wrote to her one day: “I have just received the small sum you are sending to your poor Sisters in Vibonati. Knowing that you have to cope with your building expenses at the moment, I would not have dared to ask or hope for generosity on your part. When I will make known to your Sisters in Vibonati the position in which you find yourself, they will be even more grateful to you because of it.” Another day, he also told her: “I shall send the sum in question to the Superior of Saint-Agatha without delay. It is a great act of charity that you have shown towards this community: it is most pleasing to God and to Saint Alphonsus, and they will certainly bless it. It was thanks to this Monastery, founded and maintained by Saint Alphonsus with so much solicitude, that the Order of the Redemptoristines crossed the mountains and was propagated as far as Dublin. Scala was its cradle, and Saint-Agatha the propagator.”

We have already said how much Mother Mary-Jean of the Cross inspired the love of the Church in her community. Love of the Pope was inseparable from it, and so devotion to the Pope (to use Father Faber’s expression) was fully alive in the monastery. Pius IX, for his part, deigned one day to reply to her in a charming manner. This was in 1867 and the victory of Mentana had just rewarded the bravery of the pontifical warriors. No doubt the good Superior had sent the Sovereign Pontiff the expression of the filial devotion of her community; because the Most Rev. Fr. Mauron wrote to her on the 17th December: “Yesterday I had the honour of being admitted an audience with His Holiness. I then told him, for his consolation, how the Redemptoristines had been praying with fervour and constancy for his sacred person and for the Church, and I asked him for an abundant and special blessing for your community. His Holiness was most happy to oblige. Finally, following your request, I presented him with the enclosed portrait, while asking it to write down some words on it. Immediately, with this very paternal grace that characterizes him, the Holy Father wrote on the back of the picture: Die 16 decemb. 1867. Quocumque tendit Jesus, virgines sequuntur, that is to say: Everywhere Jesus goes, the virgins follow Him. – I do not doubt that these beautiful words that the Holy Father addresses to you directly, will be a fertile topic of meditations for you. Perhaps it will not be indifferent to you to know that the Holy Father looked attentively at the photograph and told me that he thought it was a good one.” [2]

Great was the joy of the community of Dublin when it had the honour of receiving the visit of some delegate of the Holy See. This is how in 1875, on the occasion of the centenary of O'Connell, when Cardinal Franchi was sent by Pius IX to represent him at the splendid feasts celebrating this occasion, it was an indescribable happiness for the community to see this eminent Cardinal coming to speak with a very paternal goodness about the troubles of the Church and the beloved Pontiff. He recommended all the Sisters to pray with ardour for these sacred interests and show themselves, in this as in all the rest, the true daughters of Saint Alphonsus. Then, blessing them as he departed, His Eminence congratulated the Superior for having raised to the glory of God so beautiful a church, and gave her a magnificent cross in memory of his visit.

Footnotes

[1] Letters of St. Alphonsus, Vol. I, p. 421
[2] Le Révérendissime Père Nicolas Mauron, chapitre XX

This necrology is translated from Fleurs de l'Institut des Rédemptoristines by Mr John R. Bradbury. The copyright of this translation is the property of the Redemptoristine Nuns of Maitland, Australia. The integral version of the translated book will be posted here as the necrologies appear.

Mother Mary Jean of the Cross, O.SS.R. Foundress of the Monastery of Dublin (1826 – 1902)

Foundation of the Monastery of Dublin

CHAPTER I. CHILDHOOD OF JULIE VERHELST.
She enters the convent of the Redemptoristines at Bruges

She was indeed a charming child, this little Julie Verhelst who, in 1830, when she was scarcely four years old, was brought to the church on Christmas day at the very moment when the great bell announced the midnight Mass. She knelt down on the pavement, as if totally penetrated already by the grandeur of the mystery that was being celebrated, and prayed fervently. A little later, endowed as she was with a rare intelligence, an admirable uprightness of heart, and a profound piety, she watched so well over her two young brothers and her four sisters that when she was present, they did not dare permit themselves the smallest lie or the least evasion. It was indeed one of the characteristic features of her life. Her soul was always as pure as crystal, and the truth shone forth in all her actions.

Julie Verhelst was born in Courtrai in 1826, of well respected and perfect Christian parents. Through her agreeable nature, her charming pleasantries, and the happy company in her of the rarest qualities of mind and spirit, she was soon the delight of her parents and family. But the Spouse of Virgins was very soon to reserve this chosen soul for Himself. From her first communion in 1837, the sweet child felt a keen attraction to the religious life. The excellent education she received confirmed her in this thought; and when Father Paul Reyners, Redemptorist, made her aware, in the course of a retreat, of the existence of the Order of the Redemptoristines, she felt God calling her to be one of the daughters of Saint Alphonsus. The religious who was then governing the Redemptoristine Convent of Bruges was called Sister Marie-Alphonse of the Will of God. It was she who welcomed the young lady’s first overtures. And she in turn was greatly impressed by this interview. “I believed I was in the presence of Saint Teresa”, she told her mother, “so struck was I by the greatness of her soul and the profound faith with which she spoke of the greatness of the religious vocation.” Mother Marie-Alphonse promised the postulant she would receive her as soon as the will of God became manifest and certain obstacles overcome. Providence did not delay in opening the way.

On 2nd July of the year 1845, on the feast of the Visitation of the Most Holy Virgin, Julie-Marie-Josephine Verhelst, in company of four other young ladies of good family, trampled with their feet on the greatness of the world with its deceptive charms, and took this first step in one day becoming the brides of Christ, their only love. This was at the monastery of Bruges. After greeting them, the Venerable Fr. Joseph Passerat spoke to them in detail; then he led the postulants to the door of the enclosure, took it upon himself to knock on it for them, and when Mother Marie-Alphonse had made the customary demands, he introduced them into the monastery to the chant of In exitu Israel de Aegypto [On the exit of Israel from Egypt].

The ceremony for the taking of the habit took place for the five candidates one year later, that is, on 22nd July 1846: all of them had given brilliant proof of their virtue, but she who was later to be called Sister Mary-Jean of the Cross stood out from all the others by her blind obedience, her spirit of sacrifice, and a piety so full of grace and unction that one could not help feeling attracted to her. The Bishop of Bruges was the celebrant, and after a special sermon given by Fr. Joseph Reyners, he blessed the white veils and the holy habit, and presented them to the novices by saying: “May the Passion of Our Lord Christ be stamped on your heart and in all your senses.”

The generous Novice then saw the path of the actual novitiate open up before her. Under the guidance of Mother Marie-Philomène, she made new and rapid progress in the practice of solid virtue. The Rule of the Redemptoristines requires them to imitate the virtues of the Most Holy Redeemer, reproduce His hidden life in Nazareth as much as possible in themselves, and participate by their prayers and their sacrifices in His apostolic life, for the great work of the salvation of the souls.

As humble as she was courageous, Sister Mary-Jean of the Cross did not place any limits to her ardour. Accustomed to doing nothing by halves, she continued to follow the royal path of complete devotion to her heavenly Spouse, and she always had a horror of the narrow calculations of a shared life, and a heart that is not all for God. “Virtue”, said Saint Mary-Magdalen of Pazzi, “has nothing feminine but the name, and taken in the sense of religious perfection, this word means heroism and complete immolation of self to be united to the divine model, Jesus crucified.”

This is indeed what our Novice had understood, so she was amply rewarded when, on 15th October 1847, she was permitted to pronounce the holy vows of poverty, chastity, obedience, and perpetual enclosure.

* * * * *

The obedience of the newly professed soon had occasion to be tested.

One day she went to ask Mother Marie-Alphonse for a book of spiritual reading, and received this reply from her Superior: “Certainly, but before I do so, you must learn the first eight chapters of Spiritual Combat by heart, and recite them to me”. Mother Mary-Jean of the Cross bowed her head, learned the eight chapters by heart, recited them, and then received a book of readings.

A more important occasion presented itself: it was about the tasks to be done. As Saint Alphonsus says, it is often something that causes the greatest problems to Superiors, because they do not always find obedient souls. The young professed did not seek anything and did not refuse anything, and when she was named assistant-bursar and portress, she fulfilled these functions with tact and a remarkable ability. The converse Sisters greatly liked and respected Mother Mary-Jean of the Cross, and they gave her all their confidence. This good Mother in fact regulated their different tasks so that they would all help each other with a quite fraternal charity. She herself would procure for each one of them what was necessary for her task, gladly took upon herself the writing of their letters, gave them their spiritual readings, and marvellously possessed the precious talent of restoring their spirits by one of those words that go straight to the heart. And so none of them ever recoiled before works most painful to nature, and their hearts rose effortlessly to God to offer Him lovingly the tribute of their obedience.

After one responsibility came another. The task of Housekeeper later on called forth the qualities of the Mother Mary-Jean of the Cross and that of Mistress of Novices showed she had a rare dexterity in the government of souls. “All the good of a convent”, said Saint Alphonsus, “depends on the education of the Novices, who eventually will have to govern it”. The good examples of the devout Mistress, her impartiality and her constancy in firmly instilling knowledge and observance of the Rule promptly won her the confidence and affection of her daughters. For in fact they were so, as their Mistress showed herself a vigilant and tender mother in regard to them, forming them little by little to solid virtue, and endeavouring to dilate and rejoice their hearts and make the yoke of the Lord seem sweet and soft to them. Thus the Monastery of Bruges had the happiness of possessing a number of fervid souls, delicious fruits, worthy of the tree that had born them.

The foundation of the Convent of Brussels-Malines took place in 1855. It was from Bruges, to the number of fourteen, that came the Redemptoristines who established it. Mother Mary-Jean of the Cross had no part in it; but in 1858, when it was proposed to open a new monastery at Velp, in Holland, it was she who was assigned to prepare it. Assisted by two converse Sisters, she set to work with her usual activity, and only a few weeks were sufficient for her to put the house in state to receive the Superior and the four Sisters designated for the foundation. When they arrived, they found the cells all ready, the chapel well prepared, the kitchen in order and the cellar itself abounding with provisions, but the Sister Procurator’s purse no longer contained even a cent, so much had she wanted to do everything well!

But there was now a new foundation that would require the care of Mother Mary-Jean of the Cross. This time, it is as Superior that she will appear to us. The tasks exercised by her up till now were all to prepare her for a more difficult and meritorious life still.

* * * * *

It was to Dublin, the capital of the island of the Saints, that the good Mother would be going to found a monastery of Rédemptoristines there. God wanted Ireland, this country so devoted to the Most Holy Redeemer and to His Most Holy Mother, to have its own Virgins consecrated to none other than the imitation of these two admirable models.

Recommended to Cardinal Cullen by the illustrious Mons. Malou, Bishop of Bruges, Mother Mary-Jean of the Cross departed from Bruges under the guidance of Reverend Mother Marie-Philomène, her Superior, with four Sisters intended to be the core of the nascent community. On 25th March 1859, on the feast of the Annunciation, the new arrivals were solemnly installed in their provisional home. Cardinal Archbishop, the Most Rev. Fr. de Held, Provincial of the Belgian Redemptorists, the Rev. Fr. de Buggenoms, Rector of Limerick, numerous priests and all the notabilities of Dublin, enhanced the ceremony by their presence. An eloquent sermon by Father de Buggenoms reviewed the merits of the contemplative life, and showed the happy fruits that it produces in the Church.

It was a great joy for the Sisters to see their number soon increasing. Fine vocations were declared straight away, including that of the eldest daughter of Mr. O'Brien. Her family was one of the most illustrious and revered in Ireland: it recalled the heroic times when the Catholics of this country had, at the cost of a thousand sacrifices, defended their faith and their priests against the most atrocious persecutions. Several others, in whose the veins the blood of the martyrs also flowed, joined themselves to her, and Mother Mary-Jean of the Cross soon understood that Heaven was for it, in the midst of the unavoidable contradictions that it had to undergo. Did she not know indeed, that in the cross is life, salvation, and resurrection? Saint Joseph, to whom she prayed with ardour, had he not sent her some unexpected help? Finally, in the very house where she lived, a good servant of God had once predicted that some cloistered nuns, dressed in red and blue, would come there to live one day.

These divine favours encouraged the Mother Superior, and thanks to her example and thanks to her exhortations, the new Monastery was soon established on the basis of the most perfect regularity. With her firm but gentle authority, she captivated all hearts, and knew, by a thousand means that only virtue knows, how to prepare them for the most generous sacrifices. Her attention to giving pleasure had the secrets and resources that a mother's heart alone can imagine. If a sister was sick, she did not leave her side and the physician could not give an order whose execution she did not supervise. If the illness was prolonged, she would ensure that the patient was not deprived of Holy Communion, and finally, when the death came to take away one of her daughters, she did not abandon her! Her faith and love followed the soul unto eternity, and she assured her of prompt and numerous suffrages.

The tender solicitude of Mother Mary-Jean of the Cross was given without distinction to all her Sisters. She sometimes even appeared to give a certain preference to the converse Sisters, placed great value on their work, praised their devotion, and most of all, never permitted them to be deprived of their spiritual exercises. “God”, she said, “must be served with great fidelity to everything that the Rule prescribes for the Converse as well as for the choir Sisters.” Thus she conformed herself to the recommendation so often made by Saint Alphonsus and so she maintained in her community the spirit of fervour, of mutual charity, and of the common imitation of the virtues of the Most Holy Redeemer.

The love of prayer and love of the Church soon became the soul of the new Monastery. It was the result of the example and exhortations of the good Superior. As a worthy daughter of the Doctor of prayer, she gave to this holy exercise every moment which she was able to find, and there was the secret of her power over God's heart and her influence over the hearts of those she governed. But her prayer was never a selfish prayer, either for herself, or for her daughters. Without forgetting the interests of their souls, these daughters learnt from their pious Mother to pray a great deal for the Church. With what care, for example, did they dedicate the prayers and good works of every day of the week to a completely apostolic intention! With what ardour did Mother Mary-Jean of the Cross remind them of these sublime intentions!

Let us permit ourselves to mention them here, as they show us what prayer is in contemplative monasteries, and the beauty of this life consecrated entirely to the good of others.

“On Sundays, all prayers, communions, penances and works will be offered for the Sovereign Pontiff, the exaltation of the holy Church, the Sacred College of Cardinals, all Prelates, the diocesan bishop, and all Christian Princes.

“On Mondays, for all sinners, heretics, Jews and pagans, so that they may attain the light of the true faith.

“On Tuesdays, for all Orders of religious men and women, so that the Lord may give them the spirit of their vocation.

“On Wednesdays, for all evangelical workers and for all fathers and mothers of a family.

“On Thursdays, for the four states of souls: for those who are in purgatory, for the innocents, for the agonising; for the children who are to be born, while asking for them to receive the grace of holy Baptism.

“On Fridays, for the perfection of our own community, and for the growth of the spirit of the Order and all its subjects.

“On Saturdays, for all the relatives of the Sisters, for our spiritual and temporal benefactors, and for all those who are devoted to the Most Blessed Virgin Mary.”

This necrology is translated from Fleurs de l'Institut des Rédemptoristines by Mr John R. Bradbury. The copyright of this translation is the property of the Redemptoristine Nuns of Maitland, Australia. The integral version of the translated book will be posted here as the necrologies appear.

Sister Marie-Gertrude of Jesus, O.SS.R. of the Monastery of Louvain (1858 – 1888)

Sister Marie-Gertrude was born in Malmédy (Prussian Rhineland) on 14th April 1858. At the age of four she lost her father. Left alone, her mother chose a pious young person to educate her four small daughters. Emma, the third in the family, was of a weak and delicate complexion and showed a happy disposition towards piety. At the time of her first Communion a sudden illness put her life in danger and she prepared herself to make the sacrifice of her life, “quite happy,” she said, “to be going to see God.” But the hour had not yet come. Emma's health recovered and she made her first Communion with great devotion.

At the age of eighteen, Emma was sent to the Ladies of the Sacred Heart at Jette to finish her education there. Deprived of all the little indulgences of which she had been the object, and in view of the sickly and languid state of her childhood years, Emma could not endure the discipline of the Boarding school and stayed there only three months. Her mother then addressed herself to Miss * * *, the director of a house of education in Brussels, and begged her to be kind enough to receive her daughter as a boarder. Emma was admitted there and found in Miss M * * *, the sister of the Director, a second mother, who was pleased to form her in piety. Docile to her opinions, Emma began to be disgusted by the world and touched by grace, and so she conceived the project of entering the convent.

It was with these happy dispositions that the young lady went back to her family in Liége, where her mother had been staying for two years. Following the advice of her worthy mistress, Emma then chose a Redemptorist Father for her confessor. Divine Providence let her find a sure and illumined guide in Father * * *. Under the wise direction of this holy religious, she exercised herself in the practice of the virtues and made new progress in piety, in spite of the opposition and the semi-persecution that her mother forced her to undergo. Mrs. * * *, although a good Christian, was very opposed to a religious vocation and dreaded it for her daughter. Her fears sometimes made her a little difficult, but Emma patiently bore all her observations. After her return to Liége, she was received into the Community of the Holy Virgin and a little later, into the Third Order of Saint Francis. In concert with her younger sister Fanny who shared her tastes, Emma used pious ruses to deliver herself to her exercises of piety without the knowledge of her family. A love of prayer brought the two girls to transform all places where they found themselves into an oratory; they sometimes locked themselves into a cupboard to recite their rosaries, did their meditation in a carriage or on the railway, and when they were forced to go to the theatre, they withdrew to the bottom of the stall to pray there. When Emma and Fanny went on vacation to Malmédy, the rev. vicar, who knew of their love for Jesus in the Host, wishing to procure them the happiness of receiving communion frequently without attracting attention, had recourse to a little stratagem to call them to the church. When there was no one there, he would place a flowering plant at the window of the presbytery. Every morning the two sisters took a look. When they saw the happy sign, they hastened to go to the church to receive their beloved Lord.

Emma spent five years to Liége, always internally nourishing the desire to consecrate herself to God without being able to do so. With grace pressing her more urgently, she resolved to delay no longer in responding to the call of the Lord and asked her spiritual father to indicate the Order to her in which she could serve the divine Master with the most perfection. The Rev. Father * * * told her about the Redemptoristines. Emma would have liked to present herself to them immediately, but her wise director ordered her to wait one more year. This decision greatly afflicted the dear child and her grief increased even more when, some time later, Mrs. * * * announced to her that she had decided to go and live in Cologne where her two eldest girls had lived since their marriage. For poor Emma it was a real catastrophe, because being far from her director made her fear the extinction of her pious projects. But the apostle has said: “Diligentibus Deum omnia cooperantur in bonum.” – (Everything contributes to the good of those who love God). It was in a foreign country that Emma was to find the zealous guide who would help her defeat all obstacles by his advice. Fanny continued to share the same ideas, so the two sisters, on the opinion of their common director, began a novena in the Sacred Heart of Jesus. On the ninth day they made a request in writing which they placed in their mother's apartment. Eight days passed in an inexpressible anxiety for the two sisters. Mrs. * * * kept her silence, but during this time she consulted her brother who arrived from Malmédy. Emma and Fanny were called in and Mr. * * * informed them of their mother's consent. He said that Emma could enter religion immediately, but that Fanny had to wait six months.

The two girls had previously written to the Superior of the Redemptoristines of Louvain, and could not to present themselves without first sending them their portrait, so they hastened therefore to communicate the happy news to them.

On 19th February 1884, Emma entered the monastery of Louvain with the most fervent dispositions. From the very first day, her great spirit of poverty was noticed, when she gave up possession of the small objects she had brought, and handed them over to the Mistress of Educandes, not wanting, she said, to have more objects for her usage that the Professed Nuns.

However, as frequently happens, after some months of religion, the nature wished to rebel against grace, and Emma's childish character reappeared. She always appreciated the grace of her vocation and showed herself faithful to it, but her weakness of character and her penchant to natural affections were an obstacle to her perfection. However this was an opportunity for merit to her, because she worked to overcome her little faults. Admitted to the vesting on 19th February 1885, Emma received the name of Sister Marie-Gertrude of Jesus. A short time later, the young Novice was seized by an obstinate cough and a chest illness declared itself at the same time as an infection of her larynx. Her state began to worsen and the Reverend Mother warned Mr. * * * who asked for a consultation. It took place on 15th September, and from then on two physicians came together each week to visit the patient.

Towards the end of December, the Reverend Mother wished to procure to the dear Novice, whose death appeared imminent, the consolation of dying as the Bride of Jesus, and asked Mons the archbishop for permission to let her make her holy vows under condition, which His Eminence granted. On Sunday 4th January 1885 after asking for pardon, Sister Marie-Gertrude pronounced her holy vows in presence of the Community and received Extreme-Unction. Her happiness in being united to Jesus by closer ties seemed to have rallied her forces and her state improved, but it was for a short time. Soon the illness took its course and they had to abandon any hope of preserving her longer. The hour of the reward was about to sound for their dear Sister. She had suffered patiently and had never prayed to obtain her cure, preferring to abandon herself to God's good pleasure. Renouncing human consolations and out of respect for the Enclosure for which she had just taken her vows, she heroically refused to see her mother, who, by a parent's intervention, had obtained from Mons the archbishop permission to enter the Monastery to embrace her daughter one last time.

On the 20th, at about nine o’clock in the evening, the dear Novice called the Sister Infirmarian and told her in a feeble voice: “I believe I am going to die.” Indeed the agony was beginning. She then asked the Sister Infirmarian to thank all people who had helped her on her behalf, and to send a last farewell to her dear mother. At about eleven o’clock, the Community assembled at the bedside of the dying Novice, who preserved a perfect calmness to the end, joining in the pious aspirations that were suggested to her. She had distinguished herself during her short religious life by her obedience and her fidelity to the least observances. Shortly after midnight, on 21st January 1886, Sister Marie-Gertrude expired, and her innocent and pure soul went to be united to the choir of Virgins, to repeat with the lovable Saint Agnes, whose feast was beginning: “I am already contemplating what I desired, and I am already in possession of what I hoped for. I am united in Heaven to Jesus Christ whom I loved on earth with all my affection.”

(Monastery Chronicles)

This necrology is translated from Fleurs de l'Institut des Rédemptoristines by Mr John R. Bradbury. The copyright of this translation is the property of the Redemptoristine Nuns of Maitland, Australia. The integral version of the translated book will be posted here as the necrologies appear.

Sister Marie-Bernard of Jesus, O.SS.R. of the Monastery of Louvain (1872 – 1899)

Dear Sister Marie-Bernard of Jesus, in the world Miss Odile-Marie-Alphonsine Séren, was born of devout and honourable parents in Profondeville, a charming little village of Between-Sambre-and-Meuse, not far from the city of Namur, on 9th May 1872. She lost her mother at the age of four. Her worthy father confided her with her younger sister and her two brothers to the devoted care of her aunts and an old and faithful domestic servant. When his little Odile made her First Communion, he sent her to board with the Sisters of Saint Mary in Namur, where she spent several years. Once her education had finished, she went back to the paternal home, good and serious no doubt but not extraordinarily pious. Her clothes and worldly entertainment gave her some pleasure, but for fear of having a religious vocation she avoided paying a visit to her former Mistresses. This was however what God had reserved for her in His infinite mercy and to attain His goal. He made use of an apparently petty incident. As lady and mistress of the house, since she was the family's eldest daughter and because her father had abandoned the care of the house to her, Miss Odile could act as she wished and dispose of everything as she saw fit. But in December 1893 it was her whim to celebrate the feast of Christmas as joyously as possible, which she justly regarded as the greatest solemnity of the year. Consequently, she undertook the organization of a magnificent dinner that she wanted to offer her relatives and acquaintances. Once the great preparations were finished, she sent her invitations to everyone expecting a great success. A terrible disappointment awaited her. Influenza, an illness that was everywhere at this time, all of a sudden ravaged the district of Namur and mainly affected Miss Odile’s guests, evidently by the providential permission of God Almighty, who holds the elements and events at the service of His intentions. Jealous of this soul, whose whole and absolute possession He coveted, He decreed that this misfortune that He had brought about so opportunely, would be the generating principle of the choice of life that He wanted her to make. Since they were all more or less confined to bed due to this epidemic, her relatives and friends were forced to send apologies and decline the invitation. Great was the young lady’s disappointment at seeing her beautiful project suddenly founder, and she started thinking about the fragility of the pleasures here below, was disgusted by the world and resolved to leave it forever. The Lord, who was watching over her, immediately sent her help for her weakness and her inexperience in the ways of the Spirit, by sending two good and valiant Religious Redemptorists to Profondeville to give a mission there in the month of January 1894.

The eloquent sermons of the missionaries achieved what grace had begun in this soul and finally determined her to embrace the religious state. She opened herself up to the Reverend Father * * *, who, after having put her somewhat to the test, encouraged and approved her resolution. It only remained for her to know what Order she had to enter… she turned with confidence to glorious Saint Joseph whom she greatly loved and who soon saved her from distress, because on 19th March, his feast-day, he revealed to her internally that God wanted her in the Order of the Most Holy Redeemer. Once she heard the divine call and had it confirmed by a wise director, the dear child hesitated no more, but went to her father to inform him of her desires and ask him for his consent, which, we may say, to the praise of this respectable and truly Christian man, was granted to her very easily. Full of gratitude towards Heaven, she made it her duty to present herself to the Redemptoristines of Louvain, who made her very welcome, accepted her with joy, and fixed her entry for the following 31st May, the feast of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart. When this beautiful day arose, the excited young lady, tearing herself from the arms of her father, her sister and her beloved brother, generously sacrificed all expectations of this world. She bade an eternal farewell to the world which had charmed her for an instant and entered the enclosure of our monastery with a firm step, under the very eyes of her tearful relatives, to enrol herself under the banner of Jesus our Saviour. Feeling herself in her true home, from the very first hour she tasted how kind the Lord is to those who abandon everything for love of Him. Sister Marie-Bernard was one of these great and noble souls who, once in God, never withdraw and never look back. And so she sighed ardently for the blessed day when she could bind herself forever to the service of the King of kings, by taking the holy vows of Poverty, Chastity, Obedience and Perpetual Enclosure. She prepared herself with great devotion, by applying herself to becoming an exemplary Novice, irreproachable in all regards. Once the time of probation had passed, she had the signal grace of seeing her wishes fulfilled. On 11th June 1896, the minister of the Lord united her irrevocably to the Spouse of Virgins, after she had sworn fidelity to Him by holy Profession. This date, blessed before all others for our dear Sister, was never erased from her memory, because no one could ever say how much she loved to think and to speak of it. In the words of her first confessor in religion, Sister Marie-Bernard was indeed born to be a Redemptoristine and daughter of Saint Alphonsus, whom she cherished as her father and founder. She applied herself especially to resembling him by her tender and filial devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Born in the month of May and consecrated to the Madonna, she took pleasure in glorying in it and talking about it to her Sisters. She prepared herself for it by fervent novenas for each one of her feasts and readily seized every opportunity to prove her love for the Queen of Heaven. It was at her request that she was given the beautiful name of Marie-Bernard of Jesus upon taking the habit, because it had already been made illustrious by little Bernadette, the visionary of Lourdes, the privileged child of the Immaculate Virgin Mary, but especially because it was the name of one of the greatest servants of the august Mother of God, the glorious Saint Bernard.

Before entering in religion, our dear Sister had wanted to visit one of Mary's most famous sanctuaries, the grotto of Lourdes. She had brought back the most wonderful impressions of it, and she was never happy until Our Lady of Lourdes was made the subject of conversations at recreation during her Novitiate. It was a happy coincidence, as all the Novices had seen like her, the visit of predilection and the little valley sanctified by apparitions of the Virgin without stain. Thanks no doubt to the protection of her heavenly Mother, who loves those who love her according to the words that the Holy Church puts on their lips, Sister Marie-Bernard was honoured to wear the name and habit of the Redemptoristines while progressing each day in the practice of the virtues. She distinguished herself especially by a simple and solid piety, by her exactitude, her regularity, her modesty and her humility. Calm and peaceable, she appeared not to notice what could try her patience as she focussed on the holy relationship she maintained with Jesus present in her heart; because she was an interior and singularly recollected soul, who scrupulously observed all the little pious customs proper to our holy Order.

The liturgical ceremonies and the sacred chants delighted her although she was not naturally enthusiastic. The Divine Office was all her delight and prayer her consolation. A particularly believing soul, a soul of duty, she fulfilled all her obligations conscientiously. No matter what the difficulties, she never consented, at any cost, to the omission of the least observance, unless her Superiors commanded her otherwise. A lover of holy poverty, she edified her Sisters by her detachment from the things of this world, diverting her eyes from the ephemeral goods of the earth to place all her affections in the Lord who alone was sufficient for her. While still a Novice, she disencumbered herself of anything which she could rigorously do without, placing no importance on the small objects which young religious sometimes hold dear. Always content with whatever she was given, she never allowed herself to complain. At most, some devout pictures excited her desire, especially those representing the Blessed Virgin and the holy Child Jesus, whom she loved with a childlike love. Being one day at the table of her Mother Mistress who was copying the chapter of a book called: “Poor Jesus and poor I” the dear Sister repeated these words with an unspeakable satisfaction, adding: “Yes, indeed I can say that in all truth.”

They thought she had a presentiment of a premature death, because nothing could ever captivate her soul during her religious life. Her precocious wisdom made her long for the imperishable goods of the other life that she made every effort to acquire by multiplying her acts of virtues and mortification. She singularly loved the hidden life, estimating herself happy to be able to practice it and imitate the Saint Family, especially the divine Workman of Nazareth. This is why she had great devotion to Saint Joseph, the patron of contemplative souls. A faithful observer of silence, she spoke only from necessity and always in a low and soft voice. Extremely serious and reserved, she had a religious bearing, always trying to efface herself and to avoid people’s eyes. Thus her Novitiate passed in the sustained exercise of the monastic virtues. In community our dear Sister never declined from her first fervour, and her good dispositions always remained.

In August 1897, she was named Assistant Housekeeper and she acquitted herself of her new functions to general satisfaction. She made herself liked by the Converse Sisters through her goodness, meekness, affability, and readiness to help them when she/it had the leisure. She did so with calmness, without delay and without undue haste. She was so charitable and devoted that she sacrificed her recreations and even her rest to oblige the Community that she sincerely loved. She would pleasantly say at mealtimes, “I am going to accomplish the precept of the divine Master, by giving food to those who are hungry and drink to those who are thirsty.” Being obliged, because of her employment, to dine at the second table, if it happened that the kitchen was short of meat, or something else, our good Sister deprived herself spontaneously of her portion and if she had been served, she passed her plate on to one of her Sisters. Many times she was seen coming in from the garden soaked through, when torrential rain had surprised her while she was gathering fruit or vegetables.

Nonetheless, she did not complain: her zeal and her courage made her quite compliant and helpful when it was a matter of the interests of her dear Sisters, whom she helped with good grace as frequently as she could. So we may say that she spent herself generously in the service of the Monastery. And in the evening, after a rough day, when she could have a moment of recreation, she happily profited from this by asking after her Sisters and exchanging a pleasant word with them. Although she had a character that was melancholy rather than jovial, like all children who never knew a Mother's caresses, she knew how to laugh and have fun with her Sisters, if need be play little tricks on them and lend herself amiably to their innocent jokes. The next day she would get back with renewed ardour to her laborious work. But soon, alas, her strength betrayed her and she was no longer in any state to fulfil the requirements of her tasks.

Suffering from a stubborn and troubling cough, she declined from day to day. Her complexion, her features, her gait, all in her seemed to display the secret devastations of the pitiless illness that was to carry her away. Yet the dear Sister suspected nothing, and so as not to frighten her too much by condemning her to idleness, the Reverend Mother entrusted the refectory to her, and it was there that she exhausted the rest of her powers. She kept going as long as she could remain standing. Endowed with much moral energy, she wished, in spite of her extreme weakness, to still attend all the conventual exercises, and force herself until the end to do penance in the refectory according to the Rule.

Seeing that our dear Sister was sinking rapidly, the Reverend Mother managed, under some good pretext, to confine her to the infirmary. First of all she refused to accept the gravity of her state. She often had beautiful dreams for the following year. But her illness worsened from day to day and she finally understood that she had consumption and death was rapidly approaching. They made use of this to suggest Extreme-Unction to her, which she accepted with joy. She received this Sacrament and the Holy Eucharist with all the fervour of her soul, after asking pardon for all her faults from the Community, with a calmness and a humility that edified us. From this moment on, far from still wanting to be cured, our dear patient called for death with all her heart so as to go and enjoy her Jesus. She spoke only now of heaven and asked for someone to sing her some canticles. As it was the month of March, she began some prayers in honour of Saint Joseph, so as to obtain from him the grace of dying on the day of his feast. The good Saint seemed first to grant it, because in the evening of 19th March there was a crisis of a more alarming character than the others. The Community was convened to recite the prayers of the agonising. The Reverend Mother sent for the Rev. Father de Kerchove, our confessor, who arrived in all haste. After addressing a few pious words to her, he leaned over her bed and said to her: “Do you not know, Sister Marie-Bernard, that I would like to be in your place!” “I will not change places with you,” she answered, as she still had all her presence of mind, “as I have worked far too hard to get here.” This reflection made the whole Community laugh. “So you will pray a lot for us up there, especially for your Sisters,” continued the Rev. Father Confessor. “My Sisters? I love them! They are Angels of charity,” she said with a very expressive gesture. Her dry lips betrayed the thirst that tortured them, so they offered her something to drink. “No, no,” she said, “Jesus on the Cross also endured thirst,” and then she murmured softly: “Good Jesus, come and find your poor child.” Feeling life returning, she told us sadly: “I have missed this train and I will have to wait for the next one.” The Reverend Mother then advised her to abandon herself to the divine good pleasure, which she immediately did. Wednesday 22nd March 1899, on the feast of Our Lady of Foggia, who is particularly honoured in our Community, she fell asleep peacefully in the Lord at about 7 o’clock in the morning, after a short agony, in the midst of the prayers and tears of her Sisters whom she had edified during the five years she spent in the midst of them. The funeral of our good Sister Marie-Bernard took place on 25th March, on the feast of Mary's Annunciation, who herself wished to close the casket of her much-beloved child, just as she had opened her cradle on 9th May 1872 on the feast of the Ascension of Our Lord.

This necrology is translated from Fleurs de l'Institut des Rédemptoristines by Mr John R. Bradbury. The copyright of this translation is the property of the Redemptoristine Nuns of Maitland, Australia. The integral version of the translated book will be posted here as the necrologies appear.

Sister Marie-Marguerite of the Holy Family, O.SS.R. of the Monastery of Louvain (1851 - 1882)

Louise-Marie-Thérèse Van Velthoven, the daughter of Mr. Pierre Van Velthoven and Mrs. Marie-Thérèse Van Gelmeten, was born at Antwerp on 1st January 1851. Her parents, as good Christians, made sure their three children were given an excellent education. Louise, the youngest, attended the class of the Sisters of Notre-Dame from her tenderest years. Later, at the time of her First Communion, she became a boarder with the Ladies of Christian Instruction. Endowed with a cheerful spirit, she enlivened her companions there by her impishness and her love of play. A leaning towards vanity and coquetry was always noticed in her. After leaving the boarding-school, far from decreasing, these little faults increased, to the point that she delivered herself to petulance, when her vain desires were not immediately satisfied. Having a proud character, she studied her least movements and her every step, in order to attract attention, esteem and affection…

At about the age of 25 she was sought after in marriage, but at the time of signing the contract, the parties could not agree, and the project of union lapsed, which led young Louise to think seriously… She put herself under the direction of a Reverend Redemptorist Father, who reignited her taste for piety and made her appreciate the blessing of virginity. Grace, at the same time, touched her heart, and, open to its attraction, she resolved to consecrate herself to the Spouse of Virgins. She made rapid progress in virtue, asked to be admitted to the Redemptoristine Sisters of Louvain [1], and made her entry there on 1st May 1877. From the very next day, her passions that had appeared to be asleep, woke up strong and vigorous, and caused her violent struggles. She understood that a fierce struggle had opened up for her, but she determined, with God's grace, to vanquish or die. In truth, we may say that, from this moment until her death, our dear Sister valiantly fought the obstacles and temptations that the enemy of good suggested to her. Wishing to make up for lost time and prove her love for Jesus Christ, she applied all her strengths to recollection and the practice of all the virtues. In a word, her life was a perpetual constraint.

The first year of testing being finished, she was admitted on the unanimity of the voices, to put on the livery of the Most Holy Redeemer on 1st April 1878, and changed her name from Louise to that of Sister M. Marguerite of the Holy Family. She spent the year of her Novitiate with the same fervour and was admitted to holy Profession on 23rd April 1879…

Our dear Sister was distinguished by her great devotion to the august Trinity of the earth and dedicated herself to them as their little servant. Her heart was an oratory where, as in the interior of Nazareth, she lived under the eyes of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, making it her happiness to often prepare them pleasant surprises, by the practice of different acts of the virtues, and by the victories that she won over herself. When she finished her Novitiate, she entered the Community. Her primitive fervour was preserved intact, and she applied herself to the practice of the hidden virtues, opportunities for which frequently appear in the common life.

When for one or another reason, she could not attend recreation, she did not enquire about what had happened, finding in this act of abnegation a flower to offer the dear Child Jesus. She confessed to her least faults in the refectory, and asked pardon of it with a touching humility.

Our Lord was satisfied of the good will of our dear Sister and seemed to want to help her expiate her former vanities, so He sent her an illness that was both painful and humiliating for her. All the glands in her head, neck and throat swelled up so enormously, that it was both a painful and frightening spectacle to see… Resigned to God's holy will and courageous in supporting her infirmity, her patience never failed. She was scrupulously obedient and submitted to the least desires of her Superior, as well as to the doctor’s least prescriptions. In spite of everything, all the remedies were useless, her illness kept getting worse and she understood, from the swelling of her legs and her lack of blood circulation, that her pilgrimage on this earth of exile was coming to its end. Nevertheless, our dear Sister continued to be amongst us, and attend the common acts, until 22nd November, the feast of Saint Cécile. From then on she kept to her room. On 5th December, the physician warned us that it was time to administer the Sacraments to her. She received them with joy and fervour, calling with all her soul for the hour when she would be able to go to be united forever with her divine Spouse. And this is what made her say continually: “Come, Lord Jesus, come.” On 7th December, after the greetings, Reverend Father Verhaege, of the Congregation of the Sacred Heart, and Director of the Community, visited our dear invalid. He gave her the Holy Communion, and also the apostolic blessing.

Until ten o’clock in the evening, our dear Reverend Mother, the Mother Vicar and the Sisters infirmarian remained praying with her, after which our good Sister Marie-Marguerite asked them to retire, in order to take some rest, adding that as soon the time was right, she would have them called…

She spent the whole night in prayer and at about five o’clock in the morning, she sent for the Reverend Mother. When she entered the room, she said to her: “My Mother, the agony is beginning, soon you won't have your Grietje any more!” Indeed, the symptoms of her approaching end were appearing. The Community was assembled and the prayers of the Agonizing were recited… The dear dying Sister, who enjoyed her presence of mind until the last moment, joined in and responded with a clear and distinct voice, and, casting her eyes around her bedside, she gave an amiable smile in all Sisters as a sign of farewell, thanked them again for the good care she had received, and assured them that she would not forget them when she was in Heaven… The prayers continued. From time to time she interrupted us, making one or another remark, like this: “The entire earth has disappeared for me, only my God remains for me! ...” Some minutes later she added: “Now I can hear nothing, but I am united to everything that the Reverend Mother says.” Finally, some moments before her death, she said in a weak voice, but still intelligible: “Long live Jesus, Jesus, Jesus!!!” They were her last words. We added “Long live Mary, Mary, Mary!!!” And at six o'clock, the Virgin without stain, whose Church was celebrating the Immaculate Conception (on 8th December 1882) came to find her child to present her to her divine Son. It was the anniversary of her consecration as the child of Mary…

Straight after her death, the excessive swelling of her face that made her hardly recognizable at the end of her life suddenly disappeared, and our dear Sister regained her natural freshness. The legal physician, who came to verify her death, witnessed his surprise that the fourth finger of her right hand, where she had so faithfully worn her ring as a sign of her alliance with Our Lord, had remained flexible, and made us aware that it was a very unusual circumstance… Her calm and radiant air, during the two days that she was laid out, attracted us constantly to her, and so it was with a great deal of distress that we brought ourselves to close the coffin… We retired saying to each other: “May my soul die the death of the just.”

Footnotes

[1] This Monastery was founded in 1874.

This necrology is translated from Fleurs de l'Institut des Rédemptoristines by Mr John R. Bradbury. The copyright of this translation is the property of the Redemptoristine Nuns of Maitland, Australia. The integral version of the translated book will be posted here as the necrologies appear.

Sister Marie-Cécile of the Blessed Sacrament, O.SS.R. of the Monastery of Malines (1836 – 1898)

Our dear Sister, in the world Miss Cornélie-Marie-Joséphine Peyrot, belonged to a very honourable family in Antwerp. Her mother was allied very closely to Mons. Corneille Van Bommel, the bishop of Liege, from where the name of Cornélie comes, that she gave to her daughter.

Sister Marie-Cécile entered the monastery on 2nd July 1863 and received the habit the following year. Endowed with a beautiful character, and cheerful and charitable, her manner pleased and produced a good impression. As she had a heart of gold, full of goodness, kindness and compassion, as soon as she saw or suspected some pain, she immediately tried to ease it.

In this good Sister no self-seeking was seen. Although she possessed a superior talent as a musician, with a remarkably fine voice, she did not wish to shine in the world, but faithful to the voice of grace, she came to consecrate herself to God in our Monastery, where, following the example of her Patron, Saint Cécile, she employed her magnificent talent to sing God's praises. Singing was little developed amongst us at this time because of a dearth of voices, so she was happy later on when new vocations brought her some reinforcements. She had hardly revived the spirits of the new and existing singers than it pleasing God to come and suddenly take our dear Sister and assure us her efficacious assistance in heaven.

Nothing forewarned us that her death was so close. Just before Holy Week in the year 1898, a general unwellness seized our good Sister. On Palm Sunday she came once more to sing the Hosanna filio David with us, and on Holy Thursday, she accompanied the great Mass. Pain accompanied by fever seized her the following day, and on Easter Tuesday she suddenly died. The rupture of an aneurism, said the doctors, put an end to her life. Having contributed greatly, for the space of thirty-five years, to the beauty of the Divine Office, she went to sing the eternal Alleluia in heaven..)

This necrology is translated from Fleurs de l'Institut des Rédemptoristines by Mr John R. Bradbury. The copyright of this translation is the property of the Redemptoristine Nuns of Maitland, Australia. The integral version of the translated book will be posted here as the necrologies appear.

Sister Marie-Clementine of the Holy-Family, O.SS.R. of the Monastery of Malines (1827 - 1903)

Miss Flavie-Catherine Pétronille Rovoys was born at Antwerp on 27th March of profoundly Christian parents. She entered the convent on 24th September 1865, received the habit of the order on 10th October 1866 and made her profession on 13th November 1867.

“Our Sister,” says the Monastery Chronicle, “used her early youth to help her mother. Two of her younger Sisters had already preceded her into religion and when her mother fell sick, she took care of the business until she died. She practiced beautiful acts of charity in regard to the country people who came to her for provisions. Deeply understanding the duties of filial love, she procured the last help and supreme consolations of the church for her mother, and thanks to her devotion, one of her uncles was equally provided with these supreme passports to eternity.

“In the course of her novitiate, Sister Marie-Clementine obtained through a novena to the Venerable Father Passerat, the cure of pains in her knee that could have prevented her from being admitted to profession. [1] Her aptitudes for cutting and sewing led to her being named robe-maker, a task that she fulfilled with zeal and a great spirit of poverty. In her last years, she helped again as best she could, in spite of her infirmities. She was quite original, and her rejoinders in recreation, sometimes provoked general hilarity. Two months before her death, feeling her strength declining, she asked not to be named again in the distribution of tasks; however, until her last days, she was always seen in Holy Mass and Holy Communion.

“One the day of the immaculate Conception, 8th December 1903, she asked of her own accord for the last sacraments. They were administered to her in the afternoon by the community confessor. In the evening, seeing that Extreme-Unction had only fortified her spiritually, she said: “Everything is accomplished, now I can die.” But God only came to take her the following morning. Shortly after the community Mass, the Sister infirmarian, noticing the change in her features, warned the Sisters, who assembled beside her bed to help her with their prayers. The chaplain made the recommendation of her soul: some moments afterwards, at about 8:30, and with no agony, our good Sister fell asleep peacefully in the Lord.

Footnotes

[1] It is not the only cure that the Redemptoristines obtained by the intercession of the Ven. Father Passerat. From 1858, and only a few days after the death of the venerable Patriarch, there took place in Bruges a very astonishing cure. We borrow the account of it from the opuscule called: God's great servant, the Most Rev. Father Joseph Passerat, of the Community of the Most Holy Redeemer. – A biographic note, by Father Girouille, of the same Community. Montreuil-sur-mer, Notre-Dame-des-prés press.
In the monastery of the Redemptoristines of Bruges, there was a young postulant, Annette Berwaerts, later Sister Marie-Cécile of the Child Jesus, who was seized by an illness that began to inspire serious concerns. “It was,” the chronicles of the convent say, “A sort of erysipelas with blisters that covered both her legs.” The wounds discharged an abundant suppuration and appeared so inflamed that the physician feared gangrene. On 31st October the monastery learned of the great news of the vigil (the death of the Rev. Father Passerat). Immediately the poor patient and her infirmarian felt the inspiration to offer a novena for the holy religious. But their confidence was too lively and too eager to wait nine days for the intervention they so much desired. They decided to recite nine times, on the same day, on different occasions, five Paternosters, five Ave Marias, and five Gloria Patris.
Through a sentiment of filial piety as charming as it was naive, they had to add a De Profundis, in case that the dear departed still had need of it. It was under this expeditious form that the novena began and finished on 31st October. The two nuns added this urgent invocation to their prayers: “Father Passerat, if you are in heaven, you must obtain this grace for us.” The following morning, when the infirmarian went to examine the wounds, a cry of joy escaped her lips. There was no more trace of the malign humour that, even that evening, was flowing like a spring. Her flesh was as clean as before her illness, and her recovery was beyond doubt and complete.
Two days after this event, Father Passerat’s funeral ceremony took place.)

This necrology is translated from Fleurs de l'Institut des Rédemptoristines by Mr John R. Bradbury. The copyright of this translation is the property of the Redemptoristine Nuns of Maitland, Australia. The integral version of the translated book will be posted here as the necrologies appear.

Sister Marie-Aloyse of the Crucifix, O.SS.R. of the Monastery of Malines (1857 – 1884)

A Vocation – Marie de Courtebourne [1]

It is a beautiful and gracious history of this young girl of the great world. Vowed since her birth to Saint Louis Gonzaga by her devout mother, Marie de Courtebourne grew up in innocence. She knew of the world only to appreciate its vanity. She opened her entire soul to the sweet influences of piety, and finished by embracing the religious life.

Are we to follow her in the different stages of her short existence? No. We shall see our humble heroine neither in Ghent where she was born, nor in Oostacker, [2], nor in Rome, nor in Assisi, nor even at Malines where she became Redemptoristine nun. We shall content ourselves to some degree by drawing the moral portrait of this beautiful soul, while borrowing from her the traits under which she was painted unbeknown to her.

I. –In the World.

One day Marie de Courtebourne opened a publication used by her father. Her pious mother arrived in the meantime. Fearing that her daughter's eyes would fall on dangerous pages, she took it away from her forcibly. – “O my mother,” the young girl said later while remembering this circumstance, “what a service you rendered me by forbidding me to read anything without your permission!” – “Yes, the scene in that room,” replied her mother; “I remember it now. I was too stern, my child.” – “It was the only time you spoke to me severely,” replied Marie, “and you were right a thousand times. I never forgot the way you looked at me. It impressed me even more than your words. You appeared so angry that I thought: “Such reading must be very dangerous for me, since mother seems so alarmed”, and every time since then that I have been tempted to read something, I remember what you told me, and it prevented me from succumbing. I never disobeyed your prohibition.”

The pious child read “The Imitation of Jesus Christ” assiduously. She also had a tender devotion to the Blessed Virgin. “I love the Virgin Mary very much,” she told her cousin, Marguerite of Limbourg, one day. She is a tender mother to me, and I love to call myself her child. But imagine how unhappy I am. I have tried in vain, but I do not have the same devotion to my guardian angel, as my aunt Matilda had.”[3]

In her quality as an older sister, she initiated her young friend into the practices of the spiritual life. One day, she taught her to make a private examination, and she was very sincerely humbled in scarcely knowing how to succeed in it herself. “As for me,” she said, “I have a great deal of trouble in doing it, so I never manage to correct myself of my defects, and I always have my dominant defect warring against me.” –“You?” replied her little cousin. “But what defect do you have then? I don't know of any dominant defect in you.” – “I have too much human respect,” replied Marie. – “It would not have come to anyone’s mind,” says her historian, “to assign this defect to her, so much did her oneness with the Church excluded any preoccupation of this kind! She prayed with a childlike simplicity, speaking to Our Lord at all hours of the day and night, and confiding to Him with a supreme abandonment all her joys, troubles and desires. Her prayers were both naive and fervent. It was the ingenuous language of a heart that goes in all confidence to Jesus.”

Even when very young, Marie de Courtebourne loved the poor. One morning, her father gave her a beautiful new shiny coin as a reward. The child looked at it and had everybody admire it. In the evening, a poor man came by. Marie ran back hurriedly into the castle. “Where are you running to, Marie?” her grandmother asked her. –“To find my new coin to give it to this poor man!” And she wanted to put it herself into the poor man’s hands.

A little later, she felt an irresistible attraction for the religious life. “If I enter the convent”, she wrote to her director one day, “It would not be to live a tranquil life. I have already seen enough religious houses to know that all the human miseries are found there. Characters are more or less soured by the common life, the austerities, the monotony of the places and the occupations. I do not want to delude myself. There they will treat me like a useless piece of furniture, a burden on the community. I will be tormented and harassed by the confessors, who will want to make me advance in perfection, and the demon will not let me alone. Even the good God will hide from me very often and He will send me trials, or rather His caresses of love.

“I would like my life to be a continual sacrifice, a continual act of love. I would like to have no more liberty, to obey blindly, and give myself to the good God as much as we can give ourselves here below. I would do anything for this.”

But her father? And the wonderful husband that would be offered to her? – She replied: “I am just as astonished as you at my idea and this stubbornness in wanting to shut myself within four walls in, bringing pain to my family, and having everyone against me, when I am so feeble and timid. Humanly speaking, it would be better to lead happy life, see the world, and contract the wonderful marriage that my father spoke to me about at Assisi, with one of the best suitors in France. I replied to my dear father that I was still very young and that we would think about it later. In the depths of my heart, I told myself that the good Jesus would call me to Himself, either in heaven, or in the convent.”

She marvellously understood the price of religious obedience: “The whole life of Our Lord,” she wrote, “was but a succession of afflictions and privations. I would not really have had the moral strength to enjoy my liberty all my life. The good Jesus was obedient unto death, and to death on the cross! In the world, perfect obedience is impossible, even less to be renowned for it. You cannot always run after your confessor, nor live in hermit, especially in my position.”

Finally, her attraction to the life of privations became irresistible: “My desire for the religious life,” she wrote to her director, “is always increasing. It is costing me to live in abundance, while poor Jesus suffered so much. I would like to be hidden, and forgotten, and have no more liberty. But above all I want to do the will of God.” – “My attraction,” she added, “is for the Order of the Redemptoristines, founded by Saint Alphonsus of Liguori. I very much like its spirit of abnegation and detachment. – No, my Father, I am leaving everything or rather nothing, in order to find everything. Even if I was the daughter of a king and had a million dollars to spend every day, I would not hesitate, with the grace of God, to become a religious.”

II. –In the Cloister.

Such admirable sentiments were to lead Marie de Courtebourne to the port she desired. She entered it in 1878. Of the convent of the Redemptoristines of Malines she wrote after fifteen days: “I did not believe that my happiness would be so great. You would not recognize me. I am usually sleepy and shy, but now I am extraordinarily lively, my sight alone makes even the most serious Sisters laugh and I prattle on like a little magpie. Everyone is very good to me. I am the youngest of all. I have no trouble following the community exercises. You would think I have always been doing them!

“I am so happy to sleep on straw!” she wrote another day. “In the world, I had too soft a bed, and I cried with frustration at seeing myself so mollycoddles, while the good Jesus had so much to suffer.” “She asked,” said her historian, “to continue the mortifications that she did at home: to choose the dishes that most repelled her, depriving herself of seasonings, and using other little industries dear to Christian penance. She added: “I have suffered enough from living in abundance, having everything I could wish for, and resembling the poor and suffering Jesus so little. I always wanted to be poor and suffer to give pleasure to the good God.”

She told the Mistress of Educandes one day: “I did not know that you could love the good Jesus so much. I have not yet told you how I learned this. I was about sixteen years old. One day when I had just received communion, I believed I heard a voice immediately afterwards telling me: “Love me.” – I was afraid and I did not dare to say anything. At the following communion, I heard the same words again. Then I was really afraid, and I said: “If it is You speaking to me, O my good Jesus, tell me what I must do to love You. I am so lowly! I know nothing. – Then I understood that the good Jesus would Himself teach me to love Him, and that love consists in suffering.”

In the convent, she had no human respect. “In recreation,” one of her companions tells us, “And at table when she was permitted to speak to us, she often told the Sister beside her: “Let us speak of Jesus. Tell me something about Jesus. Let both of us really, really love Jesus, because everything consists of love, in loving only Jesus.”

She had a little old crucifix made of copper that she kept carefully before her, on her table, or that she carried with her. How many times she was surprised kissing it! And she would say: “You don’t need to have beautiful Christ's to love Our Lord. In this manner at least you can always have one with you.”

Her humility was sincere. “I am very arrogant,” she told her Mistress during her first days. “When you know me better, you will see how much self-esteem I have. However, here I am reassured, because I think you will always warn me when I don't act well. I don't dare count on myself. I have so much arrogance!”

On June 5, 1879 the vesting ceremony filled the pious young girl with joy. She was happy to receive the name of Sister Marie-Aloyse of the Crucifix, which united her favourite devotions so well and reminded her constantly of her poor and crucified Jesus Christ, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the angelic Saint Louis of Gonzaga to which her mother had dedicated her since her birth.

One of the most agreeable features of religious life and one of the most recommended by the masters of spiritual life, is simplicity. Sister Marie-Aloyse of the Crucifix was of this character. “She read but little” says her historian, “and only the simplest books, especially those of Saint Alphonsus, attracted her preferences. She told us more than once, that one of the motives that had made her choose the Order of the Redemptoristines was the simplicity that distinguished the spirit of the holy founder. During her days of retirement, it was sufficient for her, outside the prescribed readings, to have her crucifix close to her, and to look at it and converse with “her good Jesus,” as she said piously. This expression was familiar to her, and she repeated it with such an accent of sincerity and fervour, that these words alone revealed all her soul. Yet it was not only the name of Jesus that she liked to savour; communion had for this naive soul its ineffable delights. Through the Eucharist she experienced those mysterious attractions known by in which Our Lord maintains the precious grace of infancy. When the Blessed Sacrament was exposed, she could not do her hour of adoration without pouring out abundant tears, and it was a profound edification for her young companions, when they happened to surprise her in this state that recalled the touching piety of her aunt Mathilde.”

Her love for work was no less remarkable. Sister Marie-Aloyse forgot what she once was, what she could have been, and took the apron and the broom, and indistinguishable in the ranks of the other beginners, red with pain and beaming with joy, washed, swept, dusted, polished furniture, and stopped only when the task was finished. If there was linen to mend, she asks that her part of this work be what was least pleasant, the coarse and worn-out stockings, the aprons made of grey canvas, and she said merrily: “I had so much pleasure in mending this old stocking!”

On June 10, 1880, the fervent Novice was admitted to religious profession. She then wrote the following lines to her grandmother, the Marchioness de Courtebourne:

“It would be impossible for me to express to you exactly the happiness, peace and sweetness I felt after pronouncing my holy vows. You would have said that I was in heaven. I also felt my good parents blessing me from the highest heaven, and were rejoicing in my happiness. How short the time seemed to me! I am going to have a provision of the love of God and patience for all my life, during the first beautiful days of marriage, the honeymoon, as we say in the world, in order to well prepare myself for everything that the divine Spouse will ask of me later on.”

The good Sister Marie-Aloyse had something of a presentiment of the troubles that were going to pour down on her, and the trials that she had to pass through. While she is waiting, let us listen to her once more. She had embraced the common life of the Professed Sisters and she was given a task. “On the first days,” she wrote, “I was a little out of my element, but now I have learned what to do. I have been nominated as assistant housekeeper, under the orders of the good Sister who takes care of the provisions, the housekeeping and work to distribute to the Converse Sisters. It amuses me a lot to trot around in a white apron and to prepare what is necessary for the Sisters. You would be pleased, I am sure, to see me in my new task.”

What most pleased Sister Marie-Aloyse in the functions that were entrusted to her, was not so much the novelty and the picturesque nature of the costume, but rather the opportunity to spread around her the charity overflowing from her heart. Her happiness lay in giving pleasure to others while sacrificing herself. With the gentleness that only charity can inspire, she knew how to render service, give comfort and console, while accommodating herself to all characters and differences in education. When the appointed housekeeper was indisposed, the young Sister was obliged to provide for everyone by herself, and in the exercise of her functions, she distinguished herself her tact, her judgment, and her spirit of poverty.

We shall not speak here of the interior trials of Sister Marie-Aloyse of the Crucifix: we refer the reader to the beautiful book by Abbé Laplace. Nevertheless we shall quote one of her letters before we finish. She was suffering from a chest illness that would not diminish. Novenas followed novenas, and brought only an increase of suffering. However the patient was always cheerful, resigned and happy. She wrote to her maid-servant, with whom she had remained in correspondence.

“I can take several steps with the help of a charitable arm. But I don't have the time to be bored, my dear Pélagie. I am occupied very peacefully, and I tell you to amuse you, that I have become an artist in mending stockings. My whole pleasure is in mending big holes. I pray, I read, I write and the days pass very quickly. Also I often have a few hearty laughs, as in the convent we are never sad. On the contrary, the service of the good Jesus cheers up our hearts, which are, if not always joyful, at least are always calm and tranquil. If I told you that I am the happiest creature in the world, even without being able to walk, you would not believe me, and yet it is the truth. True happiness consists in fulfilling the will of God. So long as He is happy, what does the rest matter?

It was with this holy joy that Sister Marie-Aloyse bore her painful illness. How many interesting details could we still mention! But we must limit ourselves. 25th August 1884 was the day of her supreme sacrifice. The fervent nun received the last sacraments with the most tender piety. Then she collapsed, but without losing anything of her presence of mind, or the lucidity of her intelligence. “Now I understand everything,” she repeated, “I understand everything!” When the Reverend Mother approached her bed with the Infirmarian, she asked her if she recognized them. “There is only God,” she replied. They were her last words. It had been her motto all her life..”

Footnotes

[1] See the charming biography called A Vocation. – Marie de Courtebourne, by Abbé Laplace, the Superior of the Institute of Saint Peter at Bourg (1 vol. in-18, Lecoffre, Paris ;) Vandenbroeck, Brussels; Vitte and Perrusel, Lyon.
[2] t was in the castle of Oostacker that the famous Derudder was a servant. His miraculous cure has been very well recounted by Father Bertrin in his beautiful book : Lourdes, Apparitions and Cures.
[3] Miss Matilda (Mathilde) de Nédonchel, deceased at Rome in an odour of sanctity on 27th June 1867, at the age of 24. Her Life was written by Abbé Laplace. (1 vol. in-8°. – Casterman, at Tournai).

This necrology is translated from Fleurs de l'Institut des Rédemptoristines by Mr John R. Bradbury. The copyright of this translation is the property of the Redemptoristine Nuns of Maitland, Australia. The integral version of the translated book will be posted here as the necrologies appear.

Mother Marie Anne-Joseph of Jesus, O.SS.R. Superior of the Monastery of Malines (1834-1895)

Superior of the Monastery of Malines [1]
In the world : Baroness Amélie Marie Hyacinth
VAN DER STRAETEN-WAILLET

Coming from a family more worthy of commendation still by its faith and by its virtue than by its nobility, Mother Marie-Anne-Joseph of Jesus understood very early on the vanity and the nothingness of things that pass away, and her great heart made her despise all the advantages that her birth and spirit could procure her in the world, so as to don the humble habit of a postulant of the Most Holy Redeemer in our provisional convent of Brussels.

She made her entry there on January 23, 1857, at the age of 33. A small incident showed her energy, and the self-control she already had over herself. While giving the kiss of peace to the Sisters, her veil caught fire from the candle one of them was holding. Immediately, without being moved in any way at all, she unfastened it, threw it on the ground, trampled on it, and continued to peacefully give everyone the kiss of peace. A singular or providential particularity had signalled her admission. A young person, who had some desire to enter to the convent, had come to ask a novena for the purpose of knowing her vocation. The Reverend Mother Marie-Alphonse of the Will of God, while indicating this intention in her prayers, made a mistake and instead of saying: “For Miss Mathilde”, she announced: “For Miss Amélie.” At recreation, the Sisters hastened to tell the Reverend Mother: “My Mother, are we going to have an Amélie, a new companion? You prayed for her.” The Reverend Mother replied: “Did I say Amélie?” – “Yes, my Mother! Oh! We are going to have an Amélie!” A remarkable thing! Only a few days went by, and then there was an announcement that Madam the Baroness Van der Straeten had come to present her daughter, who was anxious to enter the small Redemptoristine community… Oh what joy and thanksgiving for this new reception! Two more vocations had come to strengthen the newborn foundation, transferred from Brussels in Malines October 6, 1858 indeed.[2]

When her educandate and novitiate were finished, Sister Marie-Anne-Joseph of Jesus made her profession at Malines, between the hands of M. Bosmans, the Dean and Archpriest of the metropolis of Saint-Rombaut, who made the usual speech. It took place on March 2, 1859. The ceremony was held with great solemnity: it was the first profession since the transfer of the community to Malines. The pious Sister distinguished herself, during her novitiate, by her love of prayer and her sincere charity; and so she had given rise to the most beautiful expectations.

* * * * *

These expectations were not disappointed. After the second year of her novitiate, granted by the Rule to perfect herself in the exercise of the virtues, Sister Marie-Anne-Joseph was employed in helping with the housekeeping. It was an office of abnegation that she fulfilled with docility and the goodwill of a true child of Saint Alphonsus. She was then successively called to the tasks of Sacristine, Tourière, Infirmarian, Linen-maid, etc., and she exercised them all with the same goodwill and the same devotion, applying herself to vanquishing herself in the small things and refusing nothing to God.

Humility was the principal object of the prayers and efforts of our good Sister ; but in this she saw the most supreme means of arriving at God's love that she was seeking above all else. And so she entered into a long and hard struggle with her own self-esteem, happy or at least resigned to be humiliated and contradicted. Her character was inclined somewhat to the spirit of contradiction. She triumphed over it while profiting from all occasions for showing herself as cordial and considerate towards her neighbours.

A friend of mortification and penance, she rightly considered habitual contrition as a source of precious favours, and drew profit from the little sufferings that presented themselves. She imposed certain privations on herself and was attached to imitating her divine Saviour, while loving the poor, humbling and painful side of religious life. What was she in her own eyes? Simply nothing and she meditated gladly, like the Saints, on her own lowliness, knowing full well that we never mortify ourselves unless we have learnt to hate ourselves first.

As with blessed Father Saint Alphonsus, she made all her perfection consist in perfect conformity with God's will. “I understand,” she wrote one day, “that indifference is indeed the corner-stone of purity of intention. It desires only to know what You desire, O my God, in order to accomplish it. It is therefore myself that I am seeking when I want You to want something rather than something else. How much seeking I have had to arrive here, O my good Jesus! I ask pardon from You for it, and by this love that made You suffer so much to merit for me the grace to be all Yours, grant me, I implore you, so great a love for you that I shall forget myself in order to think of nothing more than You and Your interests.” So she made every effort to fulfil the beautiful words of the Apostle: “I live, but it is no longer I that lives, it is Christ who lives in me.”, words that Saint Alphonse understood as perfect conformity with God's will.

The filial piety of Mother Marie-Anne-Joseph towards Saint Alphonsus, and the high esteem that she had for his holiness and teachings, led her to find in his writings a substantial food, free from all pretension and full of the wisdom of the Saints. To use the words of Father Monsabré, “She did not like writers who speak of the things of God in too far-fetched and precious a style that invites ridicule, if it does not fall into it. She preferred the tender effusions of the pious authors who do not make our minds spin, and do not torment the dictionary to make their hearts speak.”[3]

As a worthy daughter of Saint Alphonse, she had a quite special devotion to the Holy Childhood, the Passion of Our Lord and the Blessed Sacrament. Her confidence in the Blessed Virgin and her love for her was that of a child towards her Mother. Her devotion to Saint Joseph, her Patron, was also very solid. She especially liked this admirable conformity to God's will in the holy Patriarch that characterized him. Finally she tenderly loved the Holy Angels, her guardian angel in particular, and she prayed to him to remind her constantly of her good resolutions.

* * * * *

All the many graces, lights and good sentiments that filled her soul were exactly the right qualities for her to perfectly fulfil first the task of Mistress of Educandes, then that of Mistress of the Novices, that were confided to her. Understanding how important these function were, she applied herself to examining the dispositions of her young plants, in order to be sure if they were destined to bear fruit conforming to the spirit of our Institute. And this is especially why she did not spare either her cares or her prayers, forgetting her own self in order to help, fortify, encourage and console as required, the souls entrusted to her solicitude.

She was elected Vicar on June 10, 1878 in place of Sister Marie-Véronique, who was leaving to help found the house at Grenoble, and then named as Superior in 1879. She was named again in 1886, and also for the next two triennia, with an Indult being granted by Rome to this effect.

Reverend Mother Marie-Anne-Joseph of Jesus governed with wisdom, prudence and charity: her solicitude extended to all; she responded to the needs of the Sisters, and showed herself especially eager to procure them every relief when they were seriously ill, and devoted herself entirely to the good spiritual and temporal government of her community.

Zealous for the cult of the Blessed Sacrament, she got the Archdiocese to permit the holy Ciborium, from Holy Thursday until Holy Saturday after the office of Matins, to remain, no longer in the exterior sacristy, but in choir, in a tabernacle placed on a little altar, devoutly decorated. It is also to this good Mother's that we owe the beautiful arrangement of the treasury of the relics that surmount and surround this small altar. Her heart was as if flooded with joy on the day when the great and numerous bones of these good Saints were brought from the Convent of Saint-Trond and offered as a present by one our Fathers. Her piety, at the sight of these relics, lit up her face, and her words expressed her great gratitude for so precious a gift.

The Sisters who had resort to her maternal solicitude were sure of finding her full of the insights, advice, wise counsels and encouragement which they needed ; her virtues had acquired a general esteem for her, and persons from outside themselves were able to appreciate her great qualities and her generous charity.

Deposed from her task in 1894, then named Vicar, Mother Marie-Anne-Joseph was henceforth a living example to her Sisters of the most exact and edifying obedience. Nevertheless, she was not long in receiving her reward for her works.

Towards the end of February 1895, she had a cold that degenerated into bronchitis, and then pneumonia, and reduced her suddenly to the verge of death. On March 6, at eight o'clock in the evening, she devoutly received the last sacraments. Immediately after this imposing ceremony, she said gravely: “I have received many holy things in a short time: all the rest is nothing.” And as the Sister infirmarian told her: « Look, it is the influenza which is making you suffer”, she replied: “It is not the influenza, it is God who wants it.” They offered to call the Rev. Jesuit Father, her brother, to her; but she refused this consolation and offered it in sacrifice to God.

The night of 9th to 10th March was a painful one. In the afternoon, the good Mother was confessed for the last time, received the apostolic benediction and urgently asked to receive communion. This blessing was procured for her; a few moments had hardly passed when she peacefully rendered her soul to God. The memory of her wonderful examples will not perish in the hearts of those that knew her, and they will remember the words which she took as her motto: “I believe that God loves me with an infinite love: I believe that Mary loves me with a very tender love, a Mother’s love; I abandon myself to their love, and I want to love them as much as I can on earth so as to love them even more in the eternity.”

Footnotes

[1] About the foundation of this Monastery, consult the work by P. Nimal mentioned above. – It took place in 1858.
[2] The reception took place on 10th February 1858.
[3] P. Monsabré. Drops of truth, p. 52. (1 vol. Lethielleux).
May we permit ourselves in this regard to mention here some appreciations borrowed from the correspondence of Saint Alphonsus concerning several of his ascetic works. On the subject of the Glories of Mary, the holy Doctor wrote to Remondini : “It is the book I spent the most time working on and maybe the one that had the most success.”
Regarding the numerous opuscules such as the Novenas to the Sacred Heart, the Holy Spirit, to Saint Michael, Christmas, Reflections and affections on the Passion of Our Lord, etc., Saint Alphonsus wrote: “They are short, but had a lot of work done on them and are full of things; and to compose these small works, I read the hundreds of books from which I took the best.”
The Practice of the Love of Jesus Christ has thus been judged by its author: “This little work is perhaps more devout and useful than all the others.” The Pious Reflections on different subjects of spirituality “were composed expressly for the souls that wish to be entirely in God.”
Finally, “The true Spouse of Jesus Christ” or “The nun sanctified”, as Saint Alphonsus also called it, is “of all his books of spirituality the most beautiful, the most worked on; it is so to speak, the epitome of everything that the other authors have written on the sanctification of nuns.” See Correspondence, T., IV, P. 112. –IV, P. 68. –IV, P. 347. –II, 480. –IV. 133.

This necrology is translated from Fleurs de l'Institut des Rédemptoristines by Mr John R. Bradbury. The copyright of this translation is the property of the Redemptoristine Nuns of Maitland, Australia. The integral version of the translated book will be posted here as the necrologies appear.

Sister Marie-Paul of the Child Jesus, O.SS.R. of the Monastery of Bruges (1849-1868)

The characteristic devotion of this good Sister was her devotion to Saint Alphonsus.

Josephine-Jeanne de Mortier was born in Brussels of very Christian parents, on 8th June 1846. She shared the lessons that tutors gave her brothers and sisters at her home. Her bright, lively and affectionate character made her beloved by all those who knew her. Her piety developed with her age, and as she had only good examples before her eyes, this good child never knew evil. – She devoted herself with a great deal of zeal to propagating the Work of the Holy Childhood, and spared neither pain nor efforts for her dear little Chinese (this is what she loved to call them). She also occupied herself with a great deal of charity in teaching the catechism each Sunday to the little children of the poor, and her patience found much opportunity for exercise.

The divine Saviour, who cherished this pure and innocent soul, and destined her to bear the crown of Virgins eternally, hastened to withdraw her into His sanctuary in order to win this crown that she was to receive while still young.

Since her childhood, Josephine had been under the direction of the Redemptorist Fathers. She loved nothing but Saint Alphonsus, she said, so she soon thought to become his daughter and went to present herself to the Monastery of the Redemptoristines of Bruges in the month of June 1866. The Reverend Mother Marie-Philomena of the Divine Providence recognized the precious qualities of her postulant very quickly and received her as a present from Saint Alphonsus himself. She made her entry on 15th August 1866. She immediately bore herself with fervour in all the exercises of the religious life. She would go to choir with a very special joy, and she so much loved chanting the office that when the state of her health deprived her of this blessing, this sacrifice drew many tears from her. Her devotion to the Blessed Sacrament was such as to make her find the moments that she was able to spend at the foot of the holy Tabernacle much too short. Her love for prayer made her employ this holy exercise all the time that she could give to it. She prepared for it carefully and made great progress in it.

She was very bright, but out side the times of recreation, she greatly loved silence, because she felt the good it does to the soul who seeks to be united to her God. Her charity made her ingenious in helping others. She did it with such a good heart that you could see her jump for joy when a work was entrusted to her. – Her heart was completely devoted to her Superiors. She had entire confidence in them. She loved them and obeyed them like a docile and affectionate child. A word on their part was sufficient to tranquillise her in her pains.

Josephine, when her educandate had finished, received the holy habit on 20th August 1867, and at the same time the name of Sister Marie-Paul of the Child Jesus. She passed the time of her novitiate with great fervour and made her holy vows on 20th August 1868. After a year, her health had greatly altered. From an illness that she had suffered a feebleness remained that degenerated into consumption. The dear little Sister, always courageous, finally, on 20th September, had to descend to the infirmary. The illness made rapid progress, and she was soon reduced to not being able to walk alone, so great was her weakness.

However she preserved her pleasant character, and was pleased with everything and never offered a complaint about her sufferings or the privations that resulted from her illness. She said: “I accept that I need all my courage so as not to lose patience; but I look at the good Jesus on the cross and then I feel strong and happy to suffer.” – She keenly felt the blessing of dying in religion: “I understand it even better now than on the day of my Profession,” she said, “and I renew my holy vows at least fifty times a day. Oh, what a blessing to die in the convent, where everything speaks to me of God, and where I can still take communion so often!”

One single thing hurt her. It was leaving her good Superior, Mother Marie-Philomena. Whenever she thought of it her tears would flow, but the thought of seeing her again one day in heaven dried them up very quickly. A word from the Reverend Mother made her forget all her sufferings. She loved to speak with her of heaven and the blessing of chanting the praises of the Lord there. Sister Marie Paul would then rally and exclaim: “If I love music so much here below, what will happen then in Paradise?” But this moment delayed too long for the vivacity of her desires – she found the time very long, and she had to make acts of resignation to await the moment indicated by the divine will. – One day she wanted to see the novices, her companions, say goodbye to them, and give a picture to each one of them as a souvenir. She promised to pray for them in Paradise and made them promise her to pray a great deal for her after her death.

On the day of the Immaculate Conception 1868, she asked for the Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus to be made in the infirmary just as it was being made in public that same day. The dear child offered herself to the divine Heart as a victim of expiation. She offered her life for poor sinners, for the needs of the Church, and to obtain graces for the community. On the eve of her death, she asked if the blessed candle was in the infirmary, because she felt the moment approaching. On 10th December she received Holy Communion once more and passed the morning quite peacefully. About twelve thirty, the confessor gave her the last absolution. She was perfectly conscious and smiled when she saw the Sisters praying round her bedside. She looked confidently at the picture of the Blessed Virgin and in this way, without a moment of agitation, without even a sigh, she peacefully rendered her soul to God.

This necrology is translated from Fleurs de l'Institut des Rédemptoristines by Mr John R. Bradbury. The copyright of this translation is the property of the Redemptoristine Nuns of Maitland, Australia. The integral version of the translated book will be posted here as the necrologies appear.