Mother Mary-Aloyse of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, O.SS.R. Superior of the Monastery of Bruges [2] (Brugge) 1822-1889

Chapter VIII.
Mother Mary-Aloyse is named Superior of the Community of Bruges. Her charity towards the Redemptoristines of Italy. The correspondence with the Most Rev. Father Mauron. His Lordship’s visit to the Monastery of Bruges.

The death of Mother Mary Philomena, (13th December 1878) was a very serious blow to the community of Bruges, but Providence never fails to put a balm on such wounds. Mother Mary-Aloyse was chosen to replace her much venerated predecessor, and the whole community had but one heart and soul in transferring to the newly-elect all the affection that they had shown to their late Superior.

As soon as she was appointed, the Reverend Mother Mary-Aloyse, as a true daughter of Saint Alphonsus, wrote to inform the Most Rev. Father Mauron, Rector Major of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer. She received the following reply from him:

“Villa Caserta, Rome, this 19th February 1879.
My Reverend Mother. - I have received your letter of 6th February, which brought me the happy news that you have been elected by an unanimous vote to succeed Reverend Mother Mary-Philomena, of happy memory, as Superior. She governed your Monastery so well for so many years. God has clearly manifested His will, so He will not fail to assist you with His graces and lights.

“In the name of Saint Alphonsus, I give you my blessing in your position as Superior, with confidence that a good spirit and observance will be preserved and grow more and more, under your direction, at this holy Monastery.”

Mother Mary-Aloyse had already sent some monetary help to the Redemptoristine convent of Saint Agatha. The Most Rev. Father Mauron thanked her in these terms:

“I sent your letter on to the Mother Superior of Saint Agatha, together with an Italian translation, and added 25 francs from yourself, which I had surplus to the 200 you sent me at Christmas. Attached is the letter from the Superior of Saint Agatha, in which she tells you of the death of one of her nuns. This poor Monastery is in danger of being suppressed sooner or later, because the law here states that when there are no more than six professed nuns, the Government has the right to send them away; and it is now twenty years since they were forbidden to admit other nuns.

We hope that Saint Alphonsus will not permit this; but if this convent ever comes to be sold by the Government, we will have to do everything possible to save it from the hands of whatever individual wants to buy it. I have already spoken about this to the Bishop of Saint Agatha.
“I bless you and also all the Sisters of the Community, and I am in Our Lord Jesus Christ
“Your devoted servant.
“Nic. Mauron, C. SS. R.” [23]

This letter was not the only one which the Most Reverend Father Mauron wrote to the new Superior. A man of proverbial wisdom, he was overjoyed to find in Mother Mary-Aloyse the qualities of discretion, charity and apostolic zeal which accorded so well with his own temperament. Some of his letters shed a profound light on the generosity of the good Mother. We shall cite some extracts from them.

On 6th July 1880 (the year of the expulsion of the religious Orders from France), the Most Rev. Father Mauron wrote:

“I am happy to be able to grant you Father Kockerols as your extraordinary confessor, according to your request, in spite of his nomination to the office of Provincial

“I have been brought to satisfy your wishes because of the great good that he has done in your Monastery, and also to enjoy the spiritual advantages that you have promised me in this case. In fact I have great confidence in the prayers of your good community, and I am counting on them, not solely during the promised novena, but during the whole year.

“Pray a great deal also for our Fathers and your fellow Sisters in France who are the butt of persecution. Recommend them greatly to Our Lady of Perpetual Succour and our holy Father Saint Alphonsus. The evil is so great and universal that God must intervene and make it end. I await this divine intervention with confidence.”

On 4th January 1882, on the very eve of the heart attack which almost brought him to the love of his children, the Most Rev. Father Mauron dictated the following letter.
“I would like to thank you, you and your excellent community for the New Year good wishes that you have sent me, and above all for the prayers and holy communions that you have applied to me and wish to apply to me as well in the future. I feel more than ever the need to be sustained by your good prayers, as my age is advancing with my infirmities, my powers are diminishing from day to day, and in contrast, my work-load is increasing all the time.”

Next he promises them the help of his prayers, and then he adds, “I also want to thank you with all my heart for the 200 francs which you were kind enough to send me for the poor Redemptoristines in Italy. It is me they turn to for their refuge in all their distress, and it is you who are their great providence. I am continuing to gradually distribute to them the sum of money which you sent me for them above all. These good Sisters are very grateful to you. They beg me every time to express their gratitude to you and assure you of their prayers.

“I bless our good God for the excellent result of the mission at Bruges which our Fathers have just given. Monsignor the Bishop, [24] whom I went to see during his trip to Rome and who immediately visited me in return, is full of praises for our Fathers. He also spoke to me about your Monastery in the most favourable terms.”

Next he encouraged her to entrust herself entirely to God regarding her responsibilities as Superior, which had just been conferred on her again, and gave her advance news concerning a future history of the first Redemptoristines. [25]

A year later, on 4th January 1883, Father Mauron wrote, “Tomorrow, it will be a year since our good God came to visit me. In the first days of my illness, I never thought I would ever see this anniversary. I believed on the contrary that my end had arrived. Our good God wanted it to be otherwise, and this grace, I am deeply convinced, I owe uniquely to the fervent and incessant prayers, and the sacrifices which were made for me in your Order, as well as in our own Congregation. Your excellent community had a large part in this work of charity and devotion towards me, and I would like to express my deepest gratitude.”

The venerable correspondent adds, “I had the happiness a few weeks ago of having a very private audience with the Holy Father (His Holiness, Leo XIII). His Holiness welcomed me with extreme benevolence. He brought me into his apartments, with my crosier in my hand, and invited me to sit down beside him. The Holy Father gave me an order not to fall ill, and I am trying my best to obey him. Finally he asked me to transmit his blessing to all the children of Saint Alphonsus scattered across the face of the earth.”

The same letter informs us that the community of Bruges had now reached 42 sisters.

Finally a letter dated 22nd February 1884 attests to the generosity of Mother Mary-Aloyse and her Community and becomes quite an eulogy:
“I have just received your good letter of 18th instant, in which you tell me you are sending some monetary help to your fellow Sisters in Italy, and also to the Villa Caserta. I received this sum the day before a letter from the Very Rev. Father Kockerols. According to your intention, my Reverend Mother, I shall be sure to distribute the 4000 francs intended for the Sisters of Italy, according to the circumstances and needs of their Monasteries. I shall certainly recommend them to pray for your Monastery of Bruges, which is so generous towards them, and in particular for good Sister Mary-Joseph and her family. I am persuaded that they will do this with the greatest fervour.

“As for the sum of 2000 francs, which you have been kind enough to give as a gift to myself, I thank you for it most sincerely, my Reverend Mother. It is a real act of providence for us, which will allow us to push a little ahead with the costly constructions which have been imposed on us by the municipality of Rome.

“I would equally like to express my deepest gratitude for the considerable help that you have organised from our Province in Belgium, both on this occasion and on many others. Your assistance, as the Most Rev. Provincial has told me, have been mainly used for the establishment of the Students’ House at Beauplateau and for the support of a certain number of young men. And thus, my Reverend Mother, you will have a large part in the fruits of salvation which the present and future Belgian missionaries are producing and will produce in souls. May our good God reward you a hundred-fold, in this world and in the next, for your generous assistance!

“As for me, I pray every day for your fervent Monastery, so that it may always remain as it is now, a nursery of souls agreeable to God and His true saints, occupied totally in loving their divine Spouse and conquering souls for Him from the depths of their cells. To this effect I bless Your Reverence and all your good community and in particular your good Sister Mary-Joseph.

We can see how happy Father Mauron was to say “thank you,” but the moment was not far away when he was able to come in person to the community of Bruges to give them his blessing.

This favour was accorded to the pious Monastery in 1884. The Most Rev. Father Mauron, now frail, but eager to visit the Provinces of Belgium and Holland, and the French Communities taking refuge in these countries, left Rome at the end of July of that year. He braved the fatigues of this long journey to go and reassure the anxieties of his children in person. So many reasons brought him to pay a visit to the Redemptoristines of Bruges, that he gave them a special place in his itinerary, and on 24th August these good religious received the happy news that in a couple of days, His Lordship would be amongst them.

“We hastened,” says the narrator of this memorable visit, “We hastened to put the final touches to our preparations for his reception, which were begun a long time beforehand. The cloisters were decorated with coloured paper-chains, artificial flowers and natural shrubs. A great statue of the Most Holy Virgin was placed near the staircase, as if to invite Mary to preside over our feast. Various banners, graciously disposed, expressed our filial love for our most Reverend Father and our welcome to him. In the main chamber of the community, tastefully decorated, the statue of Saint Alphonsus could be seen in his pontifical habits and at his feet the Saint’s pectoral cross enclosed in a reliquary.

“Finally the 26th August arrived. At about 2.30 p.m. in the afternoon, the community assembled in the main parlour. Half an hour later, which seemed like eternity, the joyful sound of the church bell ringing three times announced the arrival of our Father to us, and some minutes later, as we knelt at his feet, we received his holy blessing with an inexpressible emotion.

“After dinner, the Most Rev. Father Mauron visited the Monastery. At the given signal, we formed two rows in the cloister. The door of the enclosure opened and His Lordship walked through, with his companion on the journey, Rev. Father John Kannengiesser. When he arrived at the main room of the community, this Reverend Father stopped before the statue of Our Father Saint Alphonsus. “Here’s Father!” he exclaimed with a charming simplicity. Then he picked up the Saint’s pectoral cross, touched his forehead with it and kissed it tenderly. When His Lordship was seated, we sang some verses for the occasion, which seemed to please him greatly. Then the Reverend Father spoke to us about our holy vocation, the origins of our Order, the first Mothers, and especially Mother Mary-Colomba, whom Saint Alphonsus held in great esteem. It was to her that Our Lord revealed that all those who die in the Institute will be saved, and consequently, His Lordship added, all Redemptoristines and all Redemptorists faithful to their vocation, for, at this time, the Congregation and the Order were spoken of under the single name of Institute of the Holy Redeemer. The Most Reverend Father spoke to us also about the present state of our different Monasteries. We listened to him, charmed by his goodness, simplicity and joy, and astonished by his prodigious memory. When he got up to visit the convent, some of our Sisters who were suffering from deafness or some other infirmity, knelt down before him with a touching confidence to receive his blessing. This recalled the Gospel scenes, and if our dear sick sisters had been the object of a visible miracle, could we not have doubted that the blessing of a saint, received with such a lively faith, would obtain a special grace for them to bear away their illnesses with love?”

The Most Rev. Father Mauron then visited the Monastery. “Each Sister,” says the narrator, “urged him to visit their cells and give them his blessing. This good Father accepted our wishes and had some simple words for each one of them, such as the Saints say, and which penetrated their souls with their sweet unction. The simplicity of our cells pleased him. 'There is nothing surplus,” he exclaimed, “so you may be completely at peace.' This was a witness which made religious poverty even more dear to us. His Lordship also blessed the Educands and the Novices. He addressed a few words to the Novices on the virtues which are proper to them. In the library, our Reverend Mother told him, as she pointed out the shelves containing the works of Saint Alphonsus, 'This is the well from which our souls draw the most.' - To which the Most Rev. Father replied, 'You are right. Those who read these books and put them into practice will certainly become saints.'

“In the Choir of the Holy Family, the crib attracted His Lordship’s attention. 'It’s charming!' he said, and did not stop looking at it. Next, turning towards us, he said very kindly, 'Be the asses in the stable, not to cry out or stamp your feet, but to warm the Infant Jesus.' Then the Reverend Father finished visiting the convent.

“The following day, we had the happiness of assisting at His Lordship’s Mass. He offered the holy sacrifice at the altar of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour. In the morning he had long discussions with the Reverend Mother about the interests of the Community. In the afternoon, the Reverend Father entered the enclosure, accompanied by the Most Rev. Provincial John Kockerols (who had arrived the previous night at Brussels from his voyage to Canada) and Rev. Father Kannengeisser. While visiting us, he gave each one of us a printed leaflet containing some maxims by Saint Alphonsus, and a relic of his coffin, the precious souvenirs of a saint, given by another saint, and which we shall preserve with a double veneration.

“However, time was passing. Before leaving us, His Lordship finally said the following words to us, 'My dear Sisters, I shall meet you again, not on earth, but in heaven. We shall all meet again there if we live and die faithful to our vocation. While we are waiting, let us do here below what we shall do up there one day. Let us accomplish the holy will of God on earth. This accomplishment will cost our own nature, but in heaven, it will procure for us an uncontaminated and unending joy.'

On the 28th, the Feast of Saint Augustine, all the Sisters communicated for the intention of the Father General, then they all went to the parlour to receive his blessing for the last time.

This visit, it was clear, left them all deeply filled with gratitude towards God and their good Superior, who had obtained this benefit for them. For Mother Mary-Aloyse, these were days of great consolation. The Most Reverend Father Mauron had scarcely arrived at Wittem when he wished to thank her, and he did it in terms worthy of a successor of Saint Alphonsus.

“The Most Reverend Father, “wrote Father Kannengeisser, “ has taken away from his visit to your Monastery the most happy memory. He is delighted above all to have satisfied himself that the spirit of prayer reigns there. And this is Saint Alphonsus’ very own spirit. The more it is developed in your Monastery, the more abundantly graces will descend from heaven, not simply upon you, but also upon the poor sinners whose advocates Saint Alphonsus has constituted you to be.”

On 1st January 1885, the Most Reverend Father Mauron gave Mother Mary-Aloyse some news about his trip, and added:

“A short while after my return to Rome, I had the honour of a long audience with the Holy Father. His Holiness was informed about my journey, and asked me if I had been to see your Monastery of Bruges, which he remembered very clearly. [26] The Holy Father is very satisfied with it and has asked me to pass on to Your Reverence and to all your fellow Sisters his apostolic blessing.”

Footnotes

[23] Our readers will be pleased to read the letter from the Superior of Saint Agatha. What could be more touching than this exchange of charity on the one hand, and gratitude on the other?
“Monastery of Saint Agatha of the Goths,
“This 16th February 1877.
“My dear Sister in Jesus Christ and Reverend Mother Superior,
“We have received the most wonderful consolation in receiving the beautiful picture of your good and holy Mother, the late Mother Mary-Philomena. She seems very much alive, as we hope that she is in reality now in heaven for all eternity. I thank you most cordially for this beautiful gift.
“Jesus wishes to purify all His Spouses left on earth, by calling to Himself first one, and then another of them. May His holy will always be accomplished! We too have lost one of our Sisters, our good Sister Mary-Jeannette of the Heart of Jesus, aged 75 years. After only seven days of an illness, whose sufferings she endured with great patience, she died on 29th January in the most perfect peace.
“She was very devoted to Saint Alphonsus and had a limitless charity towards the poor, and was happy to fast from time to time so as to send her whole portion to the Tourière as alms for her dear poor. I pray you to make the Suffrages prescribed by the Rule for the repose of her soul.
“Also please pray for us too, as the death of each nun fills us with sadness, at the thought that this house founded by Saint Alphonsus will soon cease to exist. Pray to our good God to put an end to these great tribulations, so that we may have the consolation of leaving others here after us to praise and love the Lord.
“Today we received 25 francs from our Most Reverend Father General, a gift of your charity to the poor daughters of Saint Alphonsus, your Sisters who are totally devoted to Jesus Christ. Together with all my Sisters I thank you a thousand times, and I ask Saint Alphonsus to reward you as you desire and deserve, as it is he who knew our needs and inspired you to help us.
“Dear and beloved Mother Superior, I rejoice greatly in your fervour; let us love Jesus greatly upon this earth, so that we may love Him much more in eternity. Let us love each other with the love of the divine Spouse, and let us remain united in the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in whom we hug and kiss you all.
“Your most affectionate Sister in Jesus Christ,
“Sister Mary Crucified of the Holy Nails.!
[24] Mgr Faict, Bishop of Bruges.
[25] This history appeared a few years later under the title of: Les premières Rédemptoristines (The First Redemptoristines), by Father F. Dumortier. It was the Monastery of Bruges which paid for it to be printed.
[26] The Holy Father, when he was Nuncio at Brussels, made the journey to Bruges to assist in the procession of the Holy Blood. On this occasion he paid a visit to the Redemptoristines. The Monastery Chronicles record this visit thus.
“On 9th May 1844, Mons. Boussen, the Bishop of Brussels, accompanied by Mons. Pecci, the Papal Nuncio, and Mons the Bishop of Ghent, attended for our benefit, after which they paid a visit to our Reverend Mother Sister Mary-Alphonse of the will of God, and asked to see the whole Community. Monsignor the Nuncio showed a great deal of interest in our worthy Foundation and had informed himself with great pleasure about the convents of our Order in Italy. These respectable personages then presented themselves at our new convent, which they visited in detail, examining especially the foundations and walls of our future church. Rev. Father Paul Reyners provided answers to all their questions."

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-Aloyse of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, O.SS.R. Superior of the Monastery of Bruges [2] (Brugge) 1822-1889

Chapter VII.
Mother Mary-Aloyse encourages a Vocation.

Mother Mary-Aloyse, in the important responsibilities which she exercised, acquired some most useful experience. She made use of it to give the most wise counsels, on occasions, to people of the world. In 1872, one of her nieces, Miss Mathilda Fabri, announced a great news to her. She felt herself called to the religious life and burned to join her pious aunt in the cloister. But her father claimed custody over her youth, and her brothers also had need of her care, so how could she get out of such pressing duties! So from then on, how could she maintain the sacred fire in a life spent in the midst of the world? Mother Mary-Aloyse went to her aid with all her power. Her letters to her niece allow us to reveal her in another light. To the advice which she gave her to show her family the most tender attachment, she joined the advice of a superior prudence, so necessary to safeguard a vocation.

What could be more judicious than her first recommendations? “The more I have prayed,” she writes, “the more it seems to me that God primarily wants you to apply yourself to your interior life, to this union of heart and will with Jesus Christ, who ever holds you in a peaceful and loving dependency. A ruling is no doubt necessary, but the main point must always be one of preferring the will of God to your own exercises, and to sacrifice them generously when He asks you to. I cannot praise you too much for your desire to conform yourself exteriorly to others, and to supplement in your heart and your will for what you cannot do.”

Making an appeal to her own memories, she forewarned her niece against a danger.
“Although I would not wish to advise you to miss out on your sleep, on the contrary, I find that you often sleep too little. Believe me in my experience. I made the same error in the world, and I have had time to repent of it.” Then she laid out for her a little rule of life.

“I would be much happier,” she added, “dear Mathilda, to see you communicate more often, if your confessor will allow it, and if you can do it without anyone finding fault with it. Here, the educands communicate three time a week, the novices four times, without counting the Feasts, and the professed, six times. Try to be at least a novice. I am sure that at Enailles you will have the same sacrifices to make as I had at Sény, because we do not like to be displayed before all the world. So make many, many spiritual communions.” She finishes by telling her about some of Saint Alphonsus’ works.

“I advise you to procure the little treatise Of Mental Prayer and Retreats, and Of the Manner of Conversing Continually with God, by Saint Alphonsus de Liguori. For your meditations, I believe that you will find it very useful to make use of Reflections and Affections on the Passion and Meditations for the Feasts. All these works are by Saint Alphonsus and printed by Casterman (translated by Father Dujardin). These are some little works which will greatly aid you in meditating with confidence, and which are very consoling.” [18]

In another letter, Mother Mary Aloyse initiates her niece into certain practices of religious life, but adapted to her present condition:
“Since you are so fond of doing what we do, dear sister, it is also appropriate for you to have a Patron saint, a practice and a special prayer for the year - we receive it on New Year’s Day. - Your Patron will be Saint Alphonsus, your practice, patience: patience with yourself when you do not make enough progress; patience with others, for even when we live with the angels, we still need patience. And your prayer will be to ask God often for peace, charity and the accomplishment of the duties of religion to always be a distinctive mark of your family. And for this you will say a “Hail Mary” every day.

She again recommended devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. “Try to love Our Lord more in the Blessed Sacrament, and when you are at home, turn from time to time towards the church to greet Him and adore Him and often make spiritual communions. This will do you so much good, especially in moments of pain, when you feel the need to love or be loved! So continue to turn towards the only adorable and desirable good.

“Well, courage, my good child. Jesus loves you very much, you can be sure. Place a high value on the happiness of being the bride of Jesus Christ. Continue to sacrifice yourself in taking care of your father and brothers. For the moment this is certainly the will of God. Make every effort to maintain charity in the family, and Jesus will bless you and love you.” [19]

“Reading your letters, I feel that your are tormenting yourself too much for your faults. Of course we should not love them, but we must live with ourselves and think that our ugliness, borne humbly and in confidence, will not make us disagreeable to our good God, who is so good. As Saint Francis de Sales said, “we must love abjection in order to correct imperfection.”

“I shall place you especially in the Heart of Jesus at seven o’clock in the morning, which is the hour of our holy communion and the Mass, and I shall pray to the Holy Virgin to always be your good Mother.” [20]

The following letter is no less instructive:
“I have prayed so much for you during Christmas night: I asked during the midnight Mass for the Child Jesus to soon open the door of His dear Bethlehem to you, so that we can dwell in it with Him.

“While we are waiting for this wonderful day, dear child, try to become more and more a fervent lover of Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. This above all is the mark of a Redemptoristine. Do not be content with an ordinary faith, confidence and love, but instead you must establish between yourself and Jesus in the Tabernacle a current of holy affections going from His Heart to your own and from your heart to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. - We learn so many things at the foot of the Tabernacle! There is everything in a consecrated host, so may it be all your treasure, dear Mathilda, your book, your consoler, your confident and your everything. This is one of my most sincere wishes for my good child, whom I desire so much to see all red. Let us hope for it and ask it from the Child Jesus.”

We shall never grow tired of listening to this pious aunt. Here is her judicious advice. “I have to smile, my good little sister, reading these words in your letter: “Everything is going well, but I am so changeable!” Do not forget that your emotions are always changeable. You know that chapter of the Imitation where it is said that we are sometimes sad and sometimes joyful. And we shall be the same until we arrive there, where nothing ever changes. - So this is not a fault, but a misery of our poor nature, which we have to bear with patience. We will never lack crosses or sufferings for as long as we love our good Saviour. He made His daily bread from them, and this must be ours as well.

And she adds, “Try to spend Advent well. It is a time of joy and a time of wishes. The Office is so beautiful! It is a continual sigh calling out to Jesus Christ. If you do not have the Divine Office in French and Latin, I advise you to procure one as complete as possible, and to make use of it sometimes for your meditations. The Advent anthems and the Masses are all so beautiful, and they put us so much into the spirit of the Holy Church! And there is also another advantage, which is that since the Office is drawn almost entirely from Holy Scripture, we are meditating on the words of the Holy Spirit, which always have a particular grace. However, I ask you not to do this without the permission of the Father, who knows you better than I do.”

The letter finishes with come wise recommendations:
“And also try, my good Mathilda, not to go so much against your father. It is better to sacrifice a half-hour of prayers on your knees and pray some other way than to bring down upon yourself some orders or restrictions that you find hard to bear. I have been through that and I know what it means. Once it went as far as wanting to forbid me to confess to the Priest, but I became angry, I wept, I made an uproar so much that they had to leave me alone. It is also true that I made them a terrible threat: If you force me to this, then I will leave even sooner. Then they gave up. But you cannot, must not threaten this. The hour has not come, you can be sure. So be prudent, and see the will of God in the sacrifices He is asking of you.”

In another letter, this good Mother speaks at length on her concern to make family life seem pleasant. Could there ever be anything more judicious, more just, or more like Saint Francis de Sales, if we may so put it, than the following lines?

“You can be sure, my dear child, that our good Saviour will hold you to account for all that you do for Him in sacrificing yourself for the souls of your father and brothers. So try, my good friend, to treat them with the greatest love, and give them a little family pleasure by your well-chosen company, and when there are such gatherings, believe me, do not walk out of them again as you have done. I am sure that your father would have been most upset, and although he may not have said anything to you, he would have spoken about it to others. I heard something about it in Summer through aunt Mathilda, who spoke up for you, however. She also told me that you do not need to go to excess. I have told you this often - be prudent and learn how to make a sacrifice so you do not bring down upon yourself a positive ban on following your exercises. They complain that you are neglecting the housework, that your brothers are always having to rely continually on the servants, since you are never there, that your father is sad and worrying, etc., etc. I know, and I understand that it is very difficult to satisfy everyone, but, my good friend, have you not thought that you will have less graces in praying a little more in your own room and in cutting back somewhat on the time you give to the church, since this is the main complaint?”

She then describes a little rule to her and adds, “So do you not realise that in the convent you will also have to make some of these sacrifices? You often have to learn how to leave God for God, and do His will by leaving the choir when you would be so happy to stay there. So, my dear friend, courage. Fulfil your mission with generosity.”

However, her dear niece went to Lourdes to recommend her vocation to the Immaculate Virgin. “Ah!” she wrote to her from Bruges, “so my little sister is emancipating herself, but in a good manner. I am very happy for you. There you are at the source of graces, so place yourself firmly in the heart of this good Mother. I shall recommend your great desire together with you.”

However, the blessed hour is approaching. We are in July 1878, and in three months the young lady who so generously sacrificed herself for her family, is now about to take flight for the cloister. Her good aunt wants to help her make the right sacrifice now of those to whom up till now she was so devoted to:

“Do not doubt,” she writes to her, “that Jesus and Mary are themselves taking care of those whom you are leaving for their love. The more your sacrifice is generous and full of love, the more abundantly their graces will fall upon your family. So give Jesus and Mary whatever it costs you, often and in advance. After holy communion, offer Our Lord everything you love, Léon, Joseph, Sidonie and all the others, by saying, “My Jesus, I give them to you. Help me to make my sacrifice well so that it will be most agreeable to you. I give you all of them. Make me love you more now that I am leaving them for You. Implore Jesus and Mary for the sentiments that inspired them at Calvary, when you say farewell. Offer this for the soul of your dear Father, [21] and you will see that Our Lord will help you. Tell Him truly that you wish to be a faithful and generous spouse. Then, have confidence. It will cost you, for it will not mean much without it. And soon you will be back at Enailles. You will no longer have the Father [22] to strengthen you, but keep up your prayers. I will send you a copy there of a letter that Mons Dechamps wrote me when I was at Sény. It will please you and do you good.”

From this point on, the correspondence ceases, as the young lady said a last good-bye to the world. She entered the Redemptoristine convent at Bruges.

Footnotes

[18] April 1872.
[19] January 1873.
[20] December 1873.
[21] Mr. Victor Fabri, who died in the month of June.
[22] Father Fiévez.

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-Aloyse of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, O.SS.R. Superior of the Monastery of Bruges [2] (Brugge) 1822-1889

Chapter VI.
The Apostolate of a Redemptoristine.

Perhaps readers would like to rest for a while from the long journey they have just made through the noviciate. Mother Mary-Aloyse is about to appear to us in the guise of a very peaceful and very fruitful apostolate. We would like to speak about her apostolate of prayer.

Father Dechamps wrote some very interesting letters to her on this subject.

“Saint Joseph (Brussels), vigil of Saint Nicholas.
“5th December 1853.
“My dear daughter in Jesus-Christ,
­“I have not yet told you how happy I was to receive your letters, which have followed me around. It was only upon my return to Rome that a big bundle of them overwhelmed me. I am leaving tomorrow for Coblenz, where I shall leave them in the certainty of never being able to take them up again. But we must pray for other points which will be dealt with at Coblenz. Do not see egoism in this! This Father scarcely ever writes, and when he does write three lines, it is to ask you for prayers! Yes, but not for him alone. So, my dear daughter, truly pray and ask for prayers, please.

“I have just learnt that the Reverend Mother has been, and perhaps still is, suffering greatly. So tell her that she has my memento and memorare, and as her great family is praying for her, everything will end well.
“Your busy Father,
“V. Dechamps, C. SS. R.”

From Villa Caserta (Rome) where this Father went during the month of April for the Chapter General, and which he was about to leave, he wrote these few lines to Mother Mary-Aloyse, whose mother had just died:

“Yes, my daughter, I have learnt your sad news. She has arrived and is rejoicing more than ever in your vocation. If she has need of it, you will open the door of heaven sooner to her. I join myself to your prayers.

“If the Reverend Mother has no time to do it, I turn to you to pass on to Brussels my news and my requests. So goodbye and say many prayers to the Holy Family, the Archangel Raphael and our good Angels for our journey.
“Your devoted servant in Jesus Christ,
“V. Dechamps, C. SS. R.”

The Redemptoristines of Bruges sometimes asked to hear Father Dechamps. His sweet and powerful eloquence was well known to them. But how could he promise anything in the midst of work-load he spoke about!

“Tournai, 6th November 1855.
“My dearest daughter,
“It is truly impossible for me to be able to promise anything. I hope to be free for the 22nd, the day of the great Saint Cecile. If I am free, I will come.

“I cannot say any more, because of an extraordinary complication of labours of all sorts. Your Father has become a missionary once more, without ceasing to be a Rector and man of the Court. [15] This has produced a singular mixture. If you do not pray very greatly and very constantly for him, he risks it all getting too much for him.

“I shall see you soon, I hope. Persevere in saying some good prayers to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, both you and all of you and the Reverend Mother, for
“Your most devoted Father in Jesus Christ,
“V. Dechamps, C. SS. R.”

The following letter testifies also to the need for prayers, which this apostolic man felt so keenly.

Brussels, Feast of Saint Joseph, 1856.
“My dear daughter in Jesus Christ,
“You have said that your old Father has become deaf, and this is why he is dumb. Not so. It is because no matter how old he is, he must run ever faster. He has just come back from one of his journeys. Will he ever get to Bruges without a miracle? It is because he has been entrusted with watering a dry and sandy soil, and as for Bruges, they are evergreen pastures, because it is Jesus Himself who waters them. You say that I am taking refuge in rhetoric to escape the difficulty. No, I am speaking the truth. But I pray to Jesus, Mary, Joseph and Alphonsus to always make the dew of heaven fall ever more abundantly upon you all.

“When will I ever see my children at Bruges? The essential thing is to meet again in heaven. Remember always that those who battle on the plain are more exposed than those who pray in the sanctuary, and be always the good sister and good child of
“Your devoted old Father,
“V. Dechamps, C. SS. R.”

Always with the aim of obtaining prayers, the eloquent preacher, the illustrious author, kept his spiritual daughter up-to-date with his publications and struggles.

Saint Joseph (Brussels), 2nd January 1857.
“I am very happy that you are all thinking, you, the Reverend Mother, and all of you, of recommending me to the all-powerful little Lamb of God. Please continue to do it, and tell Him to grant each one of us what Mary is asking Him for us this year, and also whatever else He is pleased to give us.

“So you still have some family crosses! I am sure you will already have told them that it is a grace to die young, and it is a great grace most often.

“I have as my virtue of the year “Devotion to the Incarnation and Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ”, and I have now been given almost as penance, the task of writing a book which will deal with these great subjects. So now may I ask you for prayers for this and for another commissioned popular work which will bring within common reach the truths most often attacked today.

“Alas, I have even less free time, and I must work, I’m afraid, like a soldier who is smiting hip and thigh. So pray much and constantly for my poor spirit, my poor soul and my poor head. Yes, I am counting on you.

“I have Saint Francis Xavier for my Patron. He is an apostolic soldier, but if only I had a grain of his courage and confidence and love of the Cross!”

Here is yet another apostolic letter:

Wednesday of Easter 1857.
“My dear daughter and sister in J. M. J. A.,
“A Happy Easter too, a happy Resurrection. That of the soul is the unfailing seed of that of the body.

“Yes, you are right. I have a great war and enough painful combats to wage against the devil and his angels. [16] I have never more greatly felt the need of being helped by our Moses. I finished Lent with a migraine on Easter Day. And because I preached on humility, courage and patience, our good God would have said, “Look at our speaker at work.”

“You will never really know how much you have consoled me by telling me that you are all praying for me. I would most urgently ask you to be kind enough to continue on. As for communion, I believe that if you want to make it with great fervour, you must remain united to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. It was an act of this Heart (Bossuet says) which gave Jesus Christ to the world, the Fiat of the Incarnation, and it is also this Heart which gives us to Jesus Christ and teaches us to love Him. Let us hide within Mary’s heart, so that She may hide us in the Heart of Jesus.

“I believe, like the apostles after their conversion, in the good news of women who have followed and still follow Jesus Christ. So let us not suspect lack of belief. I trust in your promises.

“My regards and blessings to everyone, especially the Reverend Mother.
“Your most devoted servant in J. M. J. A.,
“V. Dechamps, C. SS. R.”

Let us finish with this letter, where the heart and spirit of Father Dechamps are revealed in such a touching manner:

21st December 1857.
“You know that there are two sorts of sermons. Those which Jesus Christ brings about, and those which He makes Himself in silence and prayer. It is there that He tells you what to do or not do to obtain more love for the Lamb of the Manger, the Cross or the Tabernacle. Look at Him through these three veils, and you will see His light shine through as much as it can and wishes to shine in this world. 'Happy are those who thirst, for..., etc.' If you obtain this thirst for me, I will willingly wait until I get to heaven for what will quench it perfectly.

“So Brother Gerard is doing things in Bruges. This is all good news.. It reminds me of the times when I wrote smaller books which perhaps were not worth much, given this. Since Brother Gerard loves you all so much, perhaps you will all pray to him for his old Father in Liège. Tell him that I have contributed to making him known a little, and he should remember this when we remember him in heaven. [17]

“Thank you for your good wishes. May our little Jesus reward you. I count on your fidelity to your good promises.
“Your old Father in Liège.”

These continual requests for prayers attest, we think, to the apostolic zeal of the Redemptoristines at Bruges and to Mother Mary-Aloyse in particular. And so the brilliant and hard-working career of him who was one day to become Cardinal Dechamps was sustained and brought to fruition by the prayers of the cloister.

Footnotes

[15] Father Dechamps was then the preacher at Court to the King of the Belgians.
[16] Perhaps he is referring to the polemics aroused by the booklet: “The Murmur of the Parlours”, provoked by the courageous preaching of Father Dechamps.
[17] Father Dechamps in fact wrote a learned preface to the French edition of the Life of the Ven. Brother Gerard Majella by Father Tannoia. - Tournai, Casterman. St. Gerard was canonised on 11th December 1904.

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-Aloyse of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, O.SS.R. Superior of the Monastery of Bruges [2] (Brugge) 1822-1889

Chapter V.
Mother Mary-Aloyse is named Directress of the Noviciate (1852-1870).

The letter which we are about to cite was addressed to Mother Mary-Aloyse, Mistress of Novices: this responsibility was in fact entrusted to our modest heroine in 1852, and she exercised it until 1870.

Formed as she was in the school of Mother Mary-Philomena, and abundantly nourished on the instructions of the Rev. Father Passerat, Sister Mary-Aloyse also received from God the precious qualities which disposed her to government. Her practical sense was rare, her judgement excellent, and her knowledge of the spiritual ways permitted her to guide others along the path of perfection. The sweet teachings of St. Alphonsus also served her as a rule, and in the school of this great master, she had learnt to require nothing that was beyond the powers or the abilities of her disciples, but what she always firmly required was for everyone to avoid deliberate faults with the greatest care, to do penance for those which they had committed, and to apply themselves diligently to fulfil all the obligations imposed on them by the Rule. Effort, a care for detail, unhurried actions, these indispensable elements in tendency to perfection, were also the subject of her recommendations, but she wanted everything to be inspired, sustained and brought to a good end through the love of Jesus Christ. So she gave a soul to this body of sometimes meticulous practices which are called spiritual warfare, and a sure pledge of success to efforts that the lack of love condemns too often to powerlessness.

Let us hear her former novices themselves speak to us of some events in their noviciate.

“On the first Friday of each month,” one of them writes, “Sister Mary-Aloyse required her novices to put down in writing the accusation they proposed to make against themselves, so as to rectify it if possible. One day, when a novice brought her piece of paper to her, she noticed her mistress crossing out a sentence in which she accused herself of having wrongly judged her Superior, and of having said several words expressing criticism. So she permitted herself to ask her the reason for this, expressing her regret to her and the desire she had for repairing and expiating her fault. Sister Mary-Aloyse said to her, “This fault is so displeasing to Our Lord’s Heart that a novice must never commit it. Make Him a sincere promise that never again will you cause Him this pain, as whoever despises her Superiors wounds Him right to the Heart.” She imposed a small penance on the novice, who corrected herself, through the fear of causing pain to Jesus Christ Himself.”

“A novice experienced an antipathy towards a Sister whose manners upset her, and some of whose practices toward her were hurtful to her. It was the custom to beg for soup in the refectory. The novice found this penance agreeable, we might even say amusing, but she never managed to bring herself to do it, because the young Sisters had to give way to the older ones. Finally she succeeded one day in taking hold of the blessed dish that she had coveted for so long, and got ready most happily to go round the refectory on her knees to beg for her bread, when Sister N took the soup-plate out of her hands to do the penance in her place. - This trial was too much for the novice. She went and complained to the Mistress, not being able to suppress some disagreeable reflections about the Sister who had supplanted her. When she had finished venting her spleen, the Mother Mistress said to her: “My dear Sister, far too often you have noticed this and that in this fervent religious. Believe me, if you do not take care, you will nourish an antipathy inside you which will be a source of many imperfections for you. If you want to stop this right at the beginning, this is what you must do: every time when , for one cause or another, you feel a sense of discontentment against this good Sister, find an occasion to render her a service, or go up to her in recreation to say something nice to her.” The novice followed this advice and found it good, and applied it for the rest of her life to every Sister whom she did not like, and thanks to the good advice of her devoted Mistress, she managed, by repeated acts, to be able sometimes to quite set aside the dislikes she felt for the Sisters who beforehand seemed so disagreeable to her.

“A novice (it is the same Sister talking), a novice was often criticised for the attachment she had to her own will. On one of the monthly retreats, she wished to give her Mistress a surprise. She sent her a rosary case made of coconut wood, and told her, “Mother, this detachment is small, it is true, but it has cost me a great deal.” Sister Mary-Aloyse took the little box and opened it as they talked. The novice had put a little note inside it bearing the words: “My will.” The Mistress showed herself very satisfied, but added, “My Sister, do not forget this gift which you have just given me, and from time to time let me make use of it.”

Let us listen to some other accounts. Their style is quite different, but they are quite marvellous in letting us glimpse inside the noviciate of Bruges in 1861-62.

“The Reverend Mother Mary-Aloyse made us take our noviciate seriously, and ever since I have always blessed and thanked our good God, although, at the time, I found her very severe.

“In recreation, this Mother maintained the most frank cheerfulness. There were several of us French girls and two of them above all would often start talking, because, as they said, they would do anything to liven up the others. But one day, the Mother Mistress said to me, half seriously and half as a joke, “My dear Sister, I believe that if you were to spend a recreation without talking, you would do yourself a great deal of harm.” After this I replied bravely that I would try to do it from the next day on. The Mother Mistress gave a wry smile and agreed. The next day, while continually looking at Mother and the other Sisters, I kept a firm silence, as if was quite easy for me. So then she set herself to get me to talk, offering me whatever would tempt me the most, such as pictures, etc., but to my great satisfaction, the bell sounded before I could say anything. Then there was general laughter.

“Another time, while we were walking in the garden during recreation (it was in the month of November), we happened to walk near an apple-tree. I got very excited at the idea of the fruit that it would bear in the following year, but as our Mother had a better knowledge in practice of the virtues than of arboriculture, she had some doubts about my competence and said to me, “Oh well, Sister, mark the fruit buds with a bit of thread and then we will see the proof of your knowledge.”

“The following year, to my great satisfaction, the tree produced many fine buds, but then withered up entirely and died. I was most disappointed. Then my Mistress ordered me to water my apple-tree every day, which I did even among the snow and ice of a most severe winter. In Spring, divine Providence declared itself in my favour, and my apple-tree produced fine apples. It was given my name (Mary Augustine) in remembrance, and when I was sent on to the foundation of Velp, I still received fruit from my resuscitated apple-tree. It was my Mistress who brought them to me with great joy, and I ate them with great pleasure.”

These citations show Sister Mary-Aloyse as a Mistress who was concerned to advance all her charges in perfection. One of her letters will demonstrate this.

“Dear little Sister,” she wrote to one of her novices, “your good letter has pleased me greatly. Never let yourself be discouraged. Jesus is with you, and when you have worked with courage to prepare a place for Him, He will come to dwell in your heart. He is there already, but He will come in a more intimate manner, and just one of these moments will make you completely forget, or rather, bless all the days of struggling. So courage then! Everything will be well, I can assure you on behalf of Jesus, if you never cease struggling and above all, if you never let yourself be discouraged. I am very happy that you see yourself as ugly. It is a grace. Reply to it by redoubling your confidence in Him who loves you so much and who will make you beautiful, if you offer Him your hand by humbling yourself in confidence. Recollection will also come. Patience, patience. Nothing is done in one day, but you must not let a single day go by without working. You love our good God more than you believe. Bless Him for everything. It is for your own good! Good-by for now, but I shall be looking forward to seeing you again. I pray to Mary to bless you.
“Sister Mary-Aloyse.”

Velp, 24th September 1860...
Let the novices speak again.
Sister Mary Clementine, [11] from the convent of Dublin, pays tribute to the great virtues of Mother Mary Philomena, and adds:

“Regarding the good Mother Mary-Aloyse, Dear Mother, I can only say that as Mistress of Novices and as Superior, she was always an enlightened directress to me and a tender Mother, who preached equally by example and by word, and knew how to make us love our holy Rules and the practice of the religious virtues. In a word, in these two Mothers I have always venerated the archetype of true and worthy Redemptoristine Superiors.”

Sister Mary-Lidwine of the Holy Spirit [12] particularly praises the vigilance and energy of her former Mistress of Novices:

“Both of them, Mother Mary-Philomena and her were most zealous in making souls advance towards perfection and forming solid virtues in their nuns. The Mother Vicar, Sister Mary-Aloyse, was my Mistress of Novices for two years. She greatly edified me through her energy, courage and power of soul by which she made her novices advance, with her eyes and her ears always open to correct the faults which she saw in them.”

Mother Mary Gertrude, the Superior of Clapham (London), was only under the direction of Mother Mary-Aloyse for a few months. “From the first day that I knew her,” she says, “I had the greatest veneration for her. Her recollected exterior reminded me of her angelic Patron, and her air of recollection as she went through the Monastery was wonderful to see. When she was my Mistress of Novices, she was the perfect model of a religious, and through her words, which breathed the spirit of our Father Saint Alphonsus, she taught us never to recoil before any sacrifice when it touched on the good of the Order. She often told me. “You must remember that our good God wants you to be a saint. This is why you must suffer, and struggle, and love beyond all measure Him who has loved us so much.”

“To some of them she could seem severe, but this severity was due to her love of the holy Rule and our Father Saint Alphonsus. I have always heard it said that she was as simple as a little child towards her Superiors. My memory and my heart will forever retain the memory of her spirit of prayer, her fervent love for observance, and her angelic modesty. In a word, it is impossible for me to describe in their entirety the virtues that we venerate in our holy Mother Mistress, and I still love to talk to our young Sisters about her great qualities and her instructions, to encourage them to walk in the footsteps of those who have gone before us.”

Sister Mary-Magdalen of Jesus, a Redemptoristine of Dublin, renders this moving tribute to her former Mother Mistress.

“Obedience asks me to do something which I feel entirely incapable of, although I have an inexpressible desire to open my heart full of gratitude towards my former Mother Mistress, the Reverend Mother Mary-Aloyse. I was a novice under her orders for more than two years, and during this time, I venerated her like a saint, and this sentiment still remains with me and is still the same as it has been for almost forty eight years. For myself, I believe that she was the most perfect soul that I have ever known. As Mistress, she was strict, as a Mother she was full of tenderness, devotion and sacrifice. Her example was a stimulus to excite our fervour. When speaking of the little observances she would tell us, “What our Father Saint Alphonsus has prescribed for us is not too small for me to practise.” I will never forget her holy words and instructions. Dear Reverend Mother, you will excuse my initiative and my bad French. I hope you will understand me, but my affection for my beloved Mother will never change. I hope that in her heavenly home she will think of her former novice and pray for her. As my own turn is coming, I greatly hope for her prayers to obtain mercy for me from our good God, and a happy death, when it is His holy will.”

From Dublin, too, the following letter comes to us, with its own special charm:

“Your dear aunt [13] being from Liège, I was most curious to get to know her, and I observed her well.

“The Reverend Sister Mary-Aloyse has always been regarded as a holy religious. She had a very serious exterior, and she was very severe with herself, but indulgent towards others. She was a model of regular observance, and showed a great love of poverty and silence. She was also very mortified, but her dearest virtue was that of obedience. The Reverend Sister Mary-Aloyse had a remarkable love for this virtue. She would have liked to change everything into obedience.

“When she became our Mother Mistress of Novices, she seemed a little cold and distant, and we were somewhat afraid of her. In our case, that was just as well. She was very maternal. When we were suffering, she would spare nothing to comfort us.

“In recreation, she was very jolly. Sometimes we spoke in the Liège dialect, but she knew it better than me, and this amused her immensely. Sometimes I would say, “Come now, Mother Mistress, now I can tell you all my secrets in public, because none of the novices can understand a word.”

The good Mother was most eager to inspire us with a love of our vocation and the religious virtues. Later on, I learnt from one of my companions that she had become very affable, very loveable, and our dear Sister Mary-Clementine confirmed it to me. This is another tribute to her virtue, and I am persuaded that this was a fruit of her beloved obedience.

“Through humility she would never let us render her any service, and when we looked for an occasion, she tried to avoid us every time, always saying, “I am my own servant.”

“So, dear Reverend Mother, look what my poor pen has produced. I do not doubt that God and His angels knows all this even better than us, but heaven will reveal it all to us.”

Let us now add another letter to all of these. It is dated September 1905 like the preceding ones. The venerable signatory of it died two months after writing it. [14] What a wonderful sense of gratitude and filial affection is found in it!

“Dear Reverend Mother,
“It is not simply a pleasure, it is a duty for me to say some words about the virtues of our Mother Mary-Aloyse, who was my Mother Mistress in the Educandate and the Noviciate.

“This dear Mother was strict about everything concerning holy observance, and remarkably hard on herself, but she also showed a very maternal goodness towards those who addressed themselves to her. I have had this experience myself. Being naturally timid, I did not dare approach her, but as soon as I had overcome that childish fear, I found a mother’s heart in her, full of the spirit of our Father Saint Alphonsus, and seeking by all means that his spirit suggested to her, to inculcate into our young hearts the divine virtues that our divine Saviour had practised during His life, such as humility, simplicity, abnegation of self, and above everything else, holy poverty. This last virtue she practised herself with great perfection during her whole religious life, so that we could say that it was her favourite virtue.

“She recommended novices to always have a great respect for their religious costume, by keeping it clean and tidy.

“Although this good Mother was occupied all day with the task she was responsible for, when she arrived at recreation, she was always jolly like a young novice.

“May our good Jesus bless her soul in a special manner for having guided me and taught me to walk in the blessed way of holy religious life”

“Sister Maria-Angelica of the Most Holy Sacrament, Religious of the Most Holy Redeemer.”

Footnotes

[11] Died at Clapham (London) on 19th March 1907.
[12] Sent from Bruges to the foundation at Louvain in 1875.
[13] This letter is addressed, like its predecessors, to the Reverend Mother Superior of the Redemptoristines of Bruges, the niece of Mother Mary-Aloyse.
[14] She died at Dublin on 19th November following.

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-Aloyse of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, O.SS.R. Superior of the Monastery of Bruges [2] (Brugge) 1822-1889

Chapter IV.
The Different Responsibilities Exercised by Sister Mary-Aloyse.
A spiritual director and the work of a soul.

Contemplative Orders are not Orders of dreamers, and those who would discredit them would be most astonished to see them doing different tasks and fulfilling different responsibilities that require great activity. A community of forty nuns requires to be well directed spiritually, and well regulated temporally. Both souls and bodies have their own needs, for which due provision must be made. Mother Superior, Mother Vicar, Mistress of Educands, Mistress of Novices, Sister Housekeeper, Sister Admonisher, Sister Dressmaker, Sister Sacristan, and many others. Oh, how many degrees there are in the peaceful hierarchy that we call the organisation of a convent!

Sister Mary-Aloyse very early drew the attention of her Superiors. Her talents, her virtues and her aptitudes promptly signalled her as capable of fulfilling the most difficult tasks.

She began with the modest task of sacristan. Father Paul Reyners, her director, would have liked her to join the Council as soon as she left the Noviciate. But the Rule opposed this, and the good Sister, when she discovered this, declared besides that she thought this was all a joke. Because she was capable in whatever she did, she taught the various tasks to the young Sisters. She had learned to paint. She made use of her talents to paint pious images. She made lace for the sacristy. She made reliquaries. This last work was so dear to her that she reserved it to herself, even when she became the Superior, and only her last illness was able to make her abandon it.

In 1853, she was entrusted with the important task of Mistress of Novices, which she exercised for the space of seventeen years. We shall speak of it later. To this task, in 1858, she added that of Mother Vicar, and from then on she became, we may say, the right arm of her worthy Superior, Mother Mary-Philomena, who for a long time had appreciated her virtues. She soon realised the wisdom of her advice, and never wished to make any important decision without consulting her. At the time of the foundation of Louvain, Sister Mary-Aloyse gave her already-suffering Superior the most devoted support, accompanying her on all her journeys, taking all the steps necessary to assure the foundation, and organising everything. Once all the preparations were complete, she left Bruges with the first Sisters, only returning when the ceremony of erecting the enclosure had brought the matter to its end. She still continued to give assistance from afar by her letters to the members of the new foundation. She also accompanied Mother Mary-Philomena on her last journey to Velp (1858). In a word, until the very day (12th January 1879) when she was elected as the Superior of Bruges, Sister Mary-Aloyse never ceased to render the greatest services in all the tasks that were entrusted to her. In these tasks, most exceptionally, she always performed in a manner pleasing to God and satisfactory to everyone involved.

This is perhaps the place to dispel certain misunderstandings on the subject of the spiritual direction of a soul, in placing before the eyes of our readers some letters addressed to Sister Mary-Aloyse by Father Theodore Kockerols, Redemptorist. We will see that this good Father’s direction contained nothing original or ambitious. It was as clear as light, as simple as a fine day, and it spoke at one and the same time to the soul of this good Sister and the soul of her director. We will give these letters regardless of dates, because they are unknown to us, including the year.

Antwerp, 25th....
“My daughter in Jesus Christ,
“Our Lady will give you better counsel than I can give you, but since it has been such a long time since I last talked to you, I think that you will hear me all the more willingly. Besides, if my advice does not agree with that of Our Lady, reject it out-of-hand (mine, of course, as you are simple enough not to understand me). Arm yourself with a holy anger against your own self, and be admirably sweet towards everyone. Be deaf to the voice of your own nature, and lend an attentive ear to every word that Our Lord will speak inside you.

“Be blind to the imperfections of the Sisters who are not entrusted to your care, and have eagle eyes to discover your own shortcomings. Do not listen to the devil, who will discourage you, but to the Lord who inspires confidence. Have more fear of the shadow of a voluntary fault than thousands of temptations, whatever they are.

“Above all else, love prayer, knowing that it is the beginning, the middle and the end of the spiritual life, for it is prayer which purifies the soul of its miseries, which gives it the strength to practise virtue, which detaches it from creatures and brings it to joy in the Lord.

“I wish you even greater graces, and tomorrow I shall pray for you to receive them to your heart’s desires.

“Wishing you everything in Jesus Christ,
“Theodore Kockerols.”

Brussels.
“My daughter in Jesus Christ,
“I recommend to you 1) your own conversion, 2) the conversion of the Reverend Mother, 1 and 3) my own conversion. Three great works of mercy.

“Take care to look into every corner, not of the Reverend Mother’s conscience, nor of my own, but of your own, - and be without mercy for the bears, the leopards and the bad subjects that you will find there. May our good Jesus expel them, striking them with His whip, and may He place a cherubim with a flaming sword at the entry, to prevent them from ever returning.

“Milk and honey run from the rocks,” it says in the Holy Scriptures. - When this becomes true for you, then my poor soul will leap for joy. But for as long as it does not please the Lord for this to be so, I will say with all the power of my soul: Patience, my daughter, patience! Jesus is so adorable and so good that if we have the happiness to find Him and contemplate Him for a single second after a hundred thousand years of seeking Him, then we ought to consider ourselves happy, ineffably happy. Jesus, good Jesus, show us just a little glimpse of Your beauty, and we shall be so faithful to You!

“Pray for the poor soul of him who wishes you to be entirely for Jesus Christ through His holy Mother.”

Here now are the thoughts inspired in Father Theodore by the Feast of St. Luis de Gonzaga, Sister Mary-Aloyse’s patron saint.

Brussels, 20th June.
“My daughter in Jesus Christ,
“If St. Luis de Gonzaga will obtain for you tomorrow the grace which I will be asking for you, then you will have good reason to be happy, like a bird in Paradise. And this grace? I shall have trouble in expressing myself so that you can understand me properly. In any case, it is not deliverance from either your bodily or spiritual miseries, - certainly not that! After some days of thinking particularly about you, I came to feel that misery is your fate, your second nature. So I do not wish for your misery to be taken away from you. God wants it, so take note. But I would dearly wish for you to be as docile as a child in God’s hands - and may you let yourself be annihilated when He intends it and as He intends it. Oh, how much I would like to see you unflinching under God’s hand, even when His hand is armed with the sharp sword of sorrows and humiliation! How much I would like to see you reduced to an atom of dust, but crying out forever and always in a loud voice, “Thank you, my God, thank you! I shall love You increasingly, the more You make me suffer more and more.”

“I can see that I am a little bit cruel in my wishes. I shall stop here, for I am almost at the point of wishing you to be nothing, and more than nothing in the superlative. But truly, you may believe me, I also wish very ardently for you to be great, very great, because you are totally in God.

“In your misery, pray for my misery.
“A happy Feast, Sister Mary-Aloyse, from your Father in Jesus Christ.”

The following letter is neither less well thought out or less well written than the preceding ones. It also reveals the good Sister’s tendency to worry too much in her desire for perfection and the religious virtues.

Brussels.
“My daughter in Jesus Christ,
I thank you for the goodness you have shown me in giving me the news about the Reverend Mother’s health. For the love of our little Jesus, do not let her depart, even though she wants it so much.

“In your letter you ask me when your heart will change. Truly, I thought you had more spirit. But it is changing every day, because every day it is becoming more unendurable to you. Is it not a sign that we are advancing in perfection, when we detest our imperfections and sigh for the moment when there are no more in our souls? In your opinion, apparently, this moment is too long in coming. But the Lord, who knows you better than you know yourself, knows very well that you would send yourself to your destruction if He let this long-desired moment come too soon. You sigh after humility, and I know that your sighs are sincere. So have patience, and let the Lord be responsible for teaching you humility. If He does not do so, what will happen? We often laugh about the little humiliations in the cloister - at the very least they just scratch the skin. But God’s sting us deeply and hurt greatly. I shall pray that this operation will not be too long, and that you will be able to endure it in all patience.”

“Your servant in Jesus Christ.”

A last missive from the good Father Theodore will worthily crown these admirable letters. Of all of them, this is perhaps the most instructive.

Brussels, 30th May 1862.
“My daughter in Jesus Christ,
“In the name of the Reverend Mother, you ask for a death-blow to the activity of your own nature, and certainly, if it depended on me, I would not fail to give it to you. But, but, it is difficult enough to kill an eel by hitting it with a stick. And it is even more difficult to calm down with a whip a heart that is too ardent and in too much of a hurry. Because He wishes to preserve us from every fault and every imperfection, Our Lord Jesus Christ has said, Vigilate - “Be watchful!” ... This advice is perfect for protecting ourselves against all sorts of temptations and weaknesses. But according to the opinion of all the Saints, it is the only indispensable and efficacious advice against the rushing of the heart. At every instant of the day, in a large community, - and a fortiori - “even more strongly”, in the pleasant task of Mistress of Novices, our hearts are exposed to a thousand little enthusiasms, a thousand and one agitations which often reach us this way , especially when we wish to raise everything to the peak of perfection in everything that surrounds us. So she who does not exercise a continual vigilance against all the movements of her heart, to repress them as soon as they depart from the strict rules of meekness and charity, will be like a reed exposed to all the winds, and who is never for a single instant in a perfect calm. Vigilance, - see the whip here. - And the less elegant stick? A generous violence and continual efforts, without listening to the demands of our own self-esteem.

“I perceive that I am dealing with this matter almost seriously, like a doctor. Forgive me and do what I tell you, and you will be a living reliquary You need a great mirror, but I am sure that the Reverend Mother will be happy to buy one for you.

“As for the other miseries that you tell me are so horrible, I am sorry for you, I could almost say that I have pity for you, but I will not say even one “Hail Mary” to deliver you from them. I have the deep conviction that this is a work of God whose final aim is to purify your heart, to make you capable of a closer union with Him. What a strange manner, you tell me, to purify a heart! - In fact it is strange, but you can be sure that it is a good one, because God is using it - God, who is so jealous of the purity of heart of His Spouses. Patience, - that is the whip. - Abandon yourself without a whimper to the will of God, for this is the stick which will knock out your self-esteem, which does not know how to resign itself to this apparent ugliness.

“Now you know what you must do to attract the Holy Spirit and the fullness of His gifts into your heart. So banish every trouble and agitation, and you will feel His presence in the midst of this perfect silencing of your passions. Abandon yourself to the divine will, and thank this divine will for all the distressing things which have happened to you. The fire which seems to come out from all this apparent unpleasantness will purify you. What more is needed to make your heart pure and of good will, and fit to enter into God?

“Pray for the poor soul of your servant in Jesus Christ.”

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-Aloyse of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, O.SS.R. Superior of the Monastery of Bruges [2] (Brugge) 1822-1889

Chapter III.
The Monastery of Bruges. - Father Passerat and his Conferences (1846-1850).

Let us now get to know a little bit about this Monastery of Bruges (Brugge) where the life of Mother Mary-Aloyse was spent. There are many things about it which will attract our interest.

The foundress was Mother Mary-Alphonsus of the Will of God, who came from Austria with her devoted friend, Sister Mary-Gabrielle of the Most Holy Trinity. When she arrived at Bruges, six choir Postulants and three converse entered. On 23rd March 1843, seven choir sisters made their profession before Monsignor Boussen, the Bishop of Brussels. Trials were not lacking. The house was only provisional, but everyone’s courage was marvellously sustained. Encouraged by frequent letters from the Venerable Father Passerat, Mother Mary-Alphonsus marched bravely at the head of all her sisters, and gave an example of the finest virtues in every respect. Her holy director gives us testimony of it: “Bruges,” he wrote, “will be the flower of the Order, above all in virtues, as I am learning from different sources.” He was invited to come to Bruges. He replied: “Have no doubt that I will do everything that depends on me to come and see you; but, my God, I am certainly not the Messiah, either for you or for your dear educands.” And besides, if the good Father’s words were not kind enough, his lessons were no less worthy of study, as we find witnessed in this letter dated from the end of January 1844, and which our Sister Mary-Aloyse was doubtless familiar with:

“Since you are such good soil, which knows how to make each crop bear fruit, may I be permitted to teach you how to lead the life of Methuselah, even here below.

“How is this to be done? - Be most observant of your holy Rules and Constitutions, and suffer the martyrdom of community life with courage and in a spirit of love; through this you will preserve your Order in its proper fervour until the end of the world.”

Father Passerat was then most concerned to recommend them to flee every deliberate venial sin like death, and concluded with these words. “And so, dear Sisters, fear your little aversions and affections, your slowness to rise in the morning from your beds and be ready for community tasks at the first sound of the bell. Fear this excessive care for your health, your little impatiences, your faults against exterior silence, and especially interior silence, your judgements, no matter how evident may seem the faults that you see; fear all those holy nuances which we know how to give the evil that our hearts desire. Fear, fear... fear as a mortal sin every deliberate venial sin. No deliberate faults at all... none at all, not one. I urgently demand this grace from Jesus Christ through the most holy Heart of Mary for you and for me.” [8]

A year later and Father Passerat came to Bruges in person. The new Redemptoristine convent was finished, and only the chapel remained to be completed. Nonetheless they wished to transfer the community to it new abode. It was on 23rd June 1845, on the stroke of four o’clock in the morning and to the chant of the Benedictus, that the Sisters took possession of their Monastery. The Redemptoristines still remember that admirable scene. The Most Reverend Father Passerat carried the Blessed Sacrament, Mother Mary-Alphonsus and the nuns accompanied her bearing lighted candles. The procession made its way through the cloisters, and finally the holy sacrifice was offered for the first time in the little sanctuary. “The feast lasted three days,” said the Annalist. On 25th June, Mons. Corselis, the Vicar-General, came to bless the Monastery. The following day, His Grace, Mons. Boussen, our Bishop, established the enclosure with great solemnity. The construction of the church was only completed in 1847. On that occasion, the bells were blessed by His Lordship, who himself deigned to open our little church for public worship.”

However, the Revolution of 1848 burst upon them at this time. The Redemptorists fled Vienna and took refuge in America, but four Redemptoristine Sisters came to ask for refuge with their Sisters of Bruges. [9] As for the Most Reverend Father Passerat, he established himself in this town near the Monastery of the nuns. For two years (from 13th September 1848 to 3rd September 1850) he dispensed to them the treasures of his wisdom and his direction.

The advice which he gave Sister Mary-Aloyse is a good indication of the kind of spiritual life inculcated by this Servant of God. It is edifying to see the care with which he attributes everything to Jesus Christ.

“Love Jesus Christ with all your heart,” he tells her, “and retain your affection for His Passion, base all your meditations on it, and aspire to the first place in heaven through your love for Jesus Christ.

“When you suffer and you are prevented from every mortification, remember that in suffering you are praying, you are fasting, and you are fulfilling your whole Rule. This is indeed your mortification. Do not listen to your own nature, which always tells you to descend from the cross. It is a false traitor, and you must not listen to it. Think often of Jesus Christ as you think in the world of a person you love, but think even more of Him who merits it more than any person in the world.

“In your life, unite everything to Jesus Christ. If you suffer, think first of all of Him, and then take the consolation that He gives you. Begin everything in Jesus Christ, and finish everything in Jesus Christ.

“What you must ask of God first of all is courage.

“What is the interior life? It is the life of faith, hope and charity.

“In your meditations, do not think too much; this is how you will obtain the most grace for yourself and others. Love, and do acts of love and gratitude. Do not go so much by the letter of what you read, but let yourself be moved by your affections.

“Be always happy and content. Never reason with the devil, and quickly chase away every sad and troublesome thought. Do not afflict yourself in your temptations.

“Desire to suffer for Jesus Christ. When you suffer interiorly or exteriorly, offer yourself to Jesus Christ to suffer so even until the Day of Judgement if this is His holy will. Unite everything to Jesus Christ: your thoughts, your words, your work, your prayers, your sufferings, and everything.”

This wise and firm direction bore its fruits. Mother Mary-Aloyse was always distinguished by her close union with Jesus and Mary, by the great care which she showed in her actions, by her attention to sanctifying her least sufferings. This fervent professed thus drew great profit from the lessons of her Noviciate. In her conduct towards her neighbour she was always seen to be full of candour and frankness in regard to her Superiors, and most circumspect in regard to her Sisters, and charitable towards them by never judging them, nor criticising them, nor inquiring into their conduct.

Is it not due to this that that we may now apply the promises that she made later to one of her novices:

“In following these counsels, you will be truly happy, as you will enjoy the peace and joy of a good conscience; and when you see the day when you will have to render your account to Our Lord, you will see it arrive without fear and even with joy, as you will be able to say, “Lord Jesus, it is for You that I have lived, have struggled, and have triumphed over myself. It is for You that I wish to die, so as to reunite myself with You forever.” Then you will not regret having reined in your tongue, tamed your character, put a brake on your spirit, and contradicted your heart, because you understand that anything which is not God is nothing.

“May Jesus be all for you. Tell all your troubles to this good and adorable Saviour, and to Mary, his good Mother and your own. They have such compassionate hearts. They will understand you, encourage you, help you and strengthen you.

“Go on ahead before God, remembering that after your death, your good or your bad examples will alone survive you, and do not worry about the conduct of others. For in examining and judging other, you will forget your own shortcomings and fall into pride.”

Footnotes

[8] Souvenirs (Memorials), published by Father Nimal, Redemptorist, 1 vol., p. 128, Liège, Dessain - Paris, Magnin.
[9] These were: in 1848, Sister M. Cherubim who became the Superior at Velp in 1858; - in 1849, Sister Mary-Baptist. She died eight months later, attended by Father Passerat; - in 1850, Sister Mary Fidelis, the granddaughter of Countess Welsersheimb. She left Bruges in 1852 to go to the foundation of Ried. - A converse sister, Sister Alphonsa, had accompanied Sister M. Fidelis to Bruges. Several months later, on 17th January 1851, she went to Galoppe where several Redemptoristines had gathered, waiting for the convent at Marienthal to be finished.

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-Aloyse of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, O.SS.R. Superior of the Monastery of Bruges [2] (Brugge) 1822-1889

Chapter II.
The Educand. - The Novice (1844-1846).

The house which welcomed the new arrival was no more than a provisional convent, occupied for the last two and a half years by the Redemptoristines, but in a state of dilapidation which they had scarcely been able to remedy. As Mother Mary-Aloyse was to write later on, “It was no more than an old house which let the cold and the wind enter through ill-fitting windows. Everything was freezing, even beside the fire, and the Sisters had nothing which could guarantee them against the worst of the weather.” But the Postulant, avid for sufferings and sacrifices, resolutely embraced this new life. Was she not happy to prove right from the beginning her love for Him who had called her there? The convent was small and cramped. It was but the little house, as it was to be called later on. The Monastery was under construction elsewhere, and this building work was absorbing all their resources. So poverty made its rigours felt, and the necessities were often lacking. But the Postulant never said a word to her family which could have led them to suspect anything. And she who was so used to the fresh country air, could only go and walk in the courtyard for ten minutes or so at midday. She slept at ground floor level in a paved room, in common with the other Educands. In brief, her privations were numerous.

The Postulant also quickly came to know temptations. Father Dechamps had predicted it, and in a letter dated 15th January 1844 from Liège, he wrote to her:

“My daughter in Jesus Christ,
“In war as in war, but you are quite astonished to be a soldier, aren’t you? The greatest enemy is he who throws dust in your eyes and who blurs your sight, the Father of Lies. What matters is go and tell your dear Superiors straight away all the stories he has put in your head. For example, the thought has been given to you with an evil intention that your parents will perhaps be left alone, that you will not be able to cope with this kind of life, etc. You see how wicked he is. He attacks you through fear, through tenderness and even through scruples, and then he make you afraid to ask any of those who are visible Providence to you what you ought to ask. - Courage! Find your weapons! Even to taking up a brush! - I used to know a religious, Father Villani [4] who received some very great graces through a brush .. when polishing his shoes. He didn’t exactly tell me, but I saw it and guessed it. I saw what happened. Sometimes he would polish some of his colleagues shoes, thinking all the time of the words of St. John the Baptist, 'I am not worthy, etc.'

“I am not surprised to hear that you are content with your pains. Jesus Christ is in the citadel when your enemies make a din in all the rest of the place. It is certainly consoling for you to take the place, so clearly and so providentially, of this good nun [5] who is already with St. Alphonsus, where she can show you to her Father, so that He may draw you to Himself.

“'But the virtues?' you will say. Patience, for they are bought little by little. But where do you begin? With simple observance. 'Think of me,' Our Lord said to St. Catherine of Siena, 'and I will think of you.' So leave Him to look after you.

“Everything is quite calm at home...
“As for the news-vendors, I hear nothing from here. Who knows if they are talking about you at Liège? A bit here and there, and then they’re off to the ball, the show, etc. The world is nothing.

“I pray to Saint Alénie [6] to make you love the dear little martyrdom of religious life more and more.”

This consoling letter was followed some time later by a missive from Father Manvuisse, our Postulant’s first director. What could be more interesting than to be present at her first steps in religious life, sustained by exhortations of these valiant servants of God!

Tournai, 20th.
“You have given me great pleasure by your letter, my dear child. I have been awaiting this missive for a long time! Actually, I congratulate you not so much for the triumph that you have obtained over all the difficulties that have faced you in your entry into religion, but regarding your other successes, no less important, that your letter proves, and these are the dispositions that you have. How happy I am that the first difficulties have now been overcome, and that you are facing the others quite cheerfully! Yes, no doubt convent life is a little different from that of the world and the spirit of the one is quite opposed to that of the other! A similar difference with the customs! Certainly your father would shout out aloud for joy if he knew that his daughter was subjected to the little trials of the refectory and so many others... But in actual fact, is there anything so dreadful about it, even for your self-esteem? When you have once committed yourself bravely, then the die is cast. Then you always experience a certain advantage, although it costs less, because you never become quite as proud again as you were before you abased yourself. Certainly the holy founders of Orders thought out things well.

“You are afraid in advance, my dear child, of the communications which you are to make to your future Mistress of Novices. Believe me, sufficient to each day is the evil thereof. When the time comes to open your heart, you will ask for strength and courage for it, and God will grant it to you. He gives everything you require to fulfil the duties that He imposes. Do not alarm yourself in advance. Didn’t you also have to change directors when you were in the world?

“And then, my daughter, try to keep up a brave face before your father when he comes to see you! Show yourself firm and do not speak of these trifling little humiliations or privations which you have to suffer in the convent. It is not worthwhile. Certainly the people of the world have many other things to gossip about!

“So then, courage, courage! Let us not recoil before various trials and even certain sacrifices. God sees and counts up everything, so as to reward you for everything.

“Farewell, my dear child. I bless you with all my soul.”
“Manvuisse, C. SS. R.”

Thus encouraged, Sister Mary-Aloyse set herself bravely to the task. If her energetic soul was at its ease from the first moments when she was in the midst of her privations, she was no less so in declaring war against her natural inclinations. A tendency to worry stemming from a certain eagerness for perfection and sanctity, perhaps a slight tendency to sarcasm, a liveliness which stemmed from her energetic temperament and which never admitted half-measures, were, we believe, the object of her struggles. But she was not lacking in courage. Based on her humble defiance of her own self, it was to work miracles.

Moreover, in this respect she found a solid support in the person of Mother Mary-Philomena of the Divine Providence, her Mistress of Educands. This excellent religious, a model of affability and fervour, brought along in her footsteps all those of whom she had charge. What better way to make her known than by citing the letter addressed by her later on to one of her subordinates?

“Dear Sister M.., you have asked me for some lines of consolation. Here is my reply. Before all else, dear child, I wish you to have courage. Even before the invention of the railways, St. Teresa said that with courage we could go at a hundred miles per hour. So courage is therefore the electric telegraph of the spiritual life. And why go on foot or in a stage-coach, when there is the railway or the telegraph at your disposal? I see that you still retain a trace of your long-time infirmity Discouragement. The Prince of Darkness tries to profit from it. Send him packing. Besides, you should never be discouraged or surprised when you see you are still imperfect. We do not become saints in a day, and God is pleased to leave us a feeble and vulnerable side so that we may constantly be humble and feel the enormous need that we have of Him! In your temptations, never think of the temptation, but of Jesus Christ and Mary, and in general, when your spirit wishes to dream and reflect and examine things, keep your eyes fixed cheerfully on the adorable image of Jesus Christ who is in you, [7] and his holy Mother who is beside you. You will find in them what you should dream about for all eternity.”

As it turned out, the good Mother Mary-Philomena never allowed either the educands or the novices placed under her direction time to dream. She led them sweetly, but firmly to the practice of solid virtues. One of her former subjects depicts this wonderfully: “Always pleasant and smiling to everyone, you could not meet up with her (if you were feeling out of sorts) without seeing your pain vanish. When you looked at her, because of her amiability, everything disappeared and changed for the better, as if an angel had suddenly appeared and chased all the demons away. She made the souls of her children pass through the thorns of great trials, according to the special needs of each one of them. She sometimes said to me, right at the beginning, “Don’t be one of those religious who need to be handled with kid gloves.”

Sister Mary-Aloyse was never one of these last. Her ideal, when she entered the Order, had been to consecrate herself entirely to Jesus Christ through the immolation of her own will, tastes and inclinations. She pursued it unswervingly, in spite of temptations and dislikes of every sort. “My God,” she writes about this time, “I wish to repair the past. What You ask of me is more than recollection, modesty, maintaining my religion, saying less mundane things in recreation, less concern with my own well-being, more affability and evenness of temper towards my Sisters; no longer permitting myself to be sarcastic, and no longer seeking to draw attention to myself.” So much for the correction of her faults. Now let us hear what she says about her own personal sanctity. “Oh my God, let me hide myself in You. I wish to suffer and be despised for You. Oh Jesus. Beginning from today, let me be converted seriously. No more sins, my God, for I have already offended You too much. Mary, my Mother, help me to imitate St. Luis de Gonzaga. To inspire myself to observance, I often think that Jesus Christ wanted to suffer and be tormented for love of me. Come, my soul, courage! In a short time to come, we must merit heaven. Let us suffer cheerfully for God. A suffering discovered is one pearl less in your crown. Long live Jesus! I wish to suffer and overcome myself. The more pain, the more merit!”

The pious educande took the habit on 6th January 1845. She received the name of Sister Mary-Aloyse of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Her companion, Miss Mary Peters of Boxmeer (Holland), received the name of Sister Mary Scholastica of the Precious Blood. Mons. Corselis, the Vicar-General, officiated, and Rev. Father Paul Reyners gave a short address. Her mother and sister attended the ceremony. Her father came on his own later to pay her a visit. On the advice of Father Dechamps, Sister Mary-Aloyse of the Immaculate Heart of Mary had written him a sort “of letter of honourable satisfaction to paternal authority.” As she wrote in it of her pious director, her father, who was a Christian but too exclusively human “had good reason to believe” in his opposition. And she added, “it is not the contradictions which come from naughty children which is a great cross, but those that come from good ones. It was certainly to give you an occasion to practise patience, resignation and fidelity that God permitted so good a Christian to adhere to so false a point of view.” But everything ended in peace. Mr. Fabri finally understood that he had no more to dispute with God over his child, and so she was able, with joy in her heart and in concert with Sister Mary-Scholastica, to make her religious profession on 23rd January 1846. It was Mons. Boussen, the Bishop of Bruges (Brugge), who conducted the ceremony and Mons. Jacquemotte who made the usual speech. He highlighted the advantages, the obligations, and the rewards of the new life to which the two novices had been forever consecrated.

Footnotes

[4] Canon Villain, from the Diocese of Tournai, entered the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer on 18th July 1835. He died at Saint-Trond in an odour of sanctity on 30th January 1838. He took the name of Father Villani in memory of the famous Father of this name, who was one of St. Alphonsus’ first companions.
[5] Sister Mary-Aloyse, who died on 23rd December 1843.
[6] St. Alénie, martyr in the Forest of Brabant (7th Century). Her relics are in the main altar of the church of the Redemptorist Fathers at Liège. When these relics were moved into the Fathers’ church, Father Dechamps published a little brochure to make this Saint more widely known.
[7] Christum habere per fidem in cordibus vestris. - St. Paul (To have Christ through faith in your hearts.)

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.