Bienheureuse Marie-Louise Trichet
Religieuse française (+1759)
Elle était née dans une famille chrétienne de Poitiers et fonda un nouvel institut religieux au service des pauvres, des aveugles et des estropiés. Elle se mit sous la direction de saint Louis Marie de Montfort et, à l'époque de "la philosophie des Lumières", elle comprit l'importance de la véritable sagesse, le Christ, Sagesse éternelle incarnée. C'est pourquoi elle donna ce nom aux religieuses de sa congrégation : les Filles de la Sagesse.
Ses reliques reposent à Saint-Laurent sur Sèvre, en Vendée, où le pape Jean-Paul II vint les vénérer lors de son pèlerinage en 1996.
La fête de Marie-Louise Trichet est célébrée le 7 Mai (jour de sa naissance). Elle est décédée le 28 avril, mais pour éviter la confusion avec la fête de saint Louis-Marie de Montfort qui est décédé lui aussi le 28 avril, Rome a décidé de placer sa fête le jour de sa naissance sur terre... et non celui de sa naissance 'au ciel' selon la tradition.
"Elle a été béatifiée en 1993. Il subsiste à l'hôpital de La Rochelle, au
chevet de la chapelle tout contre son petit clocher carré, la 'chambre de la
fondatrice' qui est l'humble réduit où l'on présume que Marie-Louise logeait
lors de son séjour rochelais." (calendrier
diocésain de La Rochelle Saintes)
À Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre, en 1759, la bienheureuse
Marie-Louise Trichet, vierge, qui fut attirée à la vie religieuse par saint
Louis-Marie Grignion et devint à Poitiers la première recrue de la Congrégation
des Filles de la Sagesse, qu'elle dirigea avec prudence.
Martyrologe romain
SOURCE : https://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/1044/Bienheureuse-Marie-Louise-Trichet.html
Louis-Marie de Montfort et Marie-Louise Trichet, lors de la fondation des Filles de la Sagesse
MARIE-LOUISE TRICHET
Religieuse, cofondatrice, Bienheureuse
1684-1759
Marie-Louise Trichet (en religion Marie-Louise de
Jésus) est, avec Saint Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort, co-fondatrice de la
Congrégation des religieuses, appelées Filles de la Sagesse.
Née à Poitiers (France), le 7 mai 1684, elle est
baptisée le jour même. Quatrième d'une famille de huitenfants, elle reçoit une
solide éducation chrétienne dans sa famille et à l'école. A 17 ans, elle
rencontre pour la première fois Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort qui vient
d'être nommé aumônier de l'hôpital de Poitiers. Sa renommée de prédicateur et
de confesseur est déjà grande parmi la jeunesse de cette région du Poitou.
Spontanément, Marie-Louise offre ses services à
l'hôpital: elle consacre une bonne partie de son temps aux pauvres et aux
malades. Mais voilà que Louis-Marie de Montfort lui demande d'y
"demeurer" . A cet appel, Marie-Louise répond par un oui total. A
l'hôpital il n'y a pas de poste libre comme gouvernante... qu'à cela ne tienne,
Marie-Louise se fait admettre tout simplement comme "pauvre" . Elle a
19 ans.
"Tu deviendras folle comme ce prêtre" lui
avait dit sa mère. Quelle idée, quand on est belle, jeune et de bonne famille,
de se vêtir d'un habit de bure grise (2 février 1703) et de passer son temps à
soigner vagabonds, malades et pestiférés! Quelle folie de suivre "ce
prêtre fou"!
Pendant dix ans, Marie-Louise va s'acquitter le plus
parfaitement possible de son humble service de soignante. Louis-Marie de
Montfort a quitté Poitiers; Marie-Louise est seule.
La célèbre croix que Montfort a dessinée est plantée
au coeur de l'hôpital. Marie-Louise porte une croix sur sa bure grise, mais
surtout dans son coeur. Elle doit vivre, en effet, le service épuisant de
chaque jour, l'absence de compagnes, le décès de deux de ses soeurs et de son
frère, jeune prêtre emporté par la peste, victime de son dévouement.
C'est le début d'une aventure qui est l'histoire même
de la Congrégation des Filles de la Sagesse:
1714: Arrivée de la première compagne, Catherine
Brunet.
1715: Fondation de la première communauté à La
Rochelle (Charente) avec deux nouvelles recrues: Marie Régnier et Marie
Valleau.
1716: Mort prématurée de Louis-Marie de Montfort à
l'âge de 43 ans.
La jeune congrégation est bouleversée par cette
nouvelle aussi douloureuse qu'inattendue. Marie-Louise expérimente une parole
écrite par Louis-Marie de Montfort: "Si on ne hasarde quelque chose pour
Dieu, on ne fait rien de grand pour Lui".
Pendant 43 ans, Marie-Louise de Jésus, seule, va
former ses compagnes, conduire et développer les fondations qui se multiplient:
petites écoles de charité, visites et soins des infirmes, soupe populaire pour
les mendiants, gestion des grands hôpitaux maritimes de France.
Les pauvres de l'hôpital de Niort (Deux-Sèvres)
l'appellent "la Bonne Mère Jésus" . C'est tout dire! Son programme de
vie est tout simple: "Il faut bien que j'aime Dieu caché dans mon
prochain" (Refrain d'un cantique composé par Louis-Marie de Montfort et
destiné aux Filles de la Sagesse).
Quand elle meurt à Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre (Vendée) le
28 avril 1759, la Congrégation compte 174 religieuses réparties en 36
communautés outre la Maison-Mère. Louis-Marie de Montfort et Marie-Louise de
Jésus reposent tous deux à l'église paroissiale de Saint-Laurent.
Depuis cette date, des milliers et des milliers de
Filles de la Sagesse (16 883) ont puisé leur Sagesse dans la Folie de l'Amour
de Dieu et des Pauvres. Aujourd'hui, plus de 2 500 poursuivent cette aventure
sur les 5 continents.
Le 16 mai 1993, Marie-Louise de Jésus (Trichet) est
déclarée "Bienheureuse" par le Pape Jean-Paul II, à Rome.
Le 19 septembre 1996, le Pape Jean-Paul II vient se
recueillir et prier sur les tombeaux de Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort et de la
Bienheureuse Marie-Louise de Jésus, à Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre (Vendée).
Par sa vie et par ses oeuvres, Marie-Louise de Jésus
révèle un message d'une brûlante actualité : promotion intégrale de la
personne humaine et service des plus pauvres, pour l'amour de
Jésus-Christ-Sagesse.
http://www.montfort.org/French/MLouisefr.htm
SOURCE : http://nouvl.evangelisation.free.fr/marie_louise_trichet.htm
Un Fondateur Une Fondatrice
Qui ne connaît cet homme passionné de la Sagesse, des
pauvres, de la route et de la Parole : Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort ?
Au seuil du 17e siècle, il vient d'être nommé aumônier
à l'hôpital général de Poitiers, en France, où sévît la misère sous toutes ses
formes.
À la même époque, Marie-Louise Trichet, jeune
poitevine, est sollicitée par un grand idéal de vie.
Elle désire ardemment se donner à Dieu, comme
Religieuse. Voilà qu’elle rencontre Montfort et lui confie son désir.
Sous le coup de l’inspiration, celui-ci lui propose de
venir résider à l’hôpital pour se mettre à l’école des pauvres.
Inattendu mystère de la grâce, Marie-Louise qui avait
rêvé de solitude, de silence pour se consacrer à Dieu, en peu de temps,
consentira au renversement de son premier rêve.
Malgré son jeune âge, elle quitte sa famille et se
présente à l’hôpital. On lui en refuse l’entrée car, dit-on, « On a
suffisamment de gouvernantes » !
Avec l’appui de l’Évêque du lieu, elle décide
résolument de demander son admission à titre de pauvre. « Si on ne veut pas de
moi comme gouvernante, peut-être voudra-t-on m’accepter en qualité de pauvre »,
dira-t-elle.
Chose faite ! Elle partagera même leur nourriture et
leurs conditions de vie misérables.
Montfort est convaincu que seul un groupe de femmes au
cœur compatissant pourrait rendre le milieu pitoyable de l’hôpital de Poitiers
plus viable.
Il élaborera d’abord une règle et la proposera à un
groupe de femmes malades et infirmes mais saines d’esprit et soucieuses de vie
spirituelle.
Et Marie-Louise Trichet, quoiqu' en parfaite santé et
fort jeune, figure parmi les « élues ». À leur tête, Montfort place une
aveugle.
Geste à l’emporte-pièce d’un Saint qui, en toute
droiture et soif d’absolu, met en valeur ce qui est sans apparence et même
méprisable. Confondre la fausse sagesse du temps est au cœur d’une spiritualité
naissante !
Le 2 Février 1703, Montfort offre à Marie-Louise
Trichet le premier habit des Filles de la Sagesse : costume d'étoffe grossière,
en tout semblable à celui des paysannes du temps.
C'est ainsi que débute l’histoire de la Congrégation
des Filles de la Sagesse. Histoire qui se développera rapidement grâce au
courage, à la fidélité et à l’amour d’une femme qui jamais ne se démentira.
En 1759, à la mort de la Fondatrice, tout 1'ouest de
la France connaît ces femmes simples et généreuses que l’on rencontre dans
plusieurs écoles, maisons de retraites (hospices) et hôpitaux.
En 1993, la première Fille de la Sagesse, Marie-Louise
Trichet (Sœur Marie-Louise de Jésus), a été proclamée Bienheureuse, par
le Pape Saint Jean-Paul II.
UN CHARISME
À la suite du Christ, Sagesse incarnée, créatrice et
relationnelle, la Fille de la Sagesse est appelée à engager toutes les énergies
de sa vie à contempler et à révéler la présence active de la Sagesse au cœur de
notre monde et à collaborer avec Elle à transformer tout le créé, planète et
humanité, dans l’amour, la vérité, la justice et la paix.
La Fille de la Sagesse aura toujours une tendresse et
une attention particulières pour ceux et celles que nos sociétés négligent et
rejettent.
UNE PRESENCE INTERNATIONALE
Les Filles de la Sagesse sont à présent partout dans
le monde. Elles sont plus de 2500 qui œuvrent sur les cinq continents, suivant
vaillamment la route tracée par Montfort et Marie-Louise Trichet.
Elles appartiennent à la grande famille montfortaine :
les Frères de Saint-Gabriel, les Pères Montfortains et leurs Associées
réciproques, ainsi que les Amies de la Sagesse, ces laïcs, hommes et femmes,
qui cheminent avec elles, selon la spiritualité Sagesse.
SOURCE : https://www.fdlsagesse.org/cms/article-135-FR-un-fondateur-une-fondatrice.html
Bienheureuse Marie Louise Trichet
Les saints et la France
Béatifiée par Jean-Paul II le 16 mai 1993, Marie-Louise
Trichet fut la fille spirituelle de Louis-Marie Grignion de Monfort qui la mena
par des chemins d’abnégation peu ordinaires ; elle le suivit avec une
totale obéissance. Si leurs tempéraments, violence et douceur, leur origine,
noblesse et bourgeoisie, leur province, Bretagne et Poitou, leur culture,
intellectuel formé en Sorbonne et femme d’intérieur qui quitte l’école à 14
ans, tout cela semble les opposer, en fait ils travaillèrent dans la
complémentarité. Montfort connut une série d’échecs et mourut à 43 ans sans que
rien n’ait pris forme. Louise Trichet fut une femme de terrain qui donna corps
aux grands projets du père de son directeur spirituel. Par la douceur, dans la
quotidien obscur, elle incarna les rêves du prophète en réalités durables.
Sa jeunesse à Poitiers :
Marie-Louise est née en 1684 à Poitiers dans une
famille toute imprégnée de christianisme. Son père était procureur au
présidiale de cette capitale judiciaire ; elle est la quatrième d’une
fratrie de sept enfants ; blonde, les yeux bleus, le visage arrondi, c’est
une enfant calme et discrète qui grandit dans un foyer où il fait bon vivre,
dans une pauvreté dorée car la concurrence est rude au sein de cette noblesse
de robe qui ne compte pas moins de 180 procureurs pour la ville de Poitiers.
Elle est spontanément pieuse : “ Dieu fera en elle de grandes
choses. ” dit son père ; elle va à l’école Notre-Dame dirigée par la
Compagnie Notre-Dame fondée par Jeanne de Lestonnac. La Vierge y est très
honorée. Les religieuses offraient “ tout par les mains de Marie et
honoraient Jésus en sa personne ”; elle apprit rapidement à lire,
écrire, à manier l’aiguille mais, devant “ une maîtresse déplaisante à la
physionomie méchante ”,, elle ne peut se résoudre à entrer en
classe et, fuyant le mal et l’agressivité, va toute la matinée visiter les
églises de la ville. Dès 9-10 ans, elle s’adonne à l’oraison et s’inflige même
des pénitences corporelles ainsi que l’époque encourageait ce mode d’ascèse.
Pour ses parents, c’est une enfant qui ne cause aucun souci.
Elle est alors témoin d’un miracle sur la personne de
sa soeur aînée Jeanne qui, en pèlerinage à Notre-Dame des Ardilliers, se trouve
guérie d’une paralysie ; cette même année naît sa dernière sœur Françoise
–Elisabeth qui la suivra dans la vie religieuse. Elle partage avec sa sœur
Elisabeth et son frère Alexis le goût de la prière, n’hésitant pas
à aller aux messes matinales de la cathédrale saint Pierre : 5 heures
l’hiver, six heures l’été ; elle visite les pauvres pour les
secourir. Alexis et Marie-Louise créent entre eux une émulation : “
Il faut que vous soyez une Scolastique et moi un Benoît. ” Elle atteint
ses quinze ans et sa vocation religieuse ne fait pas de doute mais il manque la
dot indispensable pour les religieuses de chœur. Entrer parmi les sœurs
converses, dont le travail supplée la dot, serait une humiliation pour la
famille ; elle est devenue une charmante jeune fille au regard gracieux et
au sourire sympathique.
Première rencontre avec Louis-Marie Grignion de
Montfort : L’hôpital de Poitiers
En Novembre 1701, c’est la première rencontre avec
Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort auquel elle s’est confessée dans la chapelle
de l’hôpital après avoir entendu son sermon dans l’église de
Sainte-Austregésilde : “ Oh ma soeur, si vous saviez le beau
sermon que je viens d’entendre ! Le prédicateur est un saint. ” Monsieur
de Montfort a alors 28 ans ; aumônier à l’hôpital général qui est en
fait un hospice, il est venu à pied avec ses vêtements en lambeaux donnant sur
la route ce qu’il possédait aux pauvres ; il réforme la distribution de
l’alimentation donnant du pain 4 fois dans la journée et ajoutant
une soupe ;
Dès cette époque, il manifeste une grande facilité
d’élocution qui lui ouvre les cœurs ; il confesse depuis le matin jusqu’au
soir et, prophète, déclare à Marie-Louise au confessionnal : “
C’est la Sainte Vierge qui vous a dit de venir ici.” Sa mère
s’inquiète : “J’ai appris que tu allais à confesse à ce prêtre de
l’hôpital, tu deviendras folle comme lui. ” Il donne des retraites dans un
langage poétique et enflammé, incite ses retraitants au jeûne. Si il admire
Marie-Louise dont il a découvert la riche nature, il la traite avec la plus
grande intransigeance, la mortifie en public. Sans doute, lui promet-il qu’elle
sera religieuse mais pour le moment ne l’aide en aucune démarche. Il part pour
Paris.
Marie-Louise décide alors d’entrer chez les
chanoinesses de Saint-Augustin comme sœur lay vouée aux humbles besognes pour
pallier au problème de la dot. On soupçonne cet ordre de jansénisme
et, sur le champ, madame Trichet retire sa fille ; celle-ci retrouve à
Poitiers Louis-Marie, lui aussi de retour qui brûle de fonder la communauté des
Filles de la Sagesse. Il choisit “ ce qu’il y a de plus pauvre au
sein de la pauvreté : 20 pauvres filles disgraciées, ramassées dans
l’enceinte de l’hôpital rassemblées dans une chambre séparée des salles de
l’hôpital, lieu appelé la Sagesse. ” La supérieure est une fille
pauvre et aveugle ; elles n’ont “ qu’un cœur et qu’une
âme ” et Louis-Marie inscrit sur la Croix de Poitiers les onze
maximes de la divine sagesse : Le vrai bonheur dans la pauvreté, dans une
persécution injuste, dans le fait de porter sa croix tous les jours, dans la
prière, dans l’amour des ennemis, dans la petitesse et la simplicité où la
Sagesse révèle ses secrets. Marie-Louise n’appartient pas encore à cette
communauté, elle se forme dans sa famille profondément et silencieusement à la
pauvreté mais ni son âge, ni son milieu social, ni les dispositions de sa mère
ne permettent d’envisager son entrée.
Sur la suggestion de son confesseur qu’elle prend au mot, Marie-Louise décide d’aller demeurer à l’hôpital. L’Evêque, Monseigneur de la Poype, lui délivre une lettre pour qu’elle puisse être reçue en qualité de pauvre ; en fait, tenant compte de sa naissance au sein d’une famille honorable de la ville, il la donne pour seconde à la supérieure. Sans doute, Montfort la destine-t-il à sa petite communauté mais “ avant de commander, il faut qu’elle apprenne à obéir. ”
Elle ne se distingue en rien des pauvres filles, mange
le même pain grossier. Montfort décide de la vêtir d’un habit de grosse étoffe,
gris foncé, habit singulier, engoncé qui apparaît ridicule quand elle fait un
tour par la ville. Il bénit son habit et lui donne le nom de Marie-Louise
de Jésus ; elle a 18 ans et 9 mois. Sa mère s’insurge devant cet
accoutrement bizarre mais Montfort tient bon quant à ce signe de
l’état de pauvreté : “ Votre fille, madame, n’est plus à vous,
elle est à Dieu. ” Il continue d’éprouver Marie- Louise, la
reprenant, la mortifiant jusqu’à lui faire servir un “ bouillon gris où
les vers surnagent ”, lui imposant d’aller en ville en gros sabots plats et
vêtue d’une grossière cape de drap ; la sœur Trichet s’en allait aussi au
grenier pour faire une journée d’oraison sans manger ni boire.
Quant à Montfort, il parcourait la ville avec un ânon
bâté quêter la soupe des pauvres ; cette originalité fait exploser des
critiques. Les retraites sont interdites par l’évêque. Louis-Marie risque
d’être blessé par une broche de rouet qu’une contestataire lui jette ;
finalement rejeté de Poitiers, il monte à Paris où, à l’hôpital général, il
s’occupe de 5 000 pauvres. Dans son courrier à Marie-Louise, il demande ses
prières et celles de ses amies pour que la divine Sagesse lui soit
accordée ; ainsi, une heure tous les lundis, elle sont unies avec lui dans
la même intention :“ Rien ne peut résister à vos prières. Dieu même,
tout grand qu’il est, ne peut y résister. ” lui déclare Montfort.
Une pétition est écrite avec succès par les 400
pauvres de l’hôpital pour qu’il revienne ; à son retour, ils allument un
feu de joie ; cependant à l’hôpital les coteries reprennent et, de son
plein gré, il quitte l’hôpital tout en annonçant prophétiquement à
Louise-Marie : “ Ma fille, ne sortez point de cette maison de
10 ans. Quand l’établissement des Filles de la Sagesse ne se ferait qu’au bout
de ce terme, Dieu serait satisfait et ses desseins sur vous seraient accomplis. ”
Nommé dans le diocèse directeur des pénitentes, il continue ses missions à
Saint-Savin, Le Calvaire, Saint-Saturnin, Saint Hilaire. C’est encore trop et
il reçoit une lettre de l’évêque lui ordonnant de quitter le diocèse. Il
se rend alors à Rome où Clément X1, qui le reçoit, lui enjoint de ne point
partir de France et lui confère le titre de “ missionnaire apostolique. ”
Il lui remet un crucifix par lui béni. Marie-Louise reste seule au service
inlassable des pauvres sans guide et sans communauté officielle.
Si son habit est critiqué, son efficacité, son
humilité sont de plus en plus reconnues, elle garde le cœur ouvert aux
détresses : disette, épidémie, elle fait merveille. Cette même année, elle
perd successivement sa sœur Elisabeth avec qui elle était très liée, son
frère Alexis. Peu après son ordination, celui-ci s’était enfermé avec les
pestiférés détenus à l’hôpital des champs non loin de la ville et, atteint par
la contagion, il meurt dans ce monde coupé des vivants.
Ses trente ans approchent ; elle projette
d’entrer chez les filles de saint Vincent de Paul pour continuer d’œuvrer
auprès des pauvres ; ses projets sont connus ; c’est la panique à
l’hôpital où elle rend de grands services et Monseigneur intervient pour
l’empêcher d’y donner suite. Elle pense à la Congrégation des filles du
Calvaire. Monsieur de Montfort lui enjoint de demeurer patiemment à l’hôpital.
Le Carmel la refuse pour raisons de santé. C’est bien à l’hôpital que Dieu la
veut.
Le zèle de Montfort est toujours redouté et, dans le
petit ermitage près de Poitiers où il vient de dormir après une nuit de voyage,
un avis de l’Evéché lui ordonne de quitter la ville dans les vingt quatre
heures. Après avoir vu discrètement Marie-Louise, il obéit ; il hâte ses
projets car il sent sa mort prochaine ; il est exténué mais son regard est
plus brillant que jamais, sa voix pacifiée et il rayonne une joie lumineuse.
Marie-Louise lui confie ses soucis de ces sept années ; la Sagesse est au
centre de leur entretien. Marie-Louise n’a pas oublié la longue prière
autrefois apprise pour demander à Dieu cette mystérieuse sagesse, elle la
répète chaque jour : “ Nous vous demandons le trésor infini de
votre divine sagesse par les entrailles miséricordieuses de Marie, par le sang
précieux de votre très cher fils et par le désir extrême que vous avez de
communiquer vos biens à vos pauvres créatures. ” Ils parlent aussi des
habits gris qui pourraient se joindre à elle : deux sœurs, les sœur
Brunet, dont Catherine qui sera sa principale collaboratrice, seront les
premières novices. Catherine Brunet prendra le nom de Sœur de la Conception.
La Rochelle :
Montfort est reparti reprendre ses missions et
Marie-Louise dirige l’hôpital, chargée de l’administration mais plus encore
attentive à l’océan des pauvres ; cependant Montfort l’a invité à se tenir
prête : des écoles populaires entièrement gratuites doivent être créées
dans le diocèse de La Rochelle ; des amphithéâtres étagés en neuf gradins
pourraient contenir cent à cinquante enfants. Des oppositions empêchent son
départ, l’hôpital, madame Trichet elle-même. Sur la prière d’une pauvre
mendiante aveugle à qui l’on recommande avec insistance l’intention, la
résistance de madame Trichet est enfin vaincue. L’évêque lui-même assure qu’il
pourvoira au nécessaire. Marie-Louise rend ses comptes tant auprès de
l’intendant de la nourriture qu’auprès de
celui des bâtiments ; ils concluent toutefois “ qu’elle a perdu
l’esprit. ” L’aumônier en appelle à sa conscience et la sœur aînée de
Catherine ajoute : “ Vous êtes blâmables devant Dieu et
devant les hommes. ” Pour rompre, il leur faut partir sur le
champ ; des places sont arrêtées au coche et elles ressentent alors “ une
joie inexprimable ”. Madame Trichet accompagne sa fille, jetant de
grands cris et les larmes aux yeux.
Après 136 kilomètres, de chambre d’auberge en chambre
d’auberge, elles arrivent ; rien n’est préparé pour les recevoir. Elles
trouvent provisoirement un logis. A l’instigation de Montfort, elles se font
faire de longues capes noires, qui représentaient leur mort à toutes choses,
pour sortir en ville. Il leur donne ses premières instructions, dénommant leur
communauté “ la communauté des Filles de la Sagesse pour
l’instruction des enfants et les soins des pauvres. ” Il nomme responsable
Marie Trichet pour 3 ans au moins, lui recommandant d’être à la fois ferme et
charitable. Surtout, il leur dit sa joie de les rencontrer : “ Quand
je vous ai vues, je ne savais si je devais chanter le Magnificat ou le Te Deum. ”
Il conforte Marie-Louise dans ses fonctions de Supérieure : “ Voyez,
ma fille, cette poule qui a sous ses ailes ses poussins. Avec quelle attention,
avec quelle bonté elle les affectionne, c’est ainsi que vous devez faire et
vous comporter avec toutes les filles dont vous allez désormais être la
Mère. ” Sa prédiction vieille de dix ans pour l’établissement
des Filles de la Sagesse est enfin réalisée et il lui dévoile qu’un jour on la
demandera à Poitiers.
L’école ouvre à la mi-mai 1715 ; les enfants ont
de 7 à 14 ans et au-dessus, issus de familles pauvres ou aisés, instruits ou
pas du tout ; c’est une incroyable improvisation ; il tient tellement
à la gratuité qu’il tend un piège aux sœurs pour s’assurer qu’elles ne se
laisseront pas circonvenir ; cette gratuité radicale entraîne un excessif
dénuement des sœurs, il leur arrive de manquer de pain. A cette vie austère,
Montfort ajoute des demandes provocantes telle celle de prendre des cercueils
pour lits mais le bon sens reprend bientôt le dessus et une paillasse et un
matelas sur des planches clouées sur deux tréteaux remplace ces cercueils-lits.
Dans l’ermitage de saint Eloi, Montfort continue la
formation des soeurs et des postulantes, met la dernière main à la règle de la
Sagesse et, une fois son travail achevé, le soumet à Sœur Trichet. La fin
intérieure de la règle est l’acquisition de la Divine Sagesse, les sœurs
exerceront la charité “ en soignant et en guérissant les pauvres incurables ”.
Il laisse la possibilité de maintenir la supérieure en charge par une élection
de trois ans en trois ans ; il conseille aussi que la supérieure se
choisisse une bonne amie qui l’avertira charitablement de ses défauts et à
laquelle les autres soeurs pourront facilement exposer leurs plaintes. La
Sainte Vierge est la Supérieure et la Mère de toute la communauté et il met en
garde contre “ les faux dévots qui, sous le manteau de la Mère,
crucifient et déshonorent le Fils. ” Ses règles, à l’épreuve du
temps, se révéleront solides.
Les premières vocations arrivent : Soeur de la
Croix, Sœur de l’Incarnation, Sœur saint Michel. L’hôpital de la Rochelle est
en difficulté, deux sœurs y sont dépêchées mais Montfort reste très présent et
Marie-Louise se fait vertement reprendre pour avoir décidé de sa propre
initiative une vêture ; il ponctue cette première année de la Sagesse par
le cadeau d’un livre qu’il dédie aux sœurs “ en ce dernier de l’an ”. S’agit-il
de l’amour de la Sagesse éternelle ou du secret de Marie ? : “
Voici un livre fait pour vous… Ne vous impatientez pas de mon absence. Moins
j’aurai de part à cet établissement, plus il réussira. ” Il
suit de près la vie spirituelle des sœurs mais il veut les habituer à se passer
de lui.
Montfort meurt le 28 avril ; les sœurs perdaient
leur soutien matériel et spirituel, celui qui était leur phare. Monseigneur de
Champflour, très affecté par la perte de celui qu’il appelait “ le
meilleur prêtre de mon diocèse ” se fit plus présent. Il acheta une
maison où 400 élèves purent entrer ; 33 (les 33 années de la vie du
Christ) seront formées en profondeur. Ainsi se passent à La Rochelle encore
deux années et demi.
De la Rochelle à Poitiers :
Au lendemain des fêtes de Noël, changement de décor. Madame Trichet, bravant l’hiver, débarque par coche à l’hôpital et annonce que l’hôpital de Poitiers la réclame ; elle serait dans les meilleures conditions pour y fonder un noviciat ; après que madame Trichet eut arraché le consentement de l’évêque de haute lutte, il ne restait plus qu’à liquider l’œuvre enfin florissante ; la communauté se coupe, les deux rochelaises restent provisoirement. Catherine, sœur Marie-Louise et Soeur saint Joseph partent. Comment expliquer une décision aussi rapide ? Pour Marie-Louise, Poitiers représentait son éveil spirituel, sa rencontre avec Montfort, sa réussite à l’hôpital ; elle est accueillie avec chaleur et pourra réaliser dans l’hôpital même “ l’établissement des filles de la Sagesse avec le noviciat et la formation. ” Le bureau impose dans les clauses la nomination de la supérieure par l’hôpital et le don à celui-ci de la moitié de la dot des novices ; pour la congrégation, c’est une impasse car la Sagesse serait fixée sous la double dépendance des finances et du pouvoir. Marie-Louise tient bon face à ses exigences.
Saint Laurent sur Sèvre :
Un disciple de Monfort lui suggère alors Saint Laurent
sur Sèvre, lieu de la mort du Père de Montfort et de son tombeau. Madame de
Bouillé qui avait été guérie par la prière de Montfort et qui habite au château
de la Machefolière à Saint-Laurent sur Sèvre se propose d’aider la cause de la
Sagesse. C’est un trait de lumière dans le gouffre noir où se débat
Marie-Louise. Elle monte dans sa chambre pour demander au Saint-Esprit son
inspiration et a la réponse que son cœur désirait. Madame de Bouillé était la
fille de l’ancien maire de Poitiers, elle présente sa requête à Monseigneur qui
finit par donner son consentement ; le marquis de Magnanne, veuf, fort de
30 000 livres de rente s’est joint au projet ; la paroisse prend
l’engagement d’accueillir les Filles de la Sagesse pour enseigner gratuitement
les petites filles et soigner les pauvres malades : “ une maison
est achetée, une petite chapelle va être bâtie. ”
Là encore, des ordres sont donnés pour empêcher son
départ de l’hôpital, elle était si nécessaire : “ des
gardes sont mis à toutes les portes pour l’empêcher d’en sortir ”.
L’intendant l’envoie chercher : “De la part du roi, je vous défends
de sortir de cet hôpital. ”. Le convoyeur envoyé pour guider Marie-Louise
dans son premier voyage à cheval piaffe pour précipiter le départ. Elle argue
qu’il s’agit de la gloire de Dieu et part enfin seule, laissant les deux sœurs,
à cheval , à travers les champs à perte de vue, avec son guide ; elle
traverse le Poitou et le bocage, 117 kilomètres de sentiers rocailleux.
Au bout de la route, lui apparaît enfin le village où
elle vient pour semer et faire croître un grand arbre dont elle n’imagine pas
le faîte et l’envergure. La maison achetée se révèle une vielle maison composée
de plusieurs galetas et masures sans meubles, ni linge ; les lits avaient
plutôt l’air de lits de camp avec des draps et une couverture faite de plusieurs
morceaux d’étoffe ; les bancs étaient quelques tisons de fagots, des
écuelles et assiettes de grosse terre, des fourchettes et cuillères de bois et
de pauvres lumignons complétaient l’ameublement. Le gros morceau de pain noir
servi au terme du voyage était aussi difficile à mâcher qu’à avaler et digérer ces
inconvénients continueront plusieurs années.
Catherine Brunet (sœur de la Conception), sœur
saint-Joseph et la propre sœur de Marie-Louise, Françoise Trichet, les
rejoignent. Françoise prendra l’habit sous le nom de Sœur
Séraphique ; “ dans la maison longue ”, on improvise des
lits, des tables, des sièges il y a donc trois professes et une novice ;
un petit oratoire est installé dans un galetas décoré d’images en papier, une
cloche sonne les exercices depuis le lever à 4 heures jusqu’au coucher à 9
heures. Dans la maison rudimentaire, glaciale ou torride, la vie austère
s’instaure. Elles sont soutenues par l’abbé Triault qui se sentait “ réservé
par Dieu pour aider et soutenir les Filles de la Sagesse. ”
Soeur Marie-Louise veut faire de ce lieu une
communauté fondatrice, un établissement de fondation. Seules, deux soeurs pour
visiter les malades et pour y faire l’école sont attachées à la maison. Sous
l’impulsion de Marie-Louise le rayonnement et l’essor des Filles de la
Sagesse s’étend. Elle se consacre aux fondations dans la ligne prévue par
Louis-Marie de Montfort : hôpitaux, écoles, maisons de charité ; la
plupart des maisons de charité seront fondées avec deux sœurs seulement au lieu
de trois nécessaires pour un rythme humain.
Marie-Louise est essentiellement maîtresse de novices
qu’elle traite comme des plants tendres qui ne font encore que d’être
transplantées et qui se sentent encore dans la terre du monde, dont elle ne
font que d’être tirées. Elle est attentive à ne pas devancer l’action de la
grâce mais se défie des fausses mystiques. Avec un discernement charismatique,
elle dit à l’une ou l’autre :
“- Pensez que vous n’avez rien de plus à craindre
que vous-même.
– J’ai expérimenté que j’ai toujours plus gagné par la
patience et la douceur que je n’aurais fait autrement.
– Vive Jésus, vive sa Croix, ma très chère fille,
souvenez vous du beau nom que vous portez qui est celui du Calvaire. Vous ne
devriez pas être un moment sans être ornée de la chère Croix et vous devriez en
faire tous les jours vos plus chers délices.
– Le courage avec lequel vous soutenez l’épreuve vous
assure par avance un degré distingué de mérite et de gloire. ”
Dix ans avant sa mort, elle nomme une maîtresse
spéciale des novices et la guidera dans ses fonctions de “ première
maîtresse ” tout en gardant humblement l’emploi de “ seconde
maîtresse ” . Elle poursuit en même temps à cadence accélérée les fondations
multiples qui nécessitent de longs voyages.
A Rennes, en 1724, une maison est reprise qui devient
une école modèle accueillant des orphelines pensionnaires. La Rochelle pose
problème : Les deux rocheloises étaient rentrées dans leur famille, l’une
vêtue d’un pauvre habillement faisait l’école aux petites filles c’était une
fondation tout à fait indépendante, spontanée, qui pouvait devenir
“ schismatique. ” Après avoir emprunté 10 écus, sœur Trichet
chevauche vers la Rochelle, rencontre les sœurs comme si de rien n’était,
loue l’arrangement du couvent, le nombre des soeurs et, par la douceur, en deux
mois, gagne le cœur et l’esprit des Filles de La Sagesse qui ne peuvent porter
ce nom sans être unies à celles de saint-Laurent. La prise en charge de
l’hôpital a lieu sur de nouvelles bases. Catherine Brunet et un missionnaire de
monsieur de Montfort font de cet hôpital un modèle qui sera propagé à Niort,
Saint-Lô, Valognes. A L’ile de Ré, deux sœurs s’occupent de l’éducation et des
pauvres.
Épuisée, Marie-Louise, tombe malade. A peine remise, c’est la nouvelle de la mort de Catherine Brunet à la Rochelle. La fondation de Niort se révèle pleine d’embûches, elle fut appelée “ le tombeau des Filles de la Sagesse ” tant il y a de décès. Pour la première fois, un hôpital masculin est pris en charge : l’hôpital du chateau d’Oléron laissées par les filles de Monsieur Vincent ; les filles de la Sagesse soignent les jeunes recrues parties pour les guerres coloniales et victimes du scorbut et font bien des conversions ; après la mort de Marie-Louise, de grands hôpitaux maritimes seront pris en charge , Brest, Cherbourg, Toulon.
Sa santé subit toujours des chocs sévères mais,
suivant la prophétie de monsieur de Montfort, elle devait fonder l’hôpital de
Poitiers avant sa mort ; cela ne se fera qu’en 1748 ; l’asile des
pénitentes, l’asile des incurables s’y adjoindront. Une autre série de
chantiers concernait les petites communautés dans les villes ou villages où
deux sœurs assuraient un labeur écrasant. Grâce à la disposition de l’école en
gradins, une seule sœur assurait l’instruction d’une soixantaine d’élèves de 7
à 15 ans, 5 heures par jour, arrachant les enfants aux ténèbres de l’ignorance
scolaire et religieuse. Les patentes épiscopales ou royales établissaient
juridiquement chaque maison. Du vivant de Marie- Louise, le cap fut franchi de
plus de 100 sœurs et de 30 fondations.
Ses dernières années :
A la fin des années 1740, elle est obligée de partager
ses responsabilités nommant une maîtresse des novices, soeur Honorée, et une
assistance générale, sœur Florence, âgée de 40 ans, d’une grande fraîcheur
d’esprit ; elle visite les fondations de Vendée, du Poitou, d’Aunis, de
Saintonge.
Au seuil de ses 67 ans, elle sent l’usure ; lors
d’un dernier voyage, elle part à cheval par les mauvais chemins visiter les 18
communautés pendant 4 mois ; ce sera son dernier périple. Elle agit alors par
son rayonnement, ses lettres courtes et simples. Elle dirige de loin. A
Saint-Laurent, elle est présente au noviciat, forme les institutrices et
enseigne la pharmacie. Elle vit de la présence de Marie réfère tout à Montfort
et surtout à Dieu. Elle va jusqu’à se choisir une sœur qui la commande en ce
qui concerne sa conduite personnelle et continue l’effrayante rigueur d’ascèse
qui était celle de Montfort et des personnes ferventes de son temps à base de
disciplines ou autres instruments de pénitence. Par cet abandon, elle recherche
la Sagesse, c’est-à-dire Jésus-Christ, le Verbe incarné.
En 1755, commence une grande épreuve : une
coterie se forme qui se veut rénovatrice, on ironise sur ses initiatives qui
étaient le sel de la maison. A-t-elle encore son bon sens ?
Marie-Louise en souffre beaucoup : “ Quand je vois cette pauvre
maison, cela me fait saigner le cœur. ” Le nouveau supérieur général
élu, le Père Besnard, lui-même, la fait mettre à genoux en pleine assemblée
pour lui faire réprimande pour une chose qu’elle n’a pas commise. Il finit par
connaître les complots iniques formés contre elle. La paix bannie depuis près
de deux ans revient enfin.
Elle confie à son père spirituel la voie où Dieu la
conduit. Elle se veut victime du silence, (adorer le silence de Dieu qu’il a
gardé pendant une éternité et le silence de Jésus au Saint-Sacrement,) victime
de l’obéissance, victime de la Croix intérieure et extérieure : “ Mon
père, traitez-moi comme la dernière des novices, mais une novice qui a un
besoin infinie d’être éprouvée en tout : point de ménagement, s’il vous
plaît, agissez à mon égard comme Dieu vous l’inspirera. ” Le père Besnard
collabore à l’achèvement des constitutions ; elles sont prêtes pour la
retraite de l’été 1758. Elle devient la doyenne de la Congrégation et
soupire : “ Oh, ma chère Sagesse, pourquoi me laissez vous
languir si longtemps sur la terre ? ”
Le 4 décembre, c’est l’accident : en sortant de
sa chambre, elle heurte du pied un morceau de bois, tombe et se démonte
l’épaule ; alors que 5 ou 6 personnes doivent la tenir, l’os déboité
est remis dans la rotule par le chirurgien. Elle choisit elle-même, pour la
soigner, une novice dont elle connaissait le peu d’habileté et de vigilance
mais c’est une escalade de douleur et Marie-Louise avoue : “ Mon
bon Jésus me favorise de sa Croix. ” Elle n’est plus occupée que de
la pensée de l’éternité et du désir de voir son Dieu.
Elle commence à circuler de sa chambre à la chapelle
et célèbre dans cet état Pâques, le 15 avril ; quelques jours après elle ressent
un point de côté une fièvre très violente, elle reçoit le viatique. Elle est
déjà toute à son bien-aimé Jésus ; les colloques se poursuivent avec
Jésus, Marie, le Père de Montfort :
“ Venez donc , mon cher Jésus, paradis de mon
âme,
Ma chère bonne Mère, ma bonne Marie tant aimée !
Ce n’est pas moi qui suis la supérieure de cette maison, c’est vous !
Cher Père de Montfort, je suis une de vos filles,
j’irai vous voir sous peu…J’ai toujours désiré mourir entre Jésus et Marie.”
Elle trace le signe de Croix avec la statue de la
Vierge sur le cercle de ses filles agenouillées et murmurant, Mon Seigneur
et mon Dieu, elle meurt à 8 heures du soir, le même mois, le même jour, à la
même heure, dans le même lieu que Montfort et tenant dans ses mains la même
statue de la Vierge, 43 ans après lui qui était mort à 43 ans. Elle a presque
75 ans, le deuil est général. Elle est ensevelie à côté du fondateur.
On attendit la canonisation du Père de Montfort pour
engager la cause de Mère Marie-Louise : après une guérison exceptionnelle
instantanée, complète, définitive, inexplicable scientifiquement de Sœur Rosa
de la Sagesse entrée chez les Filles de la Sagesse à Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre.
Deux neuvaines de prières avaient été effectuées selon les intentions des
soeurs et de la malade. L’authenticité du miracle est reconnu et elle est
béatifiée le 16 mai 1993.
Épilogue :
Ce n’est pas par hasard que Montfort a voulu très vite
cette communauté féminine et qu’il lui a donné le nom qui incarne son intuition
primordiale. Montfort, s’appuyant sur le livre de la Sagesse, le moins commenté
de la Bible, considère la Sagesse comme un secret à découvrir, un mystère, un idéal
inaccessible. Il perçoit que la sagesse désigne Jésus-Christ, verbe incarné.
C’est plus précisément la sagesse incarnée et crucifiée que le signe de la
Croix manifeste jusqu’au bout dans le prolongement de l’Incarnation réalisée
par Marie.
Le point commun de ces deux signes, c’est l’engagement
de l’amour de Dieu pour le salut des hommes. Ce qui caractérise cet engagement
et cet amour c’est qu’il est folie d’après le chapitre 1
de l’Épître aux Corinthiens ; cette Sagesse contredit celle
du monde, parce qu’elle est l’expression de l’amour seul. Le propre de l’amour,
c’est de se donner, c’est de se perdre. Cette doctrine est extrêmement
concrète ; c’est ce qu’il a cherché à incarner en vivant comme un pauvre
parmi les pauvres. C’est cette effrayante, radicale mais évangélique
spiritualité que Marie- Louise a voulu vivre depuis la rencontre de ses 17 ans
par son insertion parmi les pauvres et par son ascèse corporelle et
spirituelle. Elle a laissé la place totale à Dieu seul, à l’amour unifiant
qu’est Dieu.
Montfort l’a incarné prophétiquement de manière
souvent provocante, inacceptable pour le monde et l’établissement
ecclésiastique. Marie-Louise a su le vivre avec discrétion, modestie, sagesse,
rondeur qui contraste avec l’anguleux Montfort au physique comme au spirituel.
Il est mort sans avoir réalisé vraiment aucune fondation, c’est Marie-Louise
qui, en tâtonnant, a trouvé le lieu providentiel de la fondation, qui l’a
réalisée avec un vécu terriblement dépouillé.
L’homme exerce des pouvoirs bâtisseurs, la femme les
incarne dans la durée intérieure, en assure la continuité : c’est en ce
sens que le bienheureuse Marie-Louise Trichet fut cofondatrice de la Sagesse.
C’est cette vie rayonnante et efficiente que reconnaît sa béatification.
Montfort a été le grain qui meurt ; Marie- Louise l’a fait fructifier 10
pour 1. Elle est le vécu intégral du don de soi à Dieu et aux
hommes.
SOURCE : http://www.notre-dame-de-france.com/project/bienheureuse-marie-louise-trichet/
Also known as
First Daughter of Wisdom
Marie-Louise de Jésus
Marie-Louise of Jesus
7 May on
some calendars
Profile
The fourth of eight children born
to Julien, a court magistrate, and Françoise Lecocq, a notably pious mother;
one of Marie-Louise’s brothers became a priest,
one of her sisters a nun;
her eldest sister, Jeanne, was paralyzed at
the age of 13, but was cured at 16 during a pilgrimage to
Notre Dame des Ardilliers, Saumur, France. Educated from
age seven by the Sisters of Sainte Jeanne de Lestonac. From the age of
seventeen, Marie-Lousie devoted herself to the care of the poor and
the sick,
and when she worked at the poor house
in Poitiers, France,
a place known as a the General Hospital, she met and began to work
with Saint Louis
de Montfort. On 2
February 1703,
at age 18, she dedicated herself to God and
moved into the Hospital, officially as an impoverished inmate,
but actually to help Father Louis administer
the place. With him she
co-founded the Congregation of the Daughters of Wisdom, was it’s first
member, and served as its first leader.
De Montfort left to serve as a travelling missioner,
and Sister Marie-Louise
worked as nurse and
administrator on her own for the next ten years. She expanded the mission of
the Hospital to feed beggars and
operate the Hospital of Niort in Deux-Sèvres, France.
In 1715,
she and Catherine Brunet left Poitiers for La Rochelle, France where
they opened a free religious school;
it soon had 400 students.
Upon the death of Saint Louis
de Montfort, Marie-Louise assumed full leadership of the Daughters of
Wisdom. She returned to Poitiers in 1719,
and established the mother-house of the Daughters in
Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre, France in 1720;
the house still stands, and is a museum of the Daughters. The Daughters lived
and worked in abject poverty,
but the Congregation continued to grow. From 1729 to 1759 thirty
new houses of Daughters were founded, and they became known for teaching children,
caring for the sick,
and feeding the poor,
all for free. Their houses became homes for orphans,
the neglected elderly,
and abandoned cripples.
At age 66, Mother Marie-Louise made a journey on
horseback to all the Daughter communities to inspire the sisters.
Returning home, she had an accidental fall that left in continuing pain, and
broke her health. At her death,
the Daughters had 174 sisters and 37 houses, and they have continued
their good work in France, Spain, Prussia and Belgium for
centuries.
Born
7 May 1684 on
the Clain River in Poitiers, Vienne, France as Marie-Louise
Trichet
28
April 1759 in
Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre, Vendée, France of
natural causes
interred in
the church at
Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre next to Saint Louis
de Montfort
10 July 1990 by Pope John
Paul II (decree of heroic
virtues)
16 May 1993 by Pope John
Paul II at Saint
Peter’s Basilica, Rome, Italy
Readings
Your real Superior is Mary; I
am but her servant. – Blessed Marie-Louise
a
href=”patrons-of-the-daughters-of-divine-wisdom”>Daughters of Divine Wisdom
Additional Information
books
Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints
other sites in english
images
llocs web en català
sitios en español
Martirologio Romano, 2001 edición
sites en français
fonti in italiano
nettsteder i norsk
strony w jezyku polskim
MLA Citation
“Blessed Marie-Louise Trichet“. CatholicSaints.Info.
10 November 2019. Web. 7 May 2021.
<https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-marie-louise-trichet/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-marie-louise-trichet/
BLESSED MARIE_LOUISE TRICHET
I. BIOGRAPHICAL PROFILE
1. Childhood and adolescence
Marie Louise was born in Poitiers on May 7, 1684, and
baptized the same day in the parish church of St. Etienne. Her parents, Julien
Trichet and Françoise Lecocq, were deeply Christian. Marie Louise was the
fourth child and third daughter of a family of eight.
The eldest, Jeanne, struck with paralysis at the age
of thirteen, was cured three years later during a visit to Notre Dame des
Ardilliers at Saumur. The second daughter, Elizabeth, a year older than Marie
Louise and her inseparable companion, was known because of her extraordinary
piety as "the angel of the family." The youngest, born after the
death of two children in infancy, would later join the Congregation governed by
her sister. Julien, the eldest son, who followed his father into the legal
profession, was the only member of the family to marry. Alexis, a year younger
than Marie Louise, was ordained priest in 1710. When the plague broke out in a
prison camp, he volunteered to minister to the victims, contracted the disease,
and died.
Her father held a distinguished post as magistrate at
the Court of Justice of Poitiers. There was no lack of cases at the time, nor
was there a lack of lawyers willing to defend them; not all of them,
unfortunately, as honest as Monsieur Trichet, who refused to handle doubtful
ones. Honesty does not always pay, and the family found itself living in
reduced circumstances.
At the age of seven, Marie Louise was sent to the
boarding school at Poitiers conducted by the Sisters of Ste. Jeanne de
Lestonac; here she acquired the feminine and social accomplishments expected of
a young person of quality in seventeenth-century France. In an atmosphere of
simplicity and contemplation that was much to her taste, she gave free reign to
her spiritual fervor, finding increasing inspiration in Mary. The product of an
inner freedom, her faith, combined with love, was lived out daily.
We do not know just when the young girl’s thoughts
turned towards the religious life, but more and more frequently she was to be
found on the road leading to the hospital, sometimes alone, sometimes in the
company of her sister, with whom she attended Holy Mass daily in the cathedral.
Together they would visit the poor in their homes as well as in the hospital.
2. The meeting with Montfort
In 1701, Father de Montfort went to Poitiers. He
preached, heard confessions, and spent much time with the poor of the hospital,
where he was to become chaplain. Returning from church, where she had listened
to a sermon by Louis Marie, Elizabeth exclaimed to her sister, "That
preacher is a saint."
Marie Louise had already decided to go to confession
to this priest and perhaps confide to him her aspirations for the religious
life. She entered the confessional. Scarcely had she begun to speak when the
preacher interrupted her. "My child, who sent you to me?" "My
sister," was the reply. "No, my child, it was not your sister but the
Blessed Virgin who sent you to me." What prophetic words! From then on,
the whole of Marie Louise’s life, though she did not know it then, was set to
bring about Montfort’s idea: "A congregation of young women dedicated to
Incarnate Wisdom, so as to confound the false wisdom of the world by the
establishment of the folly of the Gospel among them."
She placed herself under the direction of this holy
priest. After following a retreat preached by him, she became a frequent
visitor to the small community of poor and infirm women founded by him, and of
which he had become the chaplain. This, however, did not satisfy her aspiration
for the contemplative life; she wished to enter a monastery. She sought his
help, but this was not forthcoming, and during his absence she decided to enter
the community of the Canonesses of St. Augustine at Chatellerault. She had no
dowry, so she would have to be a lay Sister. This mattered little to her. But
illness and a hint of Jansenism soon sent Madame Trichet to reclaim her
daughter. On her return to Poitiers, she found Montfort. Her demands were
renewed. "Shall I be a religious?" The response was unexpected but
decisive: "Go and live at the hospital!"
3. The hospital in Poitiers
Poverty, corruption, and vandalism were rampant in
Poitiers, as in most towns throughout the country. In Poitiers, capital of
Poitou, a fine stone building had been erected: the General Hospital. Here were
forcibly enclosed the town’s beggars, cripples, drunks—the dregs of society—a
world into which Montfort the young chaplain was determined to introduce some
order, piety, and, if possible, a little joy. The rule of life he proposed for
the governors was rejected. The rules that he introduced to ameliorate the lot
of the inmates were regarded with suspicion or hostility. All the hospital
offered the inmates was a common room; one bed for two, sometimes three; black
bread; an unappetizing stew; and a uniform of grey calico.1
"Go and live at the hospital" was the
direction given to a young girl who had already experienced the monastery and
whose only dream was to return, to a young lady from a distinguished family and
of a high education. "Go to the hospital." In what position? There
was no vacancy for a governor. "Take me as an inmate," was Marie
Louise’s reply. "Go to the hospital." For how long? "Do not
leave this place even if it should take ten years for the congregation to be
established; God will be pleased and his design accomplished."
4. A long wait
Marie Louise obeyed. She left her family, and on
February 2, 1703, she received from Montfort a religious habit and consecrated
herself to God. For ten long years, the whole of her youth, she would live
among the poor at their service, following alone the Rule rejected by the
governors of the establishment. Gradually, the administration would confide to
her financial and material responsibility; from 1708 she would substitute for
the official bursar, until finally in 1711 she found herself in complete charge
of the establishment. In the years of scarcity that were the sad characteristic
of the end of the "Great Reign" and the beginning of the new century,
and in the rigors of terrible winters that brought the poor and destitute in
droves to the hospital, she carried out her functions with zeal and compassion.
When the terrible epidemic of 1710 broke out, she found herself almost alone at
the bedside of the sick, so great was the fear of contagion.
The years passed, with Montfort away on his missions
in the west of France, letters at long intervals her only consolation.
In 1713, Montfort arrived at last at Poitiers. The
conversations they had were long and fruitful; he gave her a companion,
Catherine Brunet, chosen by her from among the governors. The long solitude was
over.
5. The school at La Rochelle
In 1711, Montfort, with the approval of Monsignor de
Champflour, bishop of La Rochelle, preached a mission there. During the course
of the mission, the bishop confided to Montfort his great desire to build
schools for the poor children of the diocese. Montfort, for his part, seeing
the religious education of children as a fruitful outcome of the mission, was
in full accord; the decision was taken to open two schools: one for boys and
one for girls. For the latter, Montfort would enlist the help of the Daughters
of Wisdom.
Marie Louise and Catherine Brunet, despite fierce
opposition to their departure, left Poitiers for La Rochelle on March 23, 1715.
A school was opened that in a short time would cater four hundred girls; a free
school supported by the bishop and following the program and rules laid down by
Montfort in his Rules for Charity Schools. It was so successful that it aroused
the admiration of both the Jesuits and Bishop de Champflour himself. Not
content with teaching academic subjects only, the school formed the pupils to
good habits of discipline and piety. Marie Louise proved herself especially
adept with adolescents, forming an association of thirty-three pupils in honor
of the thirty-three years spent on earth by Jesus, Incarnate Wisdom. They
followed a small rule of life drawn up by Marie Louise and approved by the
bishop.
6. The Institution of the Daughters of Wisdom
Montfort withdrew from his missionary activities to
spend time at the hermitage of St. Eloi at La Rochelle. While there, he put the
finishing touches to the Rule of the Daughters of Wisdom. On August 22, 1715,
Marie Louise and Catherine Brunet, together with the two ladies of La Rochelle
who had joined them, Marie Valleau and Marie Régnier, made their religious
profession at the hands of Montfort with the approbation of Bishop de
Champflour. "Call yourselves," he said, "the Daughters of Wisdom,
for the teaching of children and the care of the poor." And he added:
"God wants Marie Trichet to be the superior." A community, a title, a
Rule, a superior: the Institute was founded.
7. The death of Montfort
In the early days of May 1716, a messenger arrived
with the sad news that Montfort had died while preaching a mission at St.
Laurent-sur- Sèvre. Marie Louise, at thirty-two years of age, would, in the
absence of a successor, assume the full responsibility for the foundation. Who
was left after the death of the founder? A few priests, his missionary
companions, who were not committed by vows; four Brothers with vows; three lay
mission helpers, and, at La Rochelle, a female community that already had a
structure, with a superior, three professed Sisters, and one novice. The
numbers were negligible, but the numbers of Sisters especially would to grow
rapidly. For the next three years, the school continued.
8. Foundation of the mother house
After the Sisters’ departure from Poitiers, the
situation in the hospital went from bad to worse. In 1719, the administration
decided to ask the Sisters to return. But knowing that from now on it was a
question of an established Congregation, they offered Sister Trichet the opportunity
to install her mother house and novitiate at the hospital. Consumed by the
desire to develop the Institute confided to her by Montfort, Marie Louise
accepted, and with Catherine (Sister of the Conception) and Marie-Anne (Sister
of St Joseph) she returned to her home town.
The administrators, however, interested only in the
hospital, included in the contract two clauses unacceptable to the foundress:
the board would name the superior, and half of the novices’ dowry would accrue
to the hospital. Not willing to compromise the autonomy of the Institute, Marie
Louise refused. But then Providence intervened.
A chance meeting in the streets of Poitiers brought
advice. Here, one day, the foundress met Jacques Goudeau, a pious layman, a
disciple of Montfort. Before leaving for a mission, St. Louis Marie had
confided to him the care of the sanctuary of Mary, Queen of All Hearts, at
Montbernage. He suggested to Marie Louise that she contact Madame de Bouillé, a
noble lady living in the neighborhood of Saint-Laurent: "She is in a
position to help you," he said. For Marie Louise, this was a sudden and
blinding revelation: Madame de Bouillé, a woman cured by Montfort;
Saint-Laurent, the burial place of the founder. Was this not a sign from God?
The noble lady proved only too willing to help the
daughters of the holy missionary. At first the dean of Saint-Laurent was well
disposed to the proposed foundation. He called a meeting of the inhabitants;
their act of agreement was registered at Mortagne on September 14, 1719.
One evening in June 1720, during the octave of Corpus
Christi, Sister Marie Louise arrived at Saint-Laurent. Her first visit was to
the tomb of her spiritual father, where she knelt in fervent prayer; then on to
the "Maison Longue," the house purchased for her by Madame de
Bouillé. She found it dilapidated, lacking the barest essentials. Here, in
extreme poverty, the mother house of the congregation would function for
several years. Bedding, clothing, and maintenance were nonexistent. Certain
days would see the Sisters with only black bread for sustenance and, on one
occasion, one egg for four Sisters.
Problems abounded, not least the opposition of the
dean, M. Rougeau de la Jarrie, who had expected a kind of help for his parish
that in their destitution the Sisters were unable to supply. One Sister gave
classes to girls without asking fees; another visited the sick in their homes
but had little to give them. And the community life, regulated by the bell that
called the Sisters to prayers, seemed more conventual in style than was to the
liking of the good priest. He had envisaged a parish team; the foundress,
faithful to her mission, was set on establishing a novitiate.
The novices arrived, some of noble birth, others of
humble origin; all were received with the same warmth. Marie Louise herself
formed them with the greatest care in the religious life according to the Rule
and spiritual doctrine of Louis Marie de Montfort. Silence, detachment from the
world, poverty and mortification, prayer, a tender devotion to Mary, and an
intense love of Jesus, Incarnate Wisdom, were taught more by her example than
by word, gently in the joy of daily community living.
Madame de Bouillé, in her enthusiasm, wished to
participate in this community life, but her two young children’s natural
exuberance was a constant obstacle to what little calm was possible. Her
strongly expressed views, far from being the same as those of the superior,
were often more in line with those of the dean. It became necessary that she
should depart.
In separating itself from its benefactress, the
community was depriving itself of valuable resources. Providence, however, came
to their aid. With the dowries provided by certain novices, land was acquired
that produced a certain amount of revenue. This, too, however, brought new
problems in the form of hostile neighbors, who denounced the Sisters to the
authorities as landowners evading taxes. The case was dismissed. Many years
later, during the great drought of 1739, Marie Louise won the gratitude and affection
of both people and parish priest when, having shared with them her reserves of
wheat, she negotiated and obtained for them large provisions of rice from the
authorities.
9. The Montfort family at Saint-Laurent
Marie Louise also played a role in the establishment
of the Company of Mary at Saint-Laurent.
There were two priests, Fathers Mulot and Vatel, and
Brother Mathurin Rangeard, a lay Brother and faithful companion in their
missions. When the superior of the Daughters of Wisdom founded her mother
house, she recognized the need for a spiritual director, and who better than
the priest designated by Montfort himself on his deathbed as his successor
could fill this post? She requested and obtained permission from the bishop for
R. Mulot to take up this duty and, at the same time, welcomed to Saint-Laurent
M. Valois, who had joined the missionary group, all the while discerning and
affirming the vocation of Brother Joseau, a faithful friend of the community.
During a new mission at Saint-Laurent in 1721, the installation of the
missionaries at the place of the tomb of their founder was decided. Thus, at
the instigation of Marie Louise, Saint-Laurent became the place where the
disciples of Montfort regrouped. In 1722, Montfort Fathers and Brothers gathered
together in their new residence, elected their superior, and pronounced their
vows in his presence.
They obtained from a nobleman, the Marquis de
Magnanne, a relative of Madame de Bouillé, an ancient inn known as the
"Green Oak," which served as residence during their breaks between
missions. In 1723, the number of Sisters having increased to nine, their house,
the "Maison Longue," proved inadequate, and a friendly exchange of
residences took place between the two communities.
10. First foundations
Novices continued to arrive; the time had come to set
up new foundations. Montfort had predicted, "There is a house at Rennes
where you will go." A true prophecy: the first Sisters to leave the mother
house were destined for Rennes, capital of Brittany. In 1724, the Daughters of
Wisdom took possession of a charitable school founded by the Marquis de
Magnanne. The following year found them once more at La Rochelle, this time in
the hospital, facing an extremely painful situation.
When Marie Louise left La Rochelle in 1719, she left
behind two Sisters from that town, Sister of the Incarnation (Marie Valois) and
Sister of the Cross (Marie Regnier). The separation, intended to be temporary,
became protracted and came close to developing into a full- blown schism. The two
Sisters, ill advised by successive directors and colleagues, abandoned both the
grey habit and the name of Daughters of Wisdom. While continuing to observe the
Rule given by Montfort, they functioned as an autonomous Institute, even
receiving postulants. In 1725, they numbered eight and were staffing the
schools of Saint- Nicholas, Esnandes, and Chaillé, when their director, M.
Bourgine, acting in the name of the hospital board, offered them the
administration of the general hospital.
At this point, Marie Louise intervened. She left for
La Rochelle, and by dint of gentle persuasion, she brought about a
reconciliation. She personally negotiated the contract between the hospital and
the congregation. Later, at the request of the parish and the population, she
proceeded to the Ile de Ré to establish a new community, that of La Flotte.
The Sisters at this date numbered twenty-four,
including aspirants dispersed throughout five establishments: Saint-Laurent,
Rennes, La Rochelle, Esnandes and La Flotte-en-Ré.
11. The development of the Institute
The Institute continued to develop. From 1729 to 1759,
the foundress established thirty new communities, charitable establishments
where the Sisters taught children, visited the poor, and nursed the sick
without any payment; their expenses being met by the parishioners or
benefactors.
There were also houses of "Providence,"
where the Sisters lived with orphans, the aged, and the handicapped confided to
their care. Here they existed from day to day on voluntary donations.
There were the general hospitals, like the one at La
Rochelle, or at Niort, where administrators hired their services: places of
misery and often of filth and disorder, where they were expected to introduce a
modicum of peace and happiness.
In all her foundations, Marie Louise proved herself
both spiritual and realistic—realistic in her negotiation of contracts on the
material environment and spiritual in her overriding concern for the spiritual
welfare of her religious. She personally installed them in each new residence,
remaining with them from three weeks to three months, or even longer, according
to the circumstances; at Oléron , for example, this meant three years. A Sister
would be designated to govern the mother house when this happened.
Later on, when she could no longer accompany the
Sisters in new foundations, she would delegate a wise and experienced Sister.
She never accepted an establishment if the conditions were incompatible with
the observance of the basic Rules of the Institute. As at Saint-Laurent she had
steadfastly refused to yield to the demands of the parish priest and her
benefactress Madame de Bouillé, so at Poitiers she refused the enclosure of the
Sisters requested by the bishop. However strong may have been her own
attraction for the contemplative life, she remained faithful to the direction
of St. Louis de Montfort, the founder. To the suggestion that she should
introduce in the Congregation perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, one
half of the community being at prayer while the other was at work, her reply
was, "That was not the intention of Father de Montfort." Rather,
following the example of the Blessed Virgin Mary, every Sister should be both
Martha and Mary. This was indeed the specific role of Montfort’s idea in the evolution
of religious life of the eighteenth century.
12. The last years and death of the foundress
Combining the purest of mental prayer with continual
activity, Marie Louise lived through her long adulthood, right up to the onset
of old age.
At the age of 66, she made a last, long, and arduous
journey on horseback to all of her foundations; a visit that gave to her the
pleasure of finding all the Sisters living faithfully to the original Rule, and
to the Sisters the joy of a final encounter and a chance to listen to her final
exhortations. She returned to the mother house, never to leave it again.
A last painful trial, coming from her own community,
awaited her. A Sister, who remains anonymous, started a campaign against her,
with the intention of replacing her as head of the community. The new Father
General, recently appointed and inexperienced, gave credence to the calumnies
leveled against the foundress, who accepted the humiliations and reproaches in
silence while continuing to govern with gentleness and self-effacement. When,
at the end of a year, justice was finally done, she treated the instigator with
the utmost charity and consideration.
Then she suffered an accident: a fall that occasioned
months of suffering patiently borne. This was followed by a final illness,
which heralded her meeting with her Lord. Her last hours were interspersed with
frequent and joyful "Alleluias." Her last words were, "My Lord
and my God."
This was in 1759, on the same day (28 April), at the
same time, and even in the same place as Saint Louis Marie de Montfort, whose
faithful disciple she had always been, had died. Her body lies next to his in
the basilica at Saint-Laurent.
II. HER PERSONALITY AND HER WORK
"What will become of this child?"—the
exasperated exclamation of Madame Trichet. "You are mistaken, my
dear!" was the reply of Monsieur Trichet. "God will do great things
through her." Her personality was ambiguous from the start: reserved,
timid, discreet, with a deep-rooted humility, she seemed to be introverted. Yet
her faith, her balance, and her tenacity marked her for great things. Her
serenity would exasperate some of her Sisters. Her obstinacy in following her
own idea in opposition to the parish priest of Saint-Laurent would astound him.
In her last years, her adamant opposition to the construction of ostentatious
buildings at the mother house would be attributed by her detractors in the
community to a deterioration of her mental powers. Until recent years, the
tendency was to leave her in the shade, albeit in the shade of Saint Louis
Marie. It must, nevertheless, be remarked that the parish priest did retract
his unfavorable judgment. "I recognize the devil played his part," he
remarked. The Father General, misled by the campaign waged against her,
repented of his misjudgment and wrote her biography, the most important document
about her. In a circular written the day following her death, he extolled her
virtues. To the Daughters of Wisdom he wrote: "You have lost a real
daughter of Montfort, a mother, a foundress, a model, a living copy of the
virtues of Jesus Incarnate Wisdom."2 Sr. Florence, her assistant for ten
years, would affirm: "Her natural mind was capable of great things . . . .
She had a foresightedness without equal, a mind that no detail escaped . . . .
Her judgment and grasp of a situation were excellent."3 While not wishing
to emulate the exaggerated eulogies of a certain style of hagiography, we must
nevertheless recognize in Marie Louise not a speculative intelligence, but a
sound judgment, a sense of reality, and a penetrating gift of discernment. She
did not have extraordinary intuitions, but in them she showed balance and
discretion. She did not dream of grand projects, but remained faithful to a
demanding vocation, to the everyday calls on her energies, and was most
effective in practical ways. Instead of a creative imagination, she showed,
rather, a discretion and a wisdom that saved her always from excess and the
lure of the spectacular, while her extraordinary energy helped her overcome
trials and obstacles. Her strong fear of sin and her exalted understanding of
obedience made her much more of a disciple than an innovator; yet, her care for
human beings, allied with her gift of discernment, made her naturally a
remarkable teacher. That is really what she was, as her tombstone, placed next
to that of Montfort in the basilica in Saint-Laurent, says: "Marie Louise
of Jesus, foundress of the first Daughters of Wisdom." The French word is
Institutrice, one who founds, but also one who educates.
1. The foundress
On this point, we could ask two questions: What would
Marie Louise have become without Montfort? And what would have become of
Montfort’s dream without Marie Louise?
Without Montfort, what would Marie Louise have become?
No doubt a holy religious, probably a nun, and eventually an excellent superior
of a community. Her desire to be a religious was obvious, but she would
probably never have dreamt, left to herself, of founding a Religious Institute.
In fact, after her ill-fated spell in the novitiate of
the Augustinian Canonesses, she tried three times to enter an established
community. This was during the ten years of solitude in Poitiers. The first
time, on the advice of her director in the absence of Montfort, Father
Carcault, she asked to join the Daughters of Charity. But Bishop de Champflour
forbade it: "You want to be a Grey Sister? Are you not one already?"
A little later, she wanted to join the Benedictines of Calvary. Father Carcault
gave his consent, provided Montfort should agree. But Montfort was forthright:
"Wait in patience and stay at the hospital." Marie Louise, however,
as the waiting grew longer, tried a third time, with the Carmelites of
Montierneuf. This time, it was the Abbess who refused. And so, Providence
returned her to Father de Montfort. Her vocation was to be his disciple and a
cooperator in his life’s work.
Marie Louise was first and foremost Montfort’s
disciple by the way she lived. She followed fervently the spiritual path traced
out for her by the saint in LEW. Perhaps this is the book which he sent to the
first Daughters of Wisdom, saying to them: "Here is a book written for
you." The desire for Wisdom, continual prayer, universal mortification,
dependence on Mary: Marie Louise made all these means pointed out by Montfort
her own way to salvation. She kept faithfully, from the time of her harsh
novitiate in Poitiers until her death, the rule of life mapped out by the
founder. She taught its spirit and practice to the religious placed under her
guidance. She defended it against all the abuses and softening with which even
holy priests would try to dilute it, priests like Father Vatel or the dean of
Saint-Laurent; against the suggestions of Madame de Bouillé, or the requests of
the bishop of Poitiers: "That is not what Father de Montfort wanted,"
was always her irrefutable argument.
"She looked upon herself," says Pauvert, one
of the biographers of Saint Louis Marie, "as a compliant worker putting
into effect the plan of the master. If she had thought for a moment that the
idea was her own, she would never have had the courage to fight all the
obstacles that the nascent project was to encounter. She would have left it
alone, believing that she had dreamed the impossible. But her burning faith in
the holiness of the priest whose virtues she had seen gave her a trust in his
promise and enabled her to hope beyond all hope." She was indeed, then,
the disciple, to the point of heroism, of the one from whom, from her earliest
youth, she had received teaching, example, and formation. That is why we could
not imagine Marie Louise without Montfort.
On the other hand, what would have happened to
Montfort’s ideas for his foundations without Marie Louise? What would the
beginnings of the Daughters of Wisdom have been like without her feminine
influence, at once gentle and discreet? Certainly Montfort is a saint and a
genius. His apostolic success was astonishing, the conversions he obtained
extraordinary. And yet, according to his own words, he was like "a ball in
a game of tennis," always on the move, always the object of opposition. He
initiated great plans without always seeing them bear fruit. RW, which he had
dreamed of since 1702, would not be officially approved until 1715, by the
bishop of La Rochelle. RM was only put together little by little, during his
successive meetings with the seminary of the Holy Spirit in Paris in 1703 and
1713. It is true that the texts of these two are very precise, their
spirituality is solidly based, and they bore much fruit; their harvest would be
very great. Yet, it was not he who would gather in this harvest.
It was thanks to Marie Louise and the Marquis de
Magnanne that the male disciples of Montfort found themselves gathered around
the tomb of their founder. It was thanks to her that the Congregation of the
Daughters of Wisdom got well started. This was not only because his death
prevented the founder from completing his work but perhaps also because he
himself, with his passionate temperament, was not really the right person to
establish on a firm foundation a female Congregation. Pauvert was not mistaken
when, while attributing to Montfort "the creative idea," recognizing
in Marie Louise "the admirable instrument of its realization."4
Montfort reflected on, composed, and edited RW. But it
was Marie Louise who founded the mother house, opened the novitiate, formed the
first Sisters, established communities, and governed the Institute for more
than forty years. Even during the lifetime of Montfort, we can see the discreet
influence of Marie Louise on the definitive edition of the Rule. Several
corrections in the manuscript give this impression, and we know that among
other suggestions, she gave it as her opinion that a superior general appointed
for life would present serious difficulties. "Montfort gave in to her
advice." On the other hand, she gave very careful attention to the least
little details, a tendency that would be accentuated in the Constitutions of
1760, which were drawn up under her guidance and control. Her femininity
allowed her to escape a certain rigor and strangeness.5 In codifying a certain
number of customs, it seems that she gave a more monastic style to the
Institute.
2. The teacher
More remarkable than her aptitude for governing was
her extraordinary talent as a teacher. We find her at both La Rochelle and
Rennes establishing, or reestablishing, discipline in large schools with a
large enrollment. Her gift of discernment was employed in the formation of
elite groups formed from among the older students.
The hospitals also profited by her talents. Not
content with just ministering to the physical needs of patients, she and her
Sisters always tried to introduce a modicum of peace, joy, and piety into the
establishment. Documents from the hospital of Château d’Oléron, where Marie
Louise stayed for nearly three years, testify that "never have the sick
been better cared for, recovered more rapidly, or been more devout."6
Not unexpectedly, it was in the formation of the first
Daughters of Wisdom that her gifts as educator were most evident. Relying
always on the Holy Spirit, she nevertheless employed all her own personal gifts
and intuitions, permeated with gentleness and goodness. The program was well
balanced, with periods allocated to work, prayer, instruction, and relaxation.
Temperaments also were taken into account. An admonition to her successor states:
"Novices should be treated like fragile plants, but recently
transplanted."
She knew how, following the advice of Montfort, to
employ sterner measures, especially with the proud. When, however, necessity
did require that she reprimand, "this was done only in private, in her own
room or that of the recalcitrant novice whom she always sought out. Her speech
on such occasions was so persuasive and gentle that it was impossible not to
conform."7
She had a horror of duplicity. A novice pretending to
fast while concealing bread beneath her mattress was promptly dismissed. At the
same time, her reply to the singular penances of another novice that frightened
her Sisters was, "Let her be; she has her reasons."
III. HER WRITINGS
There are few remaining writings of Marie Louise:
thirty letters in all, her "Spiritual Oratory,"8 her "Spiritual
Testament" (Besnard, Marie- Louise, 325), a ruling concerning the
religious habit, and the Constitutions drawn up in collaboration with other
Daughters of Wisdom. We find her signature also on receipts, account sheets,
administrative documents, and a few contracts: signs of a woman engaged in
apostolic action as well as spiritual combat. Fifty pages of
"Memoirs," written under obedience to her Director, Father General
Audubon, are unfortunately lost. We know she wrote of the early days of the
Congregation, from 1701 to 1720, but above all she spoke of Montfort. It would
have indeed been interesting to hear her own account of her relationship with
her spiritual father, her first companions, her life at the hospital of
Poitiers, and her apostolate at La Rochelle. For all this, we must refer to her
biographer, who used the "Memoirs" for his book.
Little remains of her personal correspondence,
especially of letters written in her own hand, only seven of which are among
the twenty-nine quoted by Father Besnard, in whose possession they evidently
remained. So few letters were preserved, yet we know from her own testimony
that she kept a regular correspondence with the communities and with her own
nieces and nephews. In the communities the messages were no doubt retained for
a while, while some of the actual letters were confided to Father Besnard, who
was diligently collecting all relevant material on the life of the foundress in
preparation for a biography. The remainder disappeared during the troubled times
of the Revolution, when the Sisters were expelled and the mother house pillaged
and set on fire. Regarding the family letters, there is mention in the Trichet
family documents of a family legacy of letters that were evidently distributed
among them; of these, however, only three remain in the possession of a
descendant of her brother. Her business letters have completely disappeared, as
have, with few exceptions, her letters of spiritual direction. We have the text
of three letters written by her to Father Croissant near the end of her life,
in which she outlines her personal plan of perfection. She must have given him
permission to communicate these to her Father General, as they appear in her
biography; we do not possess the originals.
Her family letters reveal a warm affection for her
family, especially for her brother Julien, who remained close to his parents in
Poitiers. At the time of her father’s death, Marie Louise was in La Rochelle.
She longed to be able to come to her mother and surround her with love and
care, but duty prevented her, prompting her to ask her brother to take her
place in doing "what little services she could render." Knowing her
mother’s means of livelihood to be reduced, she requested her brother to draw
up a contract by which she renounced her right to any future inheritance, thus
enabling him to provide her mother with a small supplement. In her letter of
May 23, 1725, on the occasion of her mother’s death, she expresses all her
grief and affection. "Only God could have kept me from her, and it was not
the least of my sacrifices. I cannot say more; my grief is too great."
Her tactful approach is seen in her correspondence
with her Sisters. There is no authoritarianism here but, rather, a gentleness
that anticipates all, and advice filled with tenderness and piety. She shares
in their joys and difficulties, always in a spirit of faith. To a Sister
provoked by an administrator she writes: "He is sent by God to try
you." To a sick Sister: "Long live Jesus, long live his Cross! If we
were really transformed by Divine Love, we should not complain of our
illnesses." To another confiding her anxieties: "The Institutes
founded by Father de Montfort are the work of God, and He is deeply concerned
for their future and well-being. He will never abandon us if we are faithful to
Him." These are the words of a woman of faith. But there are also the
words of a mother: "Send me news of yourself. Were it only a few words, it
would give me pleasure." To the community at the Château d’Oléron:
"The affection I have for you is enhanced by the knowledge that I am also
your mother in Christ."
To the superiors in the communities she constantly
recommends obedience and humility; obedience to the hierarchy, humility in
their relationships with the Sisters. To a superior complaining of her problems
with a difficult Sister, she writes: "Have patience. Don’t tell me you
have been patient for a long time. Where would we be, you and I, if God tired
of our infidelities?" Advising a Sister to break off from a too human
friendship, she says: "I suggest you make a half hour’s meditation at the
feet of Christ and listen to what he has to say to you."
IV. HER SPIRITUAL JOURNEY
1. Her search for divine Wisdom
"Jesus Christ Eternal Wisdom must be the end of
all your desires. Desire Him, seek Him, for He is that precious pearl for the
acquisition of which you must sell all you possess." Montfort adds:
"Whoever wishes to find this precious treasure of Wisdom should . . .
search for him early and, if possible, while still young; purely and
spiritually as a chaste young man seeks a bride; unceasingly, to the very end,
until he has found him." (LEW 54) A perfect account of the spiritual journey
of Marie Louise. From her youth at the school of Montfort, she desired and
sought Divine Wisdom, single mindedly, with complete renunciation of her own
will, constantly and courageously with an ardor that increased with age.
On the occasion of her first meeting with Montfort at
seventeen years of age, she was already committed to consecrating herself to
God in the religious life. Montfort introduced her to the contemplation of
Jesus Eternal Wisdom and the mysterious ways of the Incarnation and the Cross.
He led her to leave her family and enter the hospital in the company of a group
of poor women of whom he had formed a community named "Wisdom,"
placing her under the authority of a blind woman, saying: "Mademoiselle
Trichet must learn to obey." He led her to heroic mortification in keeping
with her aspirations, certain of which appear in our day to be exaggerated.
Carrying malodorous linen at arm’s length, she was ordered to carry it on her
shoulders and to kiss the floor in the hospital yard. Following the guidance of
her director, she gave herself to meditation and sought delight in a life
"hidden, poor, and abandoned," the program inscribed on the large
cross hung on the wall of the Daughters of Wisdom mother house. (see the
article on the Cross).
The original Rule and especially the spiritual
"counsels" added by Montfort are all imbued with the same principles,
spelling out in detail the austere rules of the Cross of Poitiers. This Rule
Marie Louise received, transmitted, and taught. She was formed by it; she
embraced the spirit, not just the letter, and lived it as a means of acquiring
the Divine Union to which Jesus called her. Thus, she was the first to live the
charismatic vocation of a Daughter of Wisdom.
Humility, reserve, discretion, in short an apostolic
simplicity, have made of Marie Louise a difficult subject for biographers
seeking to penetrate below the exterior. Her life, actions, and certain of her
writings reveal her as a woman of great faith and courage, a religious inflamed
with the love of Christ, a faithful slave of Mary, and a missionary of her
time. The Church, in proclaiming her Blessed in 1993, placed its seal on the
heroism of her virtue.
2. Faith
A woman of faith and courage: such was Marie Louise of
Jesus during the twelve years spent in the service of the poor in Poitiers, in
the education of the young at La Rochelle, and especially in the formation of
the first Daughters of Wisdom. Her faith sustained her through the trials of
the first foundations, through solitude, poverty, and contradictions. Her
meditation was, her biographer assures us, based on pure faith; she made it
well, "humbling herself and becoming lost in the presence of God."
Her constant admonition to her Sisters was: "Have faith. . . . We have not
enough faith. . . . Let us renew our faith." Her repeated warning was
against a sentimental piety that sought spiritual consolation: "Let us
nourish our souls with the truths of faith without aspiring to visions or other
extraordinary means that may lead us away from pure faith. Pure faith is the
sure way to avoid falling prey to illusions."9
Her faith in the Eucharist was particularly strong.
She received Communion daily and then spent half an hour in thanksgiving. While
never allowing herself more time in chapel than the Rule allowed, she took
every opportunity of prolonging her prayer. When passing the door of the chapel
or sacristy, she would whisper a prayer. She was observed on occasion shedding
tears of joy before the Blessed Sacrament. Her journeys were all marked by a
visit to the chapel to adore the Blessed Sacrament, as was each departure.
Her union with God was continual, insofar as her
occupations allowed. Besnard says that she managed "never to leave the
center of her heart, where she had made herself a sort of interior cell."
Unlike Montfort, she had no hermitage, but she prayed constantly in her
"Spiritual Oratory."
Faith was the guiding light of her action as of her
prayer. She sought nothing but God’s will. In her youth she had sought it with
a sort of anxiety, witness her several attempts to enter various convents; in
later life she sought it in obedience, especially when it appeared obscure:
obedience to the bishop, to her director, to the Father General. To a young
novice who confessed, "Really I don’t understand what ‘living by the
Spirit’ means," she replied, "You have followed your own inclination
and done your own will up till now; a spirit of faith teaches us to live only
for God, to seek always his good pleasure. But we can only do this by submitting
always to his Divine Will. It follows, then, that animated with a lively faith,
our will is always in accord with what God allows should happen to us or asks
of us through our superiors." Marie Louise practiced to the end of her
life faithful obedience to the will of God manifested through her superiors and
through events. A few days before her death, she asked a Sister to sing for her
some verses of a hymn to Divine Providence by Father Surin: "Blessed Will
of God / You are my sole delight / in heaven or on earth."
3. Humility
Love of God is synonymous with a hatred of sin. Marie
Louise had a deep horror and fear of sin, together with an awareness of her own
sinfulness. This was what gave rise to her humility, which was certainly not
any lack of firmness of mind but, rather, a clear vision of her own nothingness
before God, a conviction of the gratuity of all the graces received, and a
repeated affirmation of her unworthiness: "I was placed here [in the post
of superior general] for my sins, and because of my sins they leave me
here." Towards the end of her life, victim of a campaign against her,
unjustly accused by her Sisters, suspected and humiliated by her superior
general, she remained calm and gentle, saying: "I am not upset; I deserve
worse than that for my sins." We find in her life gestures of humility
that may appear exaggerated, but are found also in the lives of the saints:
kneeling at the door of the refectory, a cord about her neck, soliciting the
prayers of her Sisters; prostrating herself before one or another of her
Sisters, begging them to place their foot on her neck to humiliate her "as
she deserved." Her real humility, however, was manifested in her everyday
conduct, her gentle affability towards her Sisters, the respect she afforded
them, her readiness to assume the most menial tasks, her preference for the
company of the poor. Sr. Florence tells us of her readiness to give up her own
opinion for that of others when neither principle nor the truth was at stake.
4. Obedience
Following the example of Montfort, Marie Louise
practiced the virtues of poverty and obedience to an heroic degree. Yet where
Montfort’s predilection would seem to have been for poverty, hers was
undoubtedly for obedience, as shown on numerous occasions. When Father Vatel, chaplain
to the mother house and spiritual director of the community, requested that the
rising time of 4 a.m. be changed to 5 a.m., causing consternation to herself
and the Sisters, her reply revealed her spirit of obedience: "Real
mortification is to found in perfect obedience."
She was a perfect example of the universal
mortification prescribed by Montfort in LEW and into which she had been
initiated in her early years. Frugal at meals, she never ate in between. She
sought no comforts during her long and arduous journeys, nor relief from the
hard work of moving to new foundations. Frozen in winter in an unheated chapel,
she avoided the fire when entering the community. Corporal penance also had its
place. The discipline, spiked bracelets, and prayers with arms extended were
all means of renunciation and of opening her soul to divine grace. These were
means that she also permitted to Sisters whom she considered capable of
practicing them. They were considered the supporting pillars of her
"Spiritual Oratory," where she communed with God. The principal
support, however, was obedience resting on the sure foundation of humility.
Three letters written towards the end of her life to
Father Croissant, her spiritual director, show us the lengths to which her
passion for obedience drove her. They can be dated to approximately the end of
1756 or the beginning of 1757, for, commenting on them, Father Besnard tells
us: "God, who brings light out of darkness, enabled Marie Louise of Jesus
to draw from her persecutions an ever-increasing desire to resemble Jesus
Christ crucified." During her great time of trial, she had asked her
director to assign her a superior whom she would obey as God Himself, naming as
the person she envisaged "the one whom she would find to be most repugnant
to her own refined nature, someone who would be brusque, bizarre, anxious, and
scrupulous . . . the most likely to make her suffer." Such a request is
understandable only in light of the spirit that animated it. "I
wish," she declared, "with God’s grace to destroy all that which
within me is displeasing to Him that I may have the joy of having God alone
reign in my heart." "Destroy," for her, meant total
transformation, not annihilation; total purification and Consecration of her will.
Renunciation was not the only aspect of her resolution; there was also
"joy": joy in "God alone." She found her joy in total and
intimate union with God. Obedience did not come easily to her, as from a
passive nature. She herself tells of the obstacles in the practice of it,
speaking of "combat," "resistance," "the revolts of
self love"; but "if nature rebels, I shall try not to listen."10
5. Joy through the Cross
To her director she once more declares her desire to
be "a victim, of silence, obedience, of exterior and interior
crosses." The word victim must be understood in its true sense as
expounded by Father Besnard: "A state of perfect negation, fruit of her
consuming desire to have Jesus reign supreme in her heart. There could be no
divided loyalty; she was completely transformed in Christ." Far from being
morbid, she affirmed her intense joy: "I cannot describe the consolation I
receive from the Divine Jesus."
In April 21, 1759, a chill, followed by a high fever,
gave her a presentiment that her death was close. From then on her thoughts
were all on her approaching meeting with her Lord. After a fervent reception of
the Viaticum, she blessed her Sisters with a small statue of the Blessed
Virgin, the gift of St Louis Marie, dictated her "Spiritual Testament,"
and sank into semi-consciousness, murmuring from time to time a prayer to the
Blessed Virgin or an Alleluia. Wishing to ascertain if she were still
conscious, a Sister asked, "What does that mean? Alleluia?" The reply
was prompt and clear: "That means ‘Rejoice in the Lord!’"11
6. The way of Mary
"I do not believe," wrote Montfort,
"that anyone can acquire intimate union with our Lord and perfect fidelity
to the Holy Spirit without a very close union with the most Blessed Virgin and
an absolute dependence on her support" (TD 43). That union and dependence
Marie Louise practiced in the highest degree.
We do not know when or where she made her Consecration
to Jesus through Mary as taught by St. Louis de Montfort but that she did make
it we are left in no doubt. In his letters to her, Montfort employs quite
naturally and often the term "Slavery." In her exhortations to her
Sisters, Marie Louise declares, "Your real Superior is Mary; I am but her
servant." Father Besnard writes that he would not speak of her devotion to
Mary "were it but the everyday devotion of ordinary Christians" but
"she became transformed, lost in Mary." She could only have arrived
at that, he adds, "through the example and direction of Montfort."
Through Mary, he says, "she acted and spoke, gave commands and gave
thanks. Through her she received communion, considering herself unworthy to
receive Christ. She offered him Mary’s preparation and through Mary’s
thanksgiving she made her own." The life and mysteries of Mary were her
daily meditation as she recited her Rosary. It was she who introduced the
hourly Hail Mary into the community, and she loved to repeat: "Everything
in the house belongs to Mary; for this reason we must spoil nothing and keep
everything in order." Confronted with problems, she would turn to Mary:
"Good Mother, you only need to make this your business. They are your
daughters; take care of them for me."
V. MARIE LOUISE SPEAKS TO US TODAY
1. Her missionary spirit
Marie Louise Trichet was given the task of governing a
new type of Apostolic Institute, and this at a time when female religious had
scarcely begun to venture outside their cloister. Her contemplative nature
served to animate her mission. Consumed with a desire to love God more and
more, "she was distressed," it was said, "by the fact the He was
not loved by others." Like Montfort, she longed to go to "barbarous
lands" or "to the poor women and girls of the rural areas of the
country to speak of God and lead people to His love." Unable to do either,
she would, together with her Sisters, pursue this aim where Providence had
placed her, with the children, the poor, the sick in the hospitals and in their
homes, the soldiers and sailors of Oléron, the Penitents of Poitiers, and the
"converts" of Montbernage. In 1743, her dream of sending Sisters to
Canada was about to be realized when it had to be abandoned for lack of
finance. Unable to participate in the missionary labors of the Montfort
Missionaries (Company of Mary), she addressed fervent prayers to God for
vocations for the Company, and that He would bless their apostolate.
2. Her love of the poor
She was above all the missionary of the poor. Her
predilection for the poor predated her entrance into the hospital, where she
took them to her heart, dressed their wounds, washed their dirty linen; no
service was too small. As bursar, her administration was wise and just. One
severe winter, with the supplies exhausted, being approached by some beggars in
rags, she was heard to murmur: "I wish I were cloth, so that I might
clothe them." The famine of 1739 found her, having depleted the supplies
of the mother house, begging the authorities to come to the relief of the
hungry population of the district.
Practicing, as she had learnt from Montfort,
abandonment to Divine Providence, she admitted all to the novitiate, poor and
rich alike, daughters of nobles or daughters of peasants. She would quote
Montfort: "God will always bless the house which helps the poor." She
remembered them still on her death-bed, calling one of her benefactors and
begging her to continue her care of the poor of the parish. Her option for the
poor assured her of a place with the saints both of her own time and the
present.
The cardinals responsible for examining her life for
the cause of beatification recognized this. "The Servant of God,"
they wrote, "offers an example of how to work for the development of the
whole human person in a spirit of sacrifice, looking for no reward, ever open
to read the signs of the times with a serene and humble spirit."12
After lengthy investigations by teams of experts into
her life and writings, Marie Louise Trichet, the first disciple of St. Louis
Marie de Montfort, was beatified on May 16, 1993.
S. Lepers
Notes: (1) A heroic decision, which Montfort himself had not foreseen or suggested.
(2) Charles Besnard, Circulaire aux Filles de la Sagesse, April 29, 1759, recorded in La vie la soeur Marie Louise de Jesus, première superieure des filles de la sagesse, (The Life of Sister Marie Louise of Jesus, First Superior of the Daughters of Wisdom), Center International Montfortain, Rome, 331.
(3) Sr. Florence, 98.
(4)Pauvert, Vie du vénérable Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort, Oudin,Poitiers 1875, 150-151.
(5) Constitutions, subtitled "Explication de la Règle des Filles de la Sagesse, instituées par Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort, missionaire apostolique, pour leur servir de Constitutions (Explanation of the Rule of the Daughters of Wisdom, Founded by Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort, Apostolic Missionary, for Their Constitutions)." The editing of this document was finished in 1760 and the manuscript was signed in a chapter assembly on May 20, 1768. The original is in Rome. A copy kept in the archives of the mother house is 400 pages long.
(6) Besnard, Marie-Louise, 230.
(7) Ibid., 376.
(8) For her "Spiritual Oratory," cf. ibid., 280. This concerns a retreat resolution. Marie Louise prays to Jesus to help her build, within herself, a place where he may live. She gives details, in a very imaginative way, of the virtues that will be used in the construction: obedience, detachment, love of suffering, and prudence, which will be the pillars of the building; then piety, vigilance, gentleness, etc.
(9) AGFS: "Constitutions des Filles de la Sagesse," chap. 3.
(10) Lettres de Marie-Louise de Jésus, Scuola tipografica Pio XI, Rome 1981.
(11) Besnard, Marie-Louise, 360.
(12) Decree on the heroism of her virtues.
(13) Sacra Congregatio pro causis sanctorum. Beatificationis et canonizotionis servae Dei Mariae Ludovicae a Jesu (in saeculo: Mariae Ludovicae Trichet) confundatricis Filiarum a Sapientia († 1759). Positio super virtutibus ex officio concinnata, Rome 1986.
Taken from: Jesus Living in Mary: Handbook of the
Spirituality of St. Louis de Montfort (Litchfield, CT: Montfort
Publications, 1994).
Provided courtesy of the Montfort Fathers © All Rights
Reserved.
Electronic Copyright © 1998 EWTN All Rights Reserved
BEATIFICAZIONE DI UN MARTIRE MISSIONARIO
E DI TRE RELIGIOSE APOSTOLE DELL’AMORE DI CRISTO
OMELIA DI GIOVANNI PAOLO II
Basilica Vaticana - Domenica, 16 maggio 1993
“Acclamate a Dio da tutta la terra” (Sal 66, 1).
1. Il salmo responsoriale dell’odierna liturgia costituisce un gioioso invito alla lode. Dice il Salmista: “Venite e vedete le opere di Dio, mirabile nel suo agire sugli uomini” (Sal 66, 5). Il riferimento è anzitutto all’esodo: la liberazione del popolo eletto dalla schiavitù d’Egitto e l’intervento salvifico operato in suo favore nel passaggio del Mar Rosso.
Si tratta di un motivo tipicamente pasquale. Dalla Pasqua dell’antica Alleanza la liturgia passa all’Alleanza nuova stipulata nel sangue di Cristo: “Cristo è morto una volta per sempre per i peccati, giusto per gli ingiusti, per ricondurvi a Dio” (1 Pt 3, 18). Ecco, Fratelli e Sorelle, il nuovo “esodo”, così come lo presenta l’apostolo Pietro, che esclama: “Adorate il Signore, Cristo, nei vostri cuori” (1 Pt 3, 18). In questo tempo pasquale giunge a noi rinnovato e insistente l’annuncio di Pietro, primo tra i testimoni del Mistero pasquale di Cristo.
2. In questo medesimo Tempo, la liturgia torna
frequentemente anche alle parole pronunciate da Cristo alla vigilia della sua
morte in Croce. Parole pre-pasquali, che la Chiesa rilegge nella luce
della Pasqua. Prima della morte e risurrezione di Cristo, esse erano annuncio e
promessa. Ora, dopo la Pasqua, la Comunità dei credenti – come narrano gli Atti
degli Apostoli – riconosce la realtà della salvezza: le promesse si sono
adempiute. Ecco il tempo per gioire delle parole prima ascoltate e custodite
nella memoria degli apostoli e dei discepoli del Risorto. Quant’è mirabile il
modo in cui esse si sono verificate! Cristo assicura ai suoi: “Non vi lascerò
orfani, ritornerò da voi. Ancora un poco e il mondo non mi vedrà più; voi
invece mi vedrete, perché io vivo e voi vivrete” (Gv 14, 18-19).
Io vivo, perché sono nel Padre mio; anche voi vivrete, perché siete in me e io in voi (Gv 14, 20).
3. Durante il tempo di Pasqua, in modo particolare, la Chiesa intera è chiamata a riconoscere e sperimentare le opere mirabili che Dio compie tra gli uomini (Sal 66, 5), specialmente in coloro che “amano Cristo” in maniera eroica accogliendo senza riserve i suoi comandamenti e osservandoli fino in fondo (cf. Gv 14, 21). Dio stesso ama questi suoi figli con singolare predilezione, e viene a loro: il Padre e il Figlio prendono dimora in essi mediante lo Spirito Santo. A quanti sono stati pienamente disponibili alla sua parola, il Figlio ha rivelato se stesso e il Padre, poiché ama con un amore particolare coloro che lo amano.
Oggi, carissimi Fratelli e Sorelle, la Chiesa ha la gioia di proclamare “beati” quattro di questi discepoli, così disponibili alla parola del Signore da ricevere in se stessi la pienezza dell’amore del Padre e del Figlio.
Ecco i loro nomi: Maurice Tornay, Marie-Louise de Jésus Trichet, Colomba Gabriel, Florida Cevoli. Essi provengono da vari Paesi, da diversi popoli. Davvero in essi e per essi “tutta la terra acclama il Signore” (cf. Sal 66. 1).
4. Pour répondre généreusement à l’appel de Dieu, Maurice Tornay découvre qu’“ il faut aller jusqu’au bout ”, vivre l’amour héroïquement. L’amour de Dieu n’éloigne pas des hommes. Il pousse à la mission. Dans l’esprit de sainte Thérèse de Lisieux, Maurice Tornay n’a qu’un désir: “ Conduire les âmes à Dieu ”. Dans l’esprit de son Ordre, où chacun risque sa vie pour arracher des hommes à la tempête, il demande à partir au Tibet pour gagner des hommes au Christ.
Il commence par se faire Tibétain avec les Tibétains: il aime ce pays, qui devient sa seconde patrie; il s’attache à en apprendre la langue, afin de mieux communiquer le Christ. Comme le bon Berger qui donne sa vie pour ses brebis, Maurice Tornay aime son peuple, au point de ne jamais vouloir l’abandonner.
Frères et Sœurs, implorons l’Esprit Saint. L’Église et le monde ont besoin de familles qui, comme la famille Tornay, soient des creusets où les parents transmettent à leurs enfants les appels du Christ à la vie chrétienne, sacerdotale ou religieuse. Rendons grâce pour les germes d’espérance dans la terre d’Asie. La mission et la passion du Père Tornay, et de ses prédécesseurs des Missions étrangères de Paris et des Chanoines du Grand Saint–Bernard, portent des fruits, silencieusement, dans la lente maturation. On ne peut que se réjouir du dialogue respectueux entre les moines tibétains et les moines catholiques, pour découvrir Celui qui est la voie, la vérité et la vie. Des vocations se lèvent, comme en témoigne l’ordination récente d’un élève du bienheureux; des chrétiens poursuivront l’œuvre du Père Tornay qui souhaitait instruire les enfants et les conduire à la sainteté; car seule une vie sainte mérite d’être vécue.
5. L’Évangile nous a fait entendre les paroles de Jésus: “ Si quelqu’un m’aime, il gardera ma parole ”. Garder la parole du Christ, Sagesse éternelle de Dieu, rester fidèle à ses commandements, c’est apprendre, comme l’a fait Mère Marie–Louise Trichet à l’école de saint Louis–Marie Grignion de Montfort, à méditer la richesse infinie de sa présence et de son action dans le monde.
Marie–Louise de Jésus s’est laissée saisir par le Christ, elle qui a recherché passionnément l’alliance intérieure de la sagesse humaine avec la Sagesse éternelle. Et le déploiement naturel de ce lien d’intimité profonde, ce fut une action passionnément dévouée aux plus pauvres de ses contemporains. L’adoration de la Sagesse du Père, incarnée dans le Fils, porte toujours à servir quotidiennement ceux qui n’ont rien pour plaire aux yeux des hommes, mais qui demeurent très chers au regard de Dieu.
Ce matin, Frères et Sœurs, rendons grâce au Seigneur pour la fondation de la grande famille religieuse des Filles de la Sagesse, fruit de la sainteté personnelle de saint Louis–Marie et de la bienheureuse Marie–Louise de Jésus. Leur éminente charité, leur esprit de service, leur aptitude à conserver, comme la Vierge Marie, “ toutes choses en leur cœur ”, nous sont désormais données en exemple et en partage.
6. Quando una persona si rende disponibile interamente al soffio dell’amore di Dio, viene coinvolta in una “avventura” spirituale, che sfugge ad ogni umana previsione. La sua anima come vela s’apre al vento dello Spirito e Dio può spingerla secondo gli imperscrutabili disegni della sua provvidenziale Misericordia.
Così è stato per Madre Colomba Gabriel, che già dalla prima adolescenza pronunciò il suo “sì” pieno e sincero a Cristo, decisa a “non anteporre nulla al suo amore”, secondo, l’insegnamento del grande Padre Benedetto. Lo Spirito Santo, attraverso la via della sofferenza, la distaccò dalla terra d’origine, la condusse a lasciare tutto e a ricominciare da capo. In lei, infatti, il Signore aveva posto un carisma speciale: il dono dell’apostolato attivo della carità, da innestare sul tronco contemplativo della regola benedettina.
Com’è attuale, Madre Colomba, la missione da te vissuta e trasmessa alle tue Figlie! Oggi più che mai le nuove generazioni hanno bisogno di guide che siano testimoni fedeli di Dio: esse vanno alla ricerca di persone che chiamino alla vita con la voce del Cristo vivente. I giovani domandano – magari in modo implicito – educatori veri, animati da un profondo senso di maternità e paternità spirituale, né possessiva né dimissionaria, ma liberante con la forza della verità e dell’amore, con quella forza dolcissima che Dio solo può donare.
7. Un profondo desiderio di piena conformazione alla volontà di Dio caratterizzò anche l’intera vita di consacrazione della Beata Florida Cevoli, formata alla scuola spirituale di Santa Veronica Giuliani. Animata dallo Spirito di Verità, che conduce i credenti ad interiorizzare la Parola di Dio trasformando e santificando dall’interno la loro esistenza, la nuova Beata, nel suo ufficio di Abbadessa, seppe vivere con stile evangelico il suo compito, come vera serva delle Consorelle. Con l’esempio trascinò l’Ordine delle Clarisse Cappuccine alla generosa osservanza della regola francescana, in modo speciale per quel che riguarda la povertà, l’austerità e la semplicità della vita.
La riservatezza della clausura e il desiderio del raccoglimento in Dio non le impedirono tuttavia di accogliere e condividere i problemi della società circostante. L’intimità spirituale rese anzi maggiormente convinto ed efficace il suo interessamento, come testimonia sia la corrispondenza che tenne con alcuni personaggi influenti del suo tempo, sia l’autorevole mediazione da lei offerta per la pacificazione della popolazione di Città di Castello.
L’espressione “Iesus amor, fiat voluntas tua”, con cui costantemente iniziavano le sue lettere, ben riassume il senso profondo dell’intera sua esistenza, totalmente orientata all’amore di Gesù crocifisso e al servizio dei fratelli.
8. “Tutta la terra acclama il Signore”. Oggi, carissimi, una grande gioia si diffonde in questa Città, nella Roma di Pietro e di Paolo, e si espande fino alle regioni e ai Paesi d’origine dei Beati, da cui essi sono entrati nel mistero della Comunione dei Santi.
Ecco, essi hanno adorato il Signore, Cristo, nei loro cuori (1 Pt 3, 15). Nella potenza di Cristo, sono stati sempre pronti a rispondere a chiunque ha domandato ragione della speranza che era in loro (1 Pt 3, 15), della speranza che tutti ci unisce in quanto popolo messianico della Nuova ed Eterna Alleanza.
Siate benedetti, Fratelli e Sorelle, oggi proclamati Beati, per la gioia pasquale dell’odierna domenica. Voi avete dato questa grande gioia alla Chiesa mediante la testimonianza della vostra vita. Cristo ha vissuto in voi. Per vostro mezzo, Cristo viene oggi a noi e ci ripete: “Non vi lascerò orfani” (Gv 14, 18).
Vieni, Signore Gesù, e resta con noi!
© Copyright 1993 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana
Beata Maria Luisa di Gesù Trichet Cofondatrice
Poitiers, Francia, 7 maggio 1684 – Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre, Vandea, 28 aprile 1759
La beata francese Maria Luisa di Gesù Trichet, suora professa cofondatrice della Congregazione delle Figlie della Sapienza, fu primo membro dell'ordine e poi superiora generale. Giovanni Paolo II la beatificò il 16 maggio 1993.
Martirologio Romano: Nel villaggio di Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre in Francia, beata Maria Luisa di Gesù Trichet, vergine, che vestì come prima associata l’abito della Congregazione delle Figlie della Sapienza, che governò con saggezza.
Se il santo fondatore delle “Figlie della Sapienza”, Luigi Maria Grignion di Montfort, fu l’artefice della costituzione della Congregazione, in cui profuse il suo carisma, la beata Maria Luisa di Gesù Trichet, ne fu la reale organizzatrice e autentica cofondatrice, perché resse da sola per 43 anni, la responsabilità e la diffusione della benemerita Istituzione religiosa.
Maria Luisa Trichet, nacque a Poitiers in Francia, il 7 maggio 1684, quarta degli otto figli di Giuliano Trichet procuratore e Francesca Lecoq, genitori di grande fede, rettitudine e bontà.
In famiglia ricevette una solida educazione cristiana e culturale; a sette anni fu mandata dai genitori come alunna esterna, alla scuola retta dalle Figlie di Notre Dame a Poitiers, dove rimase fino ai 13 anni, ricevendo l’istruzione primaria per le ragazze di quel tempo; dalle suore acquisì una profonda devozione alla Madonna e una sensibilità caritativa.
A 17 anni, Maria Luisa Trichet incontrò il futuro santo, padre Luigi Maria Grignion di Montfort (1673-1716), fondatore nel 1705 dei Sacerdoti Missionari della Compagnia di Maria, che allora era cappellano dell’Ospedale Generale di Poitiers.
Fu un incontro di particolare grazia spirituale per Maria Luisa e che sarà determinante per il futuro della sua vita; padre Grignion divenne il suo confessore e visto la naturale disposizione della giovane a consacrarsi a Dio, le propose nel frattempo, di entrare immediatamente al servizio dell’ospedale.
Superando le difficoltà frapposte dai genitori, Maria
Luisa riuscì a farsi ammettere come aiutante della superiora delle suore; nel
1702, sempre più desiderosa di farsi religiosa, fece una breve esperienza fra
le Canonichesse di Sant’Agostino a Chatellerault, uscendone però per motivi di
salute.
Ritornata a Poitiers, riprese ad essere guidata da padre Luigi Grignion di Montfort, il quale aveva in animo di fondare una Congregazione religiosa femminile, e ispirato, vedeva in Maria Luisa la persona basilare della nuova comunità.
Ma i tempi non sembravano ancora maturi, per cui non ne parlava alla giovane, rassicurandola soltanto che sarebbe stata una religiosa.
Ma col trascorrere del tempo, Maria Luisa avvertiva insistentemente il desiderio di entrare in convento e ripetutamente lo chiedeva al confessore. Padre Luigi Maria, acconsentendo alla fine, quasi per scherzo le disse: “Vieni a vivere in Ospedale”; era una proposta sconcertante, difficile e inconcepibile a quel tempo, specie per lei, figlia della ricca borghesia.
Maria Luisa non si fece troppi scrupoli e decise di aderire a quell’invito, solo che le difficoltà sorsero dall’amministrazione dell’ospedale, che non poteva assumere altre governanti; allora lei con gesto coraggioso, si rivolse al vescovo per una lettera di presentazione, utile per entrare nell’ospedale in “qualità di povera”, e per servire i poveri.
Con questo stratagemma, nel gennaio 1703 entrò all’Ospedale di Poitiers, accolta dal cappellano Montfort, che la introdusse nel cenacolo “Sapienza”, un’associazione da lui creata, che comprendeva una dozzina di povere ricoverate molto virtuose, che vivevano la spiritualità della Sapienza, tema trattato con amore dal Montfort.
E lì, in quell’ambiente di miseria e di difficoltà per lei, Maria Luisa Trichet, si preparò, guidata dal cappellano, nella preghiera e al servizio della carità, alla missione di cofondatrice preparata per lei.
Il 2 febbraio 1703, ricevette come prima suora, l’abito della nuova Istituzione, le “Figlie della Sapienza”, l’abito era di grossolana stoffa grigia, con l’aggiunta di due importanti elementi, il crocifisso sul petto e la corona di grossi grani al fianco, per non dimenticare mai Gesù e Maria.
Modificò altresì il suo nome in Maria Ludovica di Gesù; quell’abito della nascente Congregazione, lo portò da sola per 10 anni, senza una compagna; furono anni di duro lavoro, di costante adesione alla volontà di Dio, spesso non chiara, vissuta però sempre con viva fede, superando difficoltà ed ostacoli enormi.
Furono dieci anni di solitudine, di attesa e d’incertezza, dove lavorava con zelo e gesti di carità, ostacolata dalle gelose governanti e dal 1705, privata anche dell’aiuto del Fondatore, che dovette lasciare l’Ospedale a causa di intrighi. Maria Luisa di Gesù, ebbe la consolazione di una compagna solo nel 1714, con la venuta di Caterina Brunet (Suora della Concezione).
Un anno dopo, nel 1715, dietro insistenza del Montfort, Maria Luisa lasciò per sempre Poitiers e si trasferì con la consorella Caterina Brunet, a La Rochelle, per fondare una scuola per ragazze; e a La Rochelle, sorse la prima comunità delle Figlie della Sapienza, con l’aggiunta di due nuove aderenti Maria Regnier (Suora della Croce) e Maria Valleau (Suora dell’Incarnazione).
Nel frattempo il fondatore, dopo aver consultato suor Maria Luisa, compose la Regola della Congregazione, fatta approvare dal vescovo diocesano, il 10 agosto 1715.
Ma l’ancor giovane Fondatore Grignion di Montfort, ad appena 43 anni, morì il 28 aprile 1716, lasciando madre Maria Luisa sola responsabile della nascente Congregazione e del suo sviluppo.
Nel 1719, la superiora lasciò La Rochelle, cercando di fondare una Casa madre nella sua città natale di Poitiers, ma il tentativo fallì, allora si trasferì a Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre in Vandea, sempre con l’intento di fondare la Casa Madre e il Noviziato.
Non mancarono difficoltà da affrontare, ma con coraggio le superò tutte e nel giugno 1720, riuscì finalmente a formare una piccola comunità, nella cosiddetta “Maison longue”, riuscendo man mano a trasformare la fragile comunità iniziale, in una fiorente congregazione.
Infatti due anni dopo, il 16 dicembre 1722, furono ammesse a professare i voti quattro novizie, nel contempo venivano aperte altre Case.
Nei 23 anni, dal 1725 al 1748, la cofondatrice si impegnò in prima persona, in tutta una serie di fondazioni di Case, con lo scopo primario di servizio ai più poveri; che ricordava con l’esempio alle sue suore, che l’imitavano a loro volta nello zelo.
Non si può non ricordare la casa di Niort, fondata nel 1729, dove compì atti di eroismo e di carità, tali da essere denominata spontaneamente dai derelitti, “Madre-Gesù”; anche le sue suore si prodigarono per quei poverissimi, sino a dare la vita stessa; parecchie di loro morirono di stenti, tanto che fu detto: “Niort, tomba delle Figlie della Sapienza”.
Madre Maria Luisa di Gesù, governò da sola la Congregazione per 43 anni, fondò una trentina di Case, che si svilupparono e moltiplicarono dopo la sua morte; piccole comunità di suore, per l’educazione dei bambini poveri, visite e cura degli ammalati, mensa per i mendicanti, assistenza ai poveri reclusi.
Assisterono e curarono nell’Isola di Oléron, soldati e marinai ammalati,; per queste impegnative esperienze, le Figlie della Sapienza ebbero affidato il governo di grandi ospedali marittimi della Francia, seguendo il motto della fondatrice “Bisogna che ami Dio nascosto nel tuo prossimo!”.
Non mancarono a lei, le sofferenze delle incomprensioni, anche fra le stesse sue figlie spirituali; affrontò la prova con un vero amore della Croce.
La sua instancabile quarantennale opera, fu sempre appoggiata dai successori di Grignion di Montfort, i superiori dei Missionari della Compagnia di Maria (Monfortani), a cui è affidata la direzione spirituale delle suore.
Incredibilmente, madre Maria Luisa di Gesù Trichet, morì nello stesso luogo, mese, giorno ed ora, della scomparsa del Fondatore, il 28 aprile 1759, a Saint-Laurent-sur Sèvre, a 75 anni, dei quali circa 60 trascorsi al servizio di Dio e per i fratelli sofferenti.
E nella chiesa parrocchiale di Saint Laurent, fu sepolta accanto alla tomba del fondatore e da subito si diffuse la fama della sua santità.
Negli anni della Rivoluzione Francese, l’orda rivoluzionaria travolse una cinquantina di Figlie della Sapienza; il numero delle suore si assottigliò, riprendendosi solamente nell’Ottocento, quando le attività rifiorirono e l’assistenza riprese sempre più vasta, scrivendo delle belle pagine nella storia religiosa della Francia.
La Congregazione delle “Figlie della Sapienza”, fu approvata nel 1853 da papa Pio IX e confermata da Pio X nel 1904. Nel 1964, la Congregazione raggiunse i 5000 membri, con un’attività estesa nei 5 continenti, in una trentina di Paesi; negli anni successivi il calo di numero delle suore europee, è stato rimpiazzato con fresche leve venute dal Terzo Mondo.
Madre Maria Luisa di Gesù Trichet, è stata proclamata Beata da papa Giovanni Paolo II, il 16 maggio 1993 a Roma.
La sua festa liturgica è il 28 aprile mentre la Congregazione delle Figlie della Sapienza la ricorda il 7 maggio.
Autore: Antonio Borrelli
SOURCE : http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/92542
Den salige Maria Louise Trichet (1684-1759)
Minnedag: 7.
mai
Den salige Maria Louise Trichet (fr: Marie-Louise) ble
født den 7. mai 1684 i Poitiers i Frankrike. Hun ble døpt samme dag i
sognekirken Saint-Etienne. Hun var den fjerde av åtte barn av advokaten Julien
Trichet og hans hustru Françoise Lecocq. Foreldrene var dypt kristne, og barna
fikk en solid kristen utdannelse hjemme og på skolen.
Den eldste, Jeanne, ble lammet i en alder av tretten
år, men hun ble kurert tre år senere under et besøk til Notre-Dame des
Ardilliers i Saumur. Den andre datteren, Elisabeth, var et år eldre enn Maria
Louise og hennes uatskillelige ledsager. Hun var uvanlig from og var kjent som
«engelen i familien». Den yngste søsteren, født etter at to barn var døde som
spedbarn, skulle senere slutte seg til kongregasjonen som Maria Louise da
ledet. Julien, den eldste sønnen, skulle følge sin far på den juridiske løpebane
og var den eneste av søsknene som giftet seg. Alexis, som var et år yngre enn
Maria Louise, ble presteviet i 1710. Da det brøt ut pest i en fangeleir, meldte
han seg frivillig til å gjøre tjeneste for ofrene. Men han ble selv smittet av
pesten og døde.
Da Maria Louise var syv år gammel, ble hun sendt til
kostskolen i Poitiers som ble drevet av søstrene til den hellige Johanna de Lestonnac.
Der skaffet hun seg de feminine og sosiale ferdighetene som var forventet av en
ungdom av klasse i Frankrike på 1600-tallet. Vi vet ikke hva som gjorde at hun
begynte å tenke på ordenslivet, men oftere og oftere dro hun til
generalhospitalet (Hôpital Général) i Poitiers, enten alene eller
sammen med sin søster Elisabeth. Sammen gikk de to hver dag til messe i
katedralen. Sammen pleide de også å besøke de fattige i deres hjem eller på
hospitalet.
I 1701 kom den hellige Ludvig Maria Grignion
de Montfort til Poitiers. Han prekte, hørte skriftemål og tilbrakte
mye tid hos de fattige på generalhospitalet, hvor han ble kapellan. Dette var
en institusjon som var opprettet for å holde de aller fattigste vekk fra
gatene, og dit tvangssendte byen sine tiggere, krøplinger og fylliker. Der
delte Ludvig Maria livet til de fattige pasientene og forsøkte å organisere
kvinnene som hjalp til der, i en religiøs kommunitet. Men det nektet de, og da
plukket han ut rundt tyve av de kvinnelige pasientene, alle fysisk handikappet
på en eller annen måte, og organiserte dem i en vordende kongregasjon med en
regel under en blind superior. Over døren til deres kommunitetsrom skrev han
ordet «Visdom».
En dag kom Elisabeth hjem etter å ha hørt en av hans
prekener, og hun utbrøt til sin søster: «Den predikanten er en helgen!» Den
17-årige Maria Louise hadde allerede bestemt seg for å gå til skrifte hos denne
presten og kanskje betro ham sine ønsker om et religiøst liv. Etter
skriftemålet satte Maria Louise seg under hans veiledning, og hun samtalte
inngående med ham om den videre kursen i sitt liv. Etter å ha fulgt en retrett
som han holdt, ble hun en hyppig besøkende i den lille kommuniteten av fattige
og syke kvinner som han hadde dannet.
Men dette tilfredsstilte ikke hennes aspirasjoner for
et kontemplativt liv. Hun ville tre inn i et kloster og søkte hans hjelp, men
han var ikke imøtekommende. I hans fravær bestemte hun seg for å tre inn hos
augustinerkanonissene i Châtellerault. Hun hadde ingen medgift, så hun måtte bli
legsøster. Dette betydde ingenting for henne. Men sykdom og et snev av
jansenisme sendte snart Madame Trichet for å hente sin datter tilbake. Da hun
kom tilbake til Poitiers, møtte hun Montford, og hun spurte ham: «Skal jeg bli
ordenssøster?» Svaret var uventet, men bestemt: «Gå og bo på hospitalet».
Maria Louise svarte straks ja. Det var imidlertid
ingen ledig stilling ved hospitalet, og da ba hun i et dristig og modig skritt
den ansvarlige biskopen om å få bo på hospitalet som en av de fattige, for dermed
å tjene de fattige på denne måten. Den 2. februar 1703 ikledde Ludvig Maria den
19-årige Maria Louise en grå drakt, og hun flyttet til hospitalet. I denne
fritt valgte situasjonen av trengsler og fattigdom forberedte hun seg på
oppgaven å grunnlegge et institutt sammen med sin veileder Ludvig Maria. Moren
sa: «Du kommer til å bli like gal som denne presten».
Det var imidlertid betydelig motstand mot Ludvig
Marias innblanding i organiseringen av sykehuset, og biskopen beordret ham også
til å gi opp sine populære misjoner i sognene fordi presteskapet motsatte seg
hans evangeliseringsmetoder. Derfor bestemte han seg for å vende tilbake til
Paris rundt påsken 1703. Han følte seg som en fiasko og hadde ennå ikke funnet
sitt kall.
Mange av presteskapet, og til og med noen av
biskopene, var smittet av jansenismen, og de bekjempet Ludvig Maria i
hemmelighet og åpent. Flere biskoper la ned forbud mot at han satte sin fot i
deres bispedømmer. Men de fattige i Poitiers hadde ikke glemt ham, og de ba ham
om å komme tilbake. Med biskopens samtykke vendte han tilbake for å bli
direktør for Hôpital Général, og nok en gang satte han i gang med reformer. Han
ble hjulpet i dette av Maria Louise. Men han møtte fortsatt motstand, og
biskopen og Maria Louise overtalte ham til å forlate hospitalet for andre gang.
Han begynte å preke misjoner i og rundt Poitiers. Men
hans suksess ser ut til å ha skapt misunnelse hos noen som biskopen lyttet til,
for i begynnelsen av fasten 1706 fikk han forbud mot å preke flere misjoner i
bispedømmet Poitiers. Deretter slo han seg ned i Bretagne. I ti år utførte
Maria Louise så perfekt som mulig sine ydmyke plikter som sykepleier alene,
uten Ludvig Maria. Gradvis ga administrasjonen henne større økonomisk og
materielt ansvar. Fra 1708 var hun vikar for den offisielle regnskapsføreren,
og fra 1711 hadde hun hele ansvaret for institusjonen. Da den fryktelige
epidemien brøt ut i 1710, fant hun seg nesten alene ved sykesengene, så stor
var frykten for å bli smittet.
I 1713 kom Ludvig Maria de Montfort på besøk til
Poitiers, og de to hadde lange og fruktbare samtaler. I 1714 inntraff den
trøstefulle begivenhet at en likesinnet kvinne endelig sluttet seg til henne,
Katarina Brunet. I 1711 hadde Montfort med godkjennelse fra biskop de
Champflour av La Rochelle i departementet Charente-Maritime holdt en misjon
der. Biskopen betrodde ham sitt ønske om å bygge skoler for de fattige barna i
bispedømmet. Montfort var enig med biskopen, og de bestemte å åpne to skoler,
en for gutter og en for jenter. Til jenteskolen ønsket Montfort hjelp av Maria
Louise.
Til tross for motstanden mot deres avreise dro Maria
Louise sammen med Katarina den 23. mars 1715 til La Rochelle. De to kvinnene
grunnla en kommunitet sammen med to nye medlemmer: Marie Régnier og Marie
Valleau. Dette betydde starten på kongregasjonen «Visdommens Døtre» (Les
Filles de la Sagesse – FdLS), som tilhører montfortanernes ordensfamilie. Søstrene
skulle arbeide med undervisning, sykepleie og hjemmepleie. Den 22. august 1715
avla de sine første løfter i Montforts hender med biskopens godkjennelse. I
løpet av kort tid hadde jenteskolen 400 elever, og deres store suksess vakte
beundring både fra jesuittene og fra biskop de Champflour.
Tidlig i mai 1716 kom det beskjed om at Ludvig Maria
de Montfort var død mens han holdt en misjon i Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre, bare 43
år gammel. Da besto kongregasjonen av fem søstre, hvorav en novise. Maria, med
ordensnavnet Maria Louise av Jesus (Marie-Louise de Jésus), ledet
kongregasjonen i førti år. Den ble approbert i 1748 av pave Benedikt XIV
(1740-58).
Etter at søstrene dro fra Poitiers, var situasjonen
ved hospitalet gått fra dårlig til verre. I 1719 bestemte administrasjonen seg
for å be søstrene om å vende tilbake. De tilbød Maria Louise muligheten til å
etablere sitt moderhus og novisiat ved hospitalet. Maria Louise aksepterte, og
sammen med Katarina (søster av Unnfangelsen) og Maria Anna (søster av St.
Josef) vendte hun tilbake til hjembyen.
Men administratorene var bare interessert i
hospitalet, så i kontrakten inkluderte de to klausuler som var uakseptable for
grunnleggersken: Styret skulle utnevne superioren, og halvparten av novisenes
medgift skulle tilfalle hospitalet. Maria Louise var ikke villig til å gå på
akkord med instituttets selvstyre, så hun avslo. Men et tilfeldig møte på gaten
i Poitiers løste situasjonen. En dag møtte hun Jacques Goudeau, en from legmann
og en disippel av Montford. Han foreslo for Maria Louisa at hun skulle kontakte
Madame de Bouillé, en kvinne kurert av de Montfort, i Saint-Laurent, hvor
grunnleggeren var gravlagt.
Madame de Bouillé var mer enn villig til å hjelpe
døtrene av den hellige misjonæren. Først var dekanen ved Saint-Laurent
velvillig innstilt til den planlagte grunnleggelsen. Han innkalte innbyggerne
til et møte, og de gikk med på forslaget. En kveld i juni 1720 kom Maria Louise
til Saint-Laurent. Hennes første besøk var til sin åndelige fars grav før hun
dro til Maison Longue, som Madame de Bouillé hadde kjøpt til henne. Det
var forfallent og manglet selv det aller nødvendigste. Det skulle fungere som
moderhus for kongregasjonen i ekstrem fattigdom i flere år.
Det oppsto problemer, ikke minst motstanden fra
dekanen, M. Rougeau de la Jarrie, som hadde forventet en viss hjelp i sitt sogn
som de lutfattige søstrene ikke var i stand til å gi. En søster ga gratis
undervisning til jenter, en besøkte de syke i deres hjem, men hadde lite å gi
dem. Og søstrenes kommunitetsliv var for monastisk i stilen for dekanen. Men
grunnleggersken var fast bestemt på å være trofast mot sin misjon og etablere
et novisiat.
Novisene ankom, noen av adelig byrd, andre av beskjeden
opprinnelse, og alle ble mottatt med den samme varme. De ble formet i det
religiøse liv av Maria Louise selv i henhold til regelen og Montforts åndelige
doktrine. Madame de Bouillé ønsket i sin entusiasme å delta i kommunitetens
liv, men hennes to unge barns naturlige overstrømmelighet var et konstant
hinder for den smule ro som var mulig. Hennes sterkt uttrykte synspunkter, som
var langt fra de samme som grunnleggerskens, var ofte mer på linje med
dekanens. Det ble nødvendig at hun måtte dra.
Men ved å separere seg fra sin velgjørerske mistet
kommuniteten verdifulle ressurser. Men for medgiften fra visse noviser ble det
kjøpt land som ga noen inntekter. Men dette skapte også nye problemer i form av
fiendtlige naboer, som anga søstrene til myndighetene som landeiere som unndro
seg skatt. Saken ble avvist. Mange år senere, under den store tørken i 1739,
fikk Maria Louise både takknemlighet og kjærlighet fra både folket og
sognepresten da hun etter å ha delt sine hvetelagre med dem, forhandlet frem
større forsyninger av ris til dem fra myndighetene.
Da Maria Louise grunnla sitt moderhus, forsto hun at
det var behov for en åndelig veileder, og hvem kunne være bedre enn den mannen
Ludvig Maria hadde pekt ut til sin etterfølger på dødsleiet, p. René Mulot. Hun
søkte og fikk tillatelse fra biskopen til at p. Mulot skulle få denne
stillingen, og samtidig ble p. Adrian Valot og legbrødrene Mathurin Rangeard og
Joseau ønsket velkommen til Saint-Laurent. Dermed var det Maria Louise som
sørget for at Montforts disipler samlet seg i Saint-Laurent.
I 1722 samlet patrene og brødrene seg i sin nye
residens, valgte sin superior og avla sine løfter i hans nærvær. En adelsmann,
marki de Magnanne, en slektning av Madame de Bouillé, ga dem et gammelt
vertshus som var kjent som «Den grønne eika», som tjente som residens i pausene
mellom misjonene. I 1723 hadde søstrenes antall økt til ni, og Maison Longue
viste seg for lite. Da foretok de to kommunitetene et vennlig bytte av
residenser. Novisene fortsatte å komme, så tiden var inne for nye
grunnleggelser. De første søstrene som forlot moderhuset, dro til Rennes,
hovedstaden i Bretagne. I 1724 overtok Visdommens døtre en veldedig skole som
var grunnlagt ab marki de Magnanne.
Da Maria Louise hadde forlatt La Rochelle i 1719,
hadde hun etterlatt de to søstrene som var derfra, Marie Valois (søster av
Inkarnasjonen) og Marie Regnier (søster av Korset). Separasjonen var ment å
være midlertidig, men den trakk ut og utviklet seg nesten til et skisma. Etter
dårlige råd fra flere etterfølgende veiledere og kolleger avskaffet de to
søstrene den grå drakten og navnet Visdommens døtre. De fortsatte å følge
regelen de hadde fått av Montfort, men de fungerte som et uavhengig institutt
og tok til og med mot postulanter. I 1725 var de åtte og drev skolene
Saint-Nicholas, Esnandes og Chaillé, da deres veileder, M. Bourgine, på vegne
av hospitalets styr tilbød dem å administrere generalhospitalet.
På dette tidspunktet grep Maria Louise inn. Hun dro
til La Rochelle, og ved hjelp av mild overtalelse fikk hun i stand en
forsoning. Hun forhandlet personlig frem kontrakten mellom hospitalet og
kongregasjonen. Senere, etter anmodning fra sognet og befolkningen, dro hun til
Ile de Ré for å etablere en ny kommunitet i La Flotte.
Søstrene var på dette tidspunktet 24, inkludert
aspiranter i fem kommuniteter: I Saint-Laurent, Rennes, La Rochelle, Esnandes
og La Flotte-en-Ré. Instituttet fortsatte å utvikle seg. Fra 1729 til 1759
etablerte grunnleggersken tretti nye kommuniteter, sosiale institusjoner hvor
søstrene underviste barn, besøkte de fattige og pleide de syke uten betaling.
Deres utgifter ble dekket av sognebarna og velgjørere. De drev også
institusjoner hvor de bodde sammen med foreldreløse, eldre og handikappede som
var betrodd deres omsorg. I tillegg var det hospitaler som det i La Rochelle
eller i Niort, hvor administratorer leide deres tjenester.
I en alder av 66 år foretok Maria Louise en siste lang
og strevsom reise på hesteryggen til alle sine grunnleggelser. Det var en
visitasjon som ga henne den tilfredsstillelsen at alle søstre levde trofast
etter den opprinnelige regelen, og søstrene fikk gleden av et siste møte og en
sjanse til å lytte til hennes siste formaninger. Hun vendte tilbake til
moderhuset for aldri å forlate det igjen.
Men hun måtte gjennom en siste prøvelse som kom fra
hennes egen kommunitet. En søster som forblir anonym, startet en kampanje mot
henne med den intensjon å erstatte henne som leder for kommuniteten. Den nye
generalsuperioren for montfortanerne, nyutnevnt og uerfaren, trodde på
bakvaskelsene mot grunnleggersken, som aksepterte ydmykelsene og
irettesettelsene i taushet, mens hun fortsatte å styre med mildhet og
selvutslettelse. Da rettferdigheten skjedde fyllest på slutten av året,
behandlet hun den opprørske søsteren med den største nestekjærlighet og omsorg.
Deretter var Maria Louise utsatt for en ulykke, et
fall som forårsaket flere måneders lidelse, tålmodig båret. Så ble hun rammet
av en siste sykdom. Hun døde den 28. april 1759 i Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre i
departementet Vendée i Frankrike, 74 år gammel. Hun døde samme dag, samme
tidspunkt og selv samme sted som Ludvig Maria de Montfort. De er begge gravlagt
i basilikaen Saint-Laurent i Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre. Den 19. september 1996
kom pave Johannes Paul II (1978-2005) for å meditere og be ved deres graver.
Ved hennes død var det 174 søstre i 36 kommuniteter.
Etter hennes død vokste kongregasjonen sterkt frem til 1792. Under Den franske
revolusjon mistet de hele femti søstre. I tiårene som fulgte bidro
kongregasjonen sterkt til gjenoppbyggingen av Kirken i Frankrike i den
kvinnelige delen av befolkningen. I det antiklerikale Frankrike på slutten av
1800-tallet fikk de ikke lenger lov til å bære ordensdrakt i offentlige skoler
og sykehus. Som et resultat trakk mange seg ut av arbeidet som lærere og
sykepleiere, og noen forlot Frankrike for å grunnlegge kommuniteter i andre
land. I 1964 nådde kongregasjonen sitt høydepunkt med 5000 medlemmer i tretti
land på fem kontinenter. Kongregasjonen har i dag rundt 2.500 medlemmer.
Den 10. juli 1990 ble hennes «heroiske dyder»
anerkjent og hun fikk tittelen Venerabilis («Ærverdig»). Den 7. mars
1992 undertegnet pave Johannes Paul II (1978-2005) dekretet fra
Helligkåringskongregasjonen som godkjente et mirakel på hennes forbønn. Maria
Louise ble saligkåret av paven den 16. mai 1993 i Roma. Hennes minnedag er 7.
mai, men dødsdagen 28. april nevnes også.
Kilder: Day,
Holböck (4), Resch (B3), Index99, Infocatho, Abbaye Saint-Benoît, ewtn.com,
montfort.org, daughtersofwisdom.org, albertasource.ca - Kompilasjon og
oversettelse: p. Per Einar Odden -
Sist oppdatert: 2005-07-01 21:18
SOURCE : http://www.katolsk.no/biografier/historisk/mtrichet
Marie Louise of
Jesus. Jesus living in Mary: Handbook of the spirituality of
St. Louis de Montfort : http://www.ewtn.com/library/Montfort/Handbook/Marloui.htm
