with an historical speech
BISHOP OF TARENTAISE,
DELIVERED ON MONDAY, AUGUST 19, 1867
GENTLEMEN (*),
MY DEAREST BROTHERS,
The one you see here at this moment has come to take part in your beautiful feasts, but he did not expect to ascend into this pulpit.
However, a bishop, if he does not make an eloquent speech, can always address to the faithful some words of edification and salvation.
(*) Mgr Magnin, Bishop of Annecy; The Most Reverend Vibert, Bishop of Saint-Jean-de
Maurienne.
Let me therefore tell you, dear Brothers, that it is with joy that I have rushed to attend this magnificent solemnity in honour of the illustrious Saint whose sacred relic I am fortunate to have before me. Since I have been in your midst, I seem to breathe an atmosphere of faith and piety, which spreads a precious balm on my heart and gently moves it.
It has been given to me to see, on other occasions, the people crowding in crowds to hear the sacred word, in order to rebuild their faith and fidelity to religious convictions. I found all this here; I have seen the pilgrims surround this venerated shrine with their respects and pray with love in these holy ceremonies.
But what I contemplated above all with joy, what was for me a subject of consolation and edification, were those long processions of good Christians, inhabitants of the countryside, coming from afar singing sacred hymns on the road, to kneel, in their turn, before the imperishable remains of Saint Jeanne-Françoise de Chantal!
No, these feasts will not pass without something left; No, all those who have made the pious pilgrimage will not return home without bringing back to their own palpable proof that they have re-established their faith in the holy practices of religion.
The day before last night, when I first set foot in this church, my eyes fell on the following inscription:
She has conquered, she is glorious.
Yes, great Saint, yes you have conquered the world, you have conquered the flesh, you have conquered the devil, and, in this triple respect, you are an example to all!
Ah! my dear Brothers, if I could bring into your hearts the great thought contained in these words…
Saint Jeanne-Françoise de Chantal defeated these terrible enemies against whom men have fought and will always fight, whatever their condition here on earth!
She defeated the world …..
Alas! As you know, the examples given by the world are not examples of sanctification and virtue; It often takes courage to maintain one’s faith and not be dragged by the fatal current.
Well! Saint Jeanne-Françoise de Chantal had this courage: she conquered the world.
Ah! really, today we need Saints Françoise de Chantal in the world, it would take much to inspire in all the practice of virtues and to strengthen by their example the faith shaken; for many who admire her do not even attempt to practice the virtues to the same degree as she is, this is a purely sterile admiration.
Whenever the saints are mentioned, they are admired, incense is burned at their feet, hymns are sung in their honour; it’s good, but it’s not enough we must not only admire the Saints, we must imitate them. I hope that you will all be imbued with this great truth, and that none of you will return home without a lively and sincere sense of faith, a complete devotion to the holy religion of Jesus Christ.
Certainly, it is a beautiful spectacle that is offered here in my eyes; Yet there is one thought that saddens me: it is to see that we do not know how to give today a solid enough basis to our belief; what we lack is the firmness yes, the firmness of our religious convictions, the courage to fulfill our obligations to God in all circumstances and before anyone. Today, we must overcome the world to affirm our faith.
Well! Saint Joan Frances had this courage: she fought against the world! She has conquered, she is glorious.
This report is a model of perfection for all ages, for all sexes, for all conditions.
Saint Jane Frances, at least, was understood by those whose Mother she was: see with what veneration her holy daughters of the Visitation surround her! See how they study her life, to know the smallest details, to practice her virtues and to walk in the path that has been laid out for them!
Dear Sisters, continue to admire your Saint always, not with sterile admiration, but with practical admiration! You follow in her footsteps, you know how she triumphed over the world by her humility and by the heroism of her virtue! You seek to fight against the inclinations of nature, following the example of this Blessed Mother: well! Glory to you!
But it is not only, I repeat, to you, dear Sisters, that the illustrious Saint can serve as a model. Today, unbridled luxury reigns everywhere; It is needed in private life, it is needed on the table, it is needed in furniture, finally everywhere. Under the empire of this love of luxury, such a young person, who had remained pure and holy until then, gave vanity and pride in the trap set for him; It has fallen: it is now only a faded flower.
Oh! Young women, to avoid this supreme danger, come, when the devil tempts you, come and ask Saint Jane Frances to preserve you from the fall and to inspire you with the strength to overcome the world as she conquered it.
And you, mothers of families, poor mothers, who have to fulfill so many duties as wives, as mothers, as Christians, as mistresses of the house, you will find, when you have to overcome the world, a perfect example of the mother, the wife, the Christian, the mistress of the house, in the life of this Saint whom you venerate!
And you, venerable Pontiff of Jesus Christ, you, priests who listen to me, we all have to draw a lesson from this
generosity, in that self-denial that has brought to light holy
Jeanne-Françoise de Chantal, and whose world was scandalized! We too have sacrifices to make, a work that is sometimes difficult to pursue; there must be in our hearts that love and generosity that Saint Frances of Chantal possessed so well, we must be able to say with Saint Augustine “When one loves, nothing costs.”
But this strong woman not only defeated the world, she also defeated the devil. During her youth, this hidden enemy pursued her everywhere, as he prowls around his victim, seeking the right moment to induce him into temptation. <<Be strong and you will resist,” Scripture tells us. JeanneFrances obeyed this voice, and she triumphed over the devil as she had conquered the world.
Touching example that should warn us against the innumerable temptations to which we are exposed. Saint Frances of Chantal shows us that, in order to escape the peril, we need this complete submission, this absolute dependence of our holy Mother Church, which will always be the rule of conduct of the Christian. It is necessary, I repeat, a complete submission to your Pastors, and, above all, to him who represents Jesus Christ on earth, to the Supreme Pontiff whom Providence has placed at the head of the Church and who holds with such a firm hand the rudder of the boat of Saint Peter barque tossed in the midst of the furious waves of the Ocean, always pushed against pitfalls and always supported by the hand of God. We will therefore imitate the example of Saint Frances of Chantal by the liveliness of our faith, by the dependence of our superiors. If you follow this rule, dear Brothers, if you obey this compass, you will never go astray…
Saint Jeanne-Françoise de Chantal also conquered the flesh. We carry within us three concupiscences: the concupiscence of the eyes, the concupiscence of the flesh and the pride of life, that terrible and implacable enemy of man. Today, this triple source of evil has taken on in us the dimensions
of an impetuous torrent that rolls furiously, threatening to come out of its natural bed at any moment.
Men have the concupiscence of the eyes, that is, the love of gold, silver, properties, domains, and the more they possess, the more they have acquired, the more they want to possess, the more they want to acquire. Ah! This unbridled love of goods can be compared, with the poet, to a certain disease that produces a burning thirst, which redoubles in intensity as it is quenched. This is how today lovers of the goods of the world, without any restraint, embark on the pursuit of treasures, always eager to reach more than they possess.
Saint Jeanne-Françoise de Chantal had to fight this disease, which causes so much havoc in our time; She too had the lust of her eyes, she tamed it and she took a vow of poverty. It has completely renounced the transient and frivolous goods of this world, it has rejected this need for enjoyments that are binding on man only as much as he does not have the courage to detach himself from them.
Man carries within himself the concupiscence of the flesh, that is, sensuality. The senses! alas! It is, in our time, the yawning abyss into which all souls will sink. Everywhere, in what we do, in what we see, our senses must experience satisfaction in the senses! This is the pitfall against which we will break. Saint Jeanne-Françoise de Chantal avoided it: she conquered her inclinations and devoted her entire life to poverty; She spent it in the practice of mortification.
In this respect, the members of the family she founded proved themselves worthy of their Foundress. I would like to tell you about the life that the Holy Daughters of the Order of the Visitation lead, I would like you to attend their work, what they do from morning to night, I would like to describe to you the simplicity of their cells. Come in, and you’ll see, for everything
furnishing two wooden chairs, a table, a poor bed, for every ornament an image, sometimes two.
If you attended their meals, you would see how frugal the rule is! Not that health is neglected; No, if a particular food becomes necessary, it is granted; but otherwise what simplicity! What an absence of luxury!
Oh! it is by this means that one learns to defeat the demon of the flesh , this is how one follows the example of the venerable Foundress of the Order.
Man carries within himself not only the concupiscence of eyes and flesh, he also carries the concupiscence of pride, the most terrible of all, perhaps, for woe betide him who would hurt our self-esteem!
Saint Jeanne-Françoise de Chantal conquered this passion. By birth, she belonged to an honorable family, she was rich, she could aspire to the highest ranks of society, but she voluntarily renounced all this, she consented to separate herself from the world and to confine herself to the bottom of a cloister to practice humility and mortification and reduce human pride to nothingness.
Great Saint, your virtues move the masses, your name makes the faithful tremble with happiness, because you have conquered the world, flesh and pride, glory to you!
And for us, dear Brothers, let us continue to venerate her precious remains, ask for her intercession, so that she may obtain divine grace for us.
Above all, let us ask her two things, the most precious of all, the courage to fight like her our enemies, the world, the flesh and the devil, and to be able to defeat them as she defeated them. If we are victorious, like her, we can say that she has conquered beyond her time, and we can hope, in our turn, to have a reflection of her glory one day. And, in order to obtain this grace, let us have the firm will not to end these solemnities without having testified to our
deep attachment to faith and religion through the reception of the sacraments.
This morning I saw your venerable Pontiff receive the many pilgrims who flocked from all sides to attend these feasts, and, hearing him speak, I felt that his fatherly wombs were moved with joy and consolation at the aspect of their piety and fervor. I congratulate him here, and I desire that this piety and fervor become the sharing of all.
This common edification will bring you happiness: divine happiness will descend upon the family of Saint Jeanne-Françoise de Chantal, upon you, dear Sisters, and upon this entire city, to which you learn, through your virtues, how the spirit of God is manifested to us.
These are the words that the one who begs heaven to bless you in time and especially during eternity had to address to you.
Source: Allocutions et Discours prononcés à Annecy dans l’église du premier … – Google Books