We continue the life of our foundress: Sister Marie of the Sacred Heart Bernaud, a discreet figure who lived in the shadow of her work and yet was its tireless driving force throughout her life.
Growth and Controversy
The Guard of Honor thus experienced a meteoric rise, yet it encountered numerous criticisms outside the convent. Some prelates were afraid that Sister Marie of the Sacred Heart would create her devotion, that she would “overdo it.” The very name “Guard of Honor” was contested! Then, opposition arose to challenge “the wound in the Heart of Jesus” as well as the “most precious Offering” mentioned by the sister.
Bishop de Langalerie was shaken by the opposition, which did not give up. Indeed, during his ad limina visit to Rome, even though he was encouraged by the Pope, he faced criticism from some members of the Curia. Why create a new devotion? Wouldn’t this distort the meaning of devotion to the Heart of Jesus? Why emphasize the wound in the side when the spirituality of the Heart of Jesus lacks this emphasis? Etc. Mgr. de Langalerie, while supportive of the work itself and having always defended it, was no longer certain that it was moving in the right direction. He therefore prohibited any further spiritual development: it would remain with what had been given to the foundation.
Moreover, with external requests becoming more and more numerous, the life of the monastery was disrupted. For a time, it was considered that Sister Bernaud would be banned from continuing to look after the Guard of Honor, but thanks to the presence of a young woman who came to lend her a hand, young Marie Deluil-Martiny, her activity was only slightly reduced. It must be acknowledged that she was the only one to look after the Guard of Honor. So she continued. No one noticed the inner struggles, the crosses she bore. She offered everything!
On the contrary, she redoubled her efforts: she composed notes and wrote letters for everyone, encouraging and stimulating their faith. In a spirit of obedience, she only revealed the contents of her soul to her superiors and in the notebooks she kept. A profound peace dwelled within her, even though she was deeply affected by these oppositions and suspicions. On June 24, 1870, the feast of Saint John the Baptist, she wrote her offering as a victim, signing it with her blood.
A New Ordeal
In the aftermath, the Franco-Russian conflict between the Second French Empire began and spread to Bourg-en-Bresse. Poorly advised, the sisters, who had planned to move due to the excessive restoration costs of the monastery, which was in poor condition, acquired a new property that also needed to be renovated. But as it was in danger of being requisitioned by the soldiers, the bishop quickly had them move in. Unfortunately, it lacked everything. The situation was worse than in the old convent. Sister Marie of the Sacred Heart made do with a poor cell where she lived in seclusion, always alone to compose, organize, and dispatch all the elements of the work. As for Bishop Langalerie, he was appointed to Auch and replaced by Bishop Richard, who discovered the sisters’ dramatic situation, both in terms of their sad settlement and their catastrophic finances.
Adding to the already difficult living conditions were deprivations of all kinds to meet even the most basic needs. The bursar sister was forced to perform perpetual acrobatics to try to barely feed the community, and the nurse lamented that she could only comfort the suffering with broths and herbal teas. The most vulnerable ended up in the infirmary, and there were many of them there. All of this led to a considerable decline in vocations. Sister Marie of the Sacred Heart’s pain had now become chronic. Her liver was causing her pain, and she suffered several acute attacks that left her in a moribund state for a time before she was miraculously restored. However, for greater safety, she had to be placed in a tiny infirmary of just a few square meters, where, for another 30 years, hidden away, “a thousand miles from the earth,” as she liked to say, she continued her enormous work of writing and correspondence from all over the world.
Heartbroken
Meanwhile, two bishops had succeeded one another. Bishop Soubiranne, who arrived in the Diocese in 1880, found himself in the situation of the Visitation, struggling to overcome its difficulties. Unfortunately, thinking he was helping the community, he took unfortunate steps. He raises such alarm about the sisters’ catastrophic financial situation that, as a result, the number of boarders drops drastically. Who would put their children in a facility on the verge of ruin? Worse, he is convinced that the monastery is no longer able to manage the Guard of Honor! In fact, he decided to build a basilica dedicated to the Sacred Heart in the Bel-Air district of Bourg-en-Bresse. Anticipating the completion of the project, he announced that the headquarters of the archconfraternity would leave the monastery and be transferred there. Without even consulting the sisters, he planned to tear the work from its cradle.
It was the heart of Sister Marie of the Sacred Heart that was torn out. She wrote: “In all my long career of suffering, no year has equaled this year, 1881… But,” she immediately added, “the Cross is a grace, it shapes according to the will of the Divine Spouse.” Then, in another letter addressed to her friend Marie Deluil Martiny, who had since become Mother Mary of Jesus: “What will become of this beloved work? I abandon myself.” Having worked for the glory of the Heart of Jesus is a thousand times more happiness than my baseness deserved. But neither you nor I will forget the pure joys and intimate sorrows this work of the Wounded Heart has brought us!
Birth of the Dial of Mercy
Despite this, the Honor Guard continued to evolve spiritually and to become more defined. On June 16, 1882, the feast day of the Sacred Heart, at the initiative of Father Perrérant, a new dial was inaugurated, intended for sinners, for whom the Honor Guards pledged to offer an additional hour for their conversion. Thus was born the very first Dial of Mercy! “I see fulfilled here the words of our Lord Jesus to Blessed Margaret Mary, ‘that through this devotion to His Divine Heart, He would withdraw a great number of souls from the path of perdition that Satan already believed he held,'” wrote Sister Marie of the Sacred Heart.
The sacrifice made and accepted by having the management of the work removed from her thus bore unexpected fruit.
Back to the Cradle
When Bishop Soubiranne left the diocese to make way for Bishop Luçon, the Guard of Honor was in very poor shape; it was clear that, cut off from its maternal breast, it was in decline. The new bishop therefore made every effort to multiply his approaches to Rome to have the headquarters of the Archconfraternity returned to the Visitation Sisters… Finally, on June 25, 1891, to the great joy of Sr. Marie of the Sacred Heart Bernaud, and the delight of all the Visitandines, it was accomplished! The ordeal had lasted seven long years.
To be continued