Sister Saint-Pierre and the work of reparation : a brief history by the Very Rev. P. Janvier ... Translated by Miss Mary Hoffman Chapter 9. The Confraternity Of The Holy Face

AFTER the death of Sister Saint-Pierre two works, closely allied in spirit to the Reparation and the Adoration of the Holy Sacrament, came from her virginal tomb like two miraculous flowers — the Congregation devoted to Perpetual Adoration, founded by Mile. Dubouche, in religion Mother Mary Teresa ; and the Nocturnal Adoration by men, inaugurated by the celebrated Jew pianist, Hermann, later Father Marie-Augustine, of the Order of Discalced Carmelites. But it was M. Dupont who, in the designs of God, had the special mission to carry out and develop the work shown to the Carmelite of Tours for the salvation of France: the Work of Reparation for blasphemy and the profanation of Sunday by the cultus of the Holy Face.

Towards the close of the Lenten season of 1851 he exposed in his private oratory an engraving of the Sorrowful Face of our Lord, an authentic facsimile of the Veil of Veronica preserved in the Vatican Basilica. Miracles ere long became manifest. The man of God rejoiced, because he beheld in them a proof of the truth of the revelations made to Sister Marie de Saint-Pierre. To the end he hoped the life and writings of the venerable Sister would be published. Understanding their worth, he knew how much good they would effect. His hope was realized. In 1876, before his earthly career ended, he learned that the Archbishop of Tours, Mgr. Colet, had issued orders that insured their being presented to the world. With a radiant face he blessed God, and, with his gaze turned towards the Carmelite convent, peaceably expired on the 18th of March. On his death his oratory, where for twenty-five years the Holy Face had been honored, was at once transformed into a public chapel. Mgr. Colet officiated on the occasion of its dedication. At the same time he established in this sanctuary the Confraternity of the Reparation for Blasphemy and for the Profanation of Sunday, affiliating it to that of St. Dizier already erected. Using his power as Ordinary, he gave to this Confraternity of Tours a distinct character, and made of it, properly speaking, a Confraternity of the Holy Face, which was really the embodiment of Sister Saint-Pierre's inspirations. Finally, to minister to the new chapel and attend to the spiritual wants of the pilgrims who flocked from all parts thither, the worthy successor of St. Martin instituted, under the title of " Priests of the Holy Face," a society of regular clergy living in community in the house formerly occupied by M. Dupont, and who, following in his footsteps and under his auspices, would devote themselves to all the Works of Reparation.

Since then the Oratory of the Holy Face has become a centre of prayers and expiations to which the gaze and hearts of numbers turn, not only from all parts of France, but, in truth, from all Christendom.

Nor was it long before other Confraternities of the Holy Face, similar to the one founded at Tours by Mgr. Colet, were established in many cities. Letters from all parts of the world are received soliciting pictures of the Holy Face like the one so long venerated by M. Dupont, which was an authentic facsimile of the Veil of Veronica. It would be impossible to calculate the number of the holy pictures exposed in various places (and nearly always with a lamp burning before them)—in cathedrals, parish churches, public chapels, private houses and oratories, in hospitals, and in the enclosure of religious communities. The Priests of the Holy Face at Tours have charged themselves with the pious duty of obtaining these pictures (the facsimile of Veronica's Veil) from Rome and facilitating their distribution, or rather, we should say, supplying the demand for them, which is a consequence of the recognition of the wants of our age; so natural is the idea of Reparation, so befitting and salutary, so powerful in attracting souls.

This need of Reparation is urgent; all Catholic hearts welcome its appearance, If it be true that France, God's privileged nation, the Eldest Daughter of the Church, be the most guilty, because " much shall be demanded from her to whom much has been given"; that blasphemy in her midst is more audacious, and profanations of God's Holy Days more perverse; should not every generous Christian soul feel called upon to labor zealously in establishing and propagating this Work of Reparation so urgently demanded, in our Lord's Name, by the Carmelite of Tours ? What is more natural and just than to unite our efforts in repairing what impiety and hatred of God have combined to corrupt and ruin? The Work revealed to the admirable virgin whose history has been related is at the same time, as she herself says, "a necessity of justice and a pledge of mercy." Let our efforts be in common, let us unite ourselves in striving fervently to appease Divine Justice; then it will be our consolation to experience , only the effects of mercy, which will be all the more abundant as our Reparation has been prompt and fervent.

CONDITIONS

For being Received into the Confraternity of 

the Reparation of the Holy Face.

1. To be inscribed on the Register of the Confraternity where it is canonically established.

2. To obtain a copy of the Regulations, wherewith will be found the ticket of admission.

3. To wear at all times the Cross of the Confraternity.

4. Never to blaspheme, and to do all one can to prevent blasphemy.

5. When not possible to prevent these crimes, to make, at least, an interior act of Reparation for them.

6. To recite daily a Pater, Ave, and Gloria Patri, " with the Act of Praise," in union with the Associates, in the spirit of Reparation.

Joining or Starting a Holy Face Confraternity

Sister Saint-Pierre and the work of reparation : a brief history by the Very Rev. P. Janvier ... Translated by Miss Mary Hoffman Chapter 8. Her Last Sickness-Her Death.

THE mission of the Sister was accomplished. According to the designs of God there remained for her but to perfect the sacrifice which she had so often made of herself. Already her health was beginning to fail. At the close of the Lent of 1848 she entered upon those sufferings which, uniting her more and more to Jesus Crucified, were to crown her pure, holy life by an admirable death.

On Good Friday, at three o'clock, when prostrate on the ground adoring Jesus Christ dying on the Cross, it was revealed to her that the divine wrath was about to descend upon men.
Immediately, renewing her act of perfect abandonment, she offered herself to God as a victim to appease his irritated justice. It seemed as if the Lord had awaited this last and generous offering before immolating his courageous victim, for immediately was developed that long and painful sickness which caused her final dissolution. She was consumed by a burning fever; her throat became ulcerated ; her tongue and mouth were as if incessantly pierced by cruel thorns—a noticeable fact, since our Lord had told her she must pray and suffer for blasphemers. Night after night she was unable to take the slightest repose; each change of position on her bed became a new martyrdom; ulcers were formed, which added to her sufferings. This frightful state for human nature she bore without the least injury to her interior disposition; her patience never waned, her union with God was continual, her spirit of sacrifice entire and without reserve, her docility, innocence, and simplicity like that of a child.

Early in June she received the Holy Viaticum and Extreme Unction with a fervor and rapture that made it seem that she already had a foretaste of the eternal joys in store for her. On Friday, the 16th of June, they thought her dying, and began the Prayers for the Agonizing. Perfectly conscious, she united with the pious nuns by making frequent aspirations. Suddenly she entered into a supernatural state, the effects of which were very apparent. When, after the recommendations of the departing soul, they pronounced these words, " Maria, mater gratiæ, mater misericordiæ" she impulsively threw up her arms toward heaven with the eagerness of a child at the sight of its mother. She remained a long time in this position, although a few moments before so weak and stiff were her arms that they seemed immovable. Afterwards she extended them in the form of a cross, in order to expire as a victim. When the dear nuns attempted to prevent it she said: " Leave me thus; for me it is a duty." Alternately taking her crucifix and the little statue of the Infant Jesus which never quitted her, she covered them with kisses and pressed them to her heart. Then, holding the little statue as high as possible, she pronounced in a low, solemn tone these words : " Eternal Father ! once more I offer this Adorable Child, thy Divine Son, in expiation of my sins and those of the human race, for the needs of the Holy Church, for France and the Reparation. Amiable Jesus, I abandon this work into thy hands; for it I have lived, for it I shall die." Then, placing the statue on her head, she said: " Divine Child, cover my criminal head with the merits of thy Precious Blood; renew in my soul grace and innocence; clothe me in thy purity and the spirit of thy humility. Oh! hasten unto me! When shall I leave earth? Come, O my Jesus, and delay not! Mary, my tender Mother, come for my soul! "

She said to the Mother-Prioress : " My career is finished, as our Lord has made known to me; for the Work of Reparation which is to save France is established. It was for this God placed me on earth. Now I have but to suffer; it is necessary for the accomplishment of his designs. Ah! how true it is that he has means of satisfying his justice unknown to man."
Her agony was long and painful. As death approached she recollected that our Lord had promised to restore to her soul at the last hour the image of God, and she wished to renew her baptismal vows; as a symbol of the grace she desired to receive, she asked for some holy water, made the sign of the cross upon her head, and pronounced these words: " Child, I baptize thee in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." Then, joining her hands, she added: " I renounce Satan and all his works and pomps; I desire to belong for ever to Jesus Christ." After this little ceremony her face assumed such an expression of heavenly beauty that one might readily have imagined her a child just from the waters of Baptism or an angel about to re-ascend to its celestial home. From that moment till her last sigh she never ceased praying. The sweat of death covered her brow, its chill had already benumbed her pain-worn frame, and yet the cold, livid lips continued to murmur: " Jesus, Mary, Joseph! Come, Lord Jesus ! Sit Nomen Domini benedictum! " These were her last words. Soon her eyes closed, and, as a last trait of resemblance to her Divine Master, she uttered a cry, and sweetly expired. It was on Saturday, a day consecrated to Mary. The mortal remains of this admirable daughter of St. Teresa have been, through the care of M. Dupont, deposited within the enclosure of the Carmel of Tours, in the Chapter-Hall where they now repose, which corresponds to that part of the chapel which is on the right of the entrance. A mural stone near the holy-water font bears this simple inscription:

Here rests

Sister Marie de Saint-Pierre of the Holy

Family,

A Professed Religious of this Monastery,

Who died July 8th, 1848,

Aged 31 years and 9 months,

Having been a Religious 9 years and 8 months.

Lord, thou wilt conceal her in the secret of thy Face.

Sister Saint-Pierre and the work of reparation : a brief history by the Very Rev. P. Janvier ... Translated by Miss Mary Hoffman Chapter 7. Her Virtues.

IT is time to speak a few words of the virtues of our dear revered Sister. We shall only mention those which were the most characteristic. Above all, she possessed charity in an eminent degree; the glory of God and the conversion and salvation of sinners were the sole objects of her thoughts and the motive of all her actions. The loss of souls made so vivid an impression upon her that she could not repress her sorrow. More than once she was heard weeping and sobbing. Her tender and solid piety also inspired her with a great zeal to relieve the souls in purgatory, especially those that were the most forlorn.

Her heart expanded with love for our Lord; she honored his Sacred Humanity in all its mysteries, but those of his Birth and Hidden Life had for her inexpressible charms. Her devotion to the Divine Infancy and to the Holy Family was manifest on all occasions. Being Portress, it was a source of joy to her to open the door to carpenters, whose occupation reminded her of the labors of the childhood of Jesus and St. Joseph, One day a wagon drawn by an ass entered the courtyard of the monastery. Approaching the animal, the good Sister began to tenderly stroke it in remembrance of the service rendered Jesus and Mary by the humble beast in their flight into Egypt. At Christmas-time she testified her joy and piety in various ways; she contemplated with a radiant countenance the statue of the Infant Jesus in the Crib, took it in her arms, lighted tapers before it, and sang for the Divine J3abe her sweetest songs of praise ; sometimes, even, like David before the Ark, she began to dance, inviting her companions in the Novitiate to do the same. The Mother-Prioress expressed astonishment and warned her against dissipation. " Oh ! no, Reverend Mother," she answered. "I do it to honor the Infant Jesus, and to make amends for all the guilty dances that offend him."

Her affections were also directed to Jesus in the Eucharist. In the choir, before the Blessed Sacrament, the expression of her face, her manner, her looks, made it seem that, piercing the Eucharistic veil, she really saw Jesus on the altar. Quitting the sanctuary, she left there her heart; and in whatever part of the house she happened to be, she turned towards it, transported with joy when she could catch a glimpse of the altar. She had attained to a rare degree of humility. She sincerely believed herself the least in the community, the
most miserable, an unworthy sinner, and reproached herself for the slightest imperfections as if they were grave faults. One day a Sister found her weeping and asked the cause. Sister Saint-Pierre reminded her of a fault she had committed the day previous in her presence. The Sister assured her she had not noticed it, it was so very trifling. " Nevertheless," she answered, " God may have been offended, and that is the cause of my tears." Self-complacency found no place in her mind. She ingenuously avowed it. Once ; when she was still a novice, the Mother-Prioress during recreation asked her to sing for a newly-arrived postulant the canticle, "Blessed be God, I am his spouse." She did so with so sweet a voice and so lively an accent of piety that her young companion was delighted. When she had finished the Mother-Prioress said aloud: " Eh, well, my Sister Saint-Pierre, how many thoughts of vanity had you whilst singing ? " Lowering her eyes, she modestly answered: " If I have had any I have banished them."

Her obedience was prompt, implicit, and perfect. She complied in the simplicity of a child with all that was required, stimulated thereto by the example of the Child Jesus at Nazareth. The words of the Gospel, " He was submissive to them" were ever on her lips. She rendered a blind obedience not only to her superiors, but to the Sisters upon whom she was dependent, and, in fact, to all, regarding them as her mistresses and making it a duty to acquiesce in their wishes, just like a child who has no will but that of its guardians. Thus she was able in her last sickness to say in all truth and candor: " It is my consolation in death that I have always been obedient."

Her recollection was so profound that merely to see her was sufficient to raise one's thoughts to God. She seemed unconscious of what was going on around her, so much so that even after her Profession she was ignorant of the various places assigned the different nuns in the choir and refectory. One of the nuns, whose cell was so situated that she had an opportunity of seeing her when she thought herself unseen by human eye, assures us that during the time she occupied this cell, which was for several years, she never saw her raise her eyes from her work but to cast them on the little statue of the Infant Jesus which she always kept near her.
After any supernatural communications she would appear pale, trembling, and bathed in tears; especially was this the case when they revealed the woes impending over France. Then her tears flowed, yet calmly and silently. She would then appear so absorbed in recollection that it was difficult to draw her therefrom; and this would last for hours, though without hindrance to the performance of her duties. Her union with God was intimate and continual; she never lost sight of him, and, according to her expression, her soul, closely united to our Lord, was " happily bound at his feet." But this life, apparently so heavenly and sweet, was not exempt from interior trials and sufferings. The Mother-Prioress was convinced that these were so great that, whilst serving to purify her soul, they shortened her days in this world.
She also possessed in an eminent degree that sweet liberty of spirit which distinguishes a true Carmelite. She knew perfectly well how to blend with the practice of the most exalted virtues the charms of charity, and even gayety. One day a friend brought to the convent as a present a piece of cake. Sister Saint-Pierre, then Portress, was very much fatigued. On receiving the cake she immediately carried it to the Mother-Prioress, and, presenting it to her, said
with her usual simplicity: " "What a providence—the ass of the Infant Jesus is hungry !" , The good Mother smiled, and gave a piece of the cake to her little Portress, who, giving thanks to God, gaily partook of it.

During recreations she spoke but little, always preferring to listen; nevertheless she was cheerful and amiable, expressing herself to the point and taking part in all that was said, though it was often necessary for her to make extremely violent efforts to break off her interior converse with God. Her companions loved to be near her, because they always found it to their spiritual benefit. Her reserve was especially noticeable in matters pertaining to charity; she excused every one, palliated their defects, and this with tact and cordiality.
During her last illness, having passed a night of extreme suffering, she said to a nun who was from the same part of the country as herself: "You remember that in Brittany our little excursions ended with a feast, each person furnishing his or her share, one paying for the cream, another for the sugar. The good Jesus last night assigned to me the furnishing of the sugar by making me suffer very much."

When, in 1848, she fell sick, it was at the time of the government elections, and the Carmelites had had more than one alarm. One day the Mother-Prioress said half-jestingly: " Since you cannot pray any more, you will be the spiritual drum, and whenever you hear the National Guard beat the call to arms, do you call the holy angels to our assistance " She accepted her new mission, and the next day presented the Reverend Mother with a little drum, upon which was inscribed the Holy Name of God and that of each of the choirs of holy angels. Unable to make vocal prayers, she would take the little drum on her bed, and, striking it with her fingers, thus call the heavenly militia to their aid. The world may laugh at this trait of childish piety, but those not of the world will see in it the admirable simplicity of a soul transformed by the science of the Crib and the virtue of obedience. This drum, after the death of the Sister, was sent to a friend of Carmel as a plaything to amuse his little boy. But in his family it was richly encased under a glass globe and is preserved as a precious relic.
Until the last our dear Sister cherished a special devotion to the Divine Infant Jesus and the cares which at that period of his life he received from his august Mother. She was richly rewarded by the ineffable communications graciously vouchsafed to her concerning the Divine Maternity, whence she drew greater and still greater confidence for the triumph of the Church and the salvation of France.

Sister Saint-Pierre and the work of reparation : a brief history by the Very Rev. P. Janvier ... Translated by Miss Mary Hoffman Chapter 6. The Archconfraternity Of The Reparation.

THE 7th of March, 1847, our Lord said to his faithful servant : " Rejoice, my daughter ; the hour approaches when that most beautiful work under the sun is to appear." As the Sister was much troubled concerning the many obstacles to be overcome, the Divine Saviour said to her: " These obstacles are only the mist of a morning ushering in a fine day."

A question rises here regarding the Work of Reparation through the Holy Face. Without doubt the Redemption wrought upon the Cross is, and always will be, the masterpiece of Divine Wisdom and Divine Love; but the Reparation asked by the Saviour of Marie de Saint-Pierre is so intimately, connected with the Redemption of man, so identified with the expiation of Calvary, that we may truly consider it an application of the same; and thus, notwithstanding the feebleness and unworthiness of the instruments employed, it is in reality " the most beautiful of works, the most necessary for the needs of the age in which we live.'
The day, in fact, was fast approaching when this Work would be definitely established.
The Confraternity not having been instituted at Tours in the manner the Lord wished, the Holy Virgin of La Salette, the 19th of September, came herself in person to begin it. Sister Saint-Pierre had solicited the intervention of Mary, and Mary, our merciful Mother, announced it. " His grace," says Sister Saint-Pierre, " coming to no decision, I appealed to Mary. I clearly saw there was no hope but in her intercession; daily I recited the chaplet to obtain the establishment of the Work. I longed to proclaim it throughout France and make known to my country the misfortunes which threatened her. Oh! how I suffered in being the sole depositary of so important a thing!" " Holy Virgin," she again exclaimed, "appear in the world, make known to some one that which has been communicated to me concerning France." When the pious Sister heard that the august Queen of Heaven had spoken to the little shepherds of the Alps, Maximin and Melanie, in transports she cried: " O Virgin Mother of my God! I thank thee for having given me these two little shepherds as sounding trumpets to echo from the mountain to the ears of France all that has been revealed to me in solitude."

And again : " The voice of my dear little associates has been heard throughout the world. Let us pray, let us weep for our sins. The time is not far distant when France will be shaken to her foundations. But she will not be engulfed, if before the eyes of the Lord appears the Work of Reparation. She, who was to be utterly destroyed, will be only lightly chastised." In fact, in less than a year after—and perhaps to this we owe our continued existence—the Work was earnestly begun. Mgr. Parisis, Bishop of Langres, having heard of the projected "Work, took a lively interest in forwarding it as much as possible. His zeal for the Holy Name of God made him labor with much ardor for the establishment of the Association; his efforts were crowned with success. He wrote to Mgr. Morlot, Archbishop of Tours, who, still judging that it was not opportune to pronounce judgment, left the initiative of the Work to the Bishop of Langres, being all the more willing to do this as Langres was his (Mgr. Morlot's) birthplace.

 A Confraternity of Reparation was then canonically established at St. Dizier in the church of St. Martin of Lanoue. Reverend M. l'Abbe Marche, its pastor, was sent to Rome to solicit, in behalf of the Association, the title of Arch confraternity, together with some indulgences. Pius IX. received the petitions with the most ardent enthusiasm, and it was on this occasion he made use of the words that have been so often quoted: " Reparation is a work destined to save society." He granted the requested indulgences, and by a brief dated July 30, 1847, raised the Association of Reparation established at St. Dizier to the dignity of an Archconfraternity, with the right of aggregating throughout the Catholic world similar associations ; and His Holiness requested that his name should be the first subscribed on the register of membership— a signal privilege, which was to be the seed of wonderful benedictions.
The Confraternity of the Reparation answered so well the need of our times, and was so evidently the work of God, that from its very commencement it spread like a fire among dry reeds.

Nevertheless it had for its centre only the second parish of a small town, in a. diocese far from the place where the communications had been made. Besides, the episcopal ordinance of Langres had made no mention of the cultus of the Holy Face indicated as the sensible object of the Reparation. Consequently, though the canonical erection of the Archconfraternity of the Reparation filled the pious Sister with joy, she yet said, "My heart is not entirely satisfied; for in this work the Church of Tours, the heritage of the great St. Martin, still remains inactive. When will it bring forth the fruit which has been conceived in its midst?"
She was not to see the fulfilment of this legitimate desire; her earthly pilgrimage was drawing to a close. Still the future welfare of her country was ever before her, and she ceased not most earnestly to pray for its salvation.

On the 2d of December our Lord appeared to her covered with wounds. u He made me," she says, "hear these sorrowful words : ' The Jews crucified me on Friday; hut the Christians crucify me on Sunday. Ask them in my name, at least for this diocese of Tours, the establishment of the Work of Reparation, in order that my friends may embalm my Wounds by pious expiations and obtain mercy for the guilty. My daughter, the storm is already threatening, but I shall keep my promise if my wishes be accomplished. Speak with humility and at the same time with holy liberty.'"

The storm of which the Saviour spoke was indeed at hand. Two months later it was to burst forth in all its fury. This the Divine Master clearly announced to his servant in a communication of the 13th of February.
"Our Lord," she says, "has made known to me in these words the terrible woes impending over us : ' The Church is threatened with a fearful tempest Pray, pray ! ' It is impossible," she adds, " to describe the touching and impressive accents with which this charitable Saviour said to me, ' Pray, pray!' "

This prediction was, indeed, verified in 1848, in the epoch usually called Days of February ', by an unexpected Revolution which hurled Louis Philippe from his throne, made France a Republic, and shook all Europe, particularly Rome, which Pius IX. was obliged to leave and seek refuge in Gaeta.

The soul of the Sister was in anguish. " Ah!" she cried, " the Lord has long asked of France a Work which would be for her a rainbow of mercy. Happily, the work has been inaugurated, and its influence is being felt; but it is yet too feeble to arrest the wrath of the Omnipotent. Ah! if it were but extended to all the dioceses I should be without uneasiness, for God is faithful to his promises." She adds : " Oh ! how I wish to make known to all the bishops this consoling truth, and entreat them in this great crisis to aid in the "Work of Reparation. I have always said it, and I again repeat it: It is this Work which is to disarm the justice of God and save France and the world! Happy if they know how to profit by this means of salvation !"
" Nothing," she further says, " is more efficacious to disarm the irritated justice of God than to offer him this Most Holy Face, which has taken upon its Head the thorns of our sins, and has exposed itself to the strokes of that same justice. It has cancelled our debts, it is our security ; whence our amiable Saviour has commanded me, notwithstanding my unworthiness, to keep myself constantly before the throne of his Father, offering him this Divine Face, the object of his complacency. And this tender Saviour has made me the consoling promise: ' Every time you offer my Face to my Father I will open my Mouth to demand mercy.'

The good Jesus has also promised to have pity on France. Let us, then, have great confidence; his all-powerful Name will be our buckler, and his Adorable Face our rampart. And he made me also understand that he wished this devotion to his Adorable Face rapidly and widely extended. O good Jesus! hide us in the secret of thy Holy Face, that it may be for us an impregnable tower, a fortress against the attacks of our enemies." One day after Holy Communion our Lord appeared in the interior of her soul as he is represented in the Ecce Homo. "He at first attracted my attention," she says, "'upon the contemplation of his Holy Face. Soon he directed it to the reed he held in his Hand, and presented it to me to combat the enemies of the Church, promising me they would feel my blows.

He made me understand that this feeble reed was the figure of my soul. Yes, I am only a feeble reed, but in the Hand of Jesus Christ, my Spouse, becoming most powerful against his adversaries, I shall say with faith and confidence: "O malice of the demon, vanish before the reed of Jesus Christ!'

"Eternal Father, I offer thee the Most Holy Face of Jesus. It is a mysterious coin of infinite value which alone can cancel our debts. Eternal Father, I offer thee the Most Holy Face of Jesus to appease thy wrath. Remember it has borne the thorns of our sins, and the blows of thy justice, of which it still bears the marks. Behold those Divine Wounds of whose voice I wish to be the echo; they incessantly cry, ' Mercy, mercy, mercy for sinners !'"
With these words she bowed her face to the earth, saying, " Lord, I merit only hell!" The Good Master answered: " I have applied to your soul the virtue of my Face, to restore therein the image of God. Those who will contemplate the wounds of my Face on earth shall one day contemplate it radiant with glory in heaven."

" At that moment," says the Sister, " I was on Thabor and would fain have repeated with the Apostle St. Peter : ' Lord, it is good to be here. Let us make three tabernacles for the three powers of my soul, that it may always enjoy this sweet repose which infinitely surpasses all the pleasures of earth.' But our Lord made me understand that his true spouses should prefer the heat of combat to the repose of contemplation, and should not shrink from throwing themselves into the conflict to defend his glory."

It was after these divine consolations that Marie de Saint-Pierre composed as by inspiration those beautiful invocations of the " Adorable Face of our Lord" improperly called the "Litany." They are jets of light, cries of love, a kind of spiritual poem to the glorification of the Holy Face, which she is pleased to consider under its different aspects—joyous, sorrowful, glorious, merciful, and terrible. At the end of her writings, in a hymn of thanksgiving, she particularly thanks our Lord "for having made her the gift of his Divine Face, so suitable to appease the justice of the celestial Father, and from which flows a precious Blood which assures us of eternal life." She adds: " O blessed, holy angels ! thank Jesus and Mary for me, who have heaped favors upon me, and draw me to heaven, in order that I may, notwithstanding my unworthiness, sing eternally with you a hymn of gratitude for all the graces I have received from my God, and, above all, for the Work of Reparation which his mercy has established in France."