The Life of the Venerable Mother Mary of the Incarnation

A Religious Of The Ursuline Community

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• Publié par: nuvar
• Publié le: 08 décembre 2010
• Nombre de lectures: 25
• Langue: English

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The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Life of the
Venerable Mother Mary of the Incarnation, by "A
Religious of the Ursuline Community"
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Title: The Life of the Venerable Mother Mary of theIncarnation
Author: "A Religious of the Ursuline Community"
Release Date: September, 2004 [EBook #6486]
[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of
schedule] [This file was first posted on December
20, 2002]
Edition: 10
Language: English
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG
EBOOK THE VENERABLE MOTHER MARY ***
Produced by Anne Soulard, Juliet Sutherland and
the Online Distributed Proofreading Team.
This file was produced from images generously
made available by the
Canadian Institute for Historical
Microreproductions.THE LIFE OF THE
VENERABLE MOTHER
MARY OF THE
INCARNATION
BY A RELIGIOUS OF THE URSULINE
COMMUNITYINTRODUCTION.
The materials for the following Biography have
been gathered principally from "The Life of the
Mother Mary of the Incarnation" by her son, and
from "The History of the Ursuline Monastery at
Quebec," by a member of that community, the
former published in 1677; the latter in 1863.
The Life of the Venerable Mother by her son, is
founded partly on her own communications
regarding the graces with which she had been
favoured, and partly on her correspondence with
himself extending over the thirty years which she
passed in Canada. With the genuine information
thus received, he intersperses, under the name of
"Additions," further details which had either come
under his personal observation, or been gleaned
from perfectly reliable sources. His work is
therefore a sure and invaluable guide to the
biographer.
The accounts of her inner life referred to, were
written by the Venerable Mother at two different
epochs, and each time in obedience to an
imperative command from her confessors. The first
written in 1633, the 34th year of her age, fell into
the possession of the Ursulines of St. Denis, near
Paris, who on hearing that Dom Claude Martin was
engaged in writing his holy Mother's life, obligingly
sent him the precious document. The second,
written in 1654, was forwarded to him fromCanada.
The Annals of the Quebec Ursulines also afford
rich material to the historian of the Mother of the
Incarnation, their pages containing constant
references to and quotations from her letters both
spiritual and historical, as well as from the Annual
Reports of the Jesuit Missioners, and other
contemporary documents of the highest
authenticity and the deepest interest.
The historical statements in the introductory
chapter, rest chiefly oh the authority of the Abbé
Ferland in his "Cours d'Histoire du Canada," 1861,
and of Bancroft in his "History of the United
States," 1841. The historical facts incidentally
introduced in the course of the work can be verified
by reference to the Abbé Ferland or any other
Canadian historian, or to the Letters of the Mother
of the Incarnation.
It only remains to be noticed that the words "saint,"
"saintly," and others of similar import are used
throughout solely in their popular acceptation, and
not with any intention of anticipating the decision of
the Church regarding the sanctity of the Venerable
Mother Mary of the Incarnation or of any other of
God's servants mentioned in these pages.
In like manner, the record of miraculous
occurrences, visions, and other extraordinary
supernatural favours, is understood to rest as yet
only on human authority, and therefore to claim no
more than the degree of credibility which attachesto any well authenticated human statement.
April 30th 1880.
208th Anniversary of the death of the Venerable
Mother of the Incarnation.CONTENTS
INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. A Glance at Canada,
as it was in the days of the Venerable Mother Mary
of the Incarnation.
THE LIFE OF THE VENERABLE MOTHER. FIRST
PERIOD, 1599 TO 1631. HER LIFE IN THE
WORLD
CHAPTER I. Her infancy, childhood and youth—
Early call to union with God.—Charity to the
poor.—Purity of soul—Inclination for the
Religious Life.
CHAPTER II. Her married life.—Rule of life.—
Love of prayer—Perfect fulfilment of duty.—
Patience under trial—Zeal for her household.—
Influence.—Death of her Husband.
CHAPTER III. Her First year of Widowhood.—
Life of solitude in the World.—Vision of the
application of the Precious Blood to her soul.—
Increased purity of conscience.—Charity to the
sick poor.
CHAPTER IV. She quits her solitude.—New
evidence of her purity of soul.—Humiliation
and dependence in her Sister's house.CHAPTER V. She is called to a high degree of
Divine Union.—New invitation to the perfection
of Interior Purity.—Infused knowledge of the
nature of the works of God.—Austerities.—
Love of contempt.—Active life.—Makes the
vows of poverty and obedience.—Heavenly
favour.—Temptations.
CHAPTER VI. Supernatural favours.—Lights on
the mystery of the Incarnation.—Vision of the
Most Adorable Trinity.—Submission to her
Director.—Temptations renewed.—Lights on
the Divine attributes.
CHAPTER VII. Second Vision of the Most
Adorable Trinity.—She is elevated to a sublime
degree of Divine Union.
CHAPTER VIII. She resolves to embrace the
Religious Life.—Decides finally on the Ursuline
Order.—Temptations.—Disappearance of her
son.—His return.— Enters the Convent.
CHAPTER IX. Saint Angela, Foundress of the
Ursulines.—Her Early sanctity.—Zeal for the
instruction of the ignorant.—Lays the
foundation of her great work at Dezenzano—
Vision of the Mysterious Ladder.—Removes to
Brescia.—Goes to the Holy Land.—To Rome.—
To Cremona.—Returns to Brescia.—Founds her
Order.—Her holy Death.—Parting Counsels.—Prediction of the stability of her work.—
Diffusion of the Order.—Archconfraternity of
St. Angela.
SECOND PERIOD, 1631 TO 1639. THE
VENERABLE MOTHER'S RELIGIOUS LIFE IN
FRANCE.
CHAPTER I. Her Novitiate.—Holy joy.—Virtue
tested.—Love of common life.— Humility.—
Obedience.—Trials from her son.—Offers
herself as a victim for his salvation.—Third
Vision of the Adorable Trinity.—Receives the
Holy Habit.
CHAPTER II. Supernatural favours.—Infused
knowledge of the Holy Scriptures and of the
Latin language.—Facility for imparting Spiritual
Instruction.— Temptations.—Loses her
Director.—Interior desolation.—Fidelity.—
Consolation.—Profession.—Renewed Trials.—
Reassuring direction.—New difficulties about
her son.
CHAPTER III. She is named Assistant-Mistress
of Novices.—Prophetic Vision of her vocation
to Canada.—Spiritual maxims and instructions.
—Spirit of silence.—Forms many Saints.
CHAPTER IV. Increase of zeal for the salvation
of souls.—Divinely directed to pray for their