Louise de Marillac, A Woman in the Fullest Sense

An essay originally published in French under the title Au temps de St. Vincent de Paul….et aujourd’hui. Translated into Spanish by Martín Abaitua, C.M. on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the foundation of the Province of Zaragoza and published under the title En tiempos de San Vicente de Paúl…..y hoy by CEME Press, Salamanca, Spain in 1999.

(Please note that there are some typographical problems which I just discovered which hopefully will be cleaned up shortly. For some reason apostrophes were frequently presented as question marks.

(The quotations from the works of Vincent de Paul are denoted by the symbols OC [Obras Completas] and CCD [Correspondence, Conferences, Documents] followed by the volume and page number); SLM refers to the spanish edition of the writings of St. Louise while SWLM denotes the english edition of the same work).

A. LOUISE DE MARILLAC, A WOMAN IN THE FULLEST SENSE

Louise de Maillac was burdened with every kind of suffering and stress (these details we know quite well), but her life was also filled with blessings (and we have the tendency to pass over this reality much too quickly). How did she use these personal blessings and gifts to overcome the many suffering that afflicted her and to become a woman in the fullest sense? Different life experiences formed her personality. Let us look at some of those experiences.

A. Family experiences

August 21, 1591, the day of Louise? birth was a day marked by suffering. She entered the world as the illegitimate daughter of Louis de Marillac, the Lord of Ferri?res. She was born into an aristocratic family that possessed a true cultural patrimony and that had received numerous honors because of their work on behalf of the French crown. Besides having some land holdings that would later become her financial patrimony, Louise was gifted with great intelligence, a sense of honor and a facility in organizing.

Her infancy was defined by the absence of a true family and the absence of a mother? love. She was rejected by the new wife of her father and at a very young age she was sent to the royal Convent of Poissy where her aunt resided. There she was carefully and lovingly given a polished education, a humanistic education. She was initiated in the study of Latin, music, art and spirituality. Her religious education was based on solid theology. In this religious and humanitarian environment, behind the grille of the convent, her personality was formed

In 1604, Louise? father, whom she loved most dearly, died. Her uncle, Michel de Marillac, the Keeper of the Seals, became her tutor. Louise left Poissy to relocate herself in a small middle class boarding house. There she came in contact with her affective side and discovered the social ways of the middle class. Despite the rupture and change in her economic standing, Louise understood the richness that her new living situation afforded her. Here she received an education in housekeeping that completed her basic education. Her personality was made firm.

At twenty years of age she was influenced by the arrival of the Capuchins and felt that God was calling her to join this religious order whose members though very poor were very happy. She was deeply affected by the negative response of the Provincial, (Honor? de Champigny) and the ensuing obligation of marriage which was practically imposed on her by her tutor. At this time she concluded that a woman was unable to decide her life or her future without the approval of a masculine authority.

On February 5, 1613 Antoine Le Gras, a middle-class worker in the Queen? service, married Louise. Again this illegitimate daughter discovered that this ?efect?obliged her to marry into an inferior condition. She felt the weight of the powerful: the members of her own family who came to the wedding did not recognize her as one of their own, rather, they called themselves ?riends of the bride? And so an event that should have been marked by joy and happiness became another occasion to experience rejection: Louise? family disinherited her….marrying her off in the least painful way.

Louise and Antoine came to love one another very deeply. Though he seemed to be lacking in the development of his personality, Louise had a great admiration for this excellent Christian and good husband: Louise, however, was not able to depend on him totally nor was she able to find the tranquility she needed. Louise discovered the blessing of ?ne? own home? where she was able to do all that she had previously learned. She cared for her house and shared her faith with her husband. In her house she received her friends, noble women and women of the middle class. She also received the poor who came to her door.

The birth of Michel on October 18, 1613 was an occasion of great happiness. By his side Louise was able to develop her feminine and maternal gifts. She gave her son all that she had been deprived of as a child: tenderness and presence.

Antoine? illness was a difficult trial for Louise. She was filled with remorse, thinking she had caused his sickness because she had not fulfilled the promise she made to God ?a promise to consecrate herself totally to God. Louise was depressed and began to ask herself if she should leave her husband. As a totally committed wife, she cared for him as best she could and surrounded him with her love. In all of this, she began to doubt God, but God had not abandoned her. She was illuminated by the grace of Pentecost. On June 4, 1623, ?ight?shines upon her ?ark night?

?hile I was praying in the church, my mind was instantly freed of all doubt. I was advised that I should remain with my husband and that a time would come when I would be in a position to make vows of poverty, chastity and obedience and that I would be in a small community where others would do the same. I then understood that I would be in a place where I could help my neighbor but I did not understand how this would be possible since there was to be much coming and going?(SLM, 667; SWLM, 1).

The death of her husband on December 21, 1625 was a new turning point in her life. She felt alone with her son Michel, who was slowly maturing and showed signs of a certain instability. She felt the pangs of poverty, and was obliged to leave the house where she have lived with her husband. As was the custom of that era, the Marillac family took no interest in Louise? situation.

Throughout these years, Louise continued to educate herself. She read the Bible ?something very rare for that time ?as well as books written by Francis de Sales, Berulle, Gerson and other current spiritual writers.

All this time and for years to come, Louise would experience much anxiety and suffering because of her son, Michel…..his lack of interest in work and his uncertainty about the future weighed heavily upon Louise? shoulders.

Happily for her she met Vincent de Paul. This was no longer the young priest ?ho went to Paris in search of an ?onest?retirement.? Through the experiences of Folleville and Ch?tillon God had opened his heart to the spiritual and material suffering of the poor. He discovered that poor people were condemned to die of hunger. As a result he consecrated himself to work on behalf of the poor and through his efforts, the face of the French Church would be completely changed. Vincent would be Louise? spiritual director, a friend who helped educate her son, a guide for her as she journeyed toward God. Yet in the Pentecost experience of 1623, when God revealed his plans for her in this area of spiritual direction, Louise felt disillusioned and deceived.

? was also assured that I should remain at peace concerning my director; that God would give me one whom He seemed to show me. It was repugnant to me to accept him; nevertheless, I acquiesced?(SLM, 667, SWLM, 1).

1 Social and political experiences

Because of her family origins, Louise was part of the noble class, that group of people entrusted with leadership in the French Kingdom. She possessed a facility to analyze situations, an ability to come to a decision quickly and to be firm in her resolve. She moved with ease in her new social environment and counted as her friends the Duchess of Liancourt, Catherine Beaumont…..

When she met Marguerite Naseau, ?he first Daughter of Charity, a shepherdess of Suresnes, she discovered the rural world and its poverty. In that world, truly unknown to her, she finds the spiritual and human richness of these ?oor villagers?who lived in rhythm with the seasons and were overwhelmed by work and taxes. She realized, as she would tell Vincent, that they live the ?uthentic religion?

As members of the ?evout Party? the politics of the Marillac? were opposed to the policies of Cardinal Richelieu, the all powerful Minister. La ?ourn?e des dupes?(The Council of Deceit) of November 10, 1630 adopted the policy of the Cardinal and the position of the Marillac family was doomed to failure. As a result Louise? two uncles, Michel, the Keeper of the Seals, and Mar?chal Louis de Marillac were imprisoned and died in 1632. One was executed in the Plaza Greves and the other executed in jail. Louise knew how to walk that fine line in the political world and was able to continue her labor of service for the poor. We see her with the Duchess of Aiguillon, the niece of Richelieu and the Marquess of Schomberg whose husband imprisoned her uncle Louis.

In Marazin? time the Fronde exploded and Louise became anxious about her son. But she was able to control these feelings in order to console the people afflicted by the civil war. She went even further in this regard when she responded to the requests of the Queen and sent the Daughters to those places where the poor were asking for help.

III. Spiritual and ecclesial experiences

At a very young age, while she was in the convent of Poissy, Louise was initiated into the cultivation of a personal spiritual life through prayer. Her Christian life was solidly founded on a broad theological knowledge. Her spiritual thought was centered on the Incarnation. At the same time she had a great devotion to the Holy Spirit. For her, Providence was not a meaningless word but rather a reality that illuminated her life and her action. She gave herself to God and received from God, the Holy Spirit. This action gave her greater freedom.

?h excellence of souls that are free, that no longer belong to themselves, of souls that act in all their thoughts, desires and deeds in conformity with the justice of God, of souls that find nothing so reasonable, so beneficial or so just as to give themselves to God?(SLM, 808; SWLM, 817).

Her spiritual theology opened her to the mystery of the Church. She fully participated in the ecclesial life of her time and was influenced by the French School of thought. She was always concerned that the Company open itself to the life of the Church, to devotion to the Pope and to the directives of the Church upon which the community was founded. Even more, in order to assure that the Company was cared for by God, she exerted great effort to obtain official recognition of the Daughter of Charity from the Church (1655).

?oes this not indicate strongly to us that we have the double happiness of being daughters of the holy church and , being admitted in this manner, will this not be a new obligation for us to live and to act as children of such a Mother, something which requires great perfection?? (SLM, 204; SWLM, 203).

Her love for the church led her to found the Daughters of Charity so that the Church might be present in the world and might reaffirm God? option for the poor.

Louise was solicitous for her spiritual life and chose Monsieur Camus as her director of conscience. Later she would ask Vincent de Paul to be her spiritual director. She also met Francis de Sales, whose spirituality she esteemed. She was attuned to the current thinking within church circles, e.g., the discussions about the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin. She was also very attentive to the Jansenist strain that was being disseminated by religious means: she documented this and discussed this issue with Vincent. She knew Port-Royal, its positive aspects and its excesses.

Her spiritual and ecclesial experiences allowed her to help the Daughters in their confrontations with the Jansenists pastors as well as to discern the excesses of a misunderstood practice of mortification.

IV. Relationships

One would never draw near to the reality of Louise de Marillac unless one took note of the personal relationships which characterize her personality and helped her to develop.

Her father, from whom she was separated but always showed him a great love. He would say of Louise: ?he has been my greatest comfort in this world; God gave her to me to quiet my spirits in life? tribulations.?

Her aunt, Louise de Marillac, a Dominican living in the Royal Convent at Poissy. She was entrusted with Louise? education. By her side, Louise studied the life of St. Dominic who sold his manuscripts to help the poor and founded, with other young students, a ?onfraternity of Charity.? She often remembered Catherine of Sienna whose great love for Jesus crucified, led her to consecrate herself to the service of the poor.

Her uncle, Michel de Marillac, an austere and spiritual man who was interested in deepening his understanding of the Bible.

Francis de Sales, Louise admired him and was nourished by his doctrine which she is able to adapt to help her in her search for God

Juan Pedro Camus, her spiritual director, to whom she turned for support during difficult times.

Vincent de Paul, a deep friendship united them and enabled them to be partners in the foundation of the Daughters of Charity. It has been said that this friendship was sustained by a mutual concern for one another.

Margaret Naseau, the first Daughter of Charity who revealed to Louise the richness of the rural world and enabled her to understand the great possibilities that these young women had in serving the poor.

Barbara Angiboust, another Daughter of Charity with much common sense and great initiative in serving and defending the poor.

Isabel Torgis, a widow like herself who entered the Daughters of Charity and became the intelligent and cultural helper of Louise. Like the other young country women, she handed herself over to God to serve the poor. But she would defraud Louise during the later years of her life.

Maturina Guerin, she became Louise? secretary. She was a country woman with great common sense and intelligence and served the Company with great competency.

M. Portail, the first companion of Vincent. Louise? relationship with him was very difficult and resulted in certain misunderstandings.

The Abbot de Vaux, counselor to the Daughters at Angers. Louise had a deep friendship with him, a friendship that developed on the material level as well as the spiritual level.

Madame Liancourt, whose great friendship remained tarnished because of her acceptance of Jansenism. Louise would try to bring her back to the Church but without success.

All of these relationships marked Louise and in turn she had a profound influence on other people. Indeed, in a true friendship there is always a giving and a receiving.

The Daughters of Charity, Louise founded, oriented, guided and loved this Company with all her heart. She was in constant communication with the Daughters and through regular correspondence shared their joys and concerns and dealt with administrative details of their work. Her letters, however, were always filled with love and faith.

The Ladies of Charity, Louise visited the ?onfraternities? With them she examined different ways of service and became their spiritual counselor. Frequently Louise directed their retreats at the Motherhouse where one of her letters is preserved. The letter sheds light on the secret of her spiritual life, the secret of her full life:

?ake as few reflections as possible and live in holy joy in service of our Sovereign Lord and Master?(SLM:653; SWLM, 679).

The priests of the mission were founded by Vincent. Louise was concerned about establishing works that the Daughters and the missionaries could do together to maintain the end of the Congregation and serve the poor. Her strong friendship with Vincent enabled her to intervene when it seemed that the missionaries were not helping the Daughters in fulfill their duties or when the missionaries were attempting to move the Daughters in a different direction, for example, Vincent wanted to send some Daughters to Richelieu to attend to the seminarians.

It would seem that Louise? future was anything but bright when we consider the fact that she was rejected by her family, desired to enter the Capuchins and was again rejected and then married for social reasons. Yet her lively and engaging temperament enabled her to confront life in a decisive way. Events at times treat her harshly, at times she is overcome by the seeming contradictions but she was always able to move forward, able to develop as life unfolded, able to grow in holiness.

AN OVERVIEW OF THE LIFE OF LOUISE DE MARILLAC

1591 August 12, birth of Louise de Marillac.

1604 July 25, death of Louis de Marillac, her father.

1613 February 5, marriage to Antoineo Le Gras;
October 18: birth of her son Michel Le Gras.

1623 June 4, Pentecostal experience in the church of Saint-Nicholas-des-Champs.

1625 December 21, death of her husband;
first conversation with Vincent.

1629 travels to Montmirail and initiated her visits to the Confraternities.

1630 Marguerite Naseau arrived in Paris and was the first young woman to work in the ?harities?
November 10, ?ouncil of Deceit? Her two uncles, Michel de Marillac, the Keeper of the Seals and Mar?chal Louis de Marillac, were arrested.

1632 Louis de Marillac, executed in the Place of Gr?ve;
August 7, Michel de Marillac died in the prison at Ch?teaudum.

1633 February, Marguerite Naseau died;
November 29, foundation of the Daughters of Charity within the parish boundaries of Saint-Nicholas-de-Chardonnet.

1636 May, the mother house of the Daughters of Charity moved to the Village of Chapelle.

1638 began the work with the abandoned children;
February, the Daughters of Charity established in Saint-Germain-en-Laye;
October, the Daughters of Charity established in Richelieu.

1639 Louise traveled to Angers and the Daughters established a hospital there.

1640 Began work with the galley slaves;
March, for the first time wet-nurses were employed in the institutions of the abandonded children.

1641 February, the Daughters of Charity established in Sedan;
June, moved the mother house to the suburbs of Saint-Denis in the parish of Saint-Laurent.

1642 March 25, Louise and four Daughters pronounced their vows.

1644 October, pilgrimage of Louise to Chartres.

1645 Establishment of the Daughters of Charity in Saint-Denis.

1646 Louise traveled to Nantes and establishes the Daughters of Charity in a hospital there.

1647 The abandoned children were moved to Bic?tre.

1648 August, Louise visited Chantilly and Liancourt;
August 26, insurrection in Paris;
The Daughters of Charity were sent to Picardy to comfort the people effected by the war.

1649 La Fronde worsened.

1650 January 18, marriage of Michel Le Gras;
October, establishment of the Daughters of Charity at Montmirail.
1651 Birth of Louise Ren?e Le Gras, Louise? grandchild.

1652 New outbreak of the Fronde in Paris;
cared for refugees and set up soup kitchens;
in ?tampes opened an orphanage;
September, establishment of the Daughters of Charity in Poland..

1653 March, establishments of the Hospice of the Saint-nom-de-J?sus for the elderly;
October, Louise sent the Daughters to the battlefields of Ch?lons-sur-Marne and Saint-Menehould.

1654 July, Daughters sent to the battlefield of Stenay.

1655 January 18, the Archbishop of Paris gave his approval to the Company of the Daughters of Charity;
August 8, 40 Daughters sign the Act of Foundation of the Company of the Daughters of Charity.

1656 Long and serious illness of Louise;
August, the Daughters of Charity were established in Arras.

1657 July, sent the daughters to the Hospital of Salp?ti?re;
August, sent the Daughters to Montm?dy to care for the wounded soldiers.

1658 May, establishment of the Daughters of Charity at Ussel;
July, sent the Daughters to the battlefield of Calais;
August, establishment of the Daughters in Metz;
November, establishment of the Daughters in Cahors.

1659 September, establishment of the Daughters in Narbona.

1660 March 15, death of Louise.
September 27, death of Vincent.

1934 March 11, Louise canonized by Pius XI.

1960 February 10, John XXIII proclaimed Louise de Marillac the patroness of social workers.

B. SAINT LOUISE, FULLY WOMAN

In a letter that has no address nor date, but that was probably written to one of the Ladies of Charity who was making a retreat, we are given an overview of Louise? spiritual life. She appears as a very balanced woman, one most capable of communicating to others the motivations of her own growth.

?nclosed are the spiritual exercises that I mentioned. According to the insights which, in your goodness, you gave me into your dear soul, they seem to me to be exceptionally well-suited to you. Put them into practice, my dear Lady, living entirely for God by this loving and serene union of your will with His in everything. In my opinion, this practice, in its holy, simplicity, contains the means for acquiring the solid perfections God asks of you. Always have great esteem, my dear Lady, for humility and gentle cordiality. While reflection on the divine gentleness during your periods of meditation, speak to Our Lord with great simplicity and innocent familiarity. Do not be concerned whether or not you experience any consolation; God wants only our hearts. He placed within our power only the capacity to make a simple act of the will. He considers this alone and the deeds resulting from it. Make as few reflections as possible and live in holy joy in the service of our Sovereign Lord and Master.

?n all simplicity, I present these suggestions to you, Madame, as Our Lord has given them to me since, in your humility, you requested them from my poverty. I beg Him, in His infinite goodness, to raise your dear soul to the heights of holiness that, in His love, He desires you to attain. Commend me to His divine mercy I implore you, Madame, and be assured that I have already done what you asked of me and that I shall never forget you in my poor prayers nor will I fail to remember your husband and all those dear people who are so precious to you. May God be blessed? SLM, 653; SWLM, 679-680).

I. Live entirely for God

?o everything for God, my dear lady?…Saint Louise communicated here the secret of her whole spiritual life: a life rooted in God.

?..We must remain open to God…?

? was always certain that your troubles would pass. It is in this way that we must remain open to God, who wants us to desire only what He wills. Be very courageous then in the distrust you must have for yourself. I say the same thing to all our dear sisters. I desire all of them to be filled with a great love which will immerse them so sweetly in God and so charitably in the service of the poor that their hearts will no longer have place for so many thoughts which endanger their perseverance. Courage, the, my dear Sisters. Seek only to please God by faithfully observing His commandments and evangelical counsels because the goodness of God has deigned to call us to this. This should lead us to observe our rules exactly but also cheerfully and diligently. Serve your master with great gentleness. Be very respectful to the administrators and greatly honor the clergy. You owe this to them?(SLM, 82; SWLM, 75)

?..To belong totally to God…?

? must depend completely upon God and show no greater resistance to Him now than I did when he created me.

? must use my entire being to know God in His words and to recognize Him by love.

? desired no longer to subsist of myself. After having been continuously sustained by the grace of God, it seemed to me that all that I am is but grace. I implored God to draw these graces to Himself and thus I would be totally His?(SLM, 680; ESLM, 702 703).

II. Live united to the will of God

?n all things, live…in this loving and gentle union with the will of our good God.? This is the second important reality for Louise? spiritual growth: true freedom is found in God.

?..Let us do what God wants…?

?y dear Sisters, if we want to please our good God, we must not look so much to what we want to do but to what He wants us to do. From the moment His love called you to His service, He foresaw that you would be sent to Ussel, and He knew what you would have to do to begin the work. He accepted your submission to His good pleasure which was that you accomplish only what His Providence placed before you. He also willed that you faithfully observe your Rules and that you serve the small number of poor entrusted to your care with great exactitude, gentleness and charity. Our Lord knows very well where to find you when He has more for you to do?(SML, 583-584; SWLM, 604-605).

?..I choose Your holy will…?

? choose Your holy will as the directing force in my life. I shall recognize Your will be reflecting upon the life which Your Son led upon earth, to which I shall strive to conform my own. O Holy Will of my God! How reasonable it is that You should be completely fulfilled! You were the meat of the Son of God upon earth. Therefore, You are the nourishment which will sustain within my soul the life received from God. But what are You in the life of grace? You are grace itself which sanctifies souls…..Thus, no more self-will! May Your will alone be the rule of my life! Grant me this grace, O my Jesus, for the love which You have for me and through the intercession of Your Holy Mother who loved so perfectly al the effects of Your loving will. I beg this grace of You with all my heart and I give myself entirely to You, imploring Your goodness to overlook any contrary dispositions still to be found in me. I pray that the force of Your love, by its gentle power, may compel the acquiescence of any of my senses which may continue to oppose you?(SLM, 689; SWLM, 713).

III. Live humbly and meekly

?ive always in a state of humility and kind cordiality? There are the two motives that ought to characterize our humility as we follow in the footsteps of Saint Louise and Saint Vincent.

?..Like the good Shepherd…?

?re you being very courageous? Are you imitating the Good Shepherd who risks His life for the welfare and safety of the flock under His care? I think so. Although we do not often meet with occasions when we are called upon to risk our lives, we do not lack those in which we must sacrifice our wills so as to yield to the desires of others, or so as to overcome our habits and inclinations in order to give good example to our sisters, or so as to conquer our passions in order to avoid arousing those of others. This, my dear sister, is how we must act if we are to maintain cordiality, to practice forbearance and to live in that close union which marks the charity of Jesus Crucified and which I beg God to grant us?(SLM, 123; SWLM, 119).

?..With humility and meekness…?

? am not surprised at all the difficulties you are experiencing in dealing with the Ladies of Charity. This generally happens wherever a hospital and a Parish Confraternity of Charity are together. These are disagreements everywhere, without either side being at fault, because each group feels obliged to gain the advantage for those for whom it is caring. The desired solution would be for the two works to be separate, each having clear rules delineating its responsibilities…..Your obligation in the midst of all these disagreements, is to be very humble and to be very careful that no one can accuse you of arrogance or independence. You must always keep in mind that you are subject to everyone, the last of all. You must believe that you have no authority and act accordingly, doing nothing without the permission of those to whom Monsieur l?bb? has entrusted the direction of the works. As for the accounts you must give, always do so as accurately and as humbly as possible. In dealing with the Ladies of Charity, you must never take their rank into consideration in showing them respect. It suffices for you to know that they have been received into the Company to honor them as Mothers of your Masters the Poor. This is so, even if they contribute nothing from their own property. If you realized, my dear Sisters, the degree of humility, gentleness and submission Our Lord desired of the Daughters of Charity, you would be dismayed not to practice these virtues?(SLM, 567-568; SWLM, 586-587).

?..Knowledge of the truth…?

?s soon as human nature had sinned, the Creator, who wanted to repair this fault by a great act of pure love, ordered, in the Council of His Divinity, that one of the three Persons should become Man. By so doing, He gave proof of deep, true humility. This caused me to be ashamed of my pride. Part of my vanity is surely due to ignorance since, properly speaking, humility is the knowledge of truth. This is why it is possible to recognize it in God? (SSLM, 677; ESLM, 700).

IV. Live in a familiar way with God

?elate to God with great simplicity and innocent familiarity.? One of the dominant realities in Louise? spiritual life was the fact that her relationship with God was very familiar and this fact enabled her to develop and grow.

?..Without too much introspection…?

?nly allow me, my very dear Sister, to say that I praised God many times for the graces He has granted you. I begged Him to help you to forget yourself and to mortify your desire for self-satisfaction which, in you, hides under the beautiful appearance of striving for great perfection. We are greatly deceiving ourselves if we think that we are capable of it, and even more so if we believe that we can attain this perfection by our own efforts and by constantly and closely watching over all the movements and dispositions of our souls. It is a good thing, once a year, to apply ourselves seriously to this kind of examination while being duly distrustful of ourselves and recognizing our weaknesses. But to put ourselves through a continual purgatory to analyze our souls and to give an account of all our thoughts is useless, even dangerous. I am repeating to you what I was told long ago.

? beg you, my dear Sister, to help my by your prayers, as I will help you by mine, so that we may obtain from God the grace to walk simply and confidently along the path of His holy love, without too much introspection, lest we resemble those persons, who, instead of growing rich, become bankrupt while striving to find the philosopher? stone?(SLM, 505; SWLM, 520-521).

?..Pure and simple…?

?f we are assailed by temptations and trials, we become completely dejected, imagining ourselves to be in a deplorable state. And truly, this would be our condition if we did not cling to God by the tip of our souls, saying to Him, from the depths of our hearts, ?y God, do whatever you will; I belong entirely to you!? Despite these temptations, we must perform all our actions purely and simply for the love of God.

?ou must be convinced that it is His holy will that you find yourself in the state in which He has placed you, either by the direct operation of His Providence or by permitting his creatures to put you in such a state?(SLM, 557; SWLM, 575).

V. Live joyfully

?od wants our heart….live then with a holy joy.? We see Louise develop as she learns to live with anxiety and yet live with true joy.

?..Rid my heart of any bitterness…?

?he person who does not love does not know God, for God is Charity. The cause of love is esteem for the good in the thing loved. Since God is most perfect in the unity of His essence, He is love in the eternity of this essence by the knowledge He has of His own perfection. The love of creatures enters into the nature of this love. But the effects are attached to the will in the practice of charity either toward God or toward the neighbor. This practice of charity is so powerful that it gives us the knowledge of God, not as He is in Himself, but we penetrate so deeply into the mystery of God and His greatness that we may say the greater our charity the greater out participation in this divine light which will inflame us with the fire of Holy Love for all eternity. Therefore, I want to do everything in my power to practice this Holy Love and rid my heart of any bitterness which might wound it?(SLM, 686; SWLM, 710-711).

?..My heart is overflowing with joy…?

?y heart is still overflowing with joy on account of the understanding which, I believe, our good God has given me of the words, ?od is my God,?and the awareness I had of the glory which the blessed render to Him as a consequence of this truth. Therefore, I cannot help communicating with you this evening to ask you to assist me to profit from this excess of joy and to suggest some practice for me tomorrow which is the feast of the saint whose name I have the honor to bear. It is also the day for the renovation of my vows. I hope, because of this double anniversary, to assist at your holy Mass. I beg your Charity most humbly to please let me know the time. I hope, my Most Honored Father, that you realize that all that I am is in your hands to be offered to this good God whose love has made me, by His great mercy, your very humble and most grateful daughter and servant?(SLM, 335; SWLM 341).

C. FULLY WOMAN

For dialogue

?cquiesce, as far as possible, to one another opinions?(SWLM, 353)

1. Can Louise de Marillac be an inspiration for my life and my actions? Why? How? Can Louise de Marillac be a living witness for women today?
2.

After have read this article can I say that Louise de Marillac is ?uly woman?
3.

How do life? experiences (family, educational, social, ecclesial, and political) influence my life today?