Saint Louise de Marillac wrote to St. Vincent:
“If your Charity heard Our Lord say what He seems to me to have said to you, in the person of Saint Peter, I hope it was that He wanted to build this Company on your Charity” (L. 199).
She encouraged the Daughters of Charity:
“They can say to Our Lord with Saint Peter, ‘We have left everything to follow you,’ and they can be certain that, if they are faithful, their recompense will be great.” (L. 530).
And, for herself, she wrote in a kind of diary:
“On Ember Wednesday preceding Christmas, I left for Asnieres. I was fearful of making this trip because of my ailments, but the thought of the obedience which was sending me on this trip strengthened me considerably. At Holy Comunion, on that day, I was moved to make an act of faith, and this sentiment stayed with me for a long time. It seemed to me that God would grant me health so long as I believed that He could sustain me, despite all appearances, and that He would do so if I often reflected on the faith that enabled Saint Peter to walk on the waters.” (A 50).
Pieces of letters to Saint Vincent, to the Daughters of Charity and a thought for her spiritual life.
Reflection:
- It seems that St. Louise has St. Peter as the model of all spiritual life, and so she tells St. Vincent to learn from him, for as the Church is founded on St. Peter, so is the Company of the Daughters of the Charity is founded on St. Vincent and not on bishops. And when she sends Sister Barbara Angiboust to visit the Daughters in the village of Sainte-Marie, away from communications, with much work and in solitude, she tells her to encourage the Sisters, reminding them that St. Peter, when many abandoned Jesus, assures him that the apostles will never abandon him. And for his personal life, in the diary she began writing about 1645, she recalled that some twenty years earlier she already trusted in the Lord’s strength, like St. Peter, when he walked on the water.
- The feast of St. Peter in the West has always enjoyed great prestige because in the East there were four patriarchates: Moscow, Constantinople, Jerusalem, and Alexandria, while in the West there was only that of Rome founded by St. Peter. Patriarchates who, because of the ups and downs of history, have wanted to consider themselves as the cornerstone of the Christian Church, confronting, mainly, that of Rome with those of the East.
- It’s a very popular feast. Extended by innumerable towns and cities, with characteristics of each place both in the religious, with original ceremonies, as in the profane with very popular pilgrimages and typical of each region. It is, at the same time, very dear and enjoyed by the people, with very pleasant rites, since, being celebrated the 29 of June, it is considered like the door that gives step to the vacations of summer.
- It is a wonderful opportunity for the Vincentian Family to celebrate the feast with joy and, at the same time, to use it as a platform to evangelize people and places that are difficult to reach directly with the raw message of the Gospel. This feast may be more affordable through the popular traditions that the village celebrates already.
Questions for dialogue:
- Years ago the people used to celebrate the feasts of Mary and of the saints more than those of Jesus Christ. The Second Vatican Council put things in their place, but almost set aside the saints. How is your devotion to Christ, Mary and the saints? How do you participate in the liturgy and in the acts of piety of these feasts? Do they serve to evangelize?
- In your environment, does the feast of Saint Peter continue to be celebrated with the vigor it had when you were younger?
- Do you celebrate the patron saint festivities of your town, city or province? Also in religious ceremonies?
Benito Martínez, C.M.
Thank you very much for bringing to our attention the touching reflections of St. Louise regarding St. Peter.