Venerable Louise Margaret Claret de la Touche 15th March 1868 - 14th May 1915
Childhood
Margaret Claret de la Touche was born on the 15th of March, 1868, at
Saint Germain-en-Laye, where Mr. Claret de la Touche was Customs'
Officer, she was welcomed with copious tears. Her parents wanted a son,
especially her mother, who had prayed so fervently to the Blessed Virgin
and lit so many candles at her altar that she believed she would
certainly obtain her petition. Her disappointment was so great that it
was feared that she would die. Her husband consoled her and her friends
made the happiest predictions for the newly born child. Health, beauty,
happiness were to be for her whole life the lot of Margaret.
“Divine Goodness was indeed to favour me with great blessings,” she
wrote afterwards, “but they were not to be those which woridlings
esteem. The cross was over my cradle; suffering was to be my lot, and
was the first mark of predilection given by Jesus to my soul.”
Careless treatment by an incompetent nursery-maid ruined her health
for life and nearly killed her. Her mother made a spontaneous vow to Our
Lady and Our Lady saved her. This illness subsided but was to return
again when she was about 7 years old in a painful and humiliating form.
It erupted on her skin and covered her face and her whole body. Some
people thought that she child would be disfigured for life but to her
mother's joy the mask was removed and she was cured. But she suffered
recurring bouts of bronchitis and again they feared for her life and
again her mother made a vow to Our Lady to erect a votive tablet on Our
Lady's altar in the Church of Obezine if she were cured and again Our
Lady spared her. But yet again she was brought to death's door and lost
her speech and nearly lost her pulse too but her mother felt inspired to
pour some drops of Lourdes water between her lips and a minute
afterwards her eyes opened and then she calmly fell into peaceful sleep.
Margaret's childhood was full of love from both parents but in 1875 her
doting father died at the young age of 47 from inflamation of the lungs.
Her mother hired a governess to look after Margaret at home while she
travelled bringing her older sister with her. A year later her mother
declared her intention of getting married again to a Mr. de Chamberet
and of this Margaret later recalled:
“My little eight-year-old heart, which was perhaps already dreaming
of eternal love, had its first disillusionment; I suffered profoundly
and all the more because I did not wish to manifest my grief to anyone.”
Although her family practised their faith it was perhaps more out of
duty than devotion. When Margaret was about ten and a half her mother
bought her a Catechism and told her to study it in preparation for the
Catechism classes in November but she had previously learned very little
Christian doctrine but even still she distinguished herself in the
class of 80 pupils. It was around this time that Jesus first made His
presence felt; one day her sister had read a passage from a study book
and told her as an exercise to rewrite it in her own words. Margaret who
was struggling to begin the exercise decided to have a quick glance at
the book for some inspiration on how to begin but as she made her way to
the forbidden book an invisible barrier about chest high like an arm
stopped her and the sweet but grave voice of a man said ‘What you are
going to do is wrong’ and she rerplied ‘Oh, I will only look at one
line, just the first line.’ and immediately the barrier was removed and
she felt free to continue but she paused and thought to herself: ‘All
the same, I have been told that it would be wrong. . . .!’ and then she
promptly turned and returned to do her homework and completely forgot
this incident until 15 years later when she realised that she had heard
the voice of Jesus before and then recalled this incident.
Sacraments and her vow of Virginity
She made her first Confession on the 29th of March 1879 and her first
Communion and her Confirmation on the following day. During the
ceremony after swearing fidelity on the Holy Gospels she fell into the
arms of a Priest and later she felt that this was an early sign of that
Jesus had given her to his priests. Three weeks later at the age of 11
she was given the grace of making a vow of virginity. At that age she
did not fully understand this vow but she believed she was promising
never to marry. It made her very happy to renew it and also made her
have a new aversion to any family caresses and she became more reserved
and distant to people. She renewed her vow quite frequently.
Schooling and formation for the world
A mistress was hired to teach her for some time everyday and her
grandmother, older sister and her step-father taught her school studies
and her mother was in charge of her moral upbringing but to a great
extent she forbid Margaret from reading religious literature. Her mother
gradually formed Margaret for the world wishing to make her strong,
courageous, elevated above all weakness and effeminacy, which she deemed
unworthy of beings endowed with reason. This was not from any Christian
perspective. She would quote Socrates and the Sages of Greece but never
mention Christian heros and Saints. She limited her choice of religious
books and forbade her to read the life of St. Teresa of Avila. The
family were wealthy having a Winter home in Valence and a Summer home in
the country and often spending Spring and Autumn in Paris or travelling
abroad. Her home was a social meeting point for family friends who
would take turns to put on some musical entertainment or hold a dancing
party or some little commedy. Margaret though living in the world kept
herself from the world to a large degree because deep down she had not
given up her idea of religious life.
From around the age of 15 she
experienced a hunger in her heart that nothing seemed to satisfy until
later when she entered the convent. During the summer when they stayed
in the Castle of Arbods the family would read, take long walks, have
discussions but always attended Sunday mass. Over the next few years
Margaret struggled to pray and hold on to her hopes of a vocation.
Meeting the author of a scandalous novel gave her a new conversion and
in 1886 a severe illness required the help of a nursing Sister who
encouraged Margaret to persevere in her desire for religious life and
taught her how to pray better. Margaret knew that she had a vocation but
realised that her mother would not consent and that she would have to
wait until she reached her 21st birthday. The thought of continuing on
in the worldly life she was living was daunting. She asked her mother to
let her attend college to get a diploma in the hope of escaping from
the life she was living but her mother refused. Disheartened she
returned again to the same old lifestyle but did not give up her hopes.
Romance
Around this time a young army officer became a friend of the family
and Margaret fell completely in love with this reserved a christian
young man. One night about the 8th of June she was wallowing in romantic
thoughts about him when the cold dark spectre of her vow of virginity
suddenly sprang to mind! She had completely forgotten it and now it
loomed over her as a terrifying icy spectre! All night a terrible battle
took place in her heart and mind: Jesus or the young officer? She hid
under the blankets to hide the sobs and tears and in the morning the
battle was over. She recalled later on that she felt like the mob who
replied to Pilate: “Give us Barabbas!” and as for Jesus: “Away with
Him!” She had fully decided and planned to ask the Bishop to obtain for
her a dispensation from her childhood vow and she had planned to give
500 francs to St Peter's Pence and 500 to the bishop for his works of
charity. On Sunday the 12th of June the bad news was casually broken to
her of new circumstances which meant that a romantic union would be
impossible. Poor Margaret was literally devastated! Even though she put a
brave face on it and did not let on but underneath she was bitterly
crushed.
Healing and firm resolve
Margaret received a great healing and graces in September while
reading “The Life of Saint Aloysius of Gonzaga”. She saw clearly that
God had chosen her from youth and marked her with the sign of virginity
and she decided fully to become a religious. She then renewed her vow of
chastity and asked God to pardon her infidelity. On the Feast of Our
Lady of Mercy 24th of September she went to confession and felt a strong
urge to open her heart to the priest, he told her to get a Spiritual
Director and recommended Fr Raymond the Curate of Valence. All she had
to do now was wait a few months until her 21st birthday on the 15th of
March 1889. She decided though to wait until after the 7th of April
which was the date of the 1st Holy Communion ceremony that year so that
she could try and obtain all the graces she would need to ask her
mother's consent again and if necessary use her right to enter the
convent as she was now of age.
On Palm Sunday she was alone with her
mother and her stepfather, at first she could not bring herself to ask
her mother so she told her stepfather who laughed at the idea and then
she called her mother who gave her consent amidst tears and sobbing
declaring that she could not go against the will of God but also asking
the condition that she defer entry for two years. Margaret initially
agreed to defer and contacted Fr Raymond and he said he would think and
decide what order she should enter. Her mother did not let go easily and
indeed she fought against her plans with all kinds of assaults and
entreaties right up to the day she entered.
Terrible temptations
During these few months Margaret got sick and was obliged to rest but
the evil spirit was allowed to tempt her to a great and shocking degree.
One day on a family country walk as she was preparing for confession
she heard a metalic sounding voice which said to her: “Confession! What
use is it? It is nothing! Jesus Christ never spoke of it; it is an
invention of the Church”, she was frightened and shocked but raised her
mind to God saying she believed in everything the Church teaches but
from that moment she was tormented with all sorts of temptations. She
relates herself;
“I was tempted about all the mysteries of the Faith, and the devil
proposed such subtle arguments that, later on, when I told some of them
to Father Raymond under obedience, he forbade me to speak of them to
anyone.”
In November she met Fr Raymond again and he told her that after her
sisters wedding on January the 6th 1890 he would let her know what house
of the Visitation order she should enter. In February she met him again
and he told her she was to enter the Order of the Visitation house at
Romans. She went to visit them on February the 6th accompanied by her
Brother in Law because her parents refused to go and he was under orders
not to leave her alone which meant that she could not open her heart
during the interview! She later wrote to the Superior who suggested that
she come for a retreat in May. The theme of the retreat was: “I am from
God, I belong to God, and I am for God.” which she found very helpful.
She returned home and on July the 16th after placing the matter of the 2
year delay in the hands of St. Joseph, she put forward such good
reasons to her mother that her mother had to consent. The 21st of
November was fixed as the departure day and in the meantime she went on a
pilgrimage to Paray le Monial. While there she made the following Act
of Consecration of herself which she composed to the Sacred Heart;
Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart
“O adorable Heart of my divine Saviour, I offer and consecrate myself
entirely to Thee: my soul which Thou has created to Thy image; my
intellect which Thou has enlightened with the lights of Thy faith; my
heart which, after loving creatures, now wishes to love only Thee and to
beat for Thee alone; my body which has contributed to, and shared in
the wandering of my soul, but which wishes by penance to sustain and
contribute to its uplifting; all the higher powers of my soul and the
lower powers of my body, I give and abandon entirely to Thee. For the
future I wish to have no other will but Thine, no other desire but that
of pleasing Thee, no other love but Thy pure love. Amen.”
Another romantic temptation
On the journey home a young lawyer accompanied the small group and
her mother heard about it and again all kinds of entreaties were made to
her to marry this young man but she defended her vocation ardently. But
when she went to her room all the old ideas against her vocation
assailed her and she wondered truly if it was providence Who had put
this young man on her path. She was giving in to these temptations but
the realisation of all that God had done to try and win her for Himself
crossed her mind and in deep anguish of heart she knelt down on the
floor with her arms outstretched like a Cross and suddenly got the
inspiration to renew her vow and afterwards she was not tempted again
about leaving the world.
Entry into the Cloister
Nine Days before her entry she visited the house and God gave her a
preview of her future as she recalled later herself; “The sacrifice
involved in religious life which I desired, by my faith, which I wished
because I knew God wished it from me, was shown to me in all its rigour,
and God allowed me to taste its bitterness.” In the evening of November
the 20th she stepped in and the doors were closed behind her. Later
when she went to her room she knelt down in front of a Crucifix and her
heart wept for quite a while at the separation from everything that she
loved on earth. Her motto would now be “Let nothing of me remain, but a
humble servant of Jesus Christ always ready to obey His divine will.”
The Vicar General of the Diocese laughed when he heard of her entry into
the convent a pious lady from Valence laughed too when she heard the
news and said to the Rev. Mother; “If you want a subject who is a good
actor in comedies Miss de la Touche is just the person for you; she is
an excellent comedienne.”! Margaret was made to wait two months before
being allowed into the Noviciate during which she felt like a stranger
in the house.
On January the 17th 1891 she was allowed to enter and took
the name Sr Louise Margaret. God allowed her to experience her human
weakness in the sense that she became awkward or clumsy in everything.
She could not do her work well or read well. Of this she wrote herself;
“It was one of the greatest causes of suffering during my first years of
religious life to see myself unable to take a hand at the common
occupations like the other Sisters; incapable of stretching out the
linen that had been washed, of doing the sweeping and other such little
tasks as are usually performed by novices and young professed Sisters.”
When she offered to do some job she would hear “Oh! not you, Sister!”
This: “Not you, Sister” pierced her heart. When the Mistress of novices
asked her to sing louder in the choir the result was so unhappy that she
was relegated to the ranks of the Associate Sisters. She loved to sing
the praises of God. She had developed her own simple way of meditating
but her Novice Mistress forbid her to use it and to follow the way she
taught her which she felt constrained her soul but later realised that
it had been a very good discipline for her mind.
Receives the habit and makes her vows
She received the habit on October the 7th and her family who were
present were indescribably moved. In January 1892 she fell very ill and
close to death again with congestion of the lungs, she made her will and
accepted the offer of the Rev. Mother to pronounce her religious vows
conditionally. She did not know if the Community would keep her or send
her home and the thought of having to return to the world filled her
with grief but she accepted the future whatever way God's will would
unfold. Thankfully she was allowed to make her profession on October the
17th 1892. During the preparatory retreat she understood that God had
designs on her soul which would mean a lot of suffering and trials but
she abandonned herself to His will. During the ceremony she had to
prostrate herself in the place where the coffins of dead sisters were
placed and a pall was placed over her. In the darkness she offered
herself to God saying: “All for Thee, O my God, all for Thee; I give
Thee all do with me and in me all that Thou wishest”.
Following her
profession her assigned work included work in the archives and to do
embroidery for priest's vestments. She experienced the presence of
Jesus in a very real way and started composing beautiful poetry in His
honour. Similar to Saint Margaret Mary who was asked by Our Lord for the
sacrifice of her liberty and her whole being and later He asked her
make a vow to do always the most perfect thing, Sister Louise Margaret
was asked by Our Lord to make a vow of abandonment to Him and later to
make an Act of total Donation of herself to Infinite Love. She made the
following vow of abandonment on the First Friday of August in 1895 with
the consent of her confessor and her superiors;
Vow of Abandonment
“O my God, prostrate in Thy presence, I adore Thy infinite
perfection, I adore Thy sovereign dominion over all Thy creatures and,
in order to recognise Thy dominion over me, I make a vow of total
abandonment of my whole being into Thy hands, allowing Thee to dispose
of me according to Thy good pleasure, for time and eternity,”
“O Jesus, I abandon myself without reserve to Thy divine Heart,
giving Thy love entire liberty of action in me and around me, wishing to
see only Thy action in all things and to adore every disposition of Thy
will.”
She shares Christ's Sufferings
She began also to share Our Lord's sufferings. She relates this herself as follows;
“Our Saviour showed me a chalice which I must drink, so bitter that
my human nature revolted against it with all its strength. I was as if
in agony, but after a struggle, I accepted all; I consented to all and I
abandoned myself to all.”
September, 1896
“Our Lord wishes that I be a
victim immolated to His good pleasure and all consumed by the fire of
His divine love. My heart must be as an ardent flame burning my whole
body without consuming it. . . . My divine Saviour gave me to understand
that He chooses souls to continue His passion in them, but as a human
soul could not alone endure all His sufferings, He gives to each one a
little part. He wishes to make me share in His state of painful
crucifixion. His feet and hands were made fast: He was suspended without
movement, suffering a slow and silent agony, no longer acting. He
wishes that I remain thus under His action in the disposition to endure
everything.”
“When Our Lord showed me His will in my regard, He did not mingle in
it any sweetness or consolation; I felt all the bitterness of the
sacrifice, and I saw that He exacted from me an uninterrupted immolation
of every minute of my existence.”
“On the following day at about three o’clock in the morning, I awoke
suffering inexpressible pains, and for more than an hour our Lord made
me again share in His suffering.”
“I suffered excruciating pains in all my members, especially my feet,
and there remained with me for a long time after the impression of
burning heat accompanied with sharp pangs.”
On the 17th of September during the six o’clock Mass she offered
herslf to God to accomplish His will and to allow herself to be
destroyed and annihilated for His pure love.”
She was assailed with the most humiliating temptations against the
Faith and these temptations and blasphemies seemed to come from someone
beside her rather than from within her and she had no control over them.
Her confessor remained silent and her Novice Mistress did not
understand.
Fr Alfred Charrier S.J.
For about the month of May 1896 she prayed the long Thirty Days
Prayer and four days later on June the 4th the Feast of the Blessed
Sacrament her prayers were answered in the form of Fr Alfred Charrier
S.J. who replaced the usual chaplain to the Monastery. After his homily
and during the Benediction she heard Our Lord's voice in her soul
telling her to:
“Go and open your heart to Him.”
She made her simple weekly confession to him and after he spoke a few
words to her all her feelings of resistance to opening her soul to him
vanished and she then revealed to him the secrets of her soull. Later
she wrote:
“I felt that a firm hand had taken hold of my soul and was preventing it
from falling, and I understood that this prudent direction, enlightened
by the very spirit of Jesus, would not make me depart from the way of
filial submission and respect in which I earnestly wished to walk
courageously.”
This did not stop her sufferings and in fact they increased but in her heart she received a peace which the world cannot give.
Her Mission
Of her mission, she herself writes:
“I was not born to be a Religious, or to be a Superioress. In the
designs of Providence, I was to be both, but that is not my raison
d’etre. My raison d’etre is to be a nothing, a feather flying with the
wind, a grain of sand heaved up by the sea, but this feather, this grain
of sand are messengers of Infinite Love. Yes, my role here below is to
publish the good news throughout the world, the good news that can never
be repeated by enough people, the good news that had been repeated for
the last twenty centuries without ceasing to be the news that all men
have need to learn: It is that God is Love, and that consequently, He loves His creature.,
To know this would mean happiness for the individual, happiness for
peoples, happiness for humanity. But people refuse to believe it and
thus refuse to be happy - for men’s intellects, for want of this light,
remain in darkness; men’s hearts, for want of this heat, remain cold and
sad.”
Preparation for the Message
In March 1902 Sr Louise Margaret asked Jesus:
“My Jesus, tell me what are the desires of Thy Heart? ‘The
world is becoming frozen; egoism is contracting men’s hearts; they have
turned away from the source of Love, and they think they are very far
from God; nevertheless, I, Infinite Love, am quite near, and the bosom
of divine Charity, all swollen with love, must needs open. Allow Me to
love you and, through you, to descend to the world.’”
Margaret replied:
“My Jesus, what can I do for the world, since I am separated from it?” And Jesus said:
“I
will explain to you this mystery which is beyond your power to
comprehend. I became incarnate in order to unite Myself to men; I died
to save men; My sacrifice was of sufficient efficacy to redeem the whole
human race, and infinitely more; but because man is endowed with free
will, he must co-operate in the work of his own salvation. The
superabundance of My merits obtains for him sufficient grace for that;
however, there are many who reject My graces. Then, I take souls, I
invest them with myself; I continue My passion in them, I separate them
from others for My work I unveil to them the mysteries of My Love and
Mercy, and making them like purified channels, I pour out on the world a
new abundance of grace and pardons.”
Margaret replied her consent:
“My Saviour, I belong to Thee, do with me according to Thy will.”
The Message of Our Lord to the Clergy of the world
On Friday June the 6th 1902 the Feast of the Sacred Heart Jesus made
His presence felt to Margaret and she asked Him to send some new novices
that she could train for Him but Jesus said to her:
“I will give you souls of men.” She was astonished at these words which she could not understand and Jesus said: “I will give you souls of priests.”
Still not understanding Jesus said to her:
“No, It is for My clergy that you will immolate yourself.”
On each of the following 8 days or of the Octave of the Sacred Heart
Jesus spoke to her of the dignity of priesthood, of His love for them,
of the return of love which He expected from them and of the new bond of
union which He wished to form between them. He ordered her to write
down the instructions which He gave her during this Octave.
That evening Jesus said:
“My priest is my other
Self. I love him, but he must be holy, Nineteen centuries ago, twelve
men changed the world, they were no mere men, they were priests! Now
once more twelve priests could change the world.”
On June 7th He said to her:
“The heart of my
priest ought to be a burning flame, warming and purifying souls. If the
priest only knew the treasures of love which My Heart contains for him!
Let him come to My Heart, let him draw from It, let him fill himself
with love until it overflows from his heart and spreads itself over the
world. Margaret Mary has shown My Heart to the world, do you show It to My priests, and draw them all to My Heart.”
Because of her suffering her confessor told her that Jesus must have
some great grace to give her and tell her something definite. She wrote:
“That evening He showed me the greatness of the priest. Chosen from
among men, the priest ascends even to God; he is placed between man and
God, a mediator like Jesus, and with Jesus. He has been, so to speak,
transubstantiated into Jesus, and he enters into all His divine roles
and His divine prerogatives. He is with Jesus offering, expiation,
victim, From this state of special union with Jesus, all the acts of
the, priest acquire an incomprehensible excellence.”
On June 10th she said to Jesus:
“My Saviour, when our Blessed Sister (Margaret Mary) showed Thy
divine Heart to the world, did not priests see It? Does not that
suffice?”
Jesus replied:
“I wish now to make a special manifestation of It to them.”
Then he showed her that He had a special work to do: to enkindle the
fire of love in the world; and that He wished to make use of His priests
to do that. He said this to her with such touching and tender
expression that tears came to her eyes:
“I have need of them to do My work.”
She explained in her notes:
“In order that they may be able to extend
the reign of love, they must be full of it themselves, and it is from
the Heart of Jesus that they must draw it. ‘My Heart is the Chalice of
My Blood,’ said He to me again;
‘If anyone has the right and the duty to
drink from It, is it not My priest who each day brings the Chalice of
the altar to his lips; let him come to My Heart and let him drink.’”
The 4 Parts of the work of Infinite Love
There were 4 main parts to the mission that Our Lord revealed to Sr
Louise Margaret during her religious life for His Priesthood and the
whole Church.
- The setting up of "The Priests’ Universal Union of the Friends of the Sacred Heart," (Abbreviated now to the Priest’s Union) intended for all the bishops and priests of the world whether religious or secular;
- Bethany of the Sacred Heart, a new Contemplative Institute, the
members of which devote themselves to a life of prayer and
self-immolation for priests;
- The Friends of Bethany of the Sacred Heart are men, women, young
people, and men and women religious of other institutes who live the
donation to God Infinite Love and cooperate with prayer and support, so
that priests can live fully their ministry as Sowers of Love.
- The Missionaries of Infinite Love are a pontifical secular institute
of consecrated lay women who live the spirituality of the Work while
immersed in the life of the world
or who want to live their Baptism plunging into any reality in which man
lives and works, rejoices and suffers, struggles and hopes;
Her writings: The Sacred Heart and the Priesthood and the Book of Infinite Love
Sr Louise Margaret was told by Fr Charrier to write down any lights
she received from Our Lord. Our Lord revealed many insights to her about
the Priesthood and told her that he wanted a book to be written about
the Priesthood using the insights He had given her. She told Fr Charrier
about this but he delayed for a long time before he did anything about
starting this book. This was a terrible trial for Sr Louise Margaret
because she felt that it was an urgent matter and that Our Lord was
displeased about this delay. Part of the problem was that Fr Charrier
found it hard to believe that Our Lord wanted him to write this book. He
asked her to ask Our Lord to tell her some sin he had committed from
his past as a sign of some tangible proof but Our Lord told her:
“I have already given him so many: As for his
sins, I no longer remember them, but I do remember that one day he made
himself My slave by engraving on his flesh the mark of his servitude.”
Fr Charrier never admitted to her that he had done so but after her
death he did admit that this revelation she had received was indeed
true. In his humility he delayed starting this project and also he had a
very heavy work schedule. This book is the handbook of the “Priest’s
Union.”
Sr Louise Margaret received tremendous insights and understanding on
the Mystery of the Trinity and the nature of God Himself. She was given
great understanding of God as Infinite Love, in fact “Infinite Love” is
the term or name that she used for God. She was told by Fr Charrier to
write down every light she received and later on she was told by Bishop
Filipello to write a little book in which she would bring together all
the lights which she received on the sublime subject of the Infinite
Love of God. Due to her failing health and approaching death she was
unable to complete writing this book but she left a plan of the book and
instructions from where in her notes the chapters were to be taken
from. This book is also especially recommended to members of the
Priest’s Union.
Exile to Italy
An anti-Catholic law was passed in France in early 1904 against
Religious Congregations, all property of teaching Orders was liable to
confiscation and the members were to be disbanded. They had the choice
of returning to the world or trying to find refuge in another country if
they could find a bishop to accept them. The Visitation Order is not a
teaching Order in general but Sr Louise Margaret's house in Romans had
set up a boarding school after the French Revolution because that was
the only way the Law would allow them to reopen and so in February 1904
her Monastery was on the official list for liquidation. They closed the
boarding school in the hope that it would prevent their liquidation but
in vain. Sr Louise Margaret realised that it was God's will in the sense
that St Francis de Sales set up the order as one of contemplation and
hiddeness from the world.
The Superior: Mother Marie Emmanuel, another Sister and Sr Louise
Margaret went on a trip of exploration through Italy on the 19th of
August 1904 in the hope of finding exile for the community of
approximately 50 Sisters. The Mother Superior returned again in October
and was able to rent a Castle of Count Berice near Turin in case of
their eviction from Romans. They were violently expelled on the the 6th
of March 1906 after the last appeal of the unjust eviction order failed.
The soldiers came and battered down the doors of the Monastery and
after some violent scuffles with supporters of the Sisters the Mother
Superior calmly read out their protestation. They were all escorted out
of the Monastery and received honoured accomodation in a friend's house.
On the following day they were escorted by friends to the train for
their sad departure to Italy. But Sr Louise Margaret saw the hand of
Infinite Love in this crisis and indeed in every crisis. For it was in
Italy that Providence had planned to start the Works of Infinite Love.
Shortly after their arrival in Italy Mother Marie Emmanuel became
very ill and Sister Louise who had been her secretary became burdened
with the responsibility of the community more and more.
Sister Louise is elected Reverend Mother
Mother Marie Emmanuel's second term of office finished on the 11th of
May 1907 and Sister Louise was elected as the new Reverend Mother on
the 16th of May. This was a very big shock and burden for her. But she
accepted God's will and made plans to try and bring the community back
to the way of life intended by their founders St Frances de Sales and St
Jane Frances de Chantal. With the advice given to her by Fr Charrier
who quoted the General of some great Order who once said “I have
Superiors in abundance, but I find very few Fathers among them” she was
also determined to be more a loving Mother to the community than their
superior. It was her responsibility to give a conference or talk to the
Sisters at their chapter meetings and she used the oppurtunities to
teach the doctrine of Infinite Love. At her first one given two days
after her election she said“For myself, my beloved Sisters, my sole
ambition will be to aid the Master in doing His Work of love in this
dear family.”. As their was three years to the 3rd centenary of the
foundation of the Visitation Order the 6th of June 1910 she asked the
community to see them as a tridium of preparation during which they
wopuld return to the spiritual roots of the Order and increase the love
of God among them by increasing the love of neighbour and so to increase
their
unity like that which Jesus prayed for His Apostels: “That they may be
one as We are one”.
New Accommodation
One of the biggest problems Mother Louise inherited in her new office
was the need to find new accommodation for the large community of 50
sisters. The anti-Catholic press were demanding a law like the one in
France to expel Religious congregations and the contaminated water
supply in the house was the cause of serious illness among many of the
community. When all hope seemed to be gone the Countess of San Marzano
in Mazze in the diocese of Ivrea rented them her large house “La
Torretta”.
Her writings
In December 1903 she wrote the prayer; “O Jesus Eternal Priest” and
in 1905 Fr Charrier had it presented to Pope Pius X to have it
indulgenced and later on the Pope wrote his encyclical on the Priesthood
and her prayer contains ideas identical to his encyclical which shows
that the prayer expressed ideas that were very dear to his heart.
Perhaps the most pressing problem of all for her spiritually was the
ongoing delay of Fr Charrier pronouncing a judgement on the divine orign
of her writings and his reluctance to write a book for the benefit of
the Clergy based on her notes. She wrote to him often and tried to
persuade him to make a decision and to start writing the “The Sacred
Heart and the Priesthood”. In 1907 she wrote to him complaining that he
had her notes for 11 years and was still unable to make a decision about
them. Part of the problem for him was the idea that Our Lord wanted him
to write the book and set up the Priest’s Union.
The Encyclical of Pope Pius X on the Priesthood
In 1908 his Holiness, Pope Pius X, composed and published his
Encyclical to the priests of the world which contains so many ideas in
common with The Sacred Heart and the Priesthood that it may be said to
be a summary of it. Our Lord had already told her that it was this Pope
who was to sanction the Priest’s Union.
Fr Charrier decided to ask Fr Hamon S.J. a well known expert to
examine her writings and he was very impressed by them
and he felt that a book should be composed from them. In January 1908
Our Lord expressed His desire that the book should be written as a first
step in setting up the Priest’s Union. On the 23rd of January 1908 Fr
Charrier agreed to start the book but deep down he was still somewhat
reluctant. In April of 1909 he still had not composed the book and
Mother Louise sent him a slightly reproaching letter and this caused him
to make the decision that he could not write the book and he would send
her writings back to her. She met Fr Poletti on the Feast of the Sacred
Heart and he agreed to examine her papers and afterwards he felt that
nobody else should write the book but she herself.
The Sacred Heart and the Priesthood
In the midst of all her other burdens of being Reverend Mother she
now started work on this book which Our Lord had said would be a first
step in the process of starting up the Priest’s Union. The book is
divided into four parts; I The Priest, the creation of Infinite Love, II
The Sacerdotal Virtues of the Heart of Jesus,
III The Love of the Incarnate Word for Priests and IV Sublime
Reflections on Infinite Love and the Priesthood. She worked tirelessly
at the book and in June 1910 Monsignor Filipello the Bishop of Ivrea
presented the Book to Pope Pius X with a letter of explanation. Pope
Pius X later sent a reply to him saying;
“The subject matter of the book is worthy of the
deepest interest. It contains an exposition of the sublime relations of
intimacy and love between the Heart of Jesus and the heart of the
priest, and of the touching harmonies between the Heart of Jesus and the
Priesthood; it recounts all that the Divine Master has done for those
whom He calls ‘His friends’; it lays before the priest the necessity of
forming his heart and inspiring his life by this ineffable model of the
Heart of Jesus. Sacerdotal souls, as well as souls exercised in the interior life
and formed in solid piety, will find in these pages edifying and
salutary considerations.”
The Act of Donation to Infinite Love as a bond of unity
Jesus demanded that Mother Louise and Fr Charrier should completely
donate themselves to Infinite Love so that they could become His
instruments of spreading the message and promoting the work of Infinite
Love. He promised special favours to those who make this Act of Donation
and it is the official Act by which Priests are admitted into the
Priest’s Union. Fr Charrier deferred making this Act of Donation for
about 8 years much to the distress of Mother Louise.
“O Infinite Love, Eternal God, Principle of life, Source
of being, I adore Thee In Thy sovereign Unity and in the Trinity of Thy
Persons.
I adore Thee in the Father, omnipotent Creator Who has
made all things. I adore Thee in the Son, eternal Wisdom by Whom all
things have been made, the Word of the Father, incarnate in time in the
womb of the Virgin Mary, Jesus Christ, Redeemer and King. I adore Thee
In the Holy Ghost, substantial Love of the Father and the Son, in Whom
are light, strength and fruitfulness.
I adore Thee, Infinite Love, hidden in all the mysteries
of our Faith, shedding Thy beneficent rays in the Blessed Eucharist,
overflowing on Calvary and giving life to the Church by the channels of
the Sacraments, I adore Thee throbbing in the Heart of Jesus, Thine
ineffable Tabernacle, and I consecrate myself to Thee.
I give myself to Thee without fear with the fullness of
my will; take possession of my being, penetrate it entirely. I am but a
nothing, powerless to serve Thee, it is true, but it is Thou, Infinite
Love, Who hast given to this nothing and Who dost draw it to Thee.
Behold me then, O Jesus, come to do Thy work of love to
labour to the utmost of my capacity in bringing to Thy priests, and
through them to the entire world, the knowledge of Thy mercies and of
the sublime and tender love of Thy Heart.
I wish to accomplish Thy will, whatever it may cost me;
even to the shedding of my blood, if my blood be not unworthy to flow
for Thy glory.
O Mary, Immaculate Virgin whom Infinite Love has
rendered fruitful, It Is by thy virginal hands that I give and
consecrate myself.
Obtain for me the grace to be humble and faithful, and
to devote myself without reserve to the interests of Jesus Christ Thy
adorable Son and to the glory of His Sacred Heart! Amen”
Fr Charrier delayed for two years in making this Act of Donation to
Infinite Love which he made on 5th of January 1912. Mother Louise
Margaret had tried to persuade him with letters during that time. He
felt unworthy and was afraid of being unfaithful to it. She gave the
example of how St Peter promptly and simply replied “Yes Lord You know I
love You” when asked by Our Lord “Do you love Me?”. Mother Louise
Margaret understood that the Act of Donation would be the bond of unity
in the Priest’s Union.
Monsignor Matthew Filipello Bishop of Ivrea the Director of the Work
He was born at Castlenuove and was ordained a Priest in 1881. As a youth
he had the privilege of knowing Saint Don Bosco and receiving his last
blessing. He worked for 17 years in the parish of St. Francis de Sales
in Turin and was ordained bishop of Ivrea in 1898. He was loved by the
priests in his diocese and was regarded as wise and holy. In November
1908 when Mother Louise Margaret wanted to transfer her Community to
Mazze in his diocese she wrote to him for permission and he warmly
welcomed them and visited them in the following January. In April he
made his canonical visitation and he asked Mother Louise Margaret to ask
the Community to pray much for priests, and told her that he had an
ardent desire to do something for them in honour of the Sacred Heart.
Mother Louise Margaret was profoundly moved by his devotion for priests
she sensed the hand of God in this encounter. She assured him of the
prayers of the Community and told him that one of the Sisters was very
specially interested in this subject. When he asked her for more precise
information, she gave him some of her Intimate Notes dealing with the
love of the Heart of Jesus for His priests.
He took them home, examined
them at leisure, meditated on them, and soon declared that he was very
happy with them. On his next visit he asked her to let him meet the
Sister who had written these notes, and she, blushing with confusion,
could only reply: “My Lord, she is here before you.” He recognised that
there was something great and mysterious in all this, but he prudently
refrained from speaking to her about the subject for a whole year. Our
Lord revealed to Mother Louise that the Priest destined to direct the
Work would be the first Priest who would consecrate himself to Infinite
Love using the above Act of Donation. Bishop Filipello had read and made
the Act of Donation after he found it in her notes and wrote to her to
thank her for it and to tell that he liked it. She wrote back to him
telling him that she believed that he was the Priest marked out by Our
Lord to found the Work.
Preparation of the Statutes
Monsignor Filipello asked her to write down in a few pages all the
necessary information for starting up this Priest’s Union. She wrote in
this letter that it seemed to her that;
“Jesus wishes
an organisation that will unite priests, - the good and faithful ones,
those who are truly attached to sound doctrine, - and group them around
their bishop in each diocese and that all the dioceses be linked
together and grouped around the Pope, the headquarters of the
organisation being wherever the Pope resided. The priests of this
organisation (which would not be merely a work of prayer like that of
Father Eymard but an active work) would labour in the spirit of the
little book to diffuse the knowledge of Infinite Love around them and
preach love for Jesus Christ, God and man, and fidelity to the Church
and the Pope.” He asked her to draw up a plan for the Statutes of
the Priest’s Union and he would bring them to Rome and consult the
Pope.
The first draft was ready in December 1910 and in May 1911 they
were presented to Cardinal Gennari in Rome. Pope Pius X asked Monsignor
to wait before starting the Priest’s Union in his diocese because it
coincided with the launching o0f another work by Cardinal Dubillard and
the Pope felt that they would both fail if they started at the same
time. Our Lord revealed to Mother Louise on the 15th of November 1911
and again in 1913 that He wanted the statutes revised because they did
not reveal Love sufficiently well.
Community problems and Second term of Office
Much to her disappointment, due to her wish to have more time to
dedicate to the works of Infinite Love Mother Louise was elected for a
second term of office in May 1910 and to add to her problems there was
again the burden of finding new accommodation for the community of 50
sisters. There was also the expectation that a new law in Italy like the
one in France would expel all Religious Orders from the country.
She
wrote to Fr Charrier in February 1911:
“You know that we are threatened on all sides. A decree against
Religious Congregations is expected in the course of this year, or at
latest, next year. Where are we to go? I have not the slightest idea.
The Austrian bishops have been ordered by the Government not to receive
any foreign Religious Communities into their dioceses. This prohibition
has been made last September, no doubt in view of the events here in
Italy that may drive all the Italian Communities to the Austrian
frontier. France is closed to us. Switzerland will receive us no more.
Belgium is full up. Bavaria not only forbids the admission of
Communities, but will not even allow the convents there to receive
individual Sisters. Pray for us, Father, for me in particular, for I
have the heavy responsibility of this large family. I count on the adorable Heart of our good Master, Jesus.”
Mother Louise Margaret wrote to Bishop Filipello for advice and help
to find accommodation for her family of fifty Sisters, most of whom were
old and infirm. Bishop Filipello obtained a very suitable large house
at Parella, a few miles from Ivrea. Bishop Filipello became her
spiritual director and caring advisor as we can see when he wrote to
her saying:
“Contrary to what you fear, I come to the conclusion that your
trouble is a trial from God, Who permits the adversary of good to come
and disturb you.
O.....................“Remain calm and tranquil; continue to abandon
yourself to the will of your divine Spouse Whom you have chosen. Note
down always, under obedience, according as you have time, the interior
impulses, lights, and words which you receive.
When I come, arrange things so as always to have a little free time
for your soul, then unburden yourself freely of your troubles, without
worrying either about taking up my time, or about the manner in which
you are to express your sentiments. As for me, I am ready to aid you as a
Father; I am even prepared to come this very week?"
End of Second term in Office and departure for Rome
Mother Louise was truly delighted to finish her second term of office
but as she made such a strong impression on the community it was
impossible for her to be able to takes the lowest place as she dearly
wished. She heartbreakingly realised along with the advice of the
commu
“Contrary to what you fear, I come to the conclusion that your
trouble is a trial from God, Who permits the adversary of good to come
and disturb you.
O.....................“Remain calm and tranquil; continue to abandon
yourself to the will of your divine Spouse Whom you have chosen. Note
down always, under obedience, according as you have time, the interior
impulses, lights, and words which you receive.
When I come, arrange things so as always to have a little free time
for your soul, then unburden yourself freely of your troubles, without
worrying either about taking up my time, or about the manner in which
you are to express your sentiments. As for me, I am ready to aid you as a
Father; I am even prepared to come this very week?
"
nity confessor that the best thing for the community was for her to
leave it. Bishop Filipello was at first against the idea but with the
suggestion of her being sent to the House in Rome he realised that he
could get advice and support to help set up the Priest’s Union. She
would be able to get her notes judged by competent authorities in Rome.
It was a very painful change for her to have to leave the Community in
which she made her profession many years before. She also had to make
her journey to Rome in slow installments as it was felt that the Summer
heat in Rome would be too dramatic a change for her delicate health so
she went from one Visitation house to another asking hospitality along
the way to Rome. She herself felt like she was a burden on each
Community she visited and stayed with but the Sisters regarded her as
someone of great virtue and talents.
She left the House at Parella on
the 6th of August 1913 and went first to the House in Turin and for a
short stay at the House in Genoa and then on to Pisa. From Pisa she went
on to Massa. From ther she expected to be sent on further to Rome but
instead she received an “Obedience” to go to the House in Bologna and
wait for further instructions. The Reverend Mother of that House feeling
uneasy had asked His Emminence Cardinal Della Chiesa the Archbishop of
Bologna and the future Pope Benedict XV for advice and in doing so he
was made aware of her work and also received a copy of the
The Sacred Heart and the Priesthood. Later when he became Pope he protected Bethany of the Sacred Heart and after her death ensured that
The Book of Infinite Love was completed according to her wishes. On October the 29th Bishop Filipello wrote to her to ask her to set out for Rome.
Rome
Bishop Filipello told her to talk to different Cardinals and Bishops
about the Priest’s Union presented under the aspect of a universal bond
of charity which would unite priests and associations without absorbing
them. While there Cardinal Gennari and Cagiano de Azevedo told her that
it was the will of God for her to found the new monastery Bethany of the
Sacred Heart. The Priest’s Union was approved and arrangements were
made for the founding of Bethany of the Sacred Heart a monastery of
Sisters who would pray and immolate themselves for this work. She had
the consolation of her first audience with Pope Pius X. She also gave in
all her notes and writings to be examined by competent authorities and
was interviewed and questioned about them and also about the new
monastery and the Priest’s Union by the Holy See. In January 1914 she
presented her petition to found the new monastery. On the 30th of
January 1914 the immediate foundation of the new monastery in the
diocese of Ivrea and under the authority of Bishop Filipello was
sanctioned by the Sacred Congregation.
By sanctioning the foundation of
the new monastery they were sanctioning the Priest’s Union too because
the new monastery was to be the helpmate of the Priest’s Union and also
both were treated as one work by the Sacred Congregation. As there was
some problems about finalising the name of the new monastery and also
getting the new draft of the statutes approved the final official
approbration by the Sacred Congregation did not occur until January 25th
1918 which was nearly three years after Mother Louise Margaret's death.
It was also thought better to wait until the war was over before trying
to start it. But at that stage the new monastery was to be called
“Bethany of the Sacred Heart”.
In the meantime before Mother Louise left Rome she and Sister Margaret
had another audience on February the 5th with Pope Pius X who had just
sanctioned her work and would die just a few months later on August the
20th 1914. At this audience he placed his hand on her head, pressed it
firmly and for quite a long time and blessed them again.
New Foundation of the New Monastery at Vische
Mother Louise along with Sister Margaret returned to Turin on
February the 18th 1914 and stayed with the Sisters of Charity. Their
first priority with the aid and direction of Bishop Filipello was to
find a suitable house for the New Monastery. One Saturday in early March
Madam Bolocco who owned some properties went to visit Bishop Filipello
to tell him that she had a house to rent and that she wanted to rent it
to Religious and by providence Sister Margaret was present with another
Sister in the Bishop's house when they called so it was quite clear to
him that this would be the house for the New Foundation.
The house was
the one Mother Louise had seen in a vision in October 1899 and it was
opened on March the 25th 1914 with the small community of three sisters.
They were obliged to live in great poverty as the first world war
started in August 1914. They lived day by day with just barely enough to
live on and so they relied totally on providence to care for them and
all their needs. Two postulants had entered in March 1914 and in early
1915 Mother Louise wrote to Bishop Filipello to tell him that the
Community had grown to five and also that there were two young ladies
who were hoping to join them.
Due to a lack of understanding of the Mission given to Mother Louise
and this new foundation there were appeals to Rome to have it closed
down. This hurt Mother Louise but she accepted every trial and obstacle
with great trust in God. She knew that people would probably only
realise and see the true motives of her actions after she was dead.
Illness and death
In July 1914 Mother Louise wrote to Fr Charrier to tell him about the
attack of the very painful illness known as Bright's disease and which
prove to be fatal. She endured this illness from July 1914 until her
death in May 1915. For several months before she died she was unable to
either stand up or to lie down and spent all her time confined to an
armchair. Only her confidante and successor Sister Margaret had
knowledge of some of the agony she was going through every day and night
and also understood something of her heroic virtue in continuing her
daily duties of Reverend Mother, Novice Mistress and Spiritual guide to
the community right up to three hours before she died. From her
appearance during the nights Sister Margaret recognised that there was a
supernatural aspect to her illness and that dshe had the appearance of
one crucified.
After a life full of suffering she passed away peacefully
after pronouncing the Sacred Name of Jesus at three o'clock in the
afternoon on Friday the 14th of May which was the day after Ascension
Thursday in 1915. She too had finished training and forming her
successor and community and as she had prophesied before that Jesus
would take her home if she was no longer needed for the work of Infinite
Love in this life. Her heroic life and sanctity have been examined by
the Church and she is now declared “Venerable Louise Margaret Claret de
la Touche”. One miracle is necessary for her beatification and then one
more for her canonisation as a Saint.
