Posts

1249-1296 of 1833
"Regarding the subject of his meditations, the first was his own sins. This is how he normally started to pray and he often spent the whole time he had set…
Cf. Spiritual Letters, I, 120, 1835.
It is necessary that our will exist only in God’s will. Meditate on this very well and you will find treasures of graces. Besides, not only our will that is… fr pt
"I base my hopes for the conversion of these people on their charac-teristics of gentleness and friendliness that they have already shown towards us. From dawn to dusk they come…
Cf. Commentary of Saint John, 85, 1840.
After our baptism, the Holy Spirit dwells in us in a holy and vivifying way. He is here to become the principle of all our soul’s movements. It depends on… fr pt
"Mission, seen as the announcing of the Good News of the Kingdom, has always been at the very heart of our Spiritan life (SRL 1). But recently, a certain style…
Cf. Spiritual Letters, I, 27, 1837.
All discouragement comes from the devil or from self-love. The grace of God instead of discouraging us, gives us great strength to triumph over ourselves and all our enemies. It… fr pt
"We must speak now of 'personnel policy' at the level of the General Council rather than that of the Provinces. This is the background against which we must project the…
Cf. Spiritual Letters. Cf. Notes and Documents, II, 160, 1852.
It is necessary that our will exist only in God’s will. Meditate on this very well and you will find treasures of graces. Besides, not only our will that is… fr pt
Words of Poullart des Places, recorded by Charles Besnard in his Life of Grignon de Montfort
"You know that for some time now I have been using all that I have to help poor seminarians pursue their studies. I know several who are excellent subjects but… fr pt
Cf. Spiritual Letters, IV, 687, 1851.
Suffer all that the divine goodness allows you to suffer, with this desire to sanctify souls, to attract for them at least the divine grace so as to bring them… fr pt
"Towards the end of 1831, the Directors of St. Sulpice sent François Libermann to Issy. For 15- 18 months, he had nothing else to do apart from sweeping up the…
Cf. Spiritual Letters, I, 74, 1835.
It would be good to moderate your external actions slightly so as to be able to keep your soul in a perfect stillness, and always to be in this quiet… fr pt
"Why mission? Because to us, as to St. Paul, 'has been confided the privilege of announcing the unfathomable riches of Christ to the pa-gans' (Eph. 3:8). New life in him…
Cf. Notes and Documents, VII, 5, 1845.
Now, I am chained up, I ought to walk. I will walk until this body falls into dissolution, and then God will find a stronger and more pleasing instrument to… fr pt
"O God, who leads people towards the heavenly Jerusalem when they put all their trust in you, I want to abandon myself entirely to your divine providence; I put aside…
Cf. Notes and Documents, XIII, 144, 1851.
The missionary who does not have the virtues of humility and gentleness is a monster in the apostolate of Jesus Christ, even if he has the zeal of Saint-Paul and… fr pt
"The second aspect of the Spiritan charism of availability is evan-gelical poverty in its twofold dimension: material poverty and spiri-tual poverty. The first can be summarised thus: while respecting the…
Cf. Notes and Documents, XIII, 144, 1851.
A missionary who would have these virtues of humility and gentleness deeply engraved in his soul and who would make them enter into all his dispositions and ways of acting,… fr pt
Jacques Laval to Ignace Schwindenhammer, Superior General. 17.12.1854
I don't have the talents that a superior needs. He has to be at the very least at the level of his confreres but I am far below them- and… fr pt
Cf. Notes and Documents, XIII, 144, 1851.
May the Spirit of Jesus dominate all your perceptions, direct and lead all the movements of your soul. May it communicate gentleness and humility to your heart. fr pt
J. Michel: Memoire Spiritaine no. 4, p. 99
"In the house of Poullart des Places, poverty is less of a necessity than a mystique. His spiritual poverty led him not just to accept but to love and seek… fr pt
Cf. Notes and Documents, XIII, 144, 1851.
Oh! How important is this gentleness and humility of heart and how few men possess them! These two virtues, which are the immediate fruit of a genuine and perfect love,… fr pt
"Have courage, brothers and dedicate yourselves totally to the glory of God and the salvation of so many poor people. You have suffered much and you will suffer more; but…
Cf. Spiritual Letters, I, 231, 1839.
Until now, you have been in the habit of working on your own and of considering your work and application of some value. This is why, seeing your weakness, you… fr pt
"Like Simeon, I want to give thanks to God. The Holy Spirit pushed us forward, he swept away the doubts and hesitations we had about these new experiences. Spiritan vocations…
Germany
The Provincial of Germany, Père Acker, acquires the house at Saverne in which François Libermann was born. fr pt
East Africa
The first adult Kikuyu baptism in Kenya. fr pt
Cf. Notes and Documents, XIII, 144, 1851.
Be holy as Jesus was holy. This is the one and only way to redeem and sanctify souls. fr pt
"Our project consists in giving ourselves entirely to Our Lord for the salvation of the Black Peoples, being those who are the most un-fortunate, the furthest removed from the means…
Cf. Notes and Documents, XIII, 144, 1851.
May Jesus’ Spirit animate all your actions, may he form all the sentiments of your soul, may he mortify and moderate all the turbulent vivaciousness of your mind, all the… fr pt
"To be liberated from misery; to be able to enjoy support, good health, a stable job; to have more responsibility, free from oppres-sion, protected from situations offensive to human dignity;…
Cf. Notes and Documents, XIII, 144, 1851.
The African People will not be converted by the efforts of clever and capable missionaries, they have no need of them. It is the holiness and sacrifices of their Priests… fr pt
"To carry out its mission and build up communion within, the Congregation gives itself various structures. Central to all these, however, is community living. It is practised differently in response…
Cf. Notes and Documents, IV, 461, 1843.
A soul who wants to be for God does not do what it wants. fr pt
"Libermann was physically strong and nervously fragile. Vulner-able to stress, his body possessed a wiry endurance. He was sensi-tive, affectionate and shy. He had a penetrating mind that went straight…
Spiritual Writings, 494. 1851
I have come to cast fire on the earth”, says Jesus. Why then are there so few of these burning torches? It is because there are few saints, few souls… fr pt
Memorandum of 1846, The Way we intend to follow
"The second principle on which our missionary method rests is our conviction that civilisation is impossible without the Faith. Hence the task of the missionary is not just to work… fr pt
Cf. Spiritual Letters, IV, 621, 1850.
Never embrace an idea with ardour and never take a resolution except when you feel that the ardour and excitement of your mind has died down. You must be certain… fr pt
"The proposed missionary method rests on two co-related princi-ples: the first is that we are convinced that the Faith will not have a firm foundation amongst these people, nor will…
Cf. Notes and Documents, VII, 8, 1845.
Live by faith, be present to God always through sincere charity. Always aim to keep your soul in peace and trust in God. Acknowledge your poverty, stay and repose in… fr pt
Memorandum of Le Vavasseur, to Galais
"The missionaries must be determined to love and cherish the Blacks like their own brothers; their friendship for them should be deeper than for the Whites. They must be so… fr pt
Cf. Notes and Documents, IX, 248, 1847.
In general you must cultivate a liking for everyone, whatever their sentiments on religious principles or their opinion of yourself. You must moreover, leave them full freedom to think and… fr pt
Mgr. Vogt: Spiritan Papers 19, p.42-43
"Mgr. Vogt opened a junior seminary at Mvolyé (Yaounde) in September, 1923. As there were no other teachers, the Vicar Apostolic himself became the director and teacher of the children.… fr pt
Cf. Commentary of Saint John, 89, 1840.
O most holy and adorable Spirit of my Jesus, let me hear your gentle voice. Refresh me with your precious inspiration. O divine Spirit, I want to be before you… fr pt
"The marriage of Joseph and Mary was entirely spiritual and brought about to implement the plans of God for mankind, so Mary's dowry was also spiritual. Hence the greatness of…
Cf. Spiritual Letters, III, 229, 1843.
Saint Joseph was “the first devotee of Mary, he who had greatest devotion to her because he knew most intimately the treasures contained in the heart of his blessed wife.… fr pt
"The father of Claude Poullart des Places decided that his son should be a member of the parliament of Brittany and Mme. des Places bought the necessary clothes for that…
Cf. Notes and Documents, VIII, 126, 1846.
Act like a “man”, with simplicity before God and the only desire to please him. fr pt
1249-1296 of 1833