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Bresillac Souvenir Vol 1 ENG.Pdf MARION BRÉSILLAC SOUVENIRS (MEMORIES FROM TWELVE YEARS ON THE MISSIONS) VOLUME 1 MISSIONARY IN INDIA (1841 - 1845) S.M.A. 1988 Cum Permissu superiorum Patrick J.Harrington, S.M.A., Superior General, Rome 6th January 1987. French edition prepared by an S.M.A. team. Put into present-day English by Bob Hales, S. M.A. The present digital edition was prepared with the help of the Sisters of the Presentation of Mary (Srs. Fiat Maria, Kalaiselvi, Rita Mary, Selvi and Shanti) CONTENTS Foreword 7 Ch I The Pain of Leaving Home -and India 11 Ch II At Paris Foreign Missions Seminary 45 Ch IlI The Voyage to India 81 Ch IV-V A Tyro at Pondicherry 125 Ch VI Journey into India 199 Ch VII Working in the Interior 241 Ch VIII Happy in the Outstations 293 Ch IX First Synod of Pondicherry 371 CH X Seminary Superior 413 CH XI Progress and Interference 473 Guide to Chapters and Sections 507 (P 7) FOREWORD (From the French" Avant-propos") Marion Brésillac wrote "Souvenirs de Douze Ans de Mission" in 1855, after he left India and just before he started founding the Society of African Missions. It was never published fully until 1987. (Printed in one big volume, 860 pages, by Médiaspaul, Paris). In English, we will have two books: the present Volume I: "Missionary in India" and then Volume II: "Bishop in India". We will keep the over-all title "Souvenirs from Twelve Years on the Missions" and use continuous pagination for the whole work. This work gives by far the most complete view of the Founder's personality, and his missionary motivations, thinking and plans. Of course "Mission Documents, Foundation Documents" (MDFD) and the small (blue) "Diary 1856-1859" should also be read. The present book will introduce us to a richer and more detailed knowledge of the Founder as a young missionary. It will reveal the theological basis of his spiritual life - his unfailing attachment to the Church and especially to the Pope; his total commitment to the Missions ... The humanity and the richness of his personality will appear, the frank, straight-forward temperament, the immediate and spontaneous response to people and places ... the wide scope and interests of his questing mind, totally opposed to narrow and small-minded views ... But also we will see his extreme sensitivity and vulnerability, his over-intensity, his inability to relax in morally complicated situations. (He saw, and noted, some of these weaknesses himself). History? Here we get a partial. Very personal view of the missionary situation in mid-19th-century India. Sometimes we have a (p 8) ring-side seat at the scuffles. An intense drama is played out here. Obviously, here is a human (very human) life devoted to a great Cause, deeply and passionately involved - and uncompromisingly critical of other actors in the drama! Jesuits, Carmelites, Paris Foreign Missions ... the French, the English, the Irish, the Portuguese ... they all get the hammer from time to time. The writer is far too involved to be able to sit back and try to be coldly objective. But when Marion Brésillac found himself back in a cooler climate, writing a book out of his Diary, he soon saw the need to be more scrupulously fair to them all. Here are the post-scripts he added to some of his chapters: "In this Chapter (X) there are a lot of re-evaluations to be made. Certain passages about the Jesuits to be deleted. A few expressions about individuals to be amended". XIII: "Have to revise some evaluations, especially about the Jesuits". XVI: "The whole Chapter must be re-done. Too many personal remarks". So, one reason why the "Souvenirs" was not published for 132 years may have been that its author never passed it for publication. He intended to make it fairer and more impersonal. (But then it might have become boring!). He died, in 1859, before getting round to revising it as he wished. Here it is now, warts and all. More interesting and more revealing, I think, for that! From the French "Avertissement" 1987 "Marion Brésillac's style is sometimes a bit off-putting for a 20th century reader. It is very 19th century. Moreover the author, in his quest for scrupulous exactitude, often tries to include everything, all the ins-and- outs of his thinking, inside the same interminable sentence. He is completely fascinated by certain topics; and he sometimes flogs them to death. For example: Indian castes and customs, Native Clergy, the Jesuits ... He repeats and repeats ... " The heroic team who deciphered the vast manuscript, and got it correctly typed, often had to contend with antiquated or difficult French (of which they give examples). In this translation I have made no attempt to reproduce these obsolete turns of neither phrase, nor (p 9) the long convoluted sentences, or the grammatical complexities. I merely tried to capture all the ideas, the emotions and the tone-of-voice. Then I ruthlessly turned it into 20th century English, trying to be about 96% accurate. (Anything higher would have to be incompatible with clarity, normality of tone and readability). A lot of 19th century theology and spirituality looks fairly dismal today. Often it seems to make an absolute virtue of "sacrifices and suffering", as if they were objectives. Marion Brésillac's natural outlook was not devoid of cheerfulness and the joy of living, and he saw through some of this stuff. But he could not escape a lot of it; he frequently mentions "sadness" and "pain" as if they were positive achievements, pleasing to God. Other vague 19th century assumptions: "All the pagans are on the road to hell. Traditional religions are nothing but devil worship. The white race is (providentially) superior in weaponry and intelligence". These "axioms" were fairly universal; and it is not surprising that Marion Brésillac was affected by them. What is surprising is that he questioned many of them (the "political" ones, not so much the "theological") and even attacked a few, giving his own opinion instead. When that happens, his views sound amazingly generous and Christian. The word "avertissement" (above) contains a hint of "warning" in it. Having duly fore-warned the reader, I now wish to say that this translation has been a quite interesting and enjoyable task, not at all boring (as I had feared). Here I met a man who is attractive to talk to (though now and then a bit maddening). He has something forthright and worthwhile to say about Mission, Inculturation, Church Independence, Equality, Education, and many other things surprising for his day. He describes his varied adventures and experiences with energy and zest (and often with humour). If you do not enjoy most of his "Souvenirs" I have failed to get it right. Bob Hales, translator. (p 11) CHAPTER I THE PAIN OF LEAVING HOME - AND INDIA1 Twelve Years: The Beginning (1841) and the End (1853) 2 On the first of January 1841, I started my Missionary Diary 3, with these words: "Will I get to be a missionary? I still don't know for sure. But, today, everything points that way. I can even say I am one already, in spirit. For I have the hope, at this moment, of becoming a missionary very soon. May Heaven bless the resolve I have made, of crossing the seas to work for the salvation of my brothers. God is our only Master. He holds sovereign dominion over our entire existence. It is for him to speak, for us to obey". [Looking back now, in 1855]4, have I always been alert and 1 The chapter Headings and sub-headings are mine.—Translatoor. 2 This Chapter also goes back a bit, to his childhood (born 1813) his seminary years, and his short curacy (ordained 1838). 3 The "Souvenirs" are based on the huge Missionary Diary (looks like 1000 pages) mentioned here. He kept it up, faithfully jotting down his first impressions (still hot) for 12 years, fairly regularly. 4 A few necessary explanations are added into the translation, in square brackets [like this]. In 1855, when he was unemployed, in (temporary) retirement at the Capuchins at Versailles, he decided to compose "Souvenirs". He got out the big Diary again. According as he transcribed the best pages, he tore or crossed them out. (The actual hand-written Diary, as well as "Souvenirs" is still to be seen in SMA Archives, Rome). He also copied in several letters or passages from his Correspondence (received and sent) with his family, Fr Luquet (later Bishop Luquet) Frs. Tesson, Langlois etc. (Directors at the Paris Foreign Missions Seminary) and many others. These extracts (from Diary and Correspondence) gave rise to further Reflections (in 1855) about the main events of his life, and about the big questions of the Missions, especially in South India. He never finished editing "Souvenirs". (Too busy, founding the African Missions). Even this first draft got only as far as January 1849. The rest of the "raw" Diary (up to 1853 at least) is now (1987) being published in French. In all, it's a lot of writing; very frank, very personal, often hot. So, most of it is very interesting. (p 12) exact at listening to your word, my God? Faithful in obeying You? After twelve long years in India, was it really to obey You that I left it - furling my sails and handing over the tiller to other hands, the ship You had confided to me? Or was it myself I was listening to? Afraid to struggle on against the storms? Did my courage fail? Was I shirking the weary labour and the early death? It is You who will judge me, Lord; and I have plenty of reason to dread your justice.
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