Duquesne University Duquesne Scholarship Collection Duquesne Studies Spiritan Series Spiritan Collection 12-1-1962 The pirS itual Letters of the Venerable Francis Libermann Volume One: Letters to Religious Sisters and Aspirants Henry J. Koren C.S.Sp. Follow this and additional works at: https://dsc.duq.edu/spiritan-dsss Recommended Citation Koren, H. J. (1962). The pS iritual Letters of the Venerable Francis Libermann Volume One: Letters to Religious Sisters and Aspirants. Retrieved from https://dsc.duq.edu/spiritan-dsss/4 This Book is brought to you for free and open access by the Spiritan Collection at Duquesne Scholarship Collection. It has been accepted for inclusion in Duquesne Studies Spiritan Series by an authorized administrator of Duquesne Scholarship Collection. Spiritan Collection DuQUESNE University The Gumberg Library Congregation of the Holy Spirit USA Eastern Province SPIRITAN ARCHIVES U.SA The Venerable Francis Libermann, C.S.Sp. (1802-1852) Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2011 with funding from LYRASIS IVIembers and Sloan Foundation d http://www.archive.org/details/duquesnestudiess05walt DUQUESNE STUDIES Spiritan Series HWES SPmiTAN Af ;7 5 U3A The Spiritual Letters of The Venerable Francis Libermann Volume One LETTERS TO RELIGIOUS SISTERS AND ASPIRANTS edited and translated by Walter van de Putte, C.S.Sp,, LL.D. and James Collery, C.S.Sp. 1962 DuQUESNE University Press Pittsburgh, Pa. Editions E. Nauwelaerts Editions Spiritus Louvain, Belgium Rhenen, U., Netherlands ni DUQUESNE STUDIES Spiritan Series Volume One. Henry J. Koren, C.S.Sp., The Spiritans. A History of the Congregation of the Holy Ghost. XXIX and 641 pages. Illustrated. Price : paper $5.75 ; cloth $6.50. \"olume Two, Adrian L. van Kaam, C.S.Sp., A Light to THE Gentiles. The Life-Story of tlie Venerable Francis Libcrinann. XI and 312 pages. Illustrated. Price : paper $4.00; cloth $4.75. Volume Three, Claude Francis Poullart des Places, C.S.Sp., Spiritual Writings. XV and 297 pages. Price: paper $5.00; cloth $5.75. Original French text and English translation. Volume Four, Henry J. Koren, C.S.Sp., Knaves or Knights? A History o\ the Spiritan Missionaries in Acadia and North America, 1732-1839. XII and 208 pages. Price : $4.75, cloth only. A^olume Five, l'>ancis Libermann, C.S.Sp., Spiritual Let- ters. I, Letters to Religious Sisters and Aspirants. VIII and 255 pages. Price : $3.95, cloth only. Imprimi potest \"ernon F. Gallagher. C.S.Sp. Provincial Superior Pittsburgh, February 2, 1962. V/7//7 obstat hnpriuiatur Carl P. Hensler, S.T.D. John J. W^-ight. S.T.D. Censor Librorum Rishop of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, April 4. 1964. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 62-12768 ^^^ rights reserved OJ^P^ 'A'^V T t:)'^ j> Copyright, 1962, by Duquesne University Printed in the United States by The Ad Press, Ltd., New York, N. Y. IV -r'-'<)2(o~^ CONTENTS PAGE Preface vii I. Letters to Louise (Voille) des Loges (Sister Aurelia ) 1 IL Letters to Rose Lapique (Sister Paule) 33 in. Letter to Sisters Paule, Aurelia, Alovsia and Cecile f 44 IV. Letters to Adele Bruges (Sister Aloysia) 46 V. Letter to Mother Macrine, Abbess 52 VL Letters to ]\Iother Marie de \''illeiieuve 56 VIL Letters to Jenny Guillarme 133 VIIL Letters to Miss Sainte-Becel 185 IX. Letters to Clemence Godrand 189 X. Letters to Pauline Libermann (Sister St. Leopold) 199 XL Letters to Caroline Libermann (Sister St. Agnes ) 233 XII. Letters to Theodora Libermann (Sister Marie- Therese of Jesus) 244 XIII. Letters to Sisters St. Leopold, St. Agnes of Jesus and Miss Theodora Libermann 249 Index of Subject Matter 254 V : PREFACE Father Joseph Guibert, S.J., described the Venerable Francis Libermann as, "the greatest spiritual director of the last century." It is with a view of bringing our readers in contact with the mind and heart of that wonderful spiritual guide, that we present our first collection in English of his Spiritual Letters. In the present volume are letters he addressed to various women religious, to aspirants to the religious life, and to his three nieces who eventually became nuns. Left to himself. Father Libermann would probably never have undertaken the direction of souls. But in this as in every other action of his life, God's will was paramount. Once he recognized that God wished him to undertake this exacting work, he put into practice a constant theme of his letters, surrender to God's good pleasure, and then went ahead undaunted. He was convinced that the role of the spiritual director was one of removing the obstacles to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and time and again he warns those he directs against becoming in any way attached to himself, when his sole aim is to attach them to Jesus alone. A note of confidence in God and Our Blessed Lady, and encouragement in the face of obstacles, runs right through all his writings. For him fear and strain are unworthy of a friend of Jesus and Mary. Courage and perseverance in spite of repeated falls are standard recommendations. Once he wrote to Mother de Villeneuve of the Sisters of Castres "The majority of souls are lost through discouragement." One who seeks literary elegance in his letters of direction will fail to find it. In writing to souls whom he sought to draw to Jesus, he generally used French, which for him was an adopted language. He wrote under the strain of over- vn PREFACE whelming occupations, and often while suffering from severe attacks of migraine and other ailments. Many of these letters were literally dashed off in spare moments and always with the consciousness that he owed them to his correspondents. His sincerity, his deep love of Jesus and Mary, his consuming zeal for the sanctification of souls, and his unfailing encourage- ment to peace and calm trust in God, shine out in every line. His aim was to "influence people," not for economic gain but for the spiritual benefit of his neighbor. Although the letters in this collection are addressed to re- ligious or prospective religious, they also have a message for priests and layfolk. That message is one of fidelity to the Holy Spirit and absolute trust and confidence in the love of Our Lord and Our Blessed Mother. It is the fervent prayer of the translators that this message may bring lasting peace to many troubled souls. : I. LETTERS TO LOUISE (VOILLE) DES LOGES (SISTER AURELIA) Louise des Loges was one of five girls who heard God's call to the apostolate of the much neglected negroes. These ladies consulted Father Tisserant with regard to their voca- tion. Father Tisserant was temporarily engaged in work for the Archconfraternity of Our Lady of Victories in Paris, and he had become one of Father Libermann's chief collabo- rators in his work for the Negro. Louise later entered the Institute of the Immaculate Conception of Castres, a Society dedicated to the service of the negroes in the mission field. She took the name of Sister Aurelia. How Father Liber- mann carefully guided her during her early years in the religious life is seen in the following letters that have been preserved for us. Letter One December 23, 1842 Vol. 3, p. 318^ Glory to Jesus and His Holy Cross I My dear Sister in Our Lord Jesus Christ I regret that I have been unable to reply to your letter be- fore this. I am so eager to give you consolation that the thought of this delay broke my heart. I trust that our good Master will forgive me, as it was physically impossible for me to write to you. Please do not, my good sister, allow this delay to worry you. I am sure that Mary, our very dear Mother, has com- pensated you for my silence. The fact that I have not written ^References are made to the fourteen volumes of Notes et Docu- ments relafifs a la vie ct I'oeuvre du Venerable Frangois-Marie-Paul Libermann, Paris, 1929-1956. 1 SPIRITUAL LETTERS OF FRANCIS LIBERMANN sooner should not prevent your writing to me whenever you think it necessary, or for that matter, whenever you wish to do so. I earnestly desire to help you in the task of attaining holi- ness, and to guide you in the way of the divine love of our most sweet Lord Jesus. From now on, therefore, write to me every month or even every fortnight, and also at any other time that you feel that it will benefit your soul. It is not necessary that you should pay the postage on your letters. He Who feeds even the smallest animals will provide what is necessary for those who desire to serve Him. After all, whether your money or mine is used for the postage, it is always Our Lord's money. Are the letters not written in the name of and for the love of that dear Master? So do not worry about the expense. You wish that I should, henceforth, consider you as my child. Yes, you may count on it that I shall have a truly fatherly affection for your soul, and that I shall interest my- self in it as a father interests himself in his child, and as a shepherd cares for the sheep entrusted to him. Open your soul with perfect freedom and peace. Join wholeheartedly in the great desire the Supreme Shepherd has for your sanctifi- cation. Have confidence in my words and guidance, because you can be sure that I fully adopt the Divine Master's plan for your sanctification. May He grant me the grace of His divine light.