{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_44231/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_44231","id":"gutenberg_44231","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/44231","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Biographies","Category: French Literature","Category: History - Religious","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Labour\u00e9, Catherine, Saint, 1806-1876","Mary, Blessed Virgin, Saint","Miraculous Medal"],"text":"[Illustration: _SISTER CATHERINE LABOUR\u00c9,\n\nThe Daughter of Charity, favored with the Vision of the Miraculous\nMedal in 1830. Died December 31, 1876._]\n\n\n\n\n THE\n\n MIRACULOUS MEDAL\n\n ITS\n\n _Origin, History, Circulation, Results_.\n\n BY M. ALADEL, C.M.\n\n TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH,\n\n BY P.S.,\n\n Graduate of St. Joseph's, Emmitsburg, Md.\n\n ILLUSTRATED.\n\n PHILADELPHIA:\n H.L. KILNER & CO.,\n PUBLISHERS.\n\n\n\n\n COPYRIGHT, 1880, BY JOHN B. PIET.\n\n\n\n\n DEDICATION.\n\n TO\n\n THE MOST COMPASSIONATE VIRGIN MARY,\n\n MOTHER OF GOD, CONCEIVED WITHOUT SIN.\n\n_Oh Mary, conceived without sin, Virgin incomparable, august Mother of\nJesus, thou who hast adopted us for thy children, and who hast given us\nso many proofs of thy maternal tenderness, deign to accept this little\nbook, feeble token of our gratitude and love!_\n\n_Oh! may it be instrumental in attracting and attaching inviolably to\nthee, the hearts of all who read it!_\n\n_O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!_\n\n\n\n\n _AUTHOR'S DECLARATION._\n\n\nIn conformity with the decree of Pope Urban VIII, we declare that\nthe terms miracle, revelation, apparition and other expressions of a\nsimilar nature here employed, have, in our intention, no other than a\npurely historical value, and that we submit unreservedly the entire\ncontents of this book to the judgment of the Apostolic See.\n\n\n\n\n PREFACE OF THE AMERICAN PUBLISHER.\n\n\nSince the hour when the Beloved Disciple took the Blessed Virgin to\nhis own, the followers of her Divine Son have always cherished a\nreverential affection for her above all other creatures. They have\nregarded her as the ideal of all that is true and pure and sweet and\nnoble in the Christian life, and they have honored her as the most\nfavored of mortals, the greatest of saints, the masterpiece of the\nAlmighty. The peculiar veneration paid to her by the Apostles, was\ncaught up by the first Christians, who regarded her with awe because\nof her great dignity; and when she died, her memory was held in\nbenediction. But death could not sever her from those who, in the\nperson of St. John, had been given to her for her children. She still\nlived for the Church. From the time when the faithful took refuge\nin the Catacombs to the fifth century, when the Council of Ephesus\nsolemnly sanctioned the homage paid to her as the Mother of God, her\nintercession was often invoked; and from that day, devotion towards her\nhas increased until our own age, when the nations of the earth unite to\nproclaim her Blessed.\n\nOften has Mary given signal proofs of the pleasure she takes in the\ndevotion of her clients and of the power she possesses to grant their\npetitions. Graces asked through her mediation have been suddenly\nobtained; wonders in the way of cures and conversions have been wrought\nat her shrines; disasters have been averted; plagues have been made\nto cease; and, to crown all her favors, apparitions have occurred, in\nwhich she has shown herself, radiant with the lustre of Heaven, to\nher loyal servants; and, in some instances, she has left something\nlike the scapular, the Miraculous Medal and the fount in the grotto of\nLourdes, as memorials of her visit.\n\nThese manifestations of her maternal solicitude have of late been more\nfrequent, more renowned, and more efficacious than ever. As the end\ndraws near and the dangers increase, her anxiety for the sanctification\nof her own bursts its bonds and urges her to find new ways to the\nhearts of men. Among the most recent of these demonstrations, the\nMiraculous Medal is one of the most remarkable. How it originated,\nhow rapidly and widely it has circulated, and how gloriously it has\nfulfilled its mission, are told in this book. A more interesting and\nedifying history could not easily have been written. To all children of\nMary, in America as elsewhere, it will be welcome, and for them this\nedition has been prepared by\n\n\n THE PUBLISHER.\n\n May 4, 1880.\n\n\n\n\n PREFACE TO THE FRENCH EDITION\n\n[Illustration]\n\nThe eighth and last edition of THE HISTORY OF THE MIRACULOUS\nMEDAL, extending up to the year 1842, has for a long time been\nout of print. More than once efforts have been made to have a new\nedition published, but until now they have failed. The recent death\nof the Sister who was favored with the Blessed Virgin's confidence,\nhas again excited a general desire for the work; for many persons are\neager to learn the origin of the medal, and others hope to get the full\nparticulars of it. For these reasons, the present edition has been\nundertaken.\n\nBelieving that it would gratify our readers, we have placed at the\nbeginning of the book a biographical sketch of the privileged Sister,\nCatherine Labour\u00e9, and to it we have added some notes concerning M.\nAladel, her Director, who was the author of the previous editions.\n\nThese editions of the History presented but a very condensed account\nof the apparition of the Blessed Virgin in 1830; for serious reasons\ninduced M. Aladel to suppress many things. He feared especially to\nattract attention to the humble daughter who had transmitted Heaven's\norders, and who, it was best, should remain unknown to the end of her\nlife.\n\nNow, these fears are no longer an obstacle, and we are permitted to\npublish, for the edification of the faithful, all that the Sister\nrevealed, at least, all that we still possess of these communications.\nAt the time of the last edition, M. Aladel could understand but\nimperfectly the import of the vision of the medal, but certain events\nof subsequent occurrence, have placed this important revelation in a\nclearer light, and fully established its connection with the past and\nthe future. We have endeavored to show the designs of Providence, by\nproving that the apparition of 1830 was not an isolated fact; that\nit marked the end of a disastrous period for the Church and society;\nthat it was the beginning of a new era, an era of mercy and hope; that\nit was a preparation for the definition of the Immaculate Conception\nas a dogma of faith; in fine, that it was the first of a series of\nsupernatural manifestations, which have greatly increased devotion to\nthe Blessed Virgin, insomuch, that our age may justly be styled the age\nof Mary.\n\nWe have judged it advisable to omit quite a number of miraculous\noccurrences related in the preceding editions, and substitute for them\nothers not less authentic, but more recent, thus demonstrating that\nthe medal is as efficacious in our days, as it was at the time of its\norigin.\n\nWe ask those who may hereafter obtain similar favors, to send an\naccount of them, together with satisfactory vouchers of their\nauthenticity, to the Superior-General of the Daughters of Charity, rue\ndu Bac, 140, or to the Director of the Daughters of Charity, rue de\nSevres, 95, Paris.\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS.\n\n\n PAGE\n\n DEDICATION, iii\n\n THE AUTHOR'S DECLARATION, v\n\n PREFACE, vii\n\n\n CHAPTER I.\n\n Sister Catherine, Daughter of Charity--Her Birth--Early\n Life--Vocation--Entrance into the Community--Apparition of\n the Blessed Virgin--The Medal--Sister Catherine is sent to\n d'Enghien Hospital--Her humble, hidden Life--Her Death.\n 1\n\n\n CHAPTER II.\n\n Mary's Agency in the Church--This Agency always manifest, seems\n to have disappeared during the Eighteenth and at the beginning\n of the Nineteenth Century--Mary reappears in 1830--Motives and\n Importance of this Apparition--The Immaculate Conception.\n 42\n\n CHAPTER III.\n\n Apparitions of the Blessed Virgin to Sister Catherine--First\n Apparition: An Angel Conducts the Sister to the Chapel--Mary\n Converses with Her--Second Apparition: Mary standing upon\n a Globe, her hands emitting Rays of Light, symbolic of\n Grace--Mary orders a Medal to be Struck--Third Apparition: Mary\n Repeats the Order.\n 51\n\n\n CHAPTER IV.\n\n The Medal Appears--The Welcome it Receives--Canonical\n Investigation ordered by Mgr. de Qu\u00e9len--Wonderful Circulation\n of the Medal.\n 67\n\n\n CHAPTER V.\n\n Development of the Devotion to the Immaculate Conception--Mgr.\n de Qu\u00e9len's Circular.\n 79\n\n\n CHAPTER VI.\n\n Extraordinary Graces obtained by means of the Miraculous\n Medal--Graces obtained from 1832 to 1835--During the year 1835,\n in France, Switzerland, Savoy, Turkey--From 1836 to 1838, in\n France, Italy, Holland, &c.--Notre Dame des Victoires--From\n 1838 to 1842, in Greece, America, China, &c.--From 1843 to\n 1877, in France, Germany, Italy, America.\n 94\n\n\n CHAPTER VII.\n\n Progress of the Devotion to Mary crowned by the Definition of\n the Immaculate Conception--Our Lady of La Salette--The Children\n of Mary--The Definition of the Immaculate Conception.\n 261\n\n\n CHAPTER VIII.\n\n The Miraculous Medal and the War--The War in the East--The\n Italian War--The United States--War between Prussia and\n Austria--Souvenirs of the Commune.\n 289\n\n\n CHAPTER IX.\n\n Recent Manifestations of the Blessed Virgin in the Church--Our\n Lady of Lourdes--Our Lady of Pontmain, &c.--Conclusion.\n\n\n\n\nTable of Engravings of the Miraculous Medal\n\n\n PAGE\n\n Portrait of Sister Catherine Labour\u00e9, the Daughter of Charity\n favored with the Vision of the Miraculous Medal in 1830.\n _Frontispiece_\n\n First Apparition of the Blessed Virgin to Sister Catherine\n Labour\u00e9, Daughter of Charity, during the night of July 18th,\n 1830. After a picture painted according to Sister Catherine's\n directions. Summoned by her Guardian Angel, under the form of a\n child, emitting rays of light, Sister Catherine arises, follows\n him to the Chapel, which she finds brilliantly illuminated; she\n afterwards sees the Blessed Virgin seated in the sanctuary. The\n picture represents Sister Catherine at the Blessed Virgin's\n feet, her hands on the Blessed Virgin's knees: \"My child,\"\n says the Blessed Virgin, \"the times are very disastrous, great\n troubles are about to descend upon France; the throne will\n be upset, the entire world will be in confusion by reason of\n miseries of every description.\"\n 53\n\n Second Apparition of the Blessed Virgin to Sister Catherine\n Labour\u00e9, November 17th, 1830, first picture. About half-past\n five in the evening, whilst Sister Catharine is taking her\n meditation, the Blessed Virgin again appears. She stands upon a\n hemisphere, and holds in her hand a globe which she offers to\n our Lord. Suddenly her fingers are filled with most dazzling\n rings and precious stones. \"This globe,\" says the Blessed\n Virgin, \"represents the whole world and particularly France.\"\n She adds that the rays escaping from her hands \"are symbols of\n the graces she bestows upon those who ask for them.\"\n 59\n\n Same Apparition, second picture. \"Then,\" relates Sister\n Catherine, \"there formed around the Blessed Virgin a somewhat\n oval picture, upon which appeared in golden letters these\n words: 'O Mary! conceived without sin, pray for us who have\n recourse to thee!' and a voice said: 'Have a medal struck upon\n this model; those who wear it indulgenced will receive great\n graces, especially if they wear it on the neck; abundant graces\n will be bestowed upon those who have confidence.'\" At that\n instant, the picture being turned, Sister Catherine sees on the\n reverse, the letter M, surmounted by a cross, and beneath this\n the sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary.\n 60\n\n Medal struck by order of Mgr. de Qu\u00e9len. 78\n\n Apparition of the Miraculous Medal to M. Ratisbonne. 205\n\n Representation of the Miraculous Medal, modelled in accordance\n with the description given by Sister Catherine Labour\u00e9.\n 272, 273\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\nSISTER CATHERINE,\n\n _DAUGHTER OF CHARITY_.\n\n HER BIRTH--EARLY LIFE--VOCATION--ENTRANCE INTO THE\n COMMUNITY--APPARITION OF THE VIRGIN--THE MEDAL--SISTER CATHERINE\n IS PLACED AT THE HOSPITAL D'ENGHIEN--HER HUMBLE, HIDDEN LIFE--HER\n DEATH.\n\n\nIt is an extensively credited assumption, that those who are favored\nwith supernatural communications should have something extraordinary\nin their person and mode of life. One easily invests them with an\nideal of perfection, which, in some measure, sets them apart from\nthe majority of mankind. But if, at any time, an occasion occurs of\nproving that such an assumption is erroneous, if we discover in these\ndivine confidants weaknesses or only infirmities, we are astonished\nand tempted to be scandalized. Among the Christians who knew St. Paul\nonly by reputation, some were disappointed on a closer acquaintance;\nthey said his appearance was too unprepossessing and his language too\nunrefined for an apostle. Were not the Jews scandalized that Our Lord\nate and drank like others, that His parents were poor, that He came\nfrom Nazareth, and that He conversed with sinners? So true is it, that\nwe are always disposed to judge by appearances.\n\nNot so with God. He sees the depths of our hearts, and often what\nappears contemptible in the eyes of the world, is great in His.\nSimplicity and purity He prizes especially. Exterior qualities, gifts\nof intellect, birth and education, are of little value to Him, and when\nHe has an important mission to confide, it is ordinarily to persons not\npossessing these qualifications. Thus, does He display His wisdom and\npower, in using what is weak, to accomplish great results. Sometimes,\nHe chooses for His instruments subjects that are even imperfect,\npermitting them to commit faults in order to keep them in all humility,\nand convince them that the favors they receive are not accorded their\nown merits, but are the gift of God's pure bounty.\n\nThese observations naturally prelude Sister Catherine's biography; they\nexplain in advance the difficulties which might arise in the mind of\nthe reader at the contrast between a life so simple and ordinary and\nthe graces showered upon her.\n\n * * * * *\n\nSister Catherine (Zo\u00e9 Labour\u00e9) was born May 2, 1806, in a little\nvillage of the C\u00f4te-d'Or Mountains, called Fain-les-Moutiers, of the\nparish of Moutiers-Saint-Jean. This last place, particularly dear\nto St. Vincent, was not far from the cradle of St. Bernard, that\ngreat servant of Mary, nor from the spot where St. Chantal passed a\npart of her life, as if in the soil as well as the blood there was a\npredisposition to certain qualities or hereditary virtues.\n\nHer parents, sincere Christians, were held in esteem. They cultivated\ntheir farm, and enjoyed that competency which arises from rural labor\njoined to simplicity of life. God had blessed their union with a\nnumerous family, seven sons and three daughters.\n\nAt an early age, the sons left the paternal roof; little Zo\u00e9, with\nher sisters, remained under the mother's eye, but this mother, God\ntook from Zo\u00e9, ere she had completed her eighth year. Already capable\nof feeling the extent of this sacrifice, it seemed to her as if the\nBlessed Virgin wished to be her only Mother.\n\nAn aunt, living at R\u00e9my, took Zo\u00e9 and the youngest sister to live with\nher; but the father, a pious man, who in his youth had even thought of\nembracing the ecclesiastical state, preferred having the children under\nhis own eye, and at the end of two years they were brought home.\n\nAnother motive, also, impelled him to act thus. The eldest sister\nthought seriously of leaving her family to enter the Community of\nDaughters of Charity, and the poor father could not bear the idea of\nconfiding his house to mercenary hands. And thus, at an age when other\nchildren think only of their sports, Zo\u00e9 was inured to hard work.\n\nAt the age of twelve, with a pure and fervent heart, she made her First\nCommunion in the church of Moutiers-Saint-Jean. Henceforth, her only\ndesire was to be solely His who had just given Himself to her for the\nfirst time.\n\nVery soon after, the eldest sister left home to postulate at Langres;\nand Zo\u00e9, now little mistress of the house, did the cooking, with the\nassistance of a woman for the roughest work. She carried the field\nhands their meals, and never shrank from any duty however laborious or\nsevere.\n\nMoutiers-Saint-Jean possesses an establishment of the Sisters of St.\nVincent de Paul. Zo\u00e9 went to see them as often as her household duties\npermitted, and the good Sister-Servant, who loved her much, encouraged\nthe child in her laborious life; yet the latter never spoke to the\nSister of her growing vocation, but awaited, with a secret impatience,\nuntil her sister (two years her junior) would be able to take charge\nof the house. It was she to whom Zo\u00e9 confided her dearest desires, and\nthen commenced for the two that tender intimacy of life, one of pure\nlabor and duty, and whose only relaxations were attending the services\nof the parish church.\n\nThe two young girls, thinking themselves able to dispense with the\nservant, dismissed her, and now shared between them all the work. Zo\u00e9,\nwho was very sedate and trustworthy, watched over everything with\nthe utmost vigilance, and took care of her sister with a mother's\ntenderness.\n\nOne of her favorite occupations was the charge of the pigeon house,\nwhich always contained from seven to eight hundred pigeons. So\nfaithfully did she perform this duty, that they all knew her, and as\nsoon as she appeared they came flying around her in the shape of a\ncrown. It was, says her sister, a most charming spectacle--innocence\nattracting the birds, which are its symbol.\n\nIn youth, we see her, already modest in deportment, serious in\ncharacter, pious and recollected in the parochial church which she\nregularly attended, kneeling upon the cold stones even in winter. And\nthis was not the only mortification she practiced; to bodily fatigue,\nshe added from her tenderest youth that of fasting every Wednesday\nand Saturday. It was for a long time without her father's knowledge;\nat length, discovering his daughter's pious ruse, he endeavored to\ndissuade her; but all his reproaches were not able to overcome her love\nof penance, she believed it her duty to prefer the interior voice of\nGod to that of her father.\n\nIn all this we clearly discern the character of the future Sister,\nwith its virtues and defects. On one side, we see true simplicity,\nunselfishness, constant application to the most laborious duties under\nthe safeguard of innocence and fervor; on the other, a disposition\naccustomed to govern, and which could not yield without an internal\nstruggle.\n\nDuring this life of rural toil, she never lost sight of her vocation.\nSeveral times was her hand asked in marriage, but she invariably\nanswered that, long affianced to Jesus her good Saviour, she wished no\nother spouse than Him. But had she yet made choice of the Community she\nwould enter? It is doubtful, especially when we consider the following\nevent of her life, which deeply impressed her, and always remained\ngraven in the memory of her dear sister who related it.\n\nBeing still in her father's house at Fain-les-Moutiers, she had\na dream, which we may consider as an inspiration from God and a\npreparation for her vocation.\n\nIt seemed to her that she was in the Purgatorian chapel of the\nvillage church. An aged priest of venerable appearance and remarkable\ncountenance appeared in the chapel, and began to vest himself for\nMass; she assisted at it, deeply impressed with the presence of this\nunknown priest. At the end of Mass, he made her a sign to approach, but\naffrighted, she drew back, yet ever keeping her eyes fixed upon him.\n\nLeaving the church, she went to visit a sick person in the village.\nHere, she again finds herself with the aged priest, who addresses her\nin these words: \"My daughter, it is well to nurse the sick; you fly\nfrom me now, but one day you will be happy to come to me. God has His\ndesigns upon you, do not forget it.\" Amazed and filled with fear, the\nyoung girl still flies his presence. On leaving the house, it seemed to\nher that her feet scarcely touched the ground, and just at the moment\nof entering her home she awoke, and recognized that what had passed was\nonly a dream.\n\nShe was now eighteen years old, knowing scarcely how to read, much less\nwrite; as she was doubtless aware that this would be an obstacle to her\nadmission into a Community, she obtained her father's permission to\nvisit her sister-in-law, who kept a boarding school at Ch\u00e2tillon, and\nthere receive a little instruction. Her father, fearing to lose her,\nreluctantly consented to her departure.\n\nIncessantly occupied with thoughts of the vision we have already\nrelated, she spoke of it to the Cur\u00e9 of Ch\u00e2tillon, who said to her: \"I\nbelieve, my child, that this old man is St. Vincent, who calls you to\nbe a Daughter of Charity.\" Her sister-in-law having taken her to see\nthe Sisters at Ch\u00e2tillon, she was astonished on entering their parlor\nto behold a picture, the perfect portrait of the priest who had said\nto her in her dream: \"My daughter, you fly from me now, but one day\nyou will be happy to come to me. God has His designs upon you, do not\nforget it.\" She immediately inquired the name of the original, and when\ntold that it was St. Vincent, the mystery vanished; she understood that\nit was he who was to be her Father.\n\nThis circumstance was not of a nature to quench the ardor of her\ndesires. She remained but a short time with her sister-in-law. The\nhumble country girl was ill at ease amidst the young ladies of the\nschool, and she learned nothing.\n\nIt was at this time she became acquainted with Sister Victoire S\u00e9jole,\nwho was afterwards placed over the house at Moutiers-Saint-Jean. Though\nyoung, already thoroughly devoted to God and His poor, Sister Victoire\ndivined the candor of this soul and its sufferings; she immediately\nbegged her Sister-Servant to admit Zo\u00e9 as a postulant without delay,\noffering herself to bestow particular pains upon her, instructing her\nin whatever was indispensable for her as a Daughter of Charity.\n\nBut Zo\u00e9 could not yet profit by the interest good Sister Victoire had\ntaken in her; this happiness was to be dearly bought.\n\nWhen she acquainted her father with her intentions, the poor father's\nheart rebelled; he had already given his eldest daughter to St.\nVincent's family, and now, to sacrifice her who for years had so\nwisely directed his household, seemed indeed beyond his strength. He\nconsidered a means of dissuading her from her plans, and thought he\nhad found it by sending her to Paris, to one of his sons who kept a\nrestaurant, telling him to seek by various distractions to extinguish\nin the sister's heart all idea of her vocation. Time of trial and\nsuffering for the young aspirant, who, far from losing the desire of\nconsecrating herself to God, only sighed more ardently after the happy\nday when she could quit the world.\n\nShe now thought of writing to her sister-in-law at Ch\u00e2tillon, and\ninteresting her in the matter. The latter, touched with this mark of\nconfidence, had Zo\u00e9 come to her, and finally obtained the father's\nconsent. Zo\u00e9 became a postulant in the house of the Sisters at\nCh\u00e2tillon, in the beginning of the year 1830.\n\nZo\u00e9 Labour\u00e9 was very happy to find, at last, the end of those severe\ntrials which had lasted almost two years. The 21st of April, 1830, she\nreached that much desired haven, the Seminary.[1]\n\n [Footnote 1: St. Vincent desired that the sojourn which the\n young Sisters make at the Mother House, to be there imbued\n with, and instructed in, the spirit and duties of their\n vocation, should be called the Seminary term; he feared lest\n the word \"novitiate,\" applicable to religious Orders, might\n cause the Daughters of Charity to be regarded as such.]\n\n * * * * *\n\nBehold her, then, in possession of all that had been the cherished\nobject of her desires and affections from earliest childhood! Her soul\ncould now dilate itself in prayer, and in the joyful consciousness of\nbeing entirely devoted to the service of its God.\n\nDuring the whole of her Seminary term, she had the happiness of\nhaving for Director of her conscience M. Jean Marie Aladel, of\nvenerated memory, a priest of eminent piety, excellent judgment and\ngreat experience, austere as a hermit, indefatigable in work, a true\nson of St. Vincent de Paul. He was a prudent guide for her in the\nextraordinary ways whither God had called her. He knew how to hold\nher in check against the illusions of imagination, and especially the\nseductions of pride at the same time, that he encouraged her to walk\nin the paths of perfection by the practice of the most solid virtues.\nM. Aladel did not lose sight of her, even after she was sent to the\nHospital d'Enghien. He thereby gained much for his own sanctification\nand the mission confided to him.\n\nInformed by her of God's designs, he devoted himself unreservedly to\nthe propagation of devotion to Mary Immaculate, and during the last\nyears of his life, to extend among the young girls educated by the\nSisters of St. Vincent, the association of Children of Mary. He died in\n1865, eleven years before his spiritual daughter.[2]\n\n [Footnote 2: The Life of M. Aladel has been published; 1 volume\n in 12mo. It can be procured in Paris, rue du Bac, 140.]\n\nThree days before the magnificent ceremony of the translation of St.\nVincent de Paul's relics to the chapel of St. Lazare, a feast which\nwas the signal of renewed life for the Congregation of the Mission,\nSister Labour\u00e9 was favored with a prophetic vision. The same God who\nhad called Vincent from the charge of his father's flocks to make him a\nvessel of election, was now going to confide to a poor country girl the\nsecrets of His mercy. Let us give the account of this first impression\nin her own simple language.\n\n \"It was Wednesday before the translation of St. Vincent de\n Paul's relics. Happy and delighted at the idea of taking part\n in this grand celebration, it seemed to me that I no longer\n cared for anything on earth.\n\n \"I begged St. Vincent to give me whatever graces I needed, also\n to bestow the same upon his two families and all France. It\n appeared to me that France was in sore need of them. In fine,\n I prayed St. Vincent to teach me what I ought to ask, and also\n that I might ask it with a lively faith.\"\n\nShe returned from St. Lazare's filled with the thought of her blessed\nFather, and believed that she found him again at the Community.\n\"I had,\" said she, \"the consolation of seeing his heart above the\nlittle shrine where his relics are exposed. It appeared to me three\nsuccessive days in a different manner: First, of a pale, clear color,\nand this denoted peace, serenity, innocence and union.\n\n\"Afterwards, I saw it the color of fire, symbolic of the charity that\nshould be enkindled in hearts. It seemed to me that charity was to be\nreanimated and extended even to the extremities of the world.\n\n\"Lastly, it appeared a very dark red, a livid hue, which plunged my\nheart in sadness. It filled me with fears I could scarcely overcome. I\nknow not why, nor how, but this sadness seemed to be connected with a\nchange of government.\"\n\nIt was strange, indeed, that Sister Labour\u00e9, at that time, should have\nthese political forebodings.\n\nAn interior voice said to her: \"The heart of St. Vincent is profoundly\nafflicted at the great misfortunes which will overwhelm France.\"\nThe last day of the octave, she saw the same heart vermilion color,\nand the interior voice whispered: \"The heart of St. Vincent is a\nlittle consoled, because he has obtained from God (through Mary's\nintercession) protection for his two families in the midst of these\ndisasters; they shall not perish, and God will use them to revive the\nFaith.\"\n\nTo ease her mind, she related this vision to her confessor, who told\nher to think no more about it; Sister Labour\u00e9 never dreamed of aught\nbut obeying, and in no way did she ever reveal it to her companions.\n\nWe find this singular favor mentioned in a letter written by Sister\nCatherine, in the year 1856, at the command of M. Aladel. The year\nshe entered the Seminary, this worthy missionary was almost the only\nchaplain of the Community. The Congregation of the Mission, scarcely\nrestored at this epoch, counted at its Mother House but nine priests\nin all, and at least half that number were in the Seminary. M. \u00c9tienne,\nof venerated memory, was Procurator General, and M. Salhorgne, Superior\nof St. Vincent's two families. If the laborers were few, the deficiency\nwas supplied by the devotedness of these few, who multiplied themselves\nfor the service of the Community. The Divine bounty has prepared for\ntheir charity a beautiful recompense.\n\nAccording to the notes which Sister Catherine wrote later in obedience\nto M. Aladel, the humble daughter during all her Seminary term enjoyed\nthe undisguised sight of Him whose presence is concealed from our\nsenses in the Sacrament of His love. \"Except,\" said she, \"when I\ndoubted, then I saw nothing, because I wished to fathom the mystery,\nfearing to be deceived.\"\n\nOur Lord deigned to show Himself to His humble servant, conformably to\nthe mysteries of the day, and, in connexion with this, she mentions one\ncircumstance relative to the change of government, which could not have\nbeen foreseen by human means.\n\n\"On the Feast of the Holy Trinity,\" says she, \"Our Lord during Holy\nMass appeared to me in the Most Blessed Sacrament as a king with the\ncross upon His breast. Just at the Gospel, it seemed to me that the\ncross and all His regal ornaments fell at His feet, and He remained\nthus despoiled. It was then the gloomiest and saddest thoughts\noppressed me, for I understood from this that the king would be\nstripped of his royal garb, and great disasters would ensue.\"\n\nWhen the humble daughter had these forebodings concerning the king, he\nwas then apparently at the pinnacle of fortune. The siege of Algiers\nwas in progress, and everything predicted the happy success of his\narms. During the early part of July, this almost impregnable fortress\nof the pirates fell into the power of France; the whole kingdom\nrejoiced at the memorable victory, and the churches resounded with\nhymns of thanksgiving.\n\nAlas! this triumph was to be quickly followed by a bloody revolution,\nwhich would overthrow the throne and menace the altars. That very\nmonth, the clergy and religious communities of Paris were seized with\nterror. M. Aladel was greatly alarmed for the Daughters of Charity and\nthe Missionaries, but Sister Labour\u00e9 never ceased to reassure him,\nsaying that the two communities had nothing to fear, they would not\nperish.\n\nOne day she told him that a bishop had sought refuge at St. Lazare's,\nthat he could be received without hesitation, and might remain there\nin safety. M. Aladel paid little attention to these predictions,\nbut returning sadly to his house, he was accosted on entering by M.\nSalhorgne, who told him that Mgr. Frayssinous, Bishop of Hermopolis,\nand Minister of Religious Worship under Charles X, had just come,\nbegging an asylum from the persecution that pursued him.\n\nThese revelations bore an impress of truth which it was difficult to\nignore; so in feigning to mistrust them, M. Aladel listened with the\ndeepest interest. He began to persuade himself that the spirit of God\ninspired this young Sister; and after seeing the accomplishment of\nseveral things she had foretold, he now felt disposed to give credence\nto other and more marvellous communications she had confided to him.\n\nAccording to her testimony, the Most Holy Virgin had appeared to her,\nthese apparitions were repeated various times, she had been charged to\nacquaint her Director with what she had seen and heard, an important\nmission had been confided to her, that of having struck and circulated\na medal in honor of the Immaculate Conception.\n\nThe third chapter of this volume gives a detailed account of these\nvisions, just as they have been transmitted to us from the hand of the\nSister herself.\n\nNotwithstanding the sensible assurances of the Sister's veracity, M.\nAladel listened to these communications with mistrust, as he tells us\nhimself, in the canonical investigation prescribed in 1836 by Mgr.\nde Qu\u00e9len; he professed to consider them of little value, as if they\nhad been the pious vagaries of a young girl's imagination. He told\nher to regard them in the same light, and he even went so far as to\nhumble her, and reproach her with a want of submission. The poor\nSister, unable to convince him, dared speak no more of the apparitions\nof the Blessed Virgin; she never mentioned the subject to him except\nwhen she felt herself tormented and constrained to do so by an almost\nirresistible desire.\n\n\"Such was the reason,\" says M. Aladel, \"that she spoke to him\nconcerning the matter but three times, although the visions were much\noftener repeated.\" After thus relieving her heart, she became perfectly\ncalm. The investigation also shows us that Sister Catherine sought no\nother confidant of her secrets than her confessor; she never mentioned\nthem to her Superior or any one else. It was to M. Aladel Mary had\ndirected her, to him only did she speak, and she even exacted of him\nthe promise that her name would never be mentioned.[3]\n\n [Footnote 3: Verbal process of the investigation made by order\n of Mgr. de Qu\u00e9len in 1836, upon the origin of the medal, MS. p.\n 10.]\n\nAfter this pledge, M. Aladel related the vision to M. \u00c9tienne and\nothers, but without designating the Sister's identity, directly or\nindirectly. We shall see later how Providence always guarded her secret.\n\nThese celestial communications, we may easily imagine, produced in the\nsoul of Sister Labour\u00e9 profound impressions, which usually remained\neven after she had finished her devotions, and which rendered her in\nsome degree oblivious of what was passing around her. It is related\nthat after one of these apparitions she rises like the others at the\ngiven signal, leaves the chapel, and takes her place in the refectory,\nbut remains so absorbed that she never thinks of touching the meal\napportioned her.\n\nSister Caillaud, third Directress, going her rounds, says bluntly to\nher: \"Ah! Sister Labour\u00e9, are you still in an ecstasy?\" This recalls\nher to herself, and the good Directress, who knows not how truly she\nhas spoken, suspects nothing.\n\nMeanwhile, Sister Catherine approached the end of her Seminary term,\nand in spite of her affirmations at once so artless and so exact, her\nDirector always refused to credit them. She had the affliction of\nleaving the Mother House without being able to obtain anything, even a\nhope.\n\nIt was because the affair was graver than she thought; the supernatural\norigin of the favor he was directed to communicate to the public could\nbe contested, and the prudent Director saw that in such a matter he\ncould neither exact too many proofs, nor take too many precautions.\n\n * * * * *\n\nSister Labour\u00e9 was clothed with the holy habit in the month of January,\n1831, and sent under the name of Sister Catherine to the Hospital\nd'Enghien in the faubourg St. Antoine. Here she could continue her\ncommunications with M. Aladel. This good father did not lose sight of\nher; though apparently giving no credit to his penitent revelations,\nhe was studying her carefully to convince himself whether or not these\nvisions were the product of a weak, enthusiastic mind and excited\nimagination. But the more he studied her, the more confident he felt\nthat there was nothing of this in Sister Labour\u00e9. The judgment formed\nof her by the Directresses of the Seminary was, that she had a somewhat\nreserved but calm, positive character, which M. Aladel qualified as\ncold and even apathetic.\n\nThis last epithet, however, was not applicable to Sister Catherine,\nin whom her companions, on the contrary, recognized a very impulsive\ntemperament. But his opinion proves, at least, that there was no\nexcessive imagination. Moreover, she proved herself solidly grounded\nin virtue, whilst no one ever perceived anything extraordinary in her\ndemeanor, and especially in her devotions.\n\nBefore going to her new destination, Sister Labour\u00e9 passed some days in\none of the large establishments of Paris. Wishing to examine the young\nSister more leisurely, M. Aladel made a pretext of visiting the Sisters\nat this house. The account of these visions had already been circulated\nthroughout the Community, and it was known that M. Aladel had received\nthe Sisters' confidence; hence, as soon as he appeared, the Sisters\nsurrounded him, and each one eagerly plied him with questions. He had\nhis eye upon Sister Catherine, who, without being disconcerted, quietly\nmingled her inquiries with the others. The worthy missionary was\nreassured, understanding that the Sister kept her secret.\n\nThe last time the Blessed Virgin appeared to Sister Labour\u00e9 in\nthe sanctuary of the Mother House, she said to her: \"My daughter,\nhenceforth you will see me no more, but you will hear my voice during\nyour meditations.\" And, indeed, during the whole course of her life,\nshe had frequent communications of this kind. They were no longer\nsensible apparitions, but mental visions, that she well knew how to\ndistinguish from the illusions of imagination or the impressions of a\npious fervor.\n\nHer mission had not been accomplished in regard to the medal. Some\nmonths elapsed, and the Immaculate Virgin complained to Sister\nCatherine that her orders had not been executed.\n\n\"But, my good Mother,\" replied Sister Catherine, \"you see that he will\nnot believe me.\" \"Be calm,\" was the answer; \"a day will come when he\nwill do what I desire; he is my servant, and he would fear to displease\nme.\"\n\nThese words were soon verified.\n\nWhen the pious missionary received this communication, he began to\nreflect seriously. \"If Mary is displeased,\" said he, \"it is not with\nthe young Sister, whose position prevents her doing anything; it must\nbe with me.\" This thought troubled him.[4] A long time previous, he\nhad related these visions to M. \u00c9tienne, then Procurator General. One\nday, at the beginning of the year 1832, when they had gone together on\na visit to Mgr. de Qu\u00e9len, M. Aladel profited by the opportunity to\nspeak to the latter of these apparitions, and especially of his own\nembarrassment, since the Blessed Virgin had complained to the Sister of\nthe delay in fulfilling her commands.\n\n [Footnote 4: Verbal process of the investigation, p. 5.]\n\nMgr. de Qu\u00e9len replied that, seeing nothing in it at all contrary to\nfaith, he had no objection to the medal being struck at once. He even\nasked them to send him some of the first.\n\nThe ravages of the cholera, which had broken out meanwhile, retarded\nthe execution of this design until June; the 30th of that month, two\nthousand medals were struck, and M. Aladel hastened to send some of\nthem to the Archbishop of Paris.\n\nMgr. de Qu\u00e9len wished to make an immediate trial of its efficacy; he\nwas very much troubled concerning the spiritual condition of the former\nArchbishop of Mechlin, Mgr. de Pradt, now on the verge of death; he\ndesired his conversion so much the more earnestly, as the death of this\nprelate might be the occasion of scandal and grave disorders, such as\nhave accompanied the interment of the constitutional bishop Gregory.\nProviding himself with a medal, he went to visit the sick man. At\nfirst he was refused admittance, but very soon the dying man repents\nof it, and sends him an apology, with a request to call again. In this\ninterview, he testifies to His Grace a sincere repentance for his past\nlife, retracts all his errors, and after receiving the Last Sacraments,\nhe dies that very night in the arms of the Archbishop, who, filled with\na holy joy, eagerly imparts this consoling news to M. Aladel.\n\nThe worthy missionary sent a medal to Sister Catherine, who received\nit with great devotion and respect,[5] and said: \"Now it must be\ndisseminated.\" This was easy to do among the Daughters of Charity, who\nhad all heard whispers of these apparitions; the eagerness to receive\nthe medals was general, they were distributed freely, and cures and\nconversions multiplied themselves accordingly in all ranks of society,\nso that very soon the medal received the appellation of miraculous.\n\n [Footnote 5: Verbal process of the investigation.]\n\nA witness of these wonders, the heart of Father Aladel dilated with\njoy, and he believed it his duty to publish a notice of the origin of\nthe medal, and thus satisfy all the inquiries addressed him on the\nsubject. For the glory of God and Mary, he added an account of all the\nconsoling facts that had come to his knowledge.\n\nWhat said Sister Catherine in hearing of these wonderful occurrences?\nLess than any one; she was astonished; doubtless her joy was great, but\nit was confined within the silence of her heart. Occasionally she sent\nsome new message to M. Aladel, begging him to have an altar erected\ncommemorative of the apparition, and telling him that many graces and\nindulgences would be attached thereto, and fall most abundantly upon\nhimself and the Community.\n\nShe urged him also to solicit particular spiritual favors, assuring him\nthat he might ask freely, for all his requests would be granted.\n\nBut this worthy priest, whose position in the Community, as we have\nalready said, was that of simple chaplain, prudently kept silence,\nholding himself in reserve until the favorable moment should arrive\nfor him to act. Some years after, M. \u00c9tienne, his intimate friend, was\nelected Superior General, and he was made assistant of the Congregation\nand Director of the Daughters of Charity; in concert, they formed the\ndesign of erecting to the Immaculate Mary an altar more in accordance\nwith her maternal bounty and the gratitude of her children. Providence\nitself seemed to co-operate with the execution of their plan, the\nCommunity receiving from the government just then a present of two\nmagnificent blocks of white marble, in recognition of the Sisters'\nservices to the cholera patients and their orphans. One was destined\nfor an altar, the other for a statue of the Immaculate Mary.\n\nMeanwhile, the number of inmates at the Mother House, the Seminary\nespecially, increased daily. The new life infused into the Community\nhad awakened many vocations, and the centre of reunion had become\ninadequate in size to its purposes, the chapel particularly was much\ntoo small. In enlarging it, the architect had a difficult problem to\nresolve: he must respect the sanctuary honored by Mary's visit, and\nyet extend the enclosure. He did so by adding side aisles, on a lower\nfoundation, surmounted with galleries. If the edifice, always too low\nand small, gained nothing in the way of art, it has, at least, the\nadvantage of preserving intact the exact spot where the Most Holy\nVirgin appeared.\n\nThe former altar was taken into the side chapel dedicated to St.\nVincent, and the holy founder was there represented holding that heart,\nburning with love of God and the poor, as it had appeared to Sister\nCatherine in the vision. A plaster statue of the Immaculate Conception\noccupied temporarily the place over the main altar, destined for the\nmarble statue, which for various causes was not solemnly inaugurated\ntill 1856.\n\nIt was a day of great rejoicing for the Mother House; the statue was\nnot a cold, mute representation; ... it was an eloquent image of Mary;\nhere had this merciful Mother spoken and promised her graces; daily\nexperience had confirmed these promises, and the statue still awakens\nin the hearts of those who come to pray at her feet, the deepest and\ntender emotions. Yes, Mary is indeed here. She speaks to the hearts of\nher children. She makes them feel that she loves and protects them!\n\nSister Catherine said also to M. Aladel, in the early period of her\nvocation: \"The Blessed Virgin wishes you to found a Congregation, of\nwhich you will be the Superior. It is a Sodality of Children of Mary;\nthe Blessed Virgin will shower many graces upon it, and indulgences\nwill be granted it.\"\n\nThe reader will see, in the course of the volume, how this work was\nrealized, and how admirably Providence has extended the association.\n\nShe also told him that the month of May would be celebrated with much\nmagnificence, and become universal in the Church; that the month of St.\nJoseph would likewise be kept with solemnity; that devotion to this\ngreat Saint would greatly increase, as well as devotion to the Sacred\nHeart of Jesus.\n\nSo many miracles wrought everywhere and every day, so many signal\ntestimonies of Mary's protection, made it an obligation on the\nCommunity, and especially the Seminary where they had originated, to\nperpetuate so precious a souvenir.\n\nTwo pictures were therefore ordered, one representing the vision of\nthe medal, the other that of St. Vincent's heart. The artist, wishing\nto depict the Blessed Virgin as accurately as possible, consulted M.\nAladel as to the color of the veil.----\n\nThe missionary's embarrassment was great; he had forgotten this item,\nbut attaching more importance to the details than Sister Catherine\nthought, he wrote to her, and under the pretext of warning her against\nthe illusions of the demon, he asked her to describe again the Blessed\nVirgin's appearance in the vision of the medal. Sister Catherine\nmade this answer: \"Just now, my Father, it would be impossible for me\nto recall all that I saw, one detail alone remains, it is, that the\nBlessed Virgin's veil was the color of morning light.\"\n\nThis was just what M. Aladel wished to know, and precisely the only\nthing Sister Catherine could recollect.\n\nThese little incidents, regulated by Providence, were not lost; they\nincreased the confidence of the wise Director. When the pictures were\nplaced in the Seminary, M. Aladel discreetly took measures to have\nSister Catherine come to see them, just at the very time he would\nbe there as if by chance. Another Sister, accidentally meeting them\nthere, has a suspicion of the truth, and turning suddenly to the worthy\nFather, she says: \"This is certainly the Sister who had the vision!\"\nHe is greatly embarrassed, and sees no way of extricating himself from\nthe difficulty, except by calling upon Sister Catherine to answer. She\nlaughed, saying: \"You have guessed well,\" but with such simplicity that\nthe other Sister said to the Father: \"Oh! I see plainly that it is not\nshe; you would not have asked her to tell me.\"\n\nDuring the course of her long life, Sister Catherine was subjected to\ntrials of this sort.\n\nThe details Mgr. de Qu\u00e9len had received from M. Aladel concerning\nthe vision of the medal interested him deeply, and he was anxious to\nbecome acquainted with the favored Sister. M. Aladel replied that\nthe Sister insisted upon remaining unknown. \"As for that,\" said His\nGrace, \"she can put on a veil and speak to me without being seen.\" M.\nAladel excused himself anew, saying it was for him a secret of the\nconfessional.\n\nM. Ratisbonne, miraculously converted in 1842 by the apparition of the\nMiraculous Medal, also ardently desired to speak with the Sister first\nfavored by this celestial vision, and he often but vainly entreated her\nDirector's permission.\n\nThose around her frequently asked embarrassing questions, or\nexpressed their suspicions. When too closely pressed, she found means\nof making the curious feel their indiscretion, so that it was not\nrepeated. Moreover, her great simplicity ordinarily disconcerted her\ninterrogators.\n\nOn several occasions, the Blessed Virgin seemed to aid her; thus, in\nthe investigation of 1836, and in the deposition made to the Promoter,\nM. Aladel declared that he had vainly endeavored to persuade Sister\nCatherine to be present, he could not overcome her repugnance; and\nmoreover, they would interrogate her to no purpose, she had forgotten\neverything concerning the event.\n\nThe same thing happened one day, it is said, in the presence of M.\n\u00c9tienne, then Superior General; he could not succeed in making her\nspeak, she remembered nothing. It is this which gave rise to the rumor\nin the Community, that the vision was completely effaced from the\nmemory of the Sister who had been favored with it.\n\nThanks to this opinion, Sister Catherine was enabled to remain long\nyears truly concealed in her modest duties; employed first in the\nkitchen, then in the clothes-room; afterwards, for nearly forty years,\nshe had charge of the old men's ward of the Hospital d'Enghien,\ncombining with this duty the care of the poultry yard.\n\n * * * * *\n\nShe loved these humble duties. Everything was kept in perfect order,\nand for her there was no greater happiness than that of being among\nher poor. At the end of her life, she spoke of it as her chief\nconsolation. \"I have always,\" said she, \"loved to stay at home;\nwhenever there was question of a walk, I yielded my turn to others that\nI might serve my poor.\"\n\nAnd this was true. One walk only was she unwilling to forego, that\nwhich led to the Community, and she knew no other road but that to the\nMother House. When she could make this visit she never yielded her turn.\n\nHer attraction for silence and the hidden life always kept her in the\nrear, as the place most suitable for her, and most favorable to the\nspirit of recollection. She ceded to none the lowest and most repulsive\nduties of her ward, duties which she termed the pearls of a Daughter\nof Charity; she moved calmly and quietly, avoiding precipitation, and\nwhen advanced in years, the young Sisters, her assistants, often heard\nfrom her lips these words: \"Ah! my dear, do not be so agitated, be more\ngentle.\"\n\nShe regarded as one of the most cherished souvenirs of her Community\nlife, that of her first Sister-Servant, \"a dear soul,\" said she, \"who\nevery year sent the first fruits of her garden to the indigent families\nof the faubourg, or to her old men. The Sisters were not allowed to\ntouch them until this had been done.\"\n\nThis aged Superior was Sister Savard, who never supposed that Sister\nCatherine was favored with especial graces, and particularly with the\nvision of the Blessed Virgin.\n\nOur humble daughter Catherine respected and loved all the Sisters under\nwhom she served, and never did she utter a word against them; she saw\nonly their virtues and good qualities.\n\n\"Child of duty and labor, but especially of humility,\" says her last\nSuperior, \"Sister Catherine was not truly appreciated except by\nthose who studied her sufficiently to perceive the great simplicity,\nuprightness, and purity pervading her soul, her mind, her heart, her\nwhole person.\n\n\"Never arrogating to herself the slightest merit on account of the\nsingular favors with which the Immaculate Virgin had loaded her, she\nsaid, one day towards the close of her life, when Providence permitted\na slight allusion to this subject: 'I, favored Sister! I have been\nonly an instrument; it was not for myself the Blessed Virgin appeared\nto me. I knew nothing, not even how to write; it was in the Community\nI learned all I know; and because of my ignorance the Blessed Virgin\nchose me, that no one might doubt.\"\n\nIs not the conclusion inspired by the spirit of St. Vincent, \"I have\nbeen chosen, because being nothing, no one could doubt that such great\nthings are the work of God.\"\n\nSister Catherine cared little for the esteem or contempt of others.\nDespite her rigid silence, there always hovered over her the suspicion\nthat it was she who had seen the Blessed Virgin; no one dared tell her\nso; but in consequence of the suspicion, she was more closely observed,\nand more severely judged than any one else, and if by chance her\ncompanions discovered in her some slight weakness of nature, or even\nthe absence of some heroic virtue, the thought was immediately rejected\nthat the Blessed Virgin had chosen so ordinary a person.\n\nThe testimony of one of her first companions confirms the impression\non this point, an impression repeated a hundred fold. This companion\nwrites to Sister Duf\u00e8s: \"Having passed six years with Sister\nCatherine, and worked constantly with her one year, it would seem\nthat I could cite a great number of details full of interest and\nedification; but I am forced to confess that her life was so simple,\nso uniform, that I find nothing in it to remark. Notwithstanding the\nwhispered assurances that she was the Sister so favored by the Blessed\nVirgin, I scarcely credited it, so much was her life like that of\nothers. Sometimes, I sought to enlighten myself indirectly on the\nsubject by questioning her as to the impression such extraordinary\noccurrences had produced in the Seminary, hoping that her answers would\nbetray her, and thereby satisfy my curiosity, but she replied with so\nmuch simplicity that my hopes were always deceived.\"\n\nIt is true, Sister Catherine had nothing remarkable about her, and yet\nnothing common or trivial.\n\nHer height was above the medium; her regular features bore the seal\nof modesty; and her clear blue eye was indicative of candor. She was\nindustrious, simple, and not the least mystical in her spiritual\nexercises; she affected neither great virtues nor particular devotions,\nwell pleased to cherish them in the depths of her heart, and practice\nthem according to the rule with fidelity and exactness.\n\nAfter her death, some notes were found written by her own hand during\none of the annual retreats. Everything in them is simple, solid,\npractical, and there is not one word of allusion to the extraordinary\ngraces she had received; even when addressing the Blessed Virgin,\nnothing recalls the familiarity with which Mary had treated her. Here\nare some extracts, in which no changes have been made except those of\nfault-spelling.\n\n \"I will take Mary for my model at the commencement of all my\n actions; in everything, I will consider if Mary were engaged\n thus, how and wherefore she would do this, with what intention.\n Oh! how beautiful and consoling is the name of Mary ... Mary!\n\n \"Resolution to offer myself to God without reserve, to bear\n every little contradiction in a spirit of humility and\n penance, to beg in all my prayers that the will of God may be\n accomplished in me. O my God! do with me as Thou wilt! O Mary!\n grant me your love, without which I perish; bestow upon me all\n the graces I need! O Immaculate Heart of Mary! obtain for me\n the faith and love which attached you to the foot of the cross\n of Jesus Christ!\n\n \"O sweet objects of my affections, Jesus and Mary, let me\n suffer for you, let me die for you, let me be all for you and\n no longer anything for myself!\n\n \"Not to complain of the little contradictions I meet with among\n the poor, and to pray for those who cause me suffering. O Mary,\n obtain for me this grace, through your virginal purity!\n\n \"To employ my time well, and not to spend one moment\n unprofitably. O Mary, happy those who serve you and put their\n confidence in you!\n\n \"O Mary, Mary, Mary, pray, pray, pray for us, poor sinners, now\n and at the hour of our death! Mary, O Mary!\n\n \"In my temptations and times of spiritual dryness, I will\n always have recourse to Mary, who is purity itself. O Mary,\n conceived without sin!----\n\n \"O Mary, make me love you, and it will not be difficult to\n imitate you!\n\n \"Humility, simplicity and charity are the foundation of our\n holy vocation. O Mary, make me understand these holy virtues!\n St. Vincent, pray, pray for us!\n\n \"O Mary, conceived without sin, pray, pray for us! Deign, O\n Queen of Angels and of men, to cast a favorable eye upon the\n whole world ... especially upon France ... and each person\n in particular! O Mary, inspire us what to ask of you for our\n happiness!\"\n\n * * * * *\n\nSister Catherine lived forty-six years in a large establishment, under\nthe direction of five successive Superiors; she was brought in contact\nwith many companions of different dispositions and different degrees of\nvirtue, consequently the esteem in which she was held varied. If they\nsometimes gave her to understand that her mind was failing, such things\ntroubled her little, and she always quietly went her way, receiving\nkindness with grateful simplicity, and ungracious words without\nflinching.\n\nFaithful to the rule with such uniform exactness, that merit seems\nto disappear before habit, she never uttered a word against charity.\nEven when age had given her some privileges over her young companions,\nrarely did she allow herself to blame or advise them; not, at least,\nunless they consulted her, then she advised submission. \"Everything\nis in that,\" said she, \"without obedience, Community life is not\npossible.\" To the very end of her days, her obedience to her Superior\nwas as perfect as when she left the Seminary.\n\nWe must not, however, suppose that Sister Catherine was of a yielding,\ngentle temperament, to which obedience was natural; no, on the\ncontrary, she had a strong will and quick temper. Thoroughly versed in\nhousehold labors, she performed her part with great care and assiduity,\nand directed most scrupulously all that was entrusted to her charge.\nHer impulsive temper sometimes displayed itself in little sallies of\nimpatience, the firm tone of her words revealing at times what virtue\nordinarily caused her to repress. When the first heat was over, she\nimmediately repented of it and humbled herself.\n\nIt was often observed that this first movement of surprise, just ready\nto escape, was held captive, not by human respect, but by a superior\nwill; thus proving that her implicit obedience was due her fidelity to\ngrace.\n\nUnderstanding her nature, we can now form an idea of what Sister\nCatherine suffered from the opposition she experienced in realizing her\nmission; even though these contradictions, especially after the medal\nhad been struck, were more apparent than real on the part of her wise\nDirector, they were none the less painful to her. Might we not say that\nthese trials constituted an interior martyrdom sustained by God and\nknown to him alone?\n\nSister Catherine, despite her strong constitution, was not exempt from\nphysical suffering, and her companions were sometimes astonished at the\nsimplicity with which she asked for little comforts that a mortified\nsoul would have denied itself. These slight defects formed a veil that\nobscured the sight of many, and partially concealed the beauties of her\nsoul.\n\nApparently, the very depths of this simple nature might be read at a\nglance, and yet she faithfully guarded the secrets of God. In her were\nseen, by a singular contrast, prudence and discretion allied to perfect\nsimplicity. Thus, whilst some found her a little too thoughtful of her\nhealth, others observed that on all great feasts of the Blessed Virgin,\nparticularly that of the Immaculate Conception, she was either sick\nor suffering acute pain, which trials the humble Sister received as a\nfavor from her celestial Mother.\n\nThe Superior of the Hospital d'Enghien relates that, one year, when\nSister Catherine had gone with several of her companions to spend the\nbeautiful Feast of December 8th at the Community, on getting into the\nomnibus that evening she fell and broke her wrist. She said not a word,\nand no one perceived the accident. Some minutes after, seeing that\nshe held her arm in her handkerchief, Sister Duf\u00e8s inquired what had\nhappened. \"Ah! Sister,\" she quietly replied, \"I am holding my bouquet;\nevery year the Blessed Virgin sends me one of this sort.\"\n\nDetachment from the esteem and affection of creatures was still another\ntrait characteristic of our dear Sister. God sufficed her; that God\nwho had manifested Himself to her in so wonderful a manner, that\nImmaculate Virgin whose charms had ravished her heart, were her sole\njoy and delight. The Blessed Virgin, pointing to the sacred tabernacle\nwhere her divine Son reposes, had said to her: \"In all your trials, my\ndaughter, it is there you must seek consolation.\" Faithful to these\nwords of her good Mother, Sister Catherine in moments of trial sought\nthe chapel, whence she soon returned to her occupations with renewed\nserenity of soul and countenance ever cheerful. Jesus and Mary alone\nreceived the confidence of her sufferings and her fervor, so that her\nvirtues in a measure were concealed from creatures.\n\nOne of the Sisters of the house says that, having often observed her\nclosely to discover, if possible, some trace of her communications with\nGod, she could find nothing especial except that during prayer she\ndid not cast down her eyes, but always kept them fixed upon the image\nof Mary. She remarks, also, that Sister Catherine never wept except\nfrom great anguish of heart, but many times she saw her shed tears in\nabundance on listening to some traits of protection or some conversion\nobtained through the Blessed Virgin's intercession, or, as in 1871, at\nthe evils afflicting the Church and France.\n\nSolidly pious in the midst of companions apparently more so, we see\nnothing indeed in our humble Sister to distinguish her from others.\nOnly one especial circumstance has been remarked, the importance\nshe attached to the recitation of the chaplet. Let us hear what her\nSister-Servant says on this point--\n\n\"We were always struck,\" writes Sister Duf\u00e8s, \"when saying the chaplet\nin common, with the grave and pious manner in which our dear companion\npronounced the words of the Angelical Salutation. And what convinced\nus of the depth of her respect and devotion was the fact that she,\nalways so humble, so reserved, could not refrain from censuring the\nindifference, the want of attention, which too often accompanies the\nrecitation of a prayer, so beautiful and efficacious.\"\n\nHer love for the two families of St. Vincent, far from diminishing with\nage, only incited her to employ continually in their behalf the sole\ninfluence at her disposal, prayer; regularly every week, she offered a\nCommunion to attract the benediction of Heaven upon the Congregation of\nthe Mission; her prayers for her Community were incessant.\n\nSister Catherine always retained the same duty at the Hospital\nd'Enghien; with truly admirable solicitude, she nursed the old men\nentrusted to her, at the same time not neglecting the pigeon house,\nwhich recalled the purest and sweetest joys of her childhood. The young\ngirl of former days, whom we have seen with her dear pigeons hovering\nround her, was now a poor Sister, quite aged, but none the less\nattentive to her little charge.\n\nSister Catherine was, then, the soul of the little family in charge of\nthe hospital. During these later years, the number of our Sisters had\nincreased considerably, and consequently the administration of the two\nhouses, d'Enghien and Reuilly, being very difficult for one person, an\nassistant was sent me for the hospital. If Sister Catherine had not\nfor years been moulded to obedience and abnegation, it would have been\nhard to her quick, impulsive nature, to recognize the authority of a\ncompanion so much younger than herself; but far different were the\nthoughts of this humble Sister, who always endeavored to abase herself.\n\n \"She was the first to tender her perfect submission. 'Sister,'\n said she, 'be at ease, it suffices that our Superiors have\n spoken; we will receive Sister Ang\u00e9lique as one sent from God,\n and obey her as we do you.' Her conduct justified her words.\n\n \"Although Sister Catherine guarded rigorously the supernatural\n communications she had received, she occasionally expressed her\n views to me on actual occurrences, speaking then as if inspired\n by God.\n\n \"Thus, at the time of the Commune, she told me that I would\n leave the house accompanied by a certain Sister, that I would\n return the 31st of May, and she assured me I need have no\n fears, as the Blessed Virgin would take my place and guard the\n house. At the time, I paid very little attention to the good\n Sister's words.\n\n \"I left, indeed, and realized, contrary to my plans, and\n without a thought on the subject, all that Sister Catherine\n had predicted. On my return from the Community, May 31st, I\n expressed my anxiety concerning the house, which had been in\n the hands of the Communists, and, it was said, plundered.\n Sister Catherine endeavored to reassure me, repeating that the\n Blessed Virgin had taken care of everything, she was confident\n of it, for the Blessed Virgin had promised her.\n\n \"We found on our arrival that this Mother of mercy had, indeed,\n guarded and saved all, notwithstanding the long occupation of\n our dear house by a mob of furies, whose Satanic pleasure was\n to destroy.\n\n \"One circumstance in particular struck me most forcibly; these\n wretches had made useless efforts to overthrow the statue of\n Mary Immaculate placed in the garden--it had withstood all\n their sacrilegious attempts.\n\n \"Sister Catherine hastened to place upon the head of our august\n Queen the crown she had taken with her in our exile, telling\n the Blessed Virgin she restored it in token of gratitude.\n\n \"Many times did Sister Catherine thus reveal her thoughts to\n me with the simplicity of a child. When her predictions were\n not realized, she would quietly say: 'Ah! well, Sister, I was\n mistaken. I believed what I told you. I am very glad the truth\n is known.'[6]\n\n [Footnote 6: Persons favored with supernatural communications\n are not thereby preserved from error. They may be deceived in\n misunderstanding what they see or hear, they may be duped by\n the illusions of the demon, they may involuntarily mingle their\n own ideas with those which come from God, and they may fail in\n transmitting with accuracy what has been revealed to them. We\n must also remark that prophecies are frequently conditional,\n and their accomplishment depends upon the manner in which the\n conditions are fulfilled; so that, when the Church approves\n these private revelations, she does nothing more than declare\n that, after grave examination, they may be published for the\n edification of the faithful, and that the proofs given are\n sufficient to ensure belief.\n\n To the Sacred Writers alone belongs the privilege of\n infallibility in receiving and transmitting divine\n inspirations.]\n\n \"Meanwhile, time fled, and our good Sister often spoke of her\n approaching end. Our venerated Superiors began to feel anxious\n about losing her, and the Superior General one day sent for\n her to come to the Community that he might receive from her own\n lips certain communications which he considered very important.\n\n \"Sister Catherine, to whom this was wholly unexpected, was\n almost speechless with amazement. On her return, she expressed\n to me her emotion, and, for the first time, opened her heart\n to me concerning that which she had formerly so much feared to\n reveal.\n\n \"This repugnance had vanished; seeing herself on the borders\n of the tomb, she felt constrained to make known the details\n which she thought buried with the venerated Father Aladel,\n and she expressed great grief that devotion to the Immaculate\n Conception was less lively and general than it had been.\n\n \"These communications, moreover, were for myself alone; I\n did not impart them to the other Sisters. It is true, the\n greater number were informed of this pious secret, but they\n never learned it from Sister Catherine herself. All they could\n observe in connexion with it was her ardent love for Mary\n Immaculate and her zeal for the propagation of the Miraculous\n Medal, also that, when she heard one of our Sisters express\n a desire to make the pilgrimage to Lourdes or some other\n privileged sanctuary of Mary, she could not refrain from\n saying, somewhat impetuously: 'But why do you wish to go so\n far? Have you not the Community? Did not the Blessed Virgin\n appear there as well as at Lourdes?' And a most extraordinary\n fact is, that, without having read any of the publications\n concerning this miraculous grotto, Sister Catherine was more\n familiar with what had taken place there than many who had made\n the pilgrimage. Leaving these incidents aside, never did she\n utter a word calculated to give the impression that she had\n any part in the singular favors the Blessed Virgin had lavished\n upon our humble chapel at the Mother House.\n\n \"Since opening her heart to me, this good companion had become\n very affectionate; it was a rest for her, a consolation to\n find some one who understood her. Our worthy Father Chevalier,\n Assistant of the Congregation of the Mission, occasionally\n visited her to receive her communications concerning the\n apparition. One day, he spoke to her of the new edition he was\n preparing of the notice of the medal. 'When M. Aladel's edition\n of 1842 appeared,' replied Sister Catherine, 'I said to him,\n truly, that he would never publish another, and that I would\n never see another edition, because it would not be finished\n during my lifetime.' 'I shall catch you there,' replied M.\n Chevalier, who expected it to appear very soon. But unforeseen\n difficulties having retarded the publication, he subsequently\n recognized that the good Sister had spoken rightly.\n\n \"From the beginning of the year 1876, Sister Catherine alluded\n very frequently to her death; on all our feast days, she never\n failed to say: 'It is the last time I shall see this feast.'\n And when we appeared not to credit her assertion, she added: 'I\n shall certainly not see the year 1877.' We could not, however,\n believe her end so near. For some months she had been obliged\n to keep her bed, and relinquish that active life she had led so\n many years.\n\n \"Her strength was gradually failing; the asthma joined to some\n affection of the heart undermined her constitution; she felt\n that she was dying, but it was without a fear, we might say\n without emotion. One day, when speaking to her of her death:\n 'You are not afraid, then,' said I, 'dear Sister Catherine.'\n 'Afraid! Sister!' she exclaimed; 'why should I be afraid? I am\n going to our Lord, the Blessed Virgin, St. Vincent.'\n\n \"And, truly, our dear companion had nothing to fear, for her\n death was as calm as her life.\n\n \"Several days previous, one of our Sisters was talking\n familiarly with her, when, without any allusion to the subject\n from the other, our sick Sister said: 'I shall go to Reuilly.'\n This was the name given the House of Providence, separated\n from d'Enghien Hospital by a vast garden, and similar to it\n in the nature of its works. 'What! to Reuilly?' answered her\n companion; 'you would not have the heart to do so, you who love\n so well your Enghien, that you have never left.' 'I tell you, I\n shall go to Reuilly.' 'But when?' 'Ah! that is it!' said Sister\n Catherine, in a decided, mysterious tone, that disconcerted\n her companion. After a few moments, she added: 'There will be\n no need of a hearse at my funeral.' 'Oh! what do you mean?'\n replied the Sister. 'It will not be needed,' said the sick one,\n emphatically. 'But why not?' 'They will put me in the chapel at\n Reuilly.' These words struck her companion, who repeated the\n conversation to me. 'Keep that to yourself,' said I.\n\n \"On the 31st of December, she had several spells of weakness,\n symptoms of her approaching end. We then proposed to her the\n last consolations of religion; she gratefully consented, and\n received the Sacraments with indescribable peace and happiness;\n then, at her request, we recited the litany of the Immaculate\n Conception.\n\n \"Being one day near her bed, speaking to her of Heaven and\n of the Blessed Virgin, she expressed a desire to have during\n her agony sixty-three children, each invoking the Blessed\n Virgin by one of her titles in the litany of the Immaculate\n Conception, and especially these very consoling words: 'Terror\n of demons, pray for us.' It was observed that there were not\n sixty-three invocations in the litany. 'You will find them in\n the office of the Immaculate Conception,' said she. Measures\n were taken to comply with her desires, the invocations were\n written upon slips of paper and kept for the final hour,\n but, just at the time of her agony, we could not collect the\n children; she then asked that the litany be recited, and had us\n repeat three times the invocation which makes hell tremble.\n\n \"Our Sisters were especially touched to hear her exclaim, with\n an accent of deep tenderness: 'My dear Community! my dear\n Mother House!' So true is it, that what we have loved most in\n life returns to us with renewed vigor at the hour of death!\n\n \"Some of her former companions and friends of the House came\n during the day to see her for a last time; one of them,\n holding an office in the Seminary, approaching her, said\n sadly: 'Sister Catherine, are you going to leave us without\n telling me a word of the Blessed Virgin?' Then the dying\n Sister leaned towards her, and whispered softly in her ear\n quite a while. 'I ought not to speak,' said she; 'it is M.\n Chevalier who is commissioned to do that.' ... She continued,\n without interruption: 'The Blessed Virgin has promised to\n grant especial graces every time one prays in the chapel, but\n particularly an increase of purity, that purity of mind, heart,\n will, which is pure love.'\n\n \"This good daughter, animated with the true primitive spirit\n of the Community, was, in uttering these last words, the\n unconscious echo of the venerable Mother Legras, whose writings\n breathe the same thought.\n\n \"A Sister-Servant, who came to visit her, approaching the sick\n Sister, reminded her of the necessities of the Community and\n of the Seminary, and ended by saying: 'Dear Sister Catherine,\n when you get to Heaven, do not forget all this, attend to all\n my commissions.' Sister Catherine answered: 'Sister, my will is\n good, but I have always been so stupid, so dull, I shall not\n know how to explain myself, for I am ignorant of the language\n of Heaven.' Upon which the other, delighted with so much\n simplicity, was inspired to say: 'Oh! my dear Sister Catherine,\n in Heaven we do not speak as we do on earth; the soul regards\n God, the good God regards the soul, and all is understood--that\n is the language of Heaven.' Our dear Sister's countenance\n became radiant at this, and she answered: 'Oh! Sister, if it is\n thus, be tranquil, all your commissions will be fulfilled.'\n\n \"M. Chevalier came, also, that day to give her his blessing,\n and he spoke to her on the same subject. Sister Catherine\n answered him with faculties undimmed, and said to him, among\n other things: 'The pilgrimages the Sisters make are not\n favorable to piety. The Blessed Virgin did not tell me to go\n so far to pray; it is in the Community chapel she wishes the\n Sisters to invoke her, that is their true pilgrimage.'\n\n \"The poor, to whom she was so devoted, likewise occupied her\n thoughts.----\n\n \"At four in the afternoon, another attack of weakness collected\n us all around our dear, dying one, but the supreme moment had\n not yet come. We surrounded her bed until evening. At seven,\n she seemed to sink into a slumber, and without the least agony\n or the least sign of suffering, she yielded her last sigh.\n Scarcely could we perceive that she had ceased to live....\n Never have I seen a death so calm and gentle.\"\n\n \"The deepest emotion now filled our hearts; we pondered the\n celestial interview of our blessed companion with that good God\n who had so often revealed Himself to her during her Seminary\n life, and that beautiful Virgin, whose charms can never be\n depicted on earth.\n\n \"It was not sorrow which pervaded our hearts; not a tear was\n shed in these first moments; we yielded to an indescribable\n emotion; we felt ourselves near a Saint; the veil of humility\n under which she had lived so long concealed was now rent, that\n we might see in her only the soul favored by Heaven.\n\n \"Our Sisters disputed the happiness of passing the night beside\n her venerated remains, a magnetic attraction drawing them to\n her.\n\n \"To perpetuate the fact that she had received these favors\n whilst still a Seminary Sister, we thought of having her\n photograph taken, also, in the Seminary habit; it succeeded\n completely in both costumes.\n\n \"We now carried her blessed remains into the chapel. There\n the Immaculate Virgin watched over her; lilies and roses\n surrounded her virginal body, and her cherished device--'O\n Mary! conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to\n thee'--surrounding this little sanctuary, seemed the last echo\n of her life.\n\n \"Then commenced the miracle of glorified humility; this\n humble Sister, who in life had been scarcely noticed, was\n suddenly surrounded by persons of every age and condition, who\n considered it a very great happiness to come, not to pray for\n her, but to recommend themselves to her blessed intercession.\n\n \"As for us who were keeping watch around our dear relic, we\n could not bear to think of the moment which would take her\n from us. This house which had been protected by her presence\n for forty-six years, would it be deprived of her forever? The\n thought was heart-breaking; it seemed as if we were about\n to lose the protection of the Immaculate Virgin, who would\n henceforth cease to hover over us.\n\n \"On the other hand, to keep our dear Sister with us appeared\n impossible. Our Superiors being consulted, permitted us to\n take measures in accordance with our wishes. We had a world of\n difficulties to surmount.\n\n \"'Pray,' said I to our Sisters; and they passed the night\n supplicating the Immaculate Mary to let our beloved companion\n remain with us.\n\n \"All night long, I vainly tried to think of a suitable resting\n place for her, when suddenly, at the sound of the four o'clock\n bell, I thought I heard these words: 'The vault is under the\n chapel of Reuilly.' 'True enough,' said I, joyfully, like a\n person who suddenly sees the realization of a long deferred\n hope. I remembered now that, during the construction of the\n chapel, a vault had been made communicating with the children's\n refectory. Our worthy Mother Mazin had assigned to it no actual\n purpose, saying we might have use for it hereafter.\n\n \"There was no time to lose. We were on the eve of her funeral,\n and the authorization, so difficult to obtain, had not yet been\n solicited.\n\n \"The vault was hastily prepared, and the petition, sustained by\n influential persons, succeeded as if by enchantment.\n\n \"January 3d, the feast of St. Genevieve, was the day appointed\n for the interment of her, whom we regarded as the tutelary\n angel of our house. But the word 'interment' is not appropriate\n here--'triumph' is the proper expression--for it was a\n veritable triumph for our humble Sister.\n\n \"A deputation was sent from all the houses of our Sisters, that\n had received timely notice, and the little chapel was much too\n small to accommodate the numbers that came. Mass over, the\n funeral cortege which was to accompany the body in procession\n from d'Enghien Hospital to the vault at Reuilly was organized,\n as follows: The inmates of our industrial school, Children of\n Mary, came first, bearing their banner; next to these, all our\n little orphans; then, our young girls of the Society (both\n externs and those belonging to the house), wearing the livery\n of the Immaculate Mary; the parishioners, and lastly, our\n Sisters preceding the clergy.\n\n \"This lengthy procession passed slowly through the long garden\n walk, and whilst the solemn chants of the Benedictus resounded\n afar, the modest coffin appeared in sight, covered with lilies\n and eglantines, emblems of purity and simplicity.\n\n \"At the entrance of the vault, the crowd stood aside, and our\n Children of Mary greeted the arrival of the body by singing the\n blessed invocation: 'O Mary! conceived without sin, pray for us\n who have recourse to thee!' It would be impossible to describe\n the effect of these funeral obsequies, of a nature so entirely\n new.\n\n \"To preserve our treasure, it was necessary to wall up the\n subterranean entrance, but we had an opening made communicating\n with the chapel.\n\n \"The poor, whom Sister Catherine had nursed, lay a magnificent\n crown on the tomb of St. Vincent's humble daughter, who, in\n life, sought only the lowliest paths, and who had supplicated\n the Blessed Virgin to keep her unknown and unsought.\"----\n\nThe life of dear Sister Labour\u00e9 was the faithful realization of Our\nLord's words in the Gospel: \"I return Thee thanks, Father, that Thou\nhast concealed these things from the wise of this world and hast\nrevealed them to little ones.\" Never were the gifts of God better\nconcealed in a soul, under the double mantle of humility and simplicity.\n\nFor forty-six years did she lead a life of obscurity and toil, seeking\nno other satisfaction than that of pleasing God; she sanctified herself\nin the lowliest paths by a faithful correspondence to grace, and an\nexact compliance with the practices of a Community life. The favors she\nreceived from Heaven never filled her heart with pride; witness of the\nwonders daily wrought by the medal, she never uttered a word that might\nlead others to suspect how much more she knew about it than any one\nelse.\n\nMight we not say, she had chosen for her motto these words of \u00c0 Kempis:\n\"Love to be unknown and accounted as nothing?\" How faithfully these\ntraits portray the true daughter of the humble Vincent de Paul!\n\nWhat, in Heaven, must be the glory of those whose earthly life was\none of self-abasement? Do we not already perceive a faint radiance of\nthis glory? The obsequies of the humble servant of the poor resembled\na triumph; by an almost unheard of exception, her body remains in\nthe midst of her spiritual family; her tomb is visited by persons of\nevery condition, who, with confidence, recommend themselves to her\nintercession, and many of whom assure us that their petitions have\nbeen granted. In fine, this biographical notice discloses what Sister\nCatherine so carefully concealed, and thus accomplishes Our Lord's\npromise: \"He who humbleth himself, shall be exalted.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II.\n\n MARY'S AGENCY IN THE CHURCH.\n\n THIS AGENCY, EVER MANIFEST, SEEMS TO HAVE DISAPPEARED DURING THE\n EIGHTEENTH AND IN THE BEGINNING OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY--MARY\n APPEARS IN 1830--MOTIVES AND IMPORTANCE OF THIS APPARITION--THE\n IMMACULATE CONCEPTION.\n\n\nDevotion to the most Blessed Virgin is as ancient as Christianity,\nand we find traces of it from the very origin of the Church, among\nall nations who accepted the Gospel. During the first ages, it was\nconcealed in the obscurity of the catacombs, or veiled itself under\nsymbolical forms to escape the profanation of infidels; but when the\nera of peace succeeded that of bloody persecutions, it reappeared\nopenly and in all the brilliancy of its ravishing beauty. It developed\na wonderful growth, especially in the fifth century, after the Council\nof Ephesus had proclaimed the divine maternity of Mary, thereby\nsanctioning the exceptional homages rendered her above all the saints.\n\nThe image of the Virgin Mother, circulated throughout Christendom,\nbecomes the ornament of churches, the protection of the fireside, and\nan object of devotion to the faithful. It is at this epoch, especially,\nwe see everywhere gradually disappearing the last vestiges of paganism.\nThe Immaculate Virgin, the Mother of tenderness, the Queen of Angels,\nthe Patroness of regenerated humanity, supplants those vain idols,\nwhich for ages had fostered superstition, with its train of vices and\nerrors.\n\nEvery Catholic admits that the Church's veneration of Mary rests upon\nan inviolable foundation--both faith and reason unite in justifying it.\nEvents have proved that God Himself has authorized it, for it has often\npleased Him to recompense the confidence and fidelity of her servants,\nby sensible marks of His power, by extraordinary graces--in a word,\nby true miracles. By a disposition of His Providence, He has decreed\nMary's intervention in the economy of the Church and the sanctification\nof souls, as He did in the mysteries of the Incarnation and Redemption.\nHer character of Mediatrix between Heaven and earth obliges her to make\nthis agency felt, to display the power she has received in favor of\nman. These manifestations of the Blessed Virgin in the Church, these\nmarvelous proofs of her solicitude for us, form an interesting portion\nof the history of Catholicity. The liturgy is full of such souvenirs,\nand several feasts have been instituted to commemorate them. Christian\ncountries abound in traditions of this nature; they are one of the\nsources whence piety derives its nourishment.\n\nThe majority of pilgrim shrines owe their origin to some supernatural\nintervention of the Blessed Virgin. Sometimes she has manifested\nherself under a visible form, most frequently to a poor shepherd\nor peasant; again, she has wrought a miracle, as the recovery of\na sick person, the conversion of a hardened sinner, or some other\nprodigy betokening the power of a supernatural agency. Sometimes, a\nstatue, a picture, apparently not fashioned by the hand of man, is\naccidentally discovered; the neighboring population are touched, their\nfaith is reanimated, and soon a shrine, a chapel, or even a splendid\nbasilica, is erected to protect this gift of Heaven, this pledge of\nMary's affection. Innumerable generations repair to the spot, and new\nfavors, new miracles, ineffable consolations, ever attest the tutelary\nguardianship of her, whom humble, confiding hearts have never invoked\nin vain. We might cite hundreds of names in support of these assertions.\n\nThe history of devotion to Mary in Catholic countries gives rise to\nan observation worthy of remark, that the faith of a country is in\nproportion to its devotion to the Blessed Virgin. We can also add that,\nwhen God wishes to revive the Faith among any people, He commissions\nMary to manifest there her goodness and power.\n\n * * * * *\n\nEvery age has furnished the Church with constantly increasing proofs of\nMary's mediation; there are epochs in which she seems to be so lavish\nof her presence, that we might say she lives familiarly among mankind,\nand that her delights are to converse with them.\n\nAgain, on the contrary, she appears to retire, to hold herself aloof\nfrom the world, to give no more signs of her intervention. We have a\nstriking example of this in a somewhat recent age. More than a century\ndo we find deprived of Mary's sensible mediation; history records in\nall that period not one of these apparitions, not a new pilgrim shrine\nfounded, not a signal grace obtained through the intercession of the\nMother of Mercy. If a few events of this kind took place, they were at\nleast very rare, and have remained in obscurity. This age, forsaken by\nthe Blessed Virgin, was the eighteenth century, to which we must add\nthe first thirty years of the nineteenth.\n\nAt this epoch, when impious rationalism endeavored to efface all idea\nof the supernatural, when the most firmly established truths were\nattacked, when among Christians the standard of virtue was lowered and\ncharacter was of slight esteem in any class or station of society, we\nmight believe that Mary, fatigued with men's ingratitude, had resolved\nto leave them to their own devices, and let them govern the world\naccording to their ideas of assumed wisdom. She did, in reality, not\nrenounce her mission of Mediatrix in favor of the Church, she still\nwatched over her great adopted family, she listened to the prayers\nof her faithful servants, but she remained invisible, she no longer\ndisplayed any of those marks of tenderness her maternal heart had\nlavished upon them in the ages of faith.\n\nWe know the consequences of Mary's abandoning the earth, and how these\nsages who wished to dispense with God governed society. The history of\ntheir reign is written in letters of fire, of blood and of filth.\n\nThis revolutionary and impious naturalism was prolonged into the\nnineteenth century; it still exerts a deplorable influence at the\npresent day, but it encounters opposition; the supernatural order is\nfirmly asserted, the truths of Faith are warmly defended, the holy\nChurch is respected and obeyed, its august Head is held in veneration\nto the very extremities of the earth, God's kingdom is still opposed,\nbut it numbers devoted subjects, who, if needful, would shed their\nblood in its defence. Indifference, human respect, jeering scepticism,\nare gradually disappearing, leaving the Church with only sincere\nfriends or declared enemies. It is a progress no one can ignore.\n\nWhence comes this change? and what the date of so consoling a\nresurrection? Beyond a doubt, it owes its origin to God's infinite\nbounty--but the instrument, can it be ignored or contemned? Is it not\nthe Blessed Virgin Mary? Has not her mediation been visible for forty\nyears? Yes; it is Mary who has wrought this astonishing transformation,\nand through the medal styled miraculous has this series of wonders been\ninaugurated.\n\nIn 1830, does Mary for the first time, after an interval of a century\nand a half, manifest her desire of a reconciliation with earth.\n\nIt is the first sign of pardon she accords man, after her long silence.\n\nIt is the announcement of a new era which is about to commence.\n\n * * * * *\n\nThe apparition of November 27th, in the chapel of the Mother House of\nthe Daughters of Charity, Paris, appears, at first, to be of little\nimportance, yet it was destined to have an immense bearing upon the\nfuture and its consequences were to be incalculable. Like a stream\nwhose source is concealed at the foot of a mountain, but which receives\nas it advances numberless tributaries, and finally becomes a majestic\nriver, fertilizing the provinces and kingdoms through which it flows;\nso the vision of the medal has been the initiatory step in a religious\nmovement, which, to-day, extends throughout the world, sitting in\njustice upon old errors, superannuated prejudices; systems inimical to\ntruth, and fully revealing the true Church and true sanctity, rendering\nto Mary Immaculate, Mother of God and Mother of men, such tributes of\nveneration, love and devotion, as she has never received since the\npreaching of the Gospel.\n\nThe reader is already acquainted with Sister Catherine, the humble\ndaughter whom Mary deigned to select for her confidante. The following\nchapter gives a detailed account of the apparitions.\n\nWe have said that this event was the dawn of a new era, the signal\nof renewed devotion to Mary throughout the world. It seemed as if\nthis tender Mother wished, by lavishing extraordinary graces upon her\nchildren, to make them forget the severity with which she had punished\ntheir offences.\n\nA rapid glance at the development of devotion to Mary, during half a\ncentury, will suffice to show the truth of this affirmation.\n\nThe medal, scarcely struck, is circulated by millions; it immediately\nbecomes the instrument of so many cures and conversions, that it is\nuniversally styled the Miraculous Medal, a name which clung to it,\nand which is justified by the constant working of new miracles, as\nthe second part of this book will show. But this medal was destined\nnot only to work miracles, it had an object still higher, it had a\ndogmatical signification, it was to popularize the belief in the\nImmaculate Conception of Mary.\n\nAs far as is possible for us to penetrate the adorable designs of\nProvidence, everything inclines us to believe that the Immaculate\nConception is one of those truths whose proclamation is interwoven\nwith the welfare of modern society, and whose influence upon\nCatholicity is incalculable. It is the complement of the Blessed\nVirgin's glory; even with the incomparable prerogative of her divine\nmaternity, her grandeur would still lack something, were she not\nproclaimed free from original sin. The germ contained in the Holy\nScriptures, preserved by tradition, taught by the Fathers and holy\nDoctors, supported by the Roman pontiffs, solemnized from the earliest\nages in many churches, adopted instinctively by the piety of the\nfaithful, and depicted under most graceful forms by brush and chisel of\nChristian artist, this belief received, through the medal, the seal of\na popular devotion. The prayer revealed by the Blessed Virgin herself:\n\"O Mary! conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!\"\nthis prayer, repeated incessantly by numberless mouths from infancy to\nold age, by poor and rich, and in every quarter of the globe, entered\nas a formula into the practices of a Christian life, and hastened, we\nmight safely say, the day when Pius IX was to declare the Immaculate\nConception an article of faith.\n\n * * * * *\n\nThe wonderful circulation of the medal, and the miracles wrought by\nmeans of it, would soon have made the chapel of the rue du Bac a much\nfrequented pilgrim shrine, as many who were indebted to Mary for\ntheir cure or conversion wished to testify their gratitude by leaving\nthere ex-voto offerings. But the Superiors of the Community deemed\nit inadvisable to allow this. However, Divine Providence, wishing to\nmaintain this pious impulse, opened in the very centre of Paris a\nsanctuary, to receive what the chapel of the Daughters of Charity had\nrefused.\n\nThe pastor of Notre-Dame-des-Victoires, M. Desgenettes, who had\ntaken a lively interest in the apparition of 1830, was inspired to\nconsecrate his parish to the holy and immaculate Heart of Mary. An\nArch confraternity was established for the conversion of sinners; the\nsuccess was as rapid as it was wonderful, and soon the whole world\nresounded with accounts of the miracles accorded the associates'\nprayers. To remind them that Notre-Dame-des-Victoires is allied with\nthe vision of the Sister of St. Vincent de Paul, an article of their\nrule enjoins them to wear, with respect and devotion, the indulgenced\nmedal of the Immaculate Conception, known as the Miraculous Medal, and\nthey are advised to recite occasionally the prayer engraven upon that\nmedal: \"O Mary! conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to\nthee!\"\n\nSome years later, in 1846, the Blessed Virgin manifests herself upon\nthe mountain at La Salette to two little shepherd children, charging\nthem to warn mankind of the necessity of doing penance in order to\navert the impending evils.\n\nAt Lourdes, in 1858, Mary appears to a poor and ignorant young girl;\nshe tells her name, calling herself by that which is most dear to\nher: \"I am the Immaculate Conception,\" and she promises abundant\nbenedictions to all who come to pray in that favored place.\n\nIn 1871, she appears in the village of Pontmain to some children;\nshe comes to revive their drooping courage and restore hope to their\nfainting hearts.\n\nIt would take too long to enumerate these manifestations of Mary\nin various parts of Christendom--those images which seem animated;\nthose mysterious voices which warn, which encourage the world; those\nsupernatural revelations to privileged souls--all, we might say,\nfavors of a tender Mother, who pardons her guilty children, and who\nwishes by multiplied tokens of her love to make them oblivious of her\npast severity.\n\nTo so many marks of the Immaculate Mary's tenderness, the Catholic\nworld has responded by an admirable outburst of filial piety; each\nyear sees hundreds of thousands of pilgrims seeking her privileged\nsanctuaries; her Feasts are celebrated with admirable splendor;\ndevotion to her is clothed in every form capable of expressing\nadmiration, gratitude and tenderness. Who could enumerate the churches\nand monuments everywhere erected in her honor, the associations\nestablished under her invocation, the books composed in her praises?\n\nBut the homage which eclipses all others, is the definition of the\ndogma of the Immaculate Conception in 1854. This definition, ardently\ndesired by the devout faithful, enthusiastically welcomed by the whole\nworld, was the grand thought of Pius IX after his elevation to the\nchair of St. Peter, and it will be recorded in history as the crowning\nevent of his Pontificate, already illustrious for so many other causes.\n\nMary, by this, has received from her children all the glory it was\nin their power to procure her; her prerogatives appear in all their\nlustre; she is acknowledged as sovereign mistress of Heaven and earth;\nshe occupies in the economy of religion the true place Divine wisdom\nhas assigned her. Let us hope she will soon display to the world the\neffects of her powerful protection, that she will crush the infernal\nserpent's head, that she will calm the storms hell has unchained--in\nfine, that she will assure the triumph of the Church and the reign of\nJesus Christ in justice and truth.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III.\n\n APPARITIONS OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN\n\n _TO SISTER CATHERINE_.\n\n FIRST APPARITION: THE ANGEL CONDUCTS THE SISTER TO THE CHAPEL; MARY\n CONVERSES WITH HER--SECOND APPARITION: MARY UPON A GLOBE, HER HANDS\n EMITTING RAYS OF LIGHT, SYMBOLIC OF GRACE; MARY ORDERS A MEDAL TO\n BE STRUCK--THIRD APPARITION: MARY RENEWS THE COMMAND.\n\n\nWhen Sister Catherine was favored with these apparitions of the Blessed\nVirgin she related by word of mouth to her Director, what she had seen\nand heard, and he, though apparently attaching little importance to her\ncommunications, carefully took note of them. The Sister never thought\nof writing them, she judged herself incapable of doing so, and,\nmoreover, in her opinion, it would have been contrary to humility.\n\nIn 1856, when events had confirmed the truth of her predictions, M.\nAladel told her to commit to writing all she could recollect of the\nsupernatural visitations of 1830. She obeyed, despite her repugnance,\nand sketched an account of her vision of St. Vincent's heart, which we\nhave already read, and that of the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin.\n\nIn obedience, she again wrote in 1876, an account of these same\napparitions.\n\nFinally, another copy, not dated, was found among her papers after\ndeath.\n\nThese three narrations accord perfectly in the main, yet differ\nsufficiently in detail to prove that one was not copied from the other.\n\nTo these manuscripts, in which no change has been made, except a\ncorrection of faults in style and orthography, are we indebted for the\nfollowing account of the apparitions.\n\nIt is to be regretted that M. Aladel's notes should have been almost\nentirely destroyed; no doubt they contained very interesting details,\nbut what portion of them remains, is of little importance.\n\nBefore quoting Sister Catherine's own narration, we must remark, that\nthe first vision, having little reference to anything but the Sister\nherself and St. Vincent's two Communities, M. Aladel did not deem it\nadvisable to have published; also, that although the account of the\nvision of the medal in the first editions of the notice, seems to\ndiffer notably from that related by the Sister, we will see later how\nthese discrepancies can be explained, and that in the main the two\nversions are identical.\n\n[Illustration: _FIRST APPARITION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN_\n\n_To Sister Catherine Labour\u00e9, Daughter of Charity. After a picture\npainted from instructions given by Sister Catherine. (See the\nexplanation at the list of engravings._)]\n\nSister Catherine, already favored with celestial visions, ardently\ndesired, with all the simplicity of her nature, to see the Blessed\nVirgin. To obtain this grace, she invoked her good Angel, St. Vincent,\nand the Blessed Virgin herself.\n\nOn the 18th of July, 1830, eve of the Feast of St. Vincent de Paul,\nthe Directress of the Seminary gave an instruction on devotion to\nthe Saints and the Blessed Virgin; this but inflamed our Sister's\npious desire. Fully imbued with the thought, she retired for the\nnight, recommending herself to her blessed Father, St. Vincent, and\nconfidently believing that her prayers would be answered.\n\nAbout half-past eleven o'clock, she hears her name, \"Sister Labour\u00e9,\"\ndistinctly called three times; suddenly awaking, she opens her curtain\non the side whence the voice proceeds, and what does she perceive? A\nlittle child of ravishing beauty, four or five years of age, dressed\nin white and enveloped in the radiant light beaming from his fair hair\nand noble person. \"Come,\" said he, in a melodious voice, \"come to the\nchapel, the Blessed Virgin awaits you.\" But, thought Sister Catherine\n(she slept in a large dormitory), the others will hear me, I shall be\ndiscovered. \"Have no fears,\" said the child, answering her thought, \"it\nis half-past eleven, everybody is asleep, I will accompany you.\"\n\nAt these words, no longer able to resist the invitation of her amiable\nguide, Sister Catherine dresses hastily and follows the child, who\nwalks always at her left, illuming the places through which he passes;\nand everywhere along their path, to the Sister's great astonishment,\ndoes she find the lamps lighted. Her surprise redoubles, on seeing the\ndoor open at the child's touch, and on finding the altar resplendent\nwith lights, \"reminding her,\" she said, \"of the midnight Mass.\"\n\nThe child conducts her into the sanctuary; here she kneels, whilst her\ncelestial guide remains standing a little behind at her left.\n\nThe moments of waiting seem long to Sister Catherine; at last, about\nmidnight, the child says to her: \"Behold the Blessed Virgin, behold\nher!\" At that instant, she distinctly hears on the right hand side of\nthe chapel, a slight noise, like the rustling of a silk robe; a most\nbeautiful lady enters the sanctuary, and takes her seat in the place\nordinarily occupied by the Director of the Community, on the left side\nof the sanctuary. The seat, the attitude, the costume (a white robe of\na golden tinge and a blue veil), strongly resemble the representation\nof St. Anne in the picture adorning the sanctuary. Yet it is not\nthe same countenance, and Sister Catherine is struggling interiorly\nagainst doubt. Can this indeed be the Blessed Virgin? she asks herself.\nSuddenly, the little child, assuming the voice of a man, speaks aloud,\nand in severe words asks her if the Queen of Heaven may not appear to a\npoor mortal under whatever form she pleases.\n\nHer doubts all vanish, and following only the impulses of her heart,\nthe Sister throws herself at the Blessed Virgin's feet, familiarly\nplacing her hands upon the Blessed Virgin's knees, like a child beside\nits mother.\n\n \"At this moment,\" said she, \"I felt the sweetest emotion of\n my life, it would be impossible for me to express it. The\n Blessed Virgin told me how I must act in all my trials; and\n pointing with her left hand to the foot of the altar, she told\n me it was there I must come and lay open my heart, adding\n that it was there I would receive all needful consolation.\n Then she also said to me: 'My child, I am going to charge you\n with a mission; you will suffer many trials on account of\n it, but you will surmount them, knowing that you endure them\n for the glory of the good God. You will be contradicted, but\n you will be sustained by grace, do not fear; with simplicity\n and confidence, tell all that passes within you to him who\n is charged with the care of your soul. You will see certain\n things, you will be inspired in your prayers, give an account\n to him.'\n\n \"I then asked the Blessed Virgin for an explanation of what she\n had already shown me. She answered: 'My child, the times are\n very disastrous, great trials are about to come upon France,\n the throne will be overturned, the entire world will be in\n confusion by reason of miseries of every kind.' (The Blessed\n Virgin looked very sad in saying this.) 'But come to the foot\n of this altar, here graces will be shed upon all--upon all who\n ask for them with confidence and fervor.\n\n \"'At a certain time the danger will be great indeed, it will\n seem as if all were lost, but do not fear, I shall be with you;\n you will acknowledge my visit, the protection of God and that\n of St. Vincent upon the two Communities. Have confidence, do\n not be discouraged, you are in my especial keeping.\n\n \"'There will be victims in other Communities.' (Tears were\n in the Blessed Virgin's eyes as she said this.) 'Among the\n clergy of Paris there will be victims, Mgr. the Archbishop\n will die.' (At these words her tears flowed anew.) 'My child,\n the cross will be despised, it will be trampled under foot,\n our Lord's side will be opened anew, the streets will flow\n with blood, the entire world will be in tribulation.'\" (Here\n the Blessed Virgin could no longer speak, grief was depicted\n in her countenance.) At these words Sister Catherine thought,\n when will this take place? And an interior light distinctly\n indicated to her in forty years.\n\nAnother version, also written by her own hand, says forty years, then\nten, after which, peace. In connexion with this M. Aladel said to her:\n\n \"Will you and I see the accomplishment of all these things?\"\n \"If we do not, others will,\" replied the simple daughter.\n\nThe Blessed Virgin also entrusted her with several communications for\nher Director concerning the Daughters of Charity, and told her that\nhe would one day be clothed with the necessary authority for putting\nthem in execution.[7] After this, she said again: \"But great troubles\nwill come, the danger will be imminent, yet do not fear, St. Vincent\nwill watch over you, and the protection of God is always here in a\nparticular manner.\" (The Blessed Virgin still looked very sad.) \"I\nwill be with you myself, I will always keep my eye upon you, and I\nwill enrich you with many graces.\" The Sister adds: \"Graces will be\nbestowed, particularly upon all who ask for them, but they must pray,\nthey must pray.----\n\n [Footnote 7: M. Aladel was made Director of the Community in\n 1846.]\n\n \"I could not tell,\" continues the Sister, \"how long I remained\n with the Blessed Virgin; all I can say is that, after talking\n with me a long time, she disappeared like a shadow that\n vanishes.\"\n\nOn arising from her knees, Sister Catherine perceived the child just\nwhere she had left him, to throw herself at the Blessed Virgin's feet.\nHe said: \"She has gone,\" and, all resplendent with light as before, he\nstationed himself anew at her left hand, and conducted her back to the\ndormitory by the same paths as they had come.\n\n \"I believe,\" continues the narration, \"that this child was my\n Guardian Angel, because I had fervently implored him to procure\n me the favor of seeing the Blessed Virgin.... Returned to my\n bed, I heard the clock strike two, and I went to sleep no more.\"\n\n * * * * *\n\nWhat has just been recounted was only a part of Sister Catherine's\nmission, or rather a preparation for a future mission to be given her\nas a pledge of the Immaculate Mary's tenderness for the human race.\n\nIn the month of November of this same year, 1830, Sister Catherine\ncommunicates to M. Aladel a new vision; but it is no longer that of\nan afflicted Mother weeping over the evils menacing her children, or\nthe martyrdom of her dearest friends. This vision recalls the rainbow\nappearing in a sky still black with storms, or the star shining through\nthe tempest to inspire the mariner with confidence--it is the Virgin\nQueen, bearing the promise of benediction, salvation and peace.\n\nM. Aladel relates this to the Promoter of the diocese, and we find it\ninserted in the verbal process of the investigation, dated February 16,\n1836, as follows:\n\n \"At half-past five in the evening, whilst the Sisters were in\n the chapel taking their meditation, the Blessed Virgin appeared\n to a young Sister as if in an oval picture; she was standing on\n a globe, only one-half of which was visible; she was clothed\n in a white robe and a mantle of shining blue, having her hands\n covered, as it were, with diamonds, whence emanated luminous\n rays falling upon the earth, but more abundantly upon one\n portion of it.\n\n \"A voice seemed to say: 'These rays are symbolic of the graces\n Mary obtains for men, and the point upon which they fall most\n abundantly is France.' Around the picture, written in golden\n letters, were these words: 'O Mary! conceived without sin,\n pray for us who have recourse to thee!' This prayer, traced in\n a semi-circle, began at the Blessed Virgin's right hand, and,\n passing over her head, terminated at her left hand. The reverse\n of the picture bore the letter M surmounted by a cross, having\n a bar at its base, and beneath the monogram of Mary, were the\n hearts of Jesus and Mary, the first surrounded with a crown of\n thorns, the other transpierced with a sword. Then she seemed\n to hear these words: 'A medal must be struck upon this model;\n those who wear it indulgenced, and repeat this prayer with\n devotion, will be, in an especial manner, under the protection\n of the Mother of God.' At that instant, the vision disappeared.\"\n\nAccording to the testimony of Sister Catherine's Director, this\napparition appeared several times in the course of a few months, always\nin the chapel of the Mother House of the Daughters of Charity, either\nduring Mass or some of the religious exercises. M. Aladel adds that he\nwas not certain as to their number, but he knows they were repeated\nthrice, at least, the Sister having mentioned it three different times.\n\nHere is the account written by the Sister's own hand:\n\n \"The 27th of November, 1830, which was a Saturday and eve of\n the first Sunday in Advent, whilst making my meditation in\n profound silence, at half-past five in the evening, I seemed\n to hear on the right hand side of the sanctuary something\n like the rustling of a silk dress, and, glancing in that\n direction, I perceived the Blessed Virgin standing near St.\n Joseph's picture; her height was medium, and her countenance\n so beautiful that it would be impossible for me to describe\n it. She was standing, clothed in a robe the color of auroral\n light, the style that is usually called _\u00e0 la vierge_--that is,\n high neck and plain sleeves. Her head was covered with a white\n veil, which descended on each side to her feet. Her hair was\n smooth on the forehead, and above was a coif ornamented with a\n little lace and fitting close to the head. Her face was only\n partially covered, and her feet rested upon a globe, or rather\n a hemisphere (at least, I saw but half a globe). Her hands were\n raised about as high as her waist, and she held in a graceful\n attitude another globe (a figure of the universe). Her eyes\n were lifted up to Heaven, and her countenance was radiant as\n she offered the globe to Our Lord.\n\n[Illustration: _SECOND APPARITION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN_\n\n_To Sister Catherine Labour\u00e9. First picture._ (_See the explanation at\nthe list of engravings._)]\n\n \"Suddenly, her fingers were filled with rings[8] and most\n beautiful precious stones; the rays gleaming forth and\n reflected on all sides, enveloped her in such dazzling light\n that I could see neither her feet nor her robe. The stones were\n of different sizes, and the rays emanating from them were more\n or less brilliant in proportion to the size.\n\n [Footnote 8: The rings were three on each finger; the largest\n next to the hand, then the medium size, then the smallest; and\n each ring was covered with precious stones of proportional\n size; the largest stones emitted the most brilliant rays, the\n smallest the least brilliant.]\n\n \"I could not express what I felt, nor what I learned, in these\n few moments.\n\n \"Whilst occupied contemplating this vision, the Blessed Virgin\n cast her eyes upon me, and a voice said in the depths of my\n heart: 'The globe that you see represents the entire world, and\n particularly France, and each person in particular.'\n\n \"I would not know how to express the beauty and brilliancy of\n these rays. And the Blessed Virgin added: 'Behold the symbol\n of the graces I shed upon those who ask me for them,' thus\n making me understand how generous she is to all who implore\n her intercession.... How many favors she grants to those who\n ask. At this moment I was not myself, I was in raptures! There\n now formed around the Blessed Virgin a frame slightly oval,\n upon which appeared, in golden letters, these words: 'O Mary!\n conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!'\n\n \"Then I heard a voice which said: 'Have a medal struck upon\n this model, persons who wear it indulgenced, will receive great\n graces, especially if they wear it around the neck; graces will\n be abundantly bestowed upon those who have confidence.'\n\n \"Suddenly,\" says the Sister, \"the picture seemed to turn,\" and\n she saw the reverse, such as has already been described in the\n previous account of the investigation.\n\nSister Catherine's notes do not mention the twelve stars surrounding\nthe monogram of Mary and the two hearts. Yet they are always\nrepresented on the medal. It is morally certain that she communicated\nthis detail, by word of mouth, at the time she related the apparitions.\n\nOther notes in Sister Catherine's own hand-writing complete the\naccount. She adds, that some of these precious stones did not emit\nrays, and when she expressed her astonishment at this, she was told\nthat they were a figure of the graces we neglect to ask of Mary. On a\nhasty perusal, our Sister's account of the vision appears to differ\nfrom M. Aladel's. We were struck with this, and had to study these\ninteresting and authentic documents attentively, in order to decide\nwhether the visions differed essentially or were really the same.\n\n[Illustration: _SECOND APPARITION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN_\n\n_To Sister Catherine Labour\u00e9. Second picture._ (_See the explanation at\nthe list of engravings._)]\n\nAccording to M. Aladel's testimony in the investigation, the\napparitions relative to the medal were always similar, and Sister\nCatherine, before her death, confirmed this assertion. As we have just\nlearned from our Sister's own words, the Blessed Virgin always appeared\nwith the terrestrial globe under her feet, and at the same time in her\nvirginal hands, pressing it and warming it, as it were, against her\nmaternal heart, and offering it to her Divine Son in her quality of\nAdvocate and Mother, with an ineffable expression of supplication and\nlove.\n\nThis is what the Sister saw. Was it all? No, after the first act of\nsublime intercession, after this most efficacious prayer of our divine\nMediatrix, her hands are suddenly filled with graces, under the figure\nof rings and precious stones, which emit such brilliant rays that\nall else is invisible, Mary is enveloped in them, and her hands are\nbent beneath the weight of these treasures. Her eyes are cast upon\nthe humble Sister whose ravished glances can scarcely support this\ncelestial effulgence. At the same time, an oval frame is formed around\nthe vision, and a voice directs the Sister to have a medal struck\naccording to the medal presented. The medal is a faithful reproduction\nof this picture, at the moment the symbolical part disappears in the\nsheaves of light.\n\nSister Catherine being asked if she still saw the globe in the\nBlessed Virgin's hands, when the luminous sheaves issued from them,\nanswered no, there remained nothing but the rays of light; and that\nwhen the Blessed Virgin spoke of the globe, she meant that under her\nfeet, there being no longer any question of the first. Hence, we may\nconclude, that Sister Catherine's description of the apparition and\nM. Aladel's agree perfectly. The small globe which the Blessed Virgin\nholds in her hands, and the large one on which she stands, are both\ninundated with the same dazzling rays, or enriched with the same\ngraces. The august Mary seems to indicate by the small globe merely a\nfigure of the world, imperfectly represented beneath her feet, thus\nreminding us that she is the all merciful Queen of the human race.\n\nThere is yet another variation in the description of the two\napparitions. M. Aladel, in conformity with the popular belief, that\nwhite and blue combined constitute the Blessed Virgin's livery,\nas emblems of purity, celestial purity, gives the mantle an azure\ntint. Sister Catherine expresses the same idea several times in her\nnotes, saying: \"White signifies innocence, and blue is the livery of\nMary.\" However, the blue mantle is not mentioned in the notice of\nthe apparition, Sister Catherine speaks only of the robe and veil of\nauroral light.\n\nWhen questioned as to a more definite description of this color, she\nreplied that it was a deep white, tinted with the mild, beautiful\nradiance of dawn,[9] thus wishing, no doubt, to give some idea of the\ncelestial hue of the robe and veil. It is this hue that tortures the\nartist, for he feels his pencil powerless to depict the beauties of\nanother sphere.\n\n [Footnote 9: We must remember that Sister Catherine's childhood\n was passed in the country, where she could admire the beauty\n of that luminous tint which precedes the sun, and colors the\n horizon at break of day with its increasing radiance.]\n\nWe can understand from the above, how M. Aladel could have mistaken\nsome details furnished by Sister Catherine, or have confounded the\napparition of the medal with the visions of July 18th and 19th, in\nwhich the Blessed Virgin's apparel was white and blue.\n\nHowever, the accessories of the mantle and its indescribable hue, in no\nwise affect the reality of the apparition.\n\n * * * * *\n\nWe recollect with what indifference, we might say severity, M. Aladel\nreceived his penitent's communications, bidding her give no heed\nto them, but dismiss them from her mind, as altogether unworthy of\nattention. But Sister Catherine's obedience, attested by her Director\nhimself, could not efface the delightful remembrance of what she had\nseen and heard; to return to Mary's feet was her greatest happiness;\nthe thought never left her, nor the firm conviction that she would see\nthis dear Mother again. And, indeed, in the course of December, she\nwas favored with another vision, similar to that of November 27th, and\noccurring at the same time, during evening meditation. But there was\na striking difference between this and the previous one, the Blessed\nVirgin, instead of stopping at St. Joseph's picture, passed on, and\nrested above the tabernacle, a little behind it, and precisely in the\nplace the statue now occupies. The Blessed Virgin appeared to be about\nforty years of age, according to the Sister's judgment. The apparition\nwas, as it were, framed from the hands in the invocation: \"O Mary!\nconceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!\" traced\nin golden letters. The reverse presented the monogram of the Blessed\nVirgin, surmounted by a cross, and beneath were the divine hearts of\nJesus and Mary. Sister Labour\u00e9 was again directed to have a medal\nstruck upon this model. She terminates her account in these words: \"To\ntell you what I understood at the moment the Blessed Virgin offered the\nglobe to Our Lord, would be impossible, or what my feelings were whilst\ngazing on her! A voice in the depths of my heart said to me: 'These\nrays are symbolic of the graces the Blessed Virgin obtains for those\nwho ask for them.'\"\n\nThese few lines, according to her, should be inscribed at the base of\nthe Blessed Virgin's statue. On this occasion, contrary to her usual\ncustom, she could not refrain from an exclamation of joy at the thought\nof the homages which would be rendered Mary! \"Oh! how delightful to\nhear it said: 'Mary is Queen of the Universe, and particularly of\nFrance!' The children will proclaim it, 'She is Queen of each soul!'\"\n\nWhen Sister Labour\u00e9 related the third apparition of the medal, M.\nAladel asked her if she had seen anything written on the reverse. The\nSister answered that she had not. \"Ah!\" said the Father, \"ask the\nBlessed Virgin what to put there.\"\n\nThe young Sister obeyed; and after having prayed a long time, one day\nduring meditation, she seemed to hear a voice saying: \"The M and the\ntwo hearts express enough.\"\n\nNone of these narrations mention the serpent, yet it always figures in\nrepresentations of the apparition, and certainly in conformity with\nSister Catherine's earliest revelations of the vision. The following\nshows why we are so positive of this fact.\n\nTowards the close of her life, after a silence of forty-five years, M.\nAladel being no more, this good daughter was interiorly constrained to\nconfide to one of her Superiors the communications she had received\nfrom the Blessed Virgin, that they might serve to reanimate devotion\nand gratitude to Mary. Having done this, her mind was relieved; she\nfelt that now she could die in peace.\n\nThe Superior, favored with her confidence, wishing to realize one of\nher venerable companion's most cherished desires, proposes a statue\nof Mary Immaculate, holding the globe. On asking Sister Catherine if\nthe serpent must be represented under the Blessed Virgin's feet, she\nanswered: \"Yes; there was a serpent of a greenish color, with yellow\nspots.\" She also remarked that the globe in the Virgin's hands was\nsurmounted by a little cross, that her countenance was neither very\nyouthful nor very joyous, but indicative of gravity mingled with\nsorrow, that the sorrowful expression vanished as her face became\nirradiated with love, especially at the moment of her prayer.\n\nOur attempt at representing the vision was successful, although the\ntint of the robe and veil, the celestial radiance of the face, the\nsplendor of the rays, must always remain an impossibility for art;\nas the good Sister, whilst declaring her satisfaction, betrayed by\nher tone of voice and expression the disappointment she felt at the\nimpotency of human skill to depict the beauty of the celestial original.\n\nThirty-five years before, M. Aladel had vainly attempted a\nrepresentation of the same apparition, as we learn from a curious\nfragment, a small design[10] representing the Immaculate Virgin holding\nthe globe, etc., as described by Sister Catherine. His note directing\nthe details is in exact conformity with the Sister's description,\nexcept in one particular, the blue mantle. But little satisfied with\nthis attempt, which gave but a confused idea of the apparition, and\nhis own especial impression of it, he relinquished the undertaking, and\nheld to the known model.\n\n [Footnote 10: The author of this design is M. Letaille, editor\n of religious imagery.]\n\nWe may say, with truth, that nothing can equal the beauty, the grace,\nthe expression of tenderness depicted in the attitude of this Virgin,\nwhose graciously downcast glances and hands, filled with blessings,\nproclaim her the Mother, inviting her little child to cast itself into\nher arms, or earnestly entreating the prodigal son to confide in her\nmerciful mediation.\n\nThis image of the Immaculate Mother, universally admired and honored,\nhas a mute eloquence which never fails to touch the heart; and, truly,\nmay it ever be styled the miraculous Virgin. Were we to cite only those\nwhich have come to our knowledge, a volume would be insufficient to\ncontain an account of all the wonderful conversions, cures, marks of\nprotection, wrought since the appearance of this vision to the present\nday.\n\nThe production of new models, representing the Immaculate Virgin in a\ndifferent attitude, should never supplant this, which is, as it were,\nthe type of all others; nor weaken the devotion heretofore accorded it\nby popular gratitude.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV.\n\n PROPAGATION OF THE MEDAL.\n\n ITS WONDERFUL CIRCULATION--CANONICAL INVESTIGATION ORDERED BY MGR.\n DE QU\u00c9LEN.\n\n\nWe have already seen with what mistrust M. Aladel received Sister\nCatherine's communications, and how he hesitated to assume the mission\nproposed to him. At last, after grave reflection, after consultations\nwith enlightened persons, and upon the formal authorization of Mgr.\nde Qu\u00e9len, Archbishop of Paris, he decided to have the medal of the\nImmaculate Conception struck. This was in 1832.\n\nWhen about to depict the details as related by the Sister, many\ndifficulties presented themselves. In what attitude should the Blessed\nVirgin be represented, for in the apparition she had several? Should\na globe be in her hands? Again, at one instant she was enveloped in\nwaves of light, but this could not be gracefully reproduced in an\nengraving. After mature consideration, it was decided to adopt the\nalready existing model of the Immaculate Virgin, which represents her\nwith hands extended; to this were added the luminous rays escaping from\nthe rings on her fingers, the terrestrial globe on which she stands,\nand the serpent she crushes under her feet. Around the oval were\ninscribed these words: \"O Mary! conceived without sin, pray for us who\nhave recourse to thee!\" The reverse bears the letter M, surmounted by a\ncross, and the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary below the M, the first\nsurrounded with a crown of thorns, the second pierced by a sword.\n\n \"As soon as the medal was struck,\" says M. Aladel, \"it was\n freely circulated, especially among the Daughters of Charity,\n who, knowing something of its origin, wore it with great\n confidence. Shortly after, they gave it to several sick\n persons, six of whom experienced most beneficial results. Three\n cures and three conversions were wrought, some of them in\n Paris and some in the diocese of Meaux, all of a very sudden\n and unexpected nature. And now there was heard everywhere\n a great demand for the Miraculous Medal, the medal which\n heals--virtuous mothers of families giving it as a New-Year's\n present to their children, who received it so gladly and wore\n it with such respect that no one could doubt how their innocent\n hearts prized it. All the pious hastened to procure it as soon\n as it was known to be within reach; but the event it gives us\n most pleasure to record here, and which edified us most in\n these early days of the propagation of the medal, is that,\n in two cities of the province, nearly all the young people\n united in wearing the medal as the safeguard of their youth.\n Four hundred silver medals were sent for, to be indulged for\n this purpose. Very soon entire parishes in various counties\n solicited their pastors to get them medals, and in Paris an\n officer of high rank bought sixty for brother officers at their\n request.\n\n \"Thus, the medals of the Immaculate Conception were circulated\n in a truly wonderful manner, in all the provinces and among\n all classes; from every side we heard most consoling things;\n priests filled with the spirit of God wrote to us that these\n medals reanimated piety in the cities as well as in the\n country; grand vicars, enjoying the high esteem due their piety\n and intellect, prelates, even more distinguished, assured us\n of their entire confidence in the medals, which they regarded\n as means sent by Providence to revive the faith so sensibly\n enfeebled in our age; that in reality they did awaken faith\n daily in many hearts apparently devoid of it, that they\n re-established peace and union in families divided by discord,\n in fine, that not one of all those wearing the medal but had\n experienced most salutary effects.\n\n \"Mgr. de Qu\u00e9len himself (whose great charity brought him\n in contact with all classes) told me several times, that\n he had given the medal to numbers of sick persons of every\n condition in life, and never had he failed to recognize the\n blessed results. Very soon he publishes these in a circular of\n December 15th, 1836, on the occasion of consecrating the parish\n church of Our Lady of Loretto. It is a fact we are jealous\n of confirming, and the knowledge of which we desire should\n reach even the most remote parts of the Catholic world; in our\n diocese this devotion has become more deeply rooted with time;\n the afflicted still affirm, increase and extend its marvelous\n progress; signal favors, graces of healing, preservation and\n salvation seem to multiply among us, in proportion as we\n implore the tender pity of Mary conceived without sin. 'We\n exhort the faithful,' adds he in the beginning of the same\n circular, 'to wear the medal struck a few years ago in honor\n of the Blessed Virgin,' and to repeat frequently the prayer\n inscribed around the image: 'O Mary! conceived without sin,\n pray for us who have recourse to thee!'\n\n \"Moreover, in every part of France have we witnessed the\n increasing eagerness of the faithful of all ages, sexes\n and conditions, to procure the Miraculous Medal. Careless\n Christians, hardened sinners, Protestants, the impious and even\n Jews, asked for it, received it with pleasure and wore it with\n religious veneration.\n\n \"Not only in France were we forced to admire the propagation\n of the medal; it spread rapidly and extensively throughout\n Switzerland, Piedmont, Italy, Spain, Belgium, England, America,\n in the Levant, and even China. It is also said, that at Naples,\n as soon as they heard of it, the Metropolitan Chapter sent\n for some to one of our establishments in that city, that the\n king had silver medals struck for all the royal family and\n court, and a million of another medal, which were distributed\n during the cholera--that the image is there venerated in nearly\n every house, and the picture in several churches. At Rome, the\n Superior Generals of religious orders took pains to circulate\n it, and the Sovereign Pontiff himself, placed it at the foot of\n his crucifix. We also received a letter informing us that His\n Holiness gave it to several persons as a particular mark of his\n pontifical affection.\n\n \"Moreover, to estimate the propagation of this medal, it\n suffices to consult the registry of M. Vachette, to whom was\n entrusted the striking of it.[11] This examen shows that, from\n June, 1832, to the present time, he has sold: 1st, two millions\n in silver or gold; 2d, eighteen millions of a cheaper metal.\n According to him, eleven other manufacturers in Paris have\n sold the same quantity; at Lyons, four others with whom he\n was acquainted, at least double the number; and in many other\n cities, whether of France or foreign countries, the manufacture\n and sales are incalculable.\"\n\n [Footnote 11: _Quai des Orfevres_, number 54. They are of\n different sizes, and the invocation is inscribed in several\n languages.]\n\nStruck with this marvelous propagation, and the universal anxiety\nto learn the origin of the medal, Sister Catherine's pious Director\npublished, in 1834, a short notice containing a brief narration of the\napparition, and of the graces obtained by means of the medal. This\nbook sold rapidly, and new editions had to be printed; when the eighth\nappeared in 1842, the number of copies sold amounted to a hundred and\nthirty thousand, and each successive edition was increased by well\nauthenticated accounts of many new miraculous occurrences.\n\n * * * * *\n\nIn consequence of all this, the venerable priest found himself engaged\nin a vast and active correspondence, which, to the end of his days,\nfilled his heart with ineffable consolation, at the thought of his\nthus assisting in the accomplishment of the Immaculate Mary's promises\nthroughout the universe.\n\nAmong the communications he received in the course of the year 1836,\nthere was one which appeared to him the confirmation of Sister\nCatherine's vision. He published it in the notice of the medal.\nIt was the vision of a Swiss religious, already favored with many\nextraordinary graces. We reproduce it here for the edification of the\nreader:\n\n \"The 17th of August, 1835, the first day of her retreat, this\n religious, in an ecstasy after Holy Communion, sees Our Lord\n seated upon a throne of glory, and holding a sword in His hand.\n 'Where goest thou, and what seekest thou?' He asked. 'O Jesus!'\n she answered, 'I go to Thee, and it is Thyself alone I seek!'\n 'Where dost thou seek Me, in what and through whom?' 'Lord,\n in myself I seek Thee, in Thy holy will and through Mary.'\n Here Our Lord disappeared, and the religious, awaking from her\n ecstasy, was reflecting upon His words, when there suddenly\n appeared to her the Blessed Virgin, all lovely and resplendent.\n She held in her hand a medal, on which was engraven her image\n and the inscription: 'O Mary! conceived without sin, pray for\n us who have recourse to thee!' And sheaves of light gleamed\n from her hands. 'These rays,' said Mary to her, 'are symbols\n of the graces I obtain for men.' She then turned the medal,\n and the religious saw on the reverse the letter M surmounted\n by a little cross, beneath which were the Sacred Hearts of\n Jesus and Mary. 'Wear this medal,' said the Queen of Heaven,\n 'and thou wilt enjoy my very especial protection; take pains,\n also, that all who are in any pressing necessity wear it, that\n efforts are made to procure it for them.... Be in readiness,\n for I will put it upon thee myself, on the Feast of my beloved\n servant Bernard; to day, I leave it in thy hands.' The Blessed\n Virgin afterwards reproached her for misplacing the medal and\n taking little pains to find it; the religious acknowledged\n indeed, that she had received it in July, and that having lost\n it, she really gave herself no anxiety, considering it merely\n an ordinary medal, knowing neither its origin nor its effects\n till this vision. This is attested by the Superior of the\n Community. The Blessed Virgin kept her promise, and on the 20th\n of the same month, the Feast of St. Bernard, she placed on the\n neck of the religious, the medal she had already put in her\n hands, recommending her to wear it respectfully, to repeat the\n invocation frequently, and to apply herself to the invitation\n of the Immaculate Mary's virtues.\n\n \"During her retreat in August, 1836, she sees the medal every\n day, suspended, as it were, in the air. At first, it appeared\n very high, shining a few moments like the sun, then like gold;\n again, it seemed not so high and was apparently of silver;\n finally, very near the earth, and of a baser metal. The\n religious gazed in admiration, though without comprehending the\n meaning of this vision, until Vespers, when it was explained\n to her. A sweet but unfamiliar voice asked her which of these\n medals she preferred. She answered, the most brilliant, and the\n same voice congratulating her on the choice she had made, told\n her, that the brilliant medal shining like the sun, was that of\n faithful Christians, who, in wearing it, honor Mary perfectly,\n and contribute to her glory; the gold medal, that of pious\n persons who have a tender and filial devotion to Mary, but\n who keeping it within their hearts, advance but slightly this\n divine Mother's cause; the silver medal, that of all who wear\n it with respect and devotion, but who sometimes lack constancy\n and generosity in imitating Mary's virtues--finally, that the\n brass medal, represented that of all, who contenting themselves\n with invoking Mary, take no pains to walk in her footsteps, and\n thus remain sadly attached to earth. The same voice added, that\n there is, however, a very especial and peculiar union among\n these various persons, marked, we might say, with the precious\n seal of Mary Immaculate; they all necessarily aid one another\n in a very particular manner by prayer, so that with this\n powerful assistance, the third can elevate the last, the second\n sustain the third, and the first, thus happily attract all the\n others.\n\n \"These details have been communicated to us, from the abbey of\n Our Lady of Hermits at Einsiedlen, so renowned for the great\n virtues of its fervent religious, and the immense concourse of\n pilgrims, who repair hither from all parts of the world.\"\n\n * * * * *\n\nUp to this time, the medal had received only the verbal approbation of\nthe Archbishop of Paris; a formal authorization was necessary to assure\nthe faithful of its authenticity, and to conform moreover to the laws\nof the Church, which exact a canonical judgment, before permitting\nthe introduction of new images in the liturgical worship. A juridical\nexamination was consequently requested, in order to confirm the origin\nof the medal.\n\nMgr. de Qu\u00e9len willingly complied, and by his order an investigation\nwas begun February 16th, 1836, under the direction of M. Quentin, Vicar\nGeneral, Promoter of the diocese; it was prolonged into the month of\nJuly, and had not less than nineteen sittings.\n\nWe still possess the verbal process of this inquiry. Various witnesses\nappeared, the principal of whom was Sister Catherine's Director, M.\nAladel.\n\nIn the course of the process, the Promoter asked, why God had chosen\nthe Daughters of Charity for so rare a favor, and not one of those\nconvents noted for the observance of an austere rule, such as rigorous\nfasts, mortifications, etc. For it was not in a contemplative order,\nbut in the Mother House of this modest institution so useful to\nhumanity, in the chapel which for a long time contained the mortal\nremains of St. Vincent, the father of the poor, that the apparition,\nwhich was the model of the medal, took place.\n\nWe believe the reason of this preference is to be found in the two\nusages observed among the Daughters of Charity, from the beginning of\ntheir Society; the first, an act of consecration to the Blessed Virgin\non the Feast of the Immaculate Conception; the second, the ending each\ndecade of the chaplet by the following profession of faith: \"O Most\nHoly Virgin! I believe and confess thy Holy and Immaculate Conception,\npure and without spot! O Most Pure Virgin! by thy virginal purity, by\nthy Immaculate Conception and thy glorious quality of Mother of God,\nobtain for me of thy dear Son, humility, charity, great purity of\nheart, body and soul, holy perseverance in my dear vocation, the gift\nof prayer, a good life and a happy death.\"\n\nThe proofs admitted in the inquiry to establish the authenticity of the\nvision of the medal, are:\n\n 1st. The Sister's character--she is a poor young country girl,\n uneducated and without talent--of solid but simple piety,\n good judgment, and calm, sedate mind; we perceive at once\n that everything about her excludes all suspicion of deceit or\n illusion. The better to preserve her incognito, she will not\n allow her name to be mentioned, and she even refused to appear\n before the Promoter of the investigation.\n\n 2d. The wisdom of the Sister's Director, who took all possible\n precautions to guard against deception, and who yielded to his\n penitent's reiterated entreaties, only from fear of displeasing\n the Blessed Virgin, and by the advice of his Superiors.\n\n 3d. The apparition in itself, contains nothing, either in its\n character or object, opposed to the teachings of the Church,\n but is, on the contrary, conducive to edification. Being\n several times renewed and always in the same manner, we may\n conclude, that the Sister's imagination had nothing whatever to\n do with it.\n\n 4th. The wonderful circulation of the medal, confirmed by the\n testimony of the first engraver, M. Vachette, and the extensive\n sales of copies of the notice, reaching 109,000 in sixteen\n months, as attested by the publisher, M. Bailly, must be\n regarded as a confirmation of its supernatural origin.\n\n 5th. The extraordinary graces obtained through the\n instrumentality of the medal, cures and conversions, several\n of which are legally attested by the deposition of reliable\n witnesses, who appeared before the Promoter and signed the\n verbal process, give a last proof to the fact it was sought to\n establish, namely, that the Miraculous Medal must be of divine\n origin. Such is the formal conclusion, in the report addressed\n to the Archbishop by the Promoter, at the end of the inquiry.\n\nUnfortunately, the ecclesiastical authority did not pronounce judgment;\nwe know not why the inquiry did not receive the sanction to which it\napparently led. The death of Mgr. de Qu\u00e9len, at the end of the year\n1839, caused all proceedings to be abandoned. Everything remains still\nin the domain of private devotions, and the model of the Immaculate\nVirgin, with its symbolical attributes, is not yet authorized as an\nobject of public veneration in the churches.\n\nThis deplorable omission is so much the more difficult to understand,\nas, personally, Mgr. de Qu\u00e9len took a serious interest in the\napparition of 1830, the compass of which he comprehended. It was he who\nurged M. Aladel to have the medal struck; he expressed a wish to have\nsome of the first; he received them, and experienced their efficacy.\nBefore ordering the investigation, he had summoned to him the Mother\nGeneral of the Daughters of Charity, together with the officers forming\nher council, and other Sisters well versed in Community affairs, to\nlearn from them what usages of the Community could have drawn down upon\nit such a favor as the Blessed Virgin had just bestowed. Not content\nwith possessing the Miraculous Medal, the pious prelate had in his own\nchamber a statue of the Immaculate Conception after the Sister's model.\nIt was cast in bronze, under his own eyes, as he wished to assist at\nthe operation. When, in 1839, the solemn octave of the Immaculate\nConception was celebrated in the diocese of Paris, for the first time,\nthis statue, on a throne surrounded with flowers, was exposed to the\nveneration of the faithful. The 1st of January of this same year, he\nconsecrated his diocese to Mary Immaculate.\n\nIn commemoration of this, he had a picture painted, which represents\nhim standing at the foot of Mary's statue, his eyes fixed upon her\nwith love and confidence. The statue rests upon a globe which bears\nthese words: \"_Virgo fidelis_.\" And the invocation, \"_Regina, sine labe\nconcepta, ora pro nobis_,\" is inscribed upon the picture.\n\nOn the Feast of the Assumption, he presented this picture to his\nchapter, that it might, he said, be a monument of his devotion and\nthat of the chapter of Paris to the Immaculate Conception of the Mother\nof God.[12]\n\n [Footnote 12: \"Life of Mgr. de Qu\u00e9len,\" by the Baron Henrion.]\n\nA medal, bearing date of January 1, 1839, reproduces this picture upon\none of its faces. On the other is a vessel, tempest-tossed, and a star\nguiding it to the haven of peace. These words of St. Bernard, \"_Respice\nstellam, voca Mariam_,\"[13] explain the allegory. The following lines\ncomplete the explanation:\n\n\"_Vana, Hyacinthe, furit; Stella maris auspice, vincis._\"[14]\n\n [Footnote 13: Look at the star, invoke Mary.]\n\n [Footnote 14: In vain, Hyacinthe (de Qu\u00e9len) is the tempest\n unchained; under the auspices of the Star of the Sea, thou wilt\n triumph over its fury.]\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\nCHAPTER V.\n\n DEVELOPMENT OF THE DEVOTION TO THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION\n\n MGR. DE QU\u00c9LEN'S CIRCULAR.\n\n\nThe principal end of the Blessed Virgin's apparition to Sister\nCatherine was to develop among the faithful, devotion to the Immaculate\nConception; and the medal was the instrument used to accomplish this.\nIts influence was so prompt and perceptible that, in the year 1836, the\nPromoter charged with directing the canonical inquiry attributed to\nit, in a great measure, the wonderful development of devotion to the\nVirgin Immaculate. This pious impulse, once firmly rooted, continued to\nincrease throughout the world; but, according to the ordinary ways of\nProvidence, whilst the effects struck the eyes of all, the cause was\nforgotten, it was forgotten especially that God had chosen a modest\nDaughter of Charity to revive in the Church devotion to the Blessed\nVirgin. The medal was known everywhere, it was worn by everyone, it\naccomplished numberless prodigies, but whence did it come? This no\none thought of asking. It is miraculous; that epithet includes its\nname, its origin, its value, and the humble Daughter who received it\nfrom Mary, to bestow upon mankind, silently admires these astonishing\nresults, and says, like her blessed Father: \"I am nothing in all this\nbut a vile instrument, I cannot attribute to myself any of the glory\nwithout committing an act of injustice.\"\n\nThe august Virgin had said that the graces obtained for mankind through\nher intercession would be particularly abundant in France. Events\nhave proved the reality of the promise. It is in France, especially,\nthat the medal has been propagated, miracles multiplied, and devotion\nto the Immaculate Conception most rapidly developed; it may be said,\nwith truth, that that country has, indeed, merited the title of Mary's\nkingdom. As, among all the French dioceses, Paris was the one favored\nwith these apparitions of the Blessed Virgin, so was Paris the one\nto inaugurate the religious movement. Faithful echo of the Church's\nancient traditions concerning the Immaculate Conception, a prelate,\nwhose piety equaled his nobility of character, and whose virtue\nreceived a new lustre from the fire of persecution, Mgr. de Qu\u00e9len\ndistinguished himself among all the bishops by his zeal in honoring the\nprivilege so dear to Mary. A witness of the influence exerted by the\nmedal upon the sensibly increasing devotion of the faithful to Mary\nconceived without sin, and struck with the already abundant fruits of\nthis devotion in the conversion of sinners, the pious Archbishop was\nfilled with joy. Incited by a just hope of seeing the gifts of Heaven\nstill more abundantly multiplied, if devotion to Mary were produced\nunder new forms, he addressed a petition to the Sovereign Pontiff with\nthe view of obtaining from His Holiness: 1st. To celebrate solemnly, on\nthe second Sunday of Advent, the Immaculate Conception of Mary, that\nthe devotion might be maintained and strengthened among the faithful;\n2d. To add to the preface, _Et te in Immaculata Conceptione_; 3d. A\nplenary indulgence, in perpetuity, for this same day.\n\nOur Holy Father, Pope Gregory XVI, approved the Archbishop's petition,\nand granted it by a rescript of December 7, 1838. The privileges he had\njust obtained, in honor of Mary, conceived without sin, this venerable\nprelate joyfully published the first of the following January in a\nsolemn circular, which clearly depicts his eminent piety. We here\nreproduce it for our readers' edification:\n\n \"_Circular of the Archbishop of Paris on the subject of the Feast\n of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of\n God._\n\n \"HYACINTHE LOUIS DE QU\u00c9LEN, by the divine mercy and grace\n of the Holy Apostolic See, Archbishop of Paris, etc.\n\n \"To the clergy and faithful of our diocese, health and benediction\n in our Lord Jesus Christ.\n\n \"We do not wish, dearly beloved brethren, to await the end of the\n year which begins to-day, and which we dare regard as one fruitful\n in all manner of spiritual blessings, ere announcing to you the new\n favor we have just received from the Holy Apostolic See, so much\n have we loved to persuade ourselves that the joy of your hearts\n will equal our own, so confident are we that this favor is for us,\n the presage of multiplied graces, and that it becomes henceforth\n for our diocese an abundant source of sanctification and salvation.\n\n \"Let us hasten to proclaim this favor: it treats of devotion to our\n august Queen, Mother and Mistress, the Most Holy and Immaculate\n Virgin Mary, honored especially in the mystery of her most pure\n Conception.\n\n \"Mary was conceived without sin: Behold what the Catholic Church,\n what the infallible Church, what the true and only Church of Jesus\n Christ authorizes us to teach, without, however, declaring it an\n article of Faith,[15] what she prevents us denying publicly, what\n she instils into all the faithful, when in her general council,\n she declares, she proclaims, that in the decree treating of\n original sin, her intention is not to include therein the Blessed\n and Immaculate Virgin Mary, Mother of God.[16] Behold! what the\n Sovereign Pontiffs permit us to say, that always, and with a\n view of nourishing the piety of Mary's servants, who invoke her\n by recalling the first of her privileges, that which approaches\n nearest the sanctity of God, always do they deign to second\n these prayers, and zealously open the treasure of indulgences of\n which they are the supreme dispensers, in favor of a devotion so\n legitimate.\n\n [Footnote 15: The Immaculate Conception had not then been defined.\n (Note by translator.)]\n\n [Footnote 16: Conc. Trid. sess. V. _Decret. de peccato originali_.]\n\n \"Mary was conceived without sin. Behold! what the Church of Paris\n glories in professing and maintaining; what her Doctors hold it\n an honor to teach and defend; what her children are jealous of\n preserving as one of their dearest possessions after the sacred\n dogmas of faith; what they do not hesitate to regard as an\n immediate consequence of their faith, not believing it possible\n to separate in Mary, the title of Immaculate Virgin from that of\n Virgin Mother of God, and not considering it possible to refuse the\n privilege of a Conception without spot, to her who was to receive\n and who indeed did receive, that of the divine Maternity. Behold!\n what respect and love for the Word made Flesh, inspire for the\n chaste bosom the Most High sanctified, because He was to descend\n there, and there clothe Himself with our nature, there become man\n by the operation of the Holy Ghost.\n\n \"Mary was conceived without sin. Behold! what for years, has been\n repeated thousands and thousands of times, not in this great city\n or diocese only, but in every part of France, among strangers\n and in the most distant countries. Behold! the cry of hope which\n suffering danger, public or private necessities, have wrung from\n mouths accustomed to bless God, and celebrate the praises of His\n Holy Mother. Behold! what has been written, engraved, religiously\n deposed, wherever there were spiritual or temporal favors to be\n asked, graces of protection, of healing or conversion; at the\n entrance of cities, at the doors of dwellings, on the breast of the\n sick, on the couch of the dying. Behold! what in these later times\n especially, has taken such deep root in all Christian hearts, what\n has received an extraordinary impulse, what has been propagated in\n so remarkable a manner, what seems to justify moreover, (the fact\n can no longer be disguised) the numberless graces obtained through\n the invocation of Mary conceived without sin.\n\n \"Mary was conceived without sin. Behold! what the chaste generation\n has taken the pious custom of placing on its heart with the sign\n of the cross as an impenetrable buckler against the inflamed darts\n of Satan, and under which its innocence and virtue are shielded.\n Behold! what inspires it, fortifies it, renders it invincible in\n combats with the demon of darkness; what makes it victorious over\n all the seductions of the world and the attacks of hell; what\n attracts, what leads it to follow Mary in the path of angelic\n perfection, and makes it taste that celestial word which is not\n given to all to understand; finally, behold! what everywhere and in\n all conditions, fills with holy emulation, souls truly pious; what\n encourages them to walk with constancy in the ways of justice; what\n communicates to them a just horror of sin and the highest esteem\n for sanctifying grace, of which the Immaculate Virgin is for them\n the faithful mirror and venerable sanctuary.\n\n \"And behold, also, our very dear brethren, what has urged, and\n determined us to regard as a consolation, a duty of our episcopate\n to second your piety in this regard, at the same time, that we\n satisfy our devotion to this Immaculate Virgin, to whom we are\n indebted for many signal benefits. We thought it not a rash zeal,\n to supplicate our Holy Father, the Pope, to deign confide to us the\n means of increasing devotion to Mary Immaculate in her Conception,\n to render it easier and thus more popular. The Feast of the Blessed\n Virgin's Conception, being now in France only one of devotion,\n we have feared that even if the memory of it were not gradually\n effaced, it might become insensibly neglected, and the fruits of\n sanctification and salvation diminished.\n\n \"The Sovereign Pontiff has deigned to accord our humble request.\n The rescript we have received, our very dear brethren, sufficiently\n testifies how our petitions have been welcomed, our prayers\n answered, upon what foundation the regulations we are going to\n prescribe rest, and the advantages we have had reason to expect\n from them. We long, yes, we long, from lively gratitude, from\n tender love to Mary, to give vent to our transports and salute her\n solemnly by the title of Immaculate in her Conception that day, for\n distant day it seems to our hearts, when we will be permitted to\n proclaim it joyfully before the assembled faithful, and during the\n celebration of the holy mysteries.\n\n \"O Mary! thou whom wisdom hast possessed in the beginning of thy\n ways, cloud divinely fruitful, always in light and never in shade,\n new Eve, who didst crush the infernal serpent's head; courageous\n Judith, glory of Jerusalem, joy of Israel, honor of thy people,\n amiable Esther, exempt from the common law which presses as a\n yoke of anathema upon all the children of Adam, full of grace,\n blessed among all women. O Mary! conceived without sin, pray for\n us who have recourse to thee! By thy most Holy Virginity and thy\n Immaculate Conception, O most Holy Virgin! obtain for us purity of\n heart and body, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of\n the Holy Ghost. Amen!\"\n\nBut this does not satisfy the prelate's piety; he also entreats the\nSovereign Pontiff that the belief in the Immaculate Conception be\nexpressed in the litanies of the Blessed Virgin. The Holy Father\ngrants this petition, and permits the addition to the litany of\nthe invocation: \"_Regina sine labe concepta, ora pro nobis_.\" Then\nMonseigneur, in a new circular of June 24th, orders that the Sunday\nfollowing its reception, this invocation should be chanted three\ntimes at Benediction, and in future chanted or recited every time the\nlitany was chanted or recited, adding that no prayer-book without this\ninvocation inserted in the litany would have his approbation. The\nprelate also exhorted all the clergy, pastors and others, to instill\ninto the faithful, devotion to the Immaculate Conception, recommending\nthe use of the formula, \"_Regina sine labe concepta, ora pro nobis_.\"\n\nAt last, seeing the near approach of that epoch so dear and solemn, he\ncould not refrain, in spite of his extreme weakness and the violent\nsufferings of a mortal malady, from giving vent to his feelings in\na third circular, which displays at the same time his zeal for the\nImmaculate Virgin's honor and his indefatigable solicitude for the\nwelfare of his flock.\n\nThe feast and octave of the Immaculate Conception, announced and\nprepared with so much zeal by the pious Bishop, were celebrated with\nextraordinary solemnity in all the churches throughout the diocese\nof Paris, and especially at Notre Dame. It was one of the last\nconsolations this great prelate enjoyed upon earth. He died the 31st\nof December, crowning a life rich in virtues and sacrifices, by an act\nof filial homage to Mary Immaculate, and a final testimony of tender\nsolicitude for the flock he was about to leave. He loved this flock\nduring life, and before dying, he confides it to the inexhaustible\ncharity of the Immaculate Heart of the Mother of Jesus, he conceals it\nunder the mantle of her purity, that he may feel assured of the victory\nover the enemies of its happiness. He had consecrated his person, his\ndiocese and all France to this Virgin, conceived without sin. Was it\nnot to her maternal protection the venerable prelate owed that generous\nsubmission, that admirable tranquility, that tender love and sweet\nserenity of the just, when he was hovering on the brink of eternity? He\nhad placed all his confidence in thee, O Mary! at that last moment, he\ninvoked thee as the Star of the Sea that was to guide him to Heaven,\nand it was under thy auspices his beautiful soul winged its flight to\nthe bosom of its God.\n\n * * * * *\n\nIn emulation of the example of the illustrious Archbishop of the\ncapital, the other Archbishops and Bishops of France petition the\nHoly See for the same privileges, publishing them in their respective\ndioceses by solemn circulars, and proclaiming them a new source\nof benediction for the people. Thus, in the same year, 1839, the\nArchbishops of Toulouse and Bourges, the Bishops of Montauban, Pamiers,\nCarcassonne, Fr\u00e9jus, Ch\u00e2lons, Saint-Flour and Limoges; in 1840, the\nCardinal Archbishop of Rouen, the Archbishop of Lyons and Besan\u00e7on,\nthe Bishops of Bayeux, \u00c9vreux, S\u00e9ez, Coutance, Saint-Di\u00e9, La Rochelle,\nTulle, Ajaccio, Nantes and Amiens; in 1841, the Archbishop of Bordeaux,\nthe Bishops of Versailles, of N\u00eemes and Lu\u00e7on, Mende and P\u00e9rigueux. We\nare fully persuaded, and even assured, of the fact that a great number\nof the dioceses in France requested and obtained the same privileges;\nbut we cite only those of which we ourselves have kept note.\n\n \"What should be our transports of joy, confidence, admiration and\n gratitude, at this universal tribute of honor and homage to the\n Virgin conceived without spot! All earth unites with Heaven in\n a concert of praise and thanksgiving, proclaiming that Mary has\n been conceived without sin; all hearts vie with one another in\n celebrating the signal favors, the miraculous cures and conversions\n God has deigned to accord those who invoke the Blessed Virgin\n under the title of Immaculate in her Conception.\" (Circular of the\n Archbishop of Bourges.)\n\n \"This new lustre bestowed upon the devotion to Mary conceived\n without sin, should console religion and raise our hopes.... Oh!\n in this desolated region, how should we rejoice to see appear\n in Heaven, if not an omen of the end of all combats, at least\n the pledge of new triumphs and new conquests!\" (Circular of the\n Archbishop of Digne.)\n\n * * * * *\n\n May this beautiful devotion, be powerful in attracting the\n benedictions of Heaven upon earth, ever increase. Let us fervently\n implore the Immaculate Mother of God to enkindle it in all hearts,\n to bless that France whose protectrice she has so often proved\n herself, to preserve and augment therein faith and piety, and to\n make all the children of France but one family, united by the bonds\n of religion and charity. Let us also implore the same grace for all\n countries, all peoples. Let each one of us wear the precious sign\n of her maternal tenderness, this Miraculous Medal, which, recalling\n to our minds the first and most glorious of her privileges, she\n gives us as the pledge of all her favors.\n\n Oh! if we knew the gift of our Mother! oh! if we understood\n the excess of her bounty! Does she not seem longing to give us\n knowledge, when she displays to us the abundance of her riches and\n the prodigies of her liberality, in those rays of grace she showers\n upon us like a deluge of love and mercy? Does she not likewise\n unveil to us the mystery of her charity, in the image of her heart\n united to that of the divine Jesus?... The same fire consumes them,\n the same zeal devours them, thirst for our salvation. This union\n of love and sacrifice is very clearly represented by the august\n Mary's initial joined to the sacred sign of the cross above the\n two hearts, as an authentic testimony, of the co-operation of the\n Mother of the Saviour in the salvation of the human race.\n\n Wear then, little children, this cherished medal, this precious\n souvenir of the best of mothers; learn and love to say: \"O Mary!\n conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!\"\n\n Morning Star, she will delight to guide your first steps and to\n keep you in the paths of innocence. Wear it, Christian youth,\n and amidst the numberless dangers lurking in your paths repeat\n frequently: \"O Mary! conceived without sin, pray for us who have\n recourse to thee!\" Virgin most faithful, she will preserve you\n from all peril. Wear it, fathers and mothers; say often: \"O Mary!\n conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!\"\n And the Mother of Jesus will shed upon you and your families the\n most abundant benedictions. Wear it, ye old and infirm; say also:\n \"O Mary! conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse\n to thee!\" Help of Christians, she will aid you in sanctifying\n your sufferings and the closing years of life. Wear it, souls\n consecrated to God, and never cease repeating: \"O Mary! conceived\n without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!\" Queen of\n Virgins, she will implant in the garden of your heart those fruits\n and flowers which constitute the delight of the Spouse, and which\n will form your crown at the nuptials of the Lamb. Amidst the trials\n and tribulations of life, let us invoke Mary, conceived without\n sin, and our tears will be dried, our sufferings assuaged, our\n sorrows sweetened, for she dispenses the dew of all graces. In our\n combats against the demon, the world and the flesh, let us appeal\n to Mary, conceived without sin; Strength of combatants and Crown\n of victors, she will shield us against their most violent assaults\n and assure us of the victory; but oh! when standing on the brink\n of that moment which summons us before the Sovereign Judge, then\n especially must we invoke Mary, conceived without sin, and she\n whom the Church calls Gate of Heaven will herself receive our last\n sigh and introduce our soul into the abode of glory and perfect\n happiness.\n\n And you also, poor sinners, though covered with the wounds of sin,\n buried in the deepest abysses of passion, the arm of an avenging\n God lifted to descend upon your guilty head, despair seizing your\n soul, raise your eyes to the Star of the Sea; you are not bereft\n of Mary's compassion; take the medal, cry from the depths of your\n hearts, \"O Mary! conceived without sin, pray for us who have\n recourse to thee!\" Unfailing Refuge of sinners, her charitable hand\n will apply to your cruel wounds a healing ointment; she will rescue\n you from the depths whence you have fallen, she will turn aside\n the formidable blows of Divine justice, she will pour over your\n soul the balm of sweet hope, she will guide you anew in the paths\n of righteousness and conduct you even to the haven of a blessed\n eternity.\n\n Would that all might taste this means of salvation! the dismal\n shades of voluntary death would soon cease to terrify our cities\n and rural districts. Yes, the short prayer, \"O Mary! conceived\n without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!\" made with\n faith, would, even amidst the violent agitation of a homicidal\n thought, banish the tempter; a simple glance at the medal of the\n Immaculate Mary would dissipate despair. \"No one commits suicide\n under the eyes of a mother,\" said very truly, His Eminence, the\n Cardinal Archbishop of Rouen. And the same might be said of many\n other crimes of daily occurrence.\n\n Oh! you whose souls are cruelly afflicted night and day,\n virtuous wives, who shed burning tears over the irreligion of a\n tenderly-loved husband; sorrowful mothers, bitterly deploring the\n wanderings of a child reared in the bosom of an eminently Christian\n family, but drawn into the vortex of bad example; pious sisters,\n praying fervently and incessantly for the conversion of a brother,\n who once, like yourselves, enjoyed the sweet consolations of\n religion; Christian children, secretly bewailing the indifference\n of a father who seems to have lost, long since, the precious gift\n of Faith, console yourselves; a new hope is offered you, and it\n comes to you through the beneficent hands of Mary; offer, give the\n image of this tender Mother to the dear objects of your solicitude;\n the thought of this precious medal or a glance at it, will banish\n many a temptation, for we may say with truth of the soul as well as\n of the body, \"no one commits suicide under the eyes of a mother.\"\n If they refuse your offer do not despair; Mary will find her way to\n these hardened hearts, and in spite of themselves, she will take\n them under her protection; imitate the pious ruse of many others,\n who in a like extremity, have stealthily slipped the precious medal\n under the pillow of the impenitent sick on the verge of death;\n imitate those mothers, those wives, those Christian daughters, who\n carefully concealed in the clothing of that child, that spouse,\n that father, the medal they had refused to wear, do this, and one\n day they will appreciate the pledge of your piety and tenderness.\n No, no, never does any one wear in vain, the medal of her to whom\n the Church applies these words of Scripture. \"He who finds me,\n will find life, and will obtain salvation from the Lord.\"[17]\n\n [Footnote 17: Prov. viii.]\n\n But it is not enough to wear the medal as a mere pledge of the\n Immaculate Mary's love; we must regard it also, as an assistant in\n reaching perfection. This Mother, all amiable, proposes herself to\n our imitation, she places herself, in a measure, before our eyes,\n that seeing her so pure and perfect, we may be attracted by her\n charms. It is the image of her beauty and goodness she brings us\n from Heaven. It is a mirror in which we learn to know the Sun of\n Justice, by the perfections with which he has enriched His divine\n Mother.... It is on one side, the picture of what we should be, and\n on the other, an eloquent lesson of what we should practice. The\n shining purity of the Immaculate Mary, reveals to us the beauty of\n our soul, created in the image of the thrice holy God, and exciting\n in us, the love of that amiable virtue which makes us resemble the\n angels, it necessarily inspires us with the most vivid horror of\n evil, and causes us to shun the slightest imperfections, since they\n tarnish this divine resemblance.\n\n And, as though it were not enough to excite our fervor by the\n sight of her ravishing beauty, this faithful Virgin discovers to\n us the means of preserving innocence or recovering it, should we\n have been so unfortunate as to lose it. This is the lesson of the\n symbolic figures engraven on the reverse of the medal: \"Nothing\n shall be written on the reverse of the medal; ... what is already\n there says enough to the Christian soul.\" The Sacred Heart of\n Jesus and Mary placed beneath the cross tell us that purity is\n preserved or restored by love and union with our Lord.... Love\n covers a multitude of sins; love is the bond of perfection, the\n consummation of all virtues.... Love assures fidelity. It must\n be stronger than death to make us die to the world, to sin and\n ourselves, that we may be attached inseparably to Jesus crucified.\n There is also another lesson to be learned--that taught by Mary's\n holy name, united to the sign of the cross. It is placed above the\n two hearts because true love leads to sacrifice; it immolates, it\n fastens, it nails to the cross of Jesus Christ, and this union of\n sufferings on earth is the pledge of a glorious and eternal union\n hereafter.\n\n Children of Mary, respond to her loving tenderness; be docile to\n the salutary lessons of our divine Mother, gratefully acknowledge\n this inappreciable testimony of her ingenious liberality. Go to\n Mary with the simplicity of a child, who lovingly clings to her\n bountiful hand until he obtains the object of his desires. Amidst\n all the storms of life, let your eyes be fixed upon this Star of\n the Sea. Invoke Mary; ever seek her amiable protection; she will\n never refuse to hear our petitions. May her remembrance and love\n reign always in our minds and hearts! May we repeat incessantly\n this sweet invocation: \"O Mary! conceived without sin, pray for\n us who have recourse to thee!\" and when strength and speech have\n failed us may the Miraculous Medal be pressed to our dying lips,\n and the last throb of our heart protest that we wish to die\n murmuring: \"O Mary! conceived without sin, pray for us who have\n recourse to thee!\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI.\n\n EXTRAORDINARY GRACES\n\n OBTAINED THROUGH THE INSTRUMENTALITY OF THE MIRACULOUS MEDAL.\n\n I.\n\n _Graces Obtained from 1832 to 1835._\n\n\n\"Bless the God of heaven,\" said the angel to Tobias and his son; \"chant\nHis praises among all mankind for the blessings with which He has\nloaded you, for it is good to conceal the secret of the king, but it is\nglorious to reveal and publish the works of God. _Elenim sacramentum\nregis abscondere bonum est; opera autem Dei revelare et confiteri\nhonorificum est._\"[18] Blessed, then, always and everywhere, be the God\nof heaven and earth, for the numberless benefits He has been pleased to\nconfer upon us through Mary! Let us adore the mysterious destiny of\nthe Mother of the King of Kings, \"who, by reason of this title, truly\nmerits the name of Queen,\" says St. Athanasius; and let us rob neither\nGod nor Mary of the honor and glory due them. Let us publish the\nLord's works of power and goodness to man through the mediation of the\nImmaculate Virgin, whom He has established Depositary and Dispensatrix\nof the treasures of His mercy, that mercy which embraces our corporal\ninfirmities as well as spiritual needs.\n\n [Footnote 18: Tob., xii, 7.]\n\nAn account of the extraordinary graces obtained by means of the\nImmaculate Conception Medal will be for all Christian souls a source of\nprecious benedictions. At the view of these prodigies of mercy, these\nmarvelous cures and conversions, the reader will be led to thank God\nand glorify His Holy Mother; those who have already loved Mary will be\nincited to still greater love; careless Christians, those who are tried\nby suffering, those who have the misfortune to be in a state of sin,\nwill feel their confidence awakened, and they will tenderly invoke her\nwhom the Church so justly styles Health of the weak, Refuge of sinners,\nComforter of the afflicted.\n\nExperience proves this. Every one knows, moreover, that an example of\nvirtue or an event which clearly reveals God's agency, acts much more\npowerfully on the soul than a simple consideration of the subject or a\nseries of arguments. \"_Verba movent, exempla trahunt_--words can move,\nexample attract.\"\n\nWe also hope for something more from the publication of these\naccounts--we hope by them to convince the faithful that Mary's dearest\ntitle is that of Immaculate, and that she knows not how to refuse the\npetitions of those who, with lively faith, invoke her by this dearest\ntitle. It is, moreover, the Church of Rome which thus reveals, as it\nwere, all the merciful tenderness of Mary's Heart, and presents us the\ndevotion to her spotless Conception as the sure means of enriching\nourselves from the exhaustless treasures of that Heart and according\nto all our necessities. \"_Sacra Virgo Maria ... sentiant omnes tuam\njuvamen quicumque celebrant tuam sanctam Conceptionem_;\"[19] and\nsurely this prayer of the Mother of all churches--prayer which we\nmight readily style prophetic--has long since been answered. We have\nrecently seen a compilation, made in 1663 by a Jesuit father, with\nthe approbation of the Ordinary, containing an account of sixty-two\nconversions or cures effected in different places by the invocation\nof Mary conceived without sin, and apparently nothing less than\nmiraculous. It is also a well known fact, mentioned in the life of\nB. Peter Fourrier, founder of the Congregation of Notre Dame, that\nthese simple words, \"Mary was conceived without sin,\" worn with faith,\nbrought relief to a multitude of sick persons during an epidemic. The\nsame means obtained not less visible protection at Nemours, when that\ncity was in imminent danger of being sacked, and also at Paris in 1830.\nBut we confine ourselves to the graces obtained through the Miraculous\nMedal. Our choice of examples will show that, in bestowing especial\nfavors upon France, the Immaculate Mary gives no less striking proofs\nof her protection in other countries where the medal is known and\npiously worn.\n\n [Footnote 19: Offic. Concept. B.V.M.R. viii.]\n\nAmong the traits of protection obtained through the medal in the\ndiocese of Paris, nine (three conversions and six cures) underwent a\ndetailed examination, and were pronounced veritable by the Promoter in\nthe investigation of 1836. We mention them in this edition, adding to\neach one's title the word--Attested.\n\nQuite a number of incidents printed in the edition of 1842 we have\nomitted here, in order to insert (without greatly increasing the size\nof the volume) more recent accounts equally reliable, thus proving that\nthe medal is not less miraculous in our day than at the time of the\napparition.\n\nThe extraordinary graces of which it has been the instrument, would\nhave formed an uninterrupted series from the year 1832 till the\npresent, if unfortunately, neglecting to keep note of them, an interval\nof several years had not crept into the documents in our possession.\n\nFor the future, please God, no such omission will occur, and all the\nauthenticated accounts which come to our knowledge will be carefully\nregistered for the glory of Mary conceived without sin, and the\nedification of her servants.\n\n\n CONVERSION OF A SOLDIER AT ALEN\u00c7ON--1833.\n\n The 14th of April, 1833, there was brought to the hospital of\n Alen\u00e7on (Orne) a sick soldier, who came from the hospital of Vitr\u00e9\n (Ile-et-Vilaine). His impiety there had greatly distressed the\n hospitable ladies of St. Augustin, in charge of that establishment,\n a circumstance communicated to us by persons who witnessed the\n insulting manner in which he rewarded the kind attentions of their\n unfailing charity. Arrived at the hospital Alen\u00e7on, we soon saw\n what he was, irreligious, impious, and brutally rude. The chaplain\n hastened to visit him, and condole with him on his sufferings; and\n as the opening of the Jubilee very naturally paved the way for a\n few words on that extraordinary grace, he gently exhorted the sick\n man to imitate the example of other soldiers who were preparing to\n profit by it, but his words were answered by insults. The chaplain\n did not insist, and contented himself for several days with merely\n visiting him, and kindly sympathizing with his sufferings; the sick\n man scarcely replied, and seemed much annoyed, even at the visits.\n\n The Daughters of Charity in charge of this hospital, met with no\n better treatment, notwithstanding the kind attentions they lavished\n on him. His malady increased; seeing that it was becoming very\n necessary for him to receive the consolations of religion, the\n chaplain urged him again to make his peace with the good God, but\n he was answered by blasphemies. \"Ah! yes, the good God, little He\n cares for me.\" In answer to this the abb\u00e9 made a few observations\n full of charity, and the patient continued: \"Your good God does\n not like the French; you say He is good and He loves me; if He\n loved me, would he afflict me like this, have I deserved it?\"\n These outbursts of impiety only inflamed the charitable zeal of\n the minister of a God who died for sinners, and inspired him with\n forcible language, to depict the justice and merciful goodness of\n the Lord. The sick man soon interrupted him by invectives: \"You\n worry me; let me alone; go away from here; I need neither you nor\n your sermons,\" and he turned over to avoid seeing the priest.\n His treatment to the Sisters was no better; and he continued to\n utter the most horrible blasphemies against religion, and those\n who reminded him of it; he carried this to such a degree, that\n the other soldiers were indignant, especially at his outrageous\n behaviour, after any one has spoken to him about his soul, or there\n had been prayers or a little spiritual reading in the room--he\n appeared dissatisfied, until he had vomited forth his stock of\n blasphemies and imprecations. Some days passed and nothing was\n said to him on the subject of religion, but every care for his\n bodily comfort was redoubled; no one now scarcely dared hope\n for his return to God, for his malady increased, and likewise\n his impiety; all contented themselves with praying for him, and\n recommending him to the prayers of others. The Sister in charge of\n that ward, having great confidence in the Blessed Virgin's promises\n to all under the protection of the medal, felt urged interiorly\n to hang one at the foot of his bed; she yielded to the apparent\n inspiration, and, unknown to him, the medal was there. He still\n showed no signs of relenting, and even became indignant when some\n of the other soldiers prepared themselves, by confession, to gain\n the Jubilee. The medal had now been six days hanging at the foot of\n his bed, and many and fervent were the prayers offered up to God\n for this miserable creature's conversion, although nearly every one\n despaired of it. One day, when all the convalescents of the ward\n were assisting at Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, the Sister\n approached his bed, detached the medal and held it up before him.\n \"Look,\" said she, \"at this medal, it is miraculous; I hung it to\n your bed several days ago, and thereby put you under the Blessed\n Virgin's especial protection. With her powerful assistance, I\n confidently hope for your conversion. Look at this good Mother, she\n is praying for you now.\" He never raised his eyes, but already was\n grace working in his heart, for he showed no signs of irritation\n which had heretofore been the inevitable consequence of mentioning\n religion. Profiting by this, the Sister spoke to him of God's\n mercy, and begged him again to cast a glance at the medal she had\n just hung at the foot of his bed on the inner side. After being\n repeatedly urged, he opened his eyes and looked towards it. \"I do\n not see your medal,\" said he to the Sister, \"but I see the candle\n which, doubtless, you have just lit; yes, it is certainly a light.\"\n It was five o'clock in the afternoon, June 13th; his bed was so\n placed that it could not receive any reflection of the sun's rays,\n and the chaplain, after examining the spot felt assured, that at\n no time could a reflection strike it in that direction. \"You are\n mistaken,\" said she, \"look at it carefully.\" He repeated in the\n most positive manner, \"I see it distinctly, it is certainly a\n light.\" Astonished beyond expression, but fearing her patient's\n sight was affected, the Sister showed him other and more distant\n objects; these he distinguished perfectly, and continued to see\n this light for a quarter of an hour. During this interval, the\n Sister spoke to him of God; suddenly, fear and love filled his\n heart. \"I do not wish to die as I am!\" he exclaimed, \"tell the\n chaplain to come immediately and hear my confession.\" Hearing one\n of the other patients utter an oath, \"oh! make that miserable man\n hush!\" said he, to the Sister; \"oh! I beg you to make him stop\n swearing.\"\n\n \"I was still ignorant,\" says the chaplain, \"of the origin and\n effects of this medal. It was a very familiar object, and I\n regarded it as nothing more than an ordinary medal. When told\n that the sick man wanted me, I went joyfully, and saw for myself\n what a complete change had taken place in him. Congratulating\n and encouraging him, without knowing the cause of this change,\n I hastened to ask him if he wished me to hear his confession.\n He replied in the affirmative, and made it without delay; I had\n every opportunity of admiring his good will and the pleasure he\n manifested at each repetition of my visit. I endeavored to make him\n explain himself, and asked if he had not acted from mere civility\n or a desire to rid himself of the importunities by which he had\n been so long beset. \"No,\" he answered, \"I sent for you, because\n I wished seriously to make my confession and arise from my state\n of sin.\" Henceforth he was no longer the same man; he was now as\n docile, patient, gentle and edifying in all his words and ways,\n as he had formerly been unmanageable, brutal and scandalous.\n He eagerly desired the Last Sacraments, which, after proper\n preparation, he received with lively faith. His happiness seemed\n beyond expression, and though suffering intensely, no one ever\n heard the least sign of impatience escape his lips. He continued\n to give the most unequivocal signs of a true conversion; peace and\n resignation were depicted in his countenance, and to his last sigh,\n which he breathed June 27th, 1833, did he persevere most faithfully.\n\nNOTE.--These details are attested by M. Yver Bordeaux, chaplain of the\nHotel Dieu; by the Sisters of Charity; by a woman patient named Bidon;\nJulien Pr\u00e9vel, an infirmarian; by Jean Fran\u00e7ois Royer, of the Seventh\nCuirassiers; Marie Favry, infirmarian, all eye witnesses, besides\na large number of other soldiers who left the city whilst we were\ninvestigating the matter.\n\n\n CURE OF MADEMOISELLE AURELIE B. (PARIS)--1833. _Attested._\n\nThe account of this cure was sent us by the person herself in the month\nof May, 1834.\n\n The 3d of November, 1833, I was attacked by a typhoid fever, for\n which I was treated by a skillful physician and the Sisters of\n Charity, who spared no pains for my recovery. At the end of a month\n I was able to take a little nourishment, and I had the happiness\n of assisting at the Holy Mass and receiving Holy Communion on the\n Feast of the Immaculate Conception. I was still very weak, and\n utterly incapable of any exertion. In this state of exhaustion, I\n took a little chocolate. The fever soon returned, and continued\n with daily increasing violence until Christmas. Then the physician\n said there was no longer any hope of my recovery. Another physician\n was called in, who, after an examination, declared me consumptive\n to the last degree, but said they might try the effect of a few\n blisters. Those proved of no benefit. The 27th of December, the\n physicians finding me extremely ill, informed the Sisters that my\n death was imminent. Moreover, I had been cold for two days. About\n half-past six that day, I received the last Sacraments, and at nine\n every one thought I would soon breathe my last. Suddenly, one of\n the good Sisters around my couch thought of putting the medal on\n me. I kissed it continually with great confidence, and began to\n feel better. My condition next morning was a matter of astonishment\n to the physician, and I continued to improve so rapidly that,\n at the end of two days, the fever had entirely disappeared. My\n appetite was ravenous, I soon resumed my occupations, and ever\n since have been in perfect health. I doubt not, Monsieur, that I\n owe my recovery to Mary, my good Mother, my love for whom seems to\n have increased; my greatest happiness being to decorate her altars,\n and my most earnest desire that of consecrating myself to God in a\n Community whose works have so touching a connexion with the sublime\n destiny of the Mother of Jesus; it is under her protection I expect\n the accomplishment of my designs.\n\n Yours very respectfully,\n\n AURELIE B.\n\nNOTE.--The nine Sisters of the establishment have attested the truth\nof these details, and one of the two physicians does not hesitate to\ndeclare her recovery supernatural.\n\nMoreover, this young person has ever since remained in perfect health.\nHer prayers are granted, the Immaculate Mary has also obtained for her\nthe grace of being received into the Community she wished to enter,\nwhich is the reason we do not give her name.\n\n\n CURE OF A RELIGIOUS (PARIS)--1834.--_Attested._\n\nThis fact is known to many; however, to prevent too great a number\nof visitors, the Superior requests us not to publish the name of the\nCommunity.\n\nA young religious, twenty-seven and a-half years old and eight years\nprofessed, in an Order especially consecrated to the Blessed Virgin\n(Paris), had been kept in the infirmary by various maladies, for the\nspace of five months. At the very time she appeared convalescent, an\naccident of the gravest nature happened; her left thigh bone became\ndisjointed and shrunken, the limb was attacked by paralysis, and the\nsick religious lay upon her bed one month, without experiencing the\nslightest alleviation from human remedies. Two physicians and a surgeon\nbeing consulted at various times, pronounced the displacing of the bone\ndue an irritating humor; but they could not check it, even by means of\ncauterizing and issues, so that after a long and painful treatment,\nshe remained a cripple. She now had recourse to the Blessed Virgin as\na child to its good mother; a religious of the house having brought\nher one of those medals called miraculous, which had been given her,\nshe received it gratefully, applied it to the afflicted member and\ncommenced, Saturday, March 1st, 1834, a novena to the Blessed Virgin.\nAll human remedies seemed unavailing; she lost her appetite and was\nunable to sleep. She was also racked with high fever; however, having\nsnatched a little repose during the Wednesday night after beginning\nthe novena, she was suddenly awakened by a very painful commotion,\nwhich re-established the bones in their place; the leg which had been\nshortened about six inches, became lengthened almost even with the\nother, and recovered its usual strength. On visiting her next morning,\nthe physicians were greatly astonished, but gave orders that she should\nnot yet leave her bed. On Sunday, the last day of the novena, the fact\nof the cure was established beyond a doubt. The religious arose quite\nnaturally, and without any assistance, ran to kiss the feet of Mary's\nstatue, placed over the infirmary fire-place; then, dressed in her\nhabit, and accompanied by the Mother Infirmarian, she descended about a\ndozen steps to the chapel to adore the Blessed Sacrament, after which\nshe repaired to the community room, where the Superior with her Mothers\nand Sisters were assembled, to give her the kiss of congratulation.\nThis touching scene was terminated by the recitation of the _Te Deum_,\nand _Sub Tuum_. No trace of disease remained, except a slight weakness\nfor a few days, and as this was felt only in the sound limb, it was\nevidently the result of her having been six months in bed.\n\nTwo of the physicians acknowledged, with all the Community, that it was\na supernatural favor. One of them has even declared in a certificate\nof May 4th, 1834, that without wishing to characterize a fact as\nextraordinary, he observes that in this circumstance there are: 1st,\nspontaneous disjointing; 2d, spontaneous diminution, three days\nconvalescence, and these last two are, to the extent of his knowledge,\nwithout parallel in the records of surgery.\n\nThe religious has never had another attack of this infirmity.\n\n\n CURE OF A SICK PERSON (CH\u00c2LONS SUR MARNE)--1834.\n\nThe Abb\u00e9 B\u00e9gin, an eye-witness of this cure, which took place at the\nhospital St. Maur, where he is chaplain, has prepared a verbal process\nwhich attests: 1st, that the patient was really afflicted; 2d, that she\nwas cured March 14th, 1834; 3d, that she declares no other means were\nemployed than the medal and prayer. This verbal process is signed by a\nhundred persons of the above-mentioned hospital.\n\n \"Madame C.H., a widow, aged seventy, a charity patient at the\n hospital St. Maur, was, in consequence of a fall the 7th of\n August, 1833, crippled to such a degree that it was with great\n difficulty she could walk, even with the aid of a crutch, and\n sometimes the additional assistance of another person's arm; she\n could scarcely seat herself, and to rise was still more of an\n effort. To ascend the stairs was almost impossible, she could\n accomplish it only by grasping as she went along whatever lay\n within reach. She could not stoop or kneel; the left limb, which\n was the principal seat of her malady, she dragged helplessly after\n her, not being able to bend it.\n\n \"Such was her sad condition at the beginning of March, 1834.\n However, she heard something that enkindled a ray of hope in her\n heart. Some one had spoken to her the January previous of a medal\n said to be miraculous; it bore on one side the image of Mary\n crushing the infernal serpent's head, her hands full of graces\n figured by rays of light proceeding from them, and the invocation:\n 'O Mary! conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to\n thee!' on the other, the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, with\n the letter M surmounted by a cross. She was also informed of the\n wonders it had wrought, and her heart awoke to the consoling hope\n of realizing some benefit from the medal which had been promised\n her. How she sighed for the happy moment when it would be in her\n possession! How long the time of waiting appeared! At last, her\n desires were gratified; the 6th of March she received, as if\n it were a present from Heaven, the long wished-for medal, and\n hastened, by the reception of the Sacrament of Penance, to prepare\n herself for the desired favor. Next day, the first Wednesday in\n the month, she commenced by Holy Communion a novena to the Sacred\n Hearts of Jesus and Mary. Twenty times, day and night, did she\n press to her lips the precious medal hung around her neck. For\n several days of the novena, our Lord severely tried her faith\n anew. Her sufferings increased greatly, likewise her fervor and\n confidence, and soon the most blessed results were the recompense\n of this poor woman's prayers.\n\n \"Seven days of the novena had not elapsed ere she was relieved of\n the sufferings that had so cruelly afflicted her for seven months.\n I could not depict the astonishment and admiration of every one,\n who saw on the morning of March 14th this person so helpless\n the very evening before, walk with all ease imaginable, bend,\n kneel, go up and down high steps. One spoke of it to another for\n mutual edification, and, in turn, came to congratulate her on her\n recovery, and give thanks to God and Mary. The Superior, who had\n bestowed constant care upon the sick woman during her crippled\n state, and had thus been a daily witness of her sufferings,\n returned solemn thanks for this extraordinary grace, the whole\n Community chanting a _Te Deum_ in their chapel.\n\n \"P.S.--I forgot to say that the widow has the free use of all her\n limbs, and has never since had a return of her former infirmity.\"\n\nThe following is what Monseigneur thought proper to append to the\nverbal process, an extract from which we have just read: \"We certify\nthat credence can, and ought to, be placed in the testimony of the Abb\u00e9\nB\u00e9gin, that of the Sisters and so many other eye-witnesses who have\nspoken conscientiously and from no motive save that of zeal for the\ntruth.\n\n \"\u2020 M.S.F.V., Bishop of Ch\u00e2lons.\n\n \"_Ch\u00e2lons, May 30, 1834._\"\n\n\n CONVERSIONS OF M. DE CASTILLON, CAPTAIN IN THE 21ST LIGHT GUARDS;\n AND OF A WOMAN--1834.\n\n Extract from a letter of Sister C. (Herault) to M.E.:\n\n \"_November 13, 1834._\n\n \"It should be the duty of children to glorify their mother, and\n a very sweet one it is for me to acquaint you with two incidents\n manifesting the boundless charity of Mary conceived without sin.\n\n \"The first relates to a sick soldier in our house. Though we\n had already witnessed the efficacy of the medal, in effecting\n the conversion of several soldiers most obstinate in resisting\n grace, no conversion was so striking as this. M. Frederick de\n Castillon, aged thirty-five, Captain in the 21st Light Guards,\n entered the hospital, April 29th, in the last stage of consumption,\n and attacked by paralysis of the left side. We nursed him a long\n time, his condition grew alarmingly worse, but how could we\n mention religion to a young soldier who boasted of having none?\n I kept myself always informed of his state, and contented myself\n (apparently) with watching the progress of the disease. Several\n times I attempted to make him realize his danger, but in vain. One\n day, when he was much worse, and I had an opportunity of seeing\n him alone, I ventured to inquire if he were a Catholic. 'Yes,\n Sister,' he replied, looking steadily at me. I then asked him to\n accept a medal, to wear it, and frequently invoke the Immaculate\n Mary, telling him at the same time that, if he did so with faith,\n this good Mother would obtain for him all the graces he needed, for\n bearing his sufferings patiently and meritoriously. He received it\n gratefully, but did not put it on.\n\n \"But our confidence in the Blessed Virgin's influence over him\n was not diminished, especially when we saw him place the medal\n on the side of his bed. The Sister in charge of that hall had\n already slipped one in his pillow-case. Several days passed, his\n strength was gradually ebbing away, and after many ineffectual\n efforts to obtain his consent to see a priest, I asked a clergyman\n to visit him notwithstanding, and I introduced him into the sick\n man's presence just as some one came to tell me he could not live\n through that night (October 15th). We found him extremely ill,\n but still inflexible. After a few moments, I withdrew, and left\n him alone with the charitable priest, who could get nothing from\n him but these despairing words: 'Leave me in peace, to-morrow I\n shall be dead, and all will be over!' Of course, there was nothing\n else to be done but comply with his request, and you can imagine\n how painful it was. We redoubled our petitions to the Immaculate\n Virgin, and this good Mother soon wrought a change in the\n unfortunate man's heart.\n\n \"Next day, he asked the physician to tell him candidly if his case\n were hopeless, because he wished to arrange his affairs. That same\n evening, as soon as the Sister in charge of the hall entered, he\n said to her very gently and penitently: 'Oh! how sorry I am to have\n treated the Superior so badly, and the good priest she brought\n me! Present my apologies to them, I beg you, and ask them to come\n again.' You know we delayed not a moment in going to see him.\n Next morning he began his new life, and during the nine days M.\n Castillon still lived the chaplain visited him several times every\n day, remaining two hours at a time. One of his brother officers,\n coming to see him just after his first confession: 'If you had\n been here a few minutes sooner,' said M. de Castillon, with an\n utter disregard of human respect, 'you would have found me in good\n company. I was with the cur\u00e9, and I could not have been in better.'\n He had the happiness of receiving the Last Sacraments with the most\n admirable dispositions. Here are his dying words, which he asked\n this gentleman to commit to writing: 'I die in the religion of my\n fathers, I love and revere it, I humbly beg God's pardon for not\n always having practiced it publicly.' And he expired in the peace\n of the Lord, October 23d.\n\n \"I now relate the second conversion, that of a woman who, for\n eighteen years, had been a public scandal, living with a wretch who\n had abandoned wife and children for her. To such wicked conduct,\n she added a more than ordinary degree of impiety, boasting that\n she believed neither in God nor hell, and mocking at everything\n religion held sacred. Although dangerously ill, she declared that\n never would she make a confession. Sister N., seeing the rapid\n progress of the disease and near approach of death, had recourse\n to the Blessed Virgin; she put a medal around the woman's neck,\n and began a novena for her conversion, relying upon the assistance\n of her who, every day, gives us continually increasing proofs\n that she is our Mother and a most merciful one. Before the novena\n was finished, this poor creature, yielding to grace, made her\n confession, and renounced forever the wretch who had been her\n curse, manifesting as much sorrow for her past life, and proving\n herself as pious as she had heretofore been shamelessly impious.\n\n \"The above facts, Monsieur, I have thought it my duty to make known\n to you, for the edification of the faithful and the glory of Mary.\n May these examples of her power and bounty, lead all sinners to\n cast themselves into her arms!\"\n\nNOTE.--These two events are truly a confirmation of what St. Bernard\nsays, \"that no one ever invokes Mary in vain;\" but what a misfortune\nfor those who refuse her succor! A very reliable individual once told\nus, that a sick person to whom a medal had been given, and who began\nto feel the effects of grace, suddenly insisted upon having the medal\ntaken off, saying: \"It hurts me; I can wear it no longer.\" To quiet him\nit was taken off, and he soon expired without the slightest sign of\nconversion. The person relating this, was an eye-witness; it happened\nin the month of October, 1834.\n\n\n CONVERSION AND CURE OF MME. P\u00c9RON AND CURE OF HER\n DAUGHTER.--_Attested._\n\nNOTE.--It is Mme. P\u00e9ron herself who gives us all the details. She lives\nin Paris, rue des Petites-\u00c9curies, No. 24. We quote her own account,\nwritten February 26th, 1835, from her dictation, and in presence of the\nSister who visited her in her sickness.\n\n \"I was sick eight years, and afflicted with very considerable\n hemorrhages. I suffered much and almost continually. I was without\n strength; I took but little nourishment, and that little increased\n my malady, which was gradually exhausting me. I do not remember\n to have had during these eight years, more than eight entire days\n of relief from pain; the rest of the time I passed on the bed,\n unable to perform the work necessary to aid my poor husband in\n supporting the family. I have even been confined to my bed as\n long as eighteen months without intermission. I consulted several\n physicians, who prescribed the remedies usual in such cases, but\n all to no purpose. My husband, not being able to afford such\n expense, and seeing no hope of my recovery, lost courage and was\n almost in despair. Some kind persons sought to cheer him: 'You must\n not be so low-spirited, my poor Bourbonnais, you must bear up under\n these trials and show your strength of character; your wife is very\n sick, but she will recover and your friends will not abandon you.'\n As for myself, seeing that medicines had no effect and cost us a\n great deal of money, I dispensed with doctors, and was a long time\n without seeing one, having resigned myself to a slow death.\n\n \"A neighbor who understood my position, came one day to see me,\n and urged me not to give up thus, but to have the physician again.\n I opposed it, because we had not the wherewith to remunerate him.\n She then proposed to call in a Sister of Charity. I observed that\n not being in want, perhaps the Sisters would refuse to come, as it\n might thus deprive of their services, others more unfortunate than\n myself. This good lady insisted, and I yielded.\n\n \"Next morning, I received a visit from Sister Marie (of St. Vincent\n de Paul's parish), who brought me some assistance, encouraged me to\n support my sufferings, and did her best to console me. I can truly\n say that happiness entered my house with this good Sister. She\n soon sent a physician, who, after examining me and understanding\n my case, told her, as I have since learned, that it was a hopeless\n one, I had a very little while to live, and ought to be sent to\n the hospital to spare my family the sad spectacle of my death.\n Hearing this, Sister Marie believed it her duty to give my soul\n especial attention. I was not an enemy to religion, but I was\n not very practical; I went sometimes to the parish functions,\n when my sufferings and occupations permitted, but (and I say it\n to my shame) I had not approached the Sacraments for years. When\n the Sister, after several other questions, asked me if I went to\n confession, blushing, I said 'no.' She begged me to do so, and\n I replied: 'When I am cured, I will.' The good Sister, little\n satisfied with my evasive answer, urged me again to see a priest.\n 'Sister,' said I, 'I don't like to be persecuted with things of\n this sort, when I am cured I will go to confession.' I saw that\n this answer grieved her, but she never remitted her visits and kind\n attentions. My malady increased. One Saturday or Sunday night, at\n the commencement of October, 1834, my whole body was cold, and\n vainly did my friends endeavor to restore a natural warmth, the\n chill of death seemed on me. They spoke of reciting the prayers\n for the dying; I understood a part of what was said, but myself\n was speechless. Whilst I was so ill, my husband told our eldest\n daughter to go to bed, and he, thinking me easier because I was\n feebly breathing, threw himself, without undressing, upon the bed\n to snatch a little repose; but, getting up a few minutes later, he\n came to me, put his hand on my face, and was horrified to find it\n covered with a cold sweat. He thought me dead, and called aloud:\n 'Euphemie,' (this is our eldest daughter's name), 'Euphemie, alas!\n thy mother is dead!' Euphemie arose and mingled her lamentations\n with those of her father. Their cries awakened Madame Pellev\u00e9, our\n neighbor, who came to console them. 'Ah! madame,' said my husband,\n on seeing her, 'my wife is dead!' Having begged him to be resigned\n to God's will, this lady approached me, and, placing her hand upon\n my heart: 'No,' she exclaimed, 'she is not dead, her heart still\n beats.' They kindled a fire, and succeeded in restoring a little\n warmth to my body.\n\n \"Madame Pellev\u00e9 went betimes to inform Sister Marie of all this,\n and the latter hastened to tell the physician. 'I am not at all\n surprised,' he answered; 'this lady has two incurable diseases.\n Besides these hemorrhages, she is in the last stage of consumption,\n as I have already told you, and if not dead before this, she will\n not live through the day.' My chest had, indeed, been very weak for\n some time, and the physicians in consultation had all said I could\n never be cured.\n\n \"At two o'clock in the afternoon I received a visit from Sister\n Marie, who found me not quite so ill; I could speak. 'Do you\n love the Blessed Virgin very much?' said she. 'Yes, Sister,' I\n had indeed always practiced some devotion in honor of this good\n Mother. 'If you love her very much, I can give you something to\n cure you.' 'Oh! yes, I shall soon be well.' I spoke of death, for\n I felt that it was near. Then she showed me a medal and said:\n 'Take this medal of the Blessed Virgin, who will cure you, if you\n have great confidence in her.' The sight of the medal filled me\n with joy; I took it and kissed it fervently, for I truly longed to\n be cured. The Sister now recited aloud the little prayer which I\n could not read, and urged me to repeat it daily; I promised to add\n five Paters and five Aves. She then put the medal around my neck.\n At that instant, there passed through me a new, strange feeling,\n a general revolution in my whole body, a thrill through all my\n members. It was not a painful sensation, on the contrary, I began\n to shed tears of joy. I was not cured, but I felt that I was going\n to be cured, and I experienced a confidence that came not from\n myself.\n\n \"Sister Marie left me in this state; after her departure, my\n husband who had remained motionless at the foot of my bed said:\n 'Put all your confidence in the Blessed Virgin; we are going to\n make a novena for you.' Towards evening I could raise myself up in\n bed, which was very astonishing, considering my extreme exhaustion,\n but a few hours previous. On Tuesday I requested some broth,\n which was given me at last, and a little while after I took some\n soup. My strength returned; I felt that I was cured. Finally, on\n Thursday, I wished to go to church to thank the Blessed Virgin.\n This suggestion was opposed, but I insisted and at length went.\n Whilst on the way and alone (for I preferred going by myself), I\n met Sister Marie, who did not recognize me; I took her hand: 'Oh!'\n said she, 'it is really yourself!' 'Yes, Sister, it is I indeed; I\n am going to Mass: I am cured!' 'And what has cured you so quickly?'\n 'The Blessed Virgin, and I am going to thank her.' The Sister was\n lost in astonishment. I recounted to her how it had all come about\n in less than three days, and I kept on to church and heard Mass.\n Since then, I have had no return of my malady; I enjoy good health;\n I go about my duties, performing a regular day's work, and to the\n Miraculous Medal am I indebted for it all.\"\n\nNot only Madame P\u00e9ron's body but her soul, did the Blessed Virgin\nrestore to health; she soon chose a Director and went to confession,\nand she has continued to do so ever since; her life is really very\nedifying. As she deeply regrets having lived so long estranged from\nGod, her greatest happiness now is in frequently approaching the\nSacraments; two things awaken her tears, the recollection of her past\nlife, and gratitude for her twofold recovery.\n\nNor is this all; the Blessed Virgin seems to have chosen this family\nfor the purpose of displaying in it the wonders of her power. Madam\nP\u00e9ron had a daughter aged sixteen, who, after her mother's recovery,\ngave herself to God in an especial manner, employing in exercises of\npiety, all her leisure moments, and edifying her companions in the\nparish confraternity, whenever she could take part in their devotions\nfor she lived in another quarter.\n\nThe father also was deeply touched at the favors accorded his wife; he\nwears the medal, and he has experienced its blessed effects.\n\nMadame P\u00e9ron has still another daughter, a little girl six years and\na-half old, who had great difficulty in speaking, or rather, who did\nnot speak at all, although she was not mute. Her utterance was so\nimpeded, that she scarcely ever finished a word, thus disconcerting\nthe most patient. It was so much the more deplorable, as she was\nquite a bright child. 'What a pity she does not talk!' said everyone\nwho witnessed her infirmity. When Sister Marie saw this little girl,\n'Why do you not send her to school,' said she to the mother, 'instead\nof keeping her home all day?' 'You hear how she talks,' answered\nthe mother, who did not like to have her child's infirmity exposed.\nHowever, she yielded to the Sister's wishes, and little Hortense was\nsent to the Sister's parish school. Her imperfect speech did not\nimprove, it would sometimes take her five minutes to pronounce half\na word. Some days after, Sister Marie, who deeply pitied the child,\nspoke to her mother of a novena for curing this defect. \"Cure Hortense,\nSister! it is impossible, it is a natural defect!\" The Sister, with\nincreasing anxiety insisted. The novena was commenced on Saturday;\nit consisted in hearing Mass every day, and reciting a few prayers\nin honor of the Blessed Virgin. The medal was hung around the little\ngirl's neck, and she was to take part in all the exercises of the\nnovena. For several days there was no change, but Thursday after the\nMass of the Blessed Sacrament, Hortense, on leaving church, could\nspeak as distinctly and with as much ease as any one. Those who first\nheard her were struck with admiration, the news soon spread, and from\nall sides came persons to see her; they questioned her, and the child\nanswered, they scanned her to see if it were really the same, and\nrecognizing her, they returned, saying: \"This is certainly a great\nmiracle, a sudden cure of a natural defect!\"\n\nLittle Hortense, showing her medal with delight, would say to all who\nknew and congratulated her: \"The Blessed Virgin has cured me.\"\n\nIn thanksgiving for so great a benefit, the child was consecrated\nto Mary on the 21st of November, Feast of the Presentation, in the\nsame chapel where the apparition of the medal took place, and, in\ncommemoration of this great event of her life, she was to wear only\nblue and white until her First Communion. Previous to this ceremony,\nshe made her confession, with every evidence of understanding\nthoroughly the importance of the act. When asked if she loves the\nBlessed Virgin, \"Oh! yes,\" she answers, \"I love her with more than all\nmy heart!\" an expression invented, it seems, solely by the fulness of\nher gratitude. She prizes her brass medal so highly, that she would\nnot exchange it for one of silver or gold, and she wishes it put in the\ntomb with her when she dies. \"We hope, Hortense,\" said her father not\nlong ago, (he always finds a new pleasure in hearing her talk), \"we\nhope, when you die, that you will leave us this medal as a souvenir of\nyourself and a relic of the Blessed Virgin.\" \"Certainly, papa, if it\ngives you so much pleasure, but I promised the Blessed Virgin, the day\nof my consecration, that the medal should never leave me, but should\neven descend with me into the tomb when I died.\"\n\nWe publish these details, with the cordial approbation of this family,\nfully imbued with ever increasing gratitude to Mary Immaculate.\n\nThese two accounts have been confirmed by nine other persons.\n\n\n CONVERSION OF SEVERAL SOLDIERS (HOTEL DES\n INVALIDES)--1834.--_Attested._\n\nNOTE.--All these edifying details, which have already produced a most\nbeneficial effect upon many young men, were given us and attested by\nSisters Radier and Pourrat, who, having charge of that ward, were\nwitnesses of the facts, and also instruments of divine mercy in\noperating these prodigies.\n\n \"We had in St. Vincent's ward, number 20, royal hotel des\n Invalides, Paris, a soldier who had been spitting blood about six\n months, and who, it was thought, would soon die of consumption. He\n was naturally polite and grateful for the attentions bestowed upon\n him, but he showed no signs of religion; his morals were bad, and\n it was a well-known fact that, for twenty years, his life had been\n one of scandal.\n\n \"It appeared, however, that faith was not entirely extinguished in\n his heart, for another patient, his neighbor, being on the point\n of death and refusing to see a priest, this one entreated him to\n yield, and was instrumental in bringing about his conversion.\n Alas! his own turn soon came, we saw him growing worse day by day,\n he was wasting visibly, and had not once mentioned receiving the\n Sacraments. As he had urged his neighbor to prepare for death, we\n hoped he would make his own preparation, without being reminded\n of it, or, at least, that he would willingly comply with the\n first suggestion. On the contrary, he absolutely resisted all our\n entreaties, saying: 'I am an honest man, Sister, I have neither\n killed nor robbed.' 'Even so,' we would answer, 'we all stand in\n need of God's mercy, we are all sinners.' 'Oh! Sister, just leave\n me in peace, I beg you.'\n\n \"However, he began to realize that he had been sinking for several\n days, and he said aloud: 'There is no hope for me!' This thought\n appeared to distress him. One day (it was Wednesday, the 26th of\n November), the disease took such a sudden turn for the worse, we\n feared he would not live through the day, and, being unable to\n make any religious impression on him, we warned the chaplain of\n his condition and his resistance to all our entreaties. The latter\n went to see him. Our patient received him with great respect, but,\n wishing to get rid of him adroitly, said: 'I am acquainted with the\n cur\u00e9.' A little while after, the cur\u00e9 visited him, and conversed\n with him some time. On leaving his bedside, the venerable, zealous\n pastor came to us and said: 'Your patient is very low, and I have\n not succeeded in getting him to do anything for his soul; indeed,\n I did not urge him too much, for fear he might say _no_, and then\n would not revoke it, like so many others, after once giving a\n decided negative.'\n\n \"The same day a lady of his acquaintance also came to see him, and\n earnestly but vainly urged him to make his peace with God. To get\n rid of her importunity he said: 'I know the cur\u00e9; he has already\n been to see me, and will return this evening.' The cur\u00e9 returned\n indeed, according to promise; the sick man, on seeing him, jumped\n out of bed to show that he was not so ill as to make confession a\n very pressing matter. The cur\u00e9, a true Samaritan, rendered him all\n the little services imaginable, helping him back to bed, and even\n offering to dress his blister; he then spoke to him about his soul,\n but without avail, for after an hour's conversation he came to us\n and said: 'I am deeply grieved, for I have done my utmost, but it\n has had no effect upon him.' We asked the cur\u00e9 if we must call him\n during the night, in case the sick man grew worse. 'I think,' said\n he, 'you had better not, unless he asks for me.' A little later one\n of us reminded him again of the chaplain, who was passing, but he\n got enraged and began to swear, so that we had to drop the subject,\n despite our distress at the thought of his appearing so unprepared\n before his God. Our grief was so much the greater in proportion to\n his extreme danger, for the death rattle was already in his throat,\n and it did not seem possible that he could survive the night. It\n was then my young companion said to me: 'Oh! Sister, perhaps our\n sins, as our holy St. Vincent says, have been the cause of this\n man's impenitence.' Expecting nothing more from the patient, Sister\n Radier now turned all her hopes towards the Blessed Virgin. During\n night prayers thoughts of the medal came into her mind, and she\n said to herself: 'If we put the medal on him perhaps the Blessed\n Virgin will obtain his conversion,' and she determined to make a\n novena. After prayers she said to her companion: 'Let us go see the\n sick man and put a medal on him; perhaps the Blessed Virgin will\n grant our petitions.' She went immediately, and found him up and\n in a state of great agitation, and about to leave the room; all\n the other patients saw it clearly, and said that it was with the\n intention of committing suicide. The Sister cautiously took away\n his knife and whatever else might be used in this way, slipped\n unperceived the medal between his two mattresses, and returned to\n us very sadly, saying: 'Let us fervently invoke the Blessed Virgin,\n for I very much fear this poor man will kill himself during the\n night.'\n\n \"Next day, immediately after rising, and even before seeing the\n Sister who had kept watch, one of us hastened to visit our patient,\n and not without most dire forebodings, but, to our astonishment,\n his mind was calm and he seemed better. On inquiring how he felt,\n 'Very well, Sister,' he answered, 'I passed a good night, I slept\n well (which I have not done for a long time), and I am better in\n consequence.' As the Sister retired, he called to her, saying:\n 'Sister, I wish to make my confession, oh! send the cur\u00e9 to me!'\n 'You wish to confess?' replied the Sister, 'take care; are you\n going to do as you did all day yesterday, do you really want him?'\n 'Yes, Sister, upon my honor.' 'Well, since you wish him, I will go\n for him, it will certainly be well for you to confess your sins,\n for it is said that your life has not always been edifying.' Then,\n without the slightest human respect, he began to mention his sins\n aloud, and with great sentiments of compunction; we could scarcely\n induce him to stop. The cur\u00e9 came, and he made his confession,\n which lasted an hour. Afterwards, one of us having come to see\n him, he exclaimed joyfully at our reproach: 'Oh! Sister, how happy\n I am, I have been to confession, I have received absolution, and\n the cur\u00e9 is to return this evening. Since my First Communion, this\n is the happiest day of my life!' He appeared deeply affected, and\n expressed a most ardent desire to receive the good God. 'Do you\n know what we did?' 'What was it, Sister?' 'We put between your\n mattresses a Miraculous Medal of the Blessed Virgin.' 'Ah! then,\n that is why I passed such a comfortable night; moreover, I felt as\n if there was something about me that wrought a wonderful change,\n and I do not know why I did not search my bed; I thought of doing\n so.' The Sister then produced the medal, which he kissed with\n respect and affection. 'It is this,' he exclaimed, 'that gave me\n strength to brave human respect. I must place it on my breast; I\n will give you a ribbon to attach it to my decoration,' (he wore the\n cross of honor.) The first ribbon offered being a little faded,\n 'No, Sister,' said he, 'not that, but this; the Blessed Virgin must\n have a new ribbon.' The Sister, regarding his weak state, placed\n the medal in such a manner that it was somewhat concealed. 'Oh! do\n not hide it, Sister,' said he; 'put it beside my cross, I shall not\n blush to show it.'\n\n \"In the afternoon the cur\u00e9 asked us how our patient was, and he\n was not less edified than ourselves at the account we gave of his\n admirable dispositions. Preparations were made to give him the last\n Sacraments. At the sight of the Holy Viaticum, he was so penetrated\n with emotion that he begged pardon aloud of God for all the sins\n of his life in detail, and it was with the utmost difficulty he\n could be persuaded to lower his voice, his heart being too full\n to contain itself. He passed the following night and the next day\n in the same dispositions of faith, regret and piety, until Monday\n morning, December 1st, when he peacefully rendered his soul to God,\n and we have every confidence that it was received into the arms of\n His mercy.\n\n \"We relate what we saw and heard; it took place in our ward, which\n numbers sixty patients, the majority of whom witnessed a part of\n these details.\"\n\nNOTE.--Before burial, the Sister took the medal off his corpse, and the\npatient in the next bed begged to have it, so persuaded was he that it\nhad been the instrument of this touching conversion.\n\nThis consoling return to God was followed by several others not less\nstriking or less sincere, and in that very institution, by the same\nmeans--the medal. Quite lately two have taken place, but the details\nare so very much like the above that for this reason alone we refrain\nfrom giving them.\n\nAll this has been confirmed by M. Ancelin, cur\u00e9 of the Invalides.\n\n\n CURE OF M. FERMIN, A PRIEST--1834.\n\nThis account was sent us by the Superior General of St. Sulpice, who\nwas anxious that we should have it. The venerable priest of this very\nestimable Community, who was favored with this grace, wrote the details\nhimself, and they were attested by the Superior and the Director of the\ngrand Seminary of Rheims, both of whom were witnesses.\n\n \"To the glory of Mary conceived without sin, I, Jean Baptiste\n Fermin, unworthy servant of the Blessed Virgin, and subject of M.\n Olier, have, together with my Superior and confr\u00e8res, thought it\n my duty to transmit to our very honored Father, an account of the\n special favor accorded me.\n\n \"Many persons knew what I suffered for six whole years, how I\n was worn out with a nervous, worrying cough, whose attacks were\n so frequent and so prolonged that one can scarcely imagine how I\n ever survived them. My physician himself told me that, for the\n first three years, my life was in imminent danger, and if in the\n last three I was less exposed to death at every step, as it were,\n the giving way of my stomach, the weakness of my chest, were such\n that all my days were filled with bitterness, and new crosses\n were laid upon me. In this condition, what ecclesiastical fasts\n could I keep? Four or five years ago, the desire of complying,\n in some degree, with the precepts of the Church led me to fast\n the Ember week before Christmas, and the prejudice to my health\n was such that I was not permitted to fast again even for a day.\n Abstinence from meat became impossible, and for having attempted\n this slight mortification, how much I suffered in consequence, even\n in the very month of July, 1834! Whilst my health was so impaired,\n and I saw only a lingering end to my afflictions, it pleased my\n Superiors to give me a year's rest. I received with gratitude this\n additional evidence of their consideration for me, and endeavored\n to co-operate with them in re-establishing my health, of which they\n had been so thoughtful; but, in my condition, the recuperative\n powers of nature were of slight avail. Even amidst perfect\n quiet and rest for four whole months, I experienced but little\n alleviation of my sufferings, for though my chest became, at least,\n apparently stronger, my stomach grew weaker and more disordered,\n so that I was obliged to diet, which, added to the dieting I had\n already practiced, reduced me to such a state of exhaustion that I\n could not foresee the consequences.\n\n \"O, Mary, how deplorable was my condition when you cast upon\n me a look of mercy! The 15th of November, 1834, I was sent a\n medal, struck in honor of the Immaculate Conception, and already\n celebrated as the instrument of many miracles. In receiving it,\n I was penetrated, for the first time, with a strong feeling\n of confidence, that this was the Heaven-sent means by which I\n would reach the end of my afflictions; I had not foreseen this\n hope, still less had I excited it, for I believe I can say,\n conscientiously, that I felt naturally disinclined to ask a favor\n of which I deemed myself unworthy. However, the feeling became so\n strong that I thought it my duty to consider it prayerfully next\n morning; and not to oppose so good an impulse, I determined to\n make a novena, and I commenced it on the 16th. From that moment my\n confidence was boundless, and like a child who reasons no longer,\n but sees only what he feels sure of obtaining, it sustained me\n amidst the new trials to which I was subjected; for on the 19th,\n and several days after, my sufferings were redoubled, affecting at\n once both stomach and chest. On the 22d I felt considerably better,\n on the 23d I believed myself strong enough to abandon a diet on\n which I had subsisted a long time, and on the 24th I wished to eat\n just what was served the Community; that very morning I commenced,\n like the hearty seminarians, to take a little dry bread and wine,\n and it agreed with me. Thus my desires were accomplished. I had\n implored the Blessed Virgin to give me health to live according\n to the rule, and she had done so; but a good Mother like Mary\n would not leave her work imperfect, and she chose the very day of\n her Conception to bestow upon me her crowning favors. I was still\n troubled with a slight indisposition of the stomach accompanying\n digestion after dinner, but it was not positive suffering, and even\n this remnant of my old infirmity disappeared entirely. On the eve\n of that Feast my devotion to Mary, which had lost a little of its\n first fervor, was, when I least expected it, excited anew, and I\n felt urged to implore the consummation of a good work so happily\n begun. I did so that evening, and next morning at prayers, at Mass,\n at my thanksgiving, and it was in finishing this last exercise\n before a statue of the Blessed Virgin, after a most fervent prayer,\n that I realized the recompense of my confidence--I felt assured\n that my petitions had been granted. Since then I have experienced\n no indisposition worthy of attention. I was able to fast the Ember\n week before Christmas and the eve of that great solemnity; I sang\n the ten o'clock High Mass the fourth Sunday in Advent; I followed\n all the offices of the choir on those days the Church consecrates\n to the celebration of our Divine Master's birth, and, instead of\n regretting these efforts, I find in each one of them a new motive\n for blessing the Lord and testifying my gratitude to our good\n Mother.\n\n J.B. FERMIN.\"\n\n\n \"Though surpassing our hopes, we have witnessed the speedy and\n perfect recovery of M.J. Fermin, which appears to be something\n supernatural, since he employed no other remedies than great\n devotion to the Blessed Virgin and a novena in her honor.\n\n \"AUBRY, RAIGECOURT GOURNAY.\"\n\n\n II.\n\n _Graces Obtained during the Year 1835, in France, Switzerland,\n Savoy and Turkey._\n\n\n CURE OF MADEMOISELLE JOUBERT.\n\nNOTE.--The account of this very striking cure was sent us by M.\nPoinsel, Vicar General of Limoges, whom I took the liberty of asking\nfor it.\n\n \"_Bishopric of Limoges._\n\n \"Glory to God! honor to Mary!\n\n \"The 10th of February, 1834, Mlle. Joubert, aged twenty-nine\n years, a person of solid piety, was suddenly cured of a painful\n and very serious infirmity. For more than a year, she had carried\n her left arm in a sling, by reason of an unaccountable disease\n which extended from the shoulder to the hand, and was of such a\n nature that the afflicted member seemed dead; when necessary to\n be handled, it had to be done with extreme precaution, and even\n then the pain was so excessive that often the patient fell sick\n in consequence. The disease was successively styled rheumatic\n gout, inflammatory and gangrenous rheumatism; science employed in\n combating it, baths, shower baths, poultices, liniments of all\n sort, vain remedies which only aggravated the evil and varied\n the suffering. Sometimes amputation was spoken of: 'Would to\n God, Mademoiselle, you had but one arm!' said the physician,\n not concealing his anxiety and fears of her death, as spring\n approached, for the diseased arm was pale, livid, and frightful to\n behold.\n\n \"The young lady, a true Christian, was resigned to all; by\n meditations upon the cross, she encouraged herself to suffer,\n and, perceiving the progress of the disease, she thought only of\n dying the precious death of the just. A friend, one day, proposed\n to her that she should wear the medal with confidence, and make a\n novena to Mary. She acted upon the suggestion; at the end of the\n novena, on the usual day of her confession (she was accustomed to\n confess weekly), she approached the sacred tribunal, and lo! at the\n very instant when recollected, contrite and humbled, she received\n the moral effect of the priest's benediction and holy words, an\n extraordinary physical change took place in the arm heretofore\n judged incurable, it suddenly became unloosed and free, all\n suffering vanished! 'I scarcely knew where I was,' said she, 'but\n it seemed to me as if a cord that had been tightly drawn around my\n arm was unwound, ring after ring, and I was cured! My surprise, my\n joy, were extreme and beyond all power of expression!'\n\n \"On reaching home, she exclaimed: 'A miracle! light a taper, light\n two, come, come, see the miracle! I can move my arm, animation is\n restored to it, I am cured!' Oh! how great the joy of that family!\n They surrounded the favored one, they looked at, they touched the\n resuscitated member, they tested its powers in various ways, making\n her lift divers objects and execute a variety of movements; then,\n all the members of this truly Christian family, moved even to\n tears, fell on their knees, and recited that hymn of thanksgiving,\n the _Te Deum_.\n\n \"Since then, (that is, for more than a year), her arm has been\n perfectly well. The physician himself was struck with this event,\n which it would be difficult to attribute to concealed resources,\n or the sudden agency of nature. What is nature without the\n intervention and action of God? He is sole Master of nature, life\n and death are at His will. It is not necessary, then, to reason so\n much on the subject; a little faith will easily make us recognize\n here a special grace of God, through the intercession of Mary, our\n kind, sweet Mother, to whom we must ever repair, invoking her with\n love and confidence.\n\n \"Such is the simple and conscientious account of the event given\n me, the undersigned, by the person herself, in answer to my\n questions, in the presence of an intelligent, reliable individual\n who saw all, having several times dressed the arm, and who, by\n reason of her skill and long experience, was well calculated to\n judge of the danger.\n\n \"In attestation of which, etc.\n\n \"POINSEL, Vicar General.\n\n \"_February 14, 1835._\"\n\nThese details are confirmed by two letters of Madame and Mademoiselle\nJoubert, by the testimony of the Superior of the Daughters of Charity\nof Limoges, and that of M. Dumonteil, a lawyer and friend of the family.\n\n\n CONVERSIONS AND CURES WROUGHT IN SWITZERLAND.\n\nLetter from Sister Boubat, Superioress of the Daughters of Charity in\nChesne:\n\n \"_February 12, 1835._\n\n \"I have not great miracles to recount to-day, but the facts I give\n are certainly very striking traits of protection. However, I shall\n tell them just as they are, and let you judge of them for yourself.\n Those of which I was not an eye-witness have been told me by very\n reliable parties who were.\n\n \"1st. A woman who had been sick a long time, and given up by the\n doctors, received, one evening, the Miraculous Medal, and was\n restored to her usual health that night; feeling perfectly well,\n she said to her husband next morning that she would get up and\n prepare breakfast. He treated this as nonsense, and when she really\n did arise, his astonishment was great, and beyond all bounds when\n he found that her health was fully restored.\n\n \"2d. In the same village, a young mother had two children, one six\n the other eight years old. The latter was attacked by a violent\n malady, described to me as a convulsion, and died in a few days.\n The younger had a similar attack, and seemed on the verge of death.\n The poor mother was in the depths of grief, when some one thought\n of offering her a medal. She received it as a treasure. It was\n evening; she put it on the dying child, who soon fell asleep, and\n slept soundly the whole night. In the morning he awoke perfectly\n cured! This good woman afterwards came to me to get medals for\n herself and some others. Oh! I wish you could have seen her as she\n wept for joy whilst expressing to me, with all simplicity, the\n transports of her soul! Never will I forget it, so deep was the\n impression it made upon me.\n\n \"3d. A child five years old had been racked for several months by a\n fever, which resisted all efforts to check it. One day, he was in\n his grandmother's arms when the paroxysm began. This woman, full of\n faith, applied the medal; the child soon grew better, and the fever\n never troubled him again.\n\n \"The attending physician was a relation; on seeing him after this,\n the child ran towards him, exclaiming with all the animation and\n artlessness of his age: 'I am cured, but it was not you who cured\n me, it was the medal.' He repeats these words nearly every time he\n sees the doctor.\n\n \"4th. A young man, on his death-bed, filled all his friends with\n serious apprehensions for his salvation. After several vain efforts\n of the most charitable zeal, the cur\u00e9 induced him to accept a\n medal, and very soon the dying man expressed a wish to confess. He\n expired in the most edifying dispositions.\n\n \"5th. Three sinners obstinately refused to assist at the exercises\n of a mission given in their parish, and even sought to oppose it.\n One of the missionaries persuaded them to accept a medal, and as\n soon as they had received it, a great change was visible. They\n not only made the mission, most devoutly, but became its zealous\n advocates.\n\n \"I get these details from a very venerable cur\u00e9, who gave them to\n me himself.\n\n \"6th. There came to me recently a woman from the neighboring\n mountainous district, who said without any previous explanation:\n 'You cured one of my daughters whom all the physicians had given\n up; I now wish you to give me the same thing.' I tried at once to\n recollect what medicines I had prescribed, and asked question after\n question concerning the nature of the malady, so as to know what\n remedy I had dispensed. After puzzling my brain to discover, she\n told me it was a piece, thus suddenly reminding me that I had given\n a medal to a young woman from that place, who came to consult me\n about her failing health. To verify the fact, I sent word for the\n young woman to come to see me.\n\n \"I pass over in silence a multitude of other events which, without\n being termed miracles, are none the less real graces; and in my\n eyes one most precious and great grace for us is, that the Blessed\n Virgin deigns to make use of our poor little house to propagate\n devotion to her. Oh! if you could see these good mountaineers\n of every age and sex come with the greatest confidence and most\n touching simplicity, asking for _na m\u00e9daillot_--a medal. It has\n affected me deeply, and I cannot sufficiently express my gratitude\n to our tender and Immaculate Mother.\n\n \"Even Protestants have asked us for these medals, and I am\n assured it was with perfect sincerity. The pastors in Savoy are\n also very zealous in propagating this devotion to Mary. Since\n reading the notice, they have mentioned it from the pulpit to\n their parishioners, many of whom have, in consequence, procured\n the medal. Likewise, do we see young men about to enter the army\n fortify themselves with it, and persons undertaking a voyage\n wearing it as their safeguard; indeed, every one has recourse to it\n as the universal remedy for soul and body.\"\n\n\nCURE OF SISTER HYACINTHE, A RELIGIOUS OF CALVARY.\n\nIt is the Mother General of the Community who has given us these\ndetails. Her letter is dated February 7th, 1835.\n\n \"I am overwhelmed with joy; our poor patient is perfectly cured\n by virtue of the Miraculous Medal. I could say our patients,\n for our prayers were offered both for the paralytic and that\n young person whom I told you had been sick eleven months;\n she was able to remain out of bed only a few hours each day;\n whenever she could go to Mass, and that was rarely, she had to\n be assisted, and the support of an arm was necessary when she\n approached the Holy Table. Since Thursday she walks alone and\n eats without experiencing the slightest symptom of her former\n infirmity, except a little weakness. I hope the Lord will\n finish His work and restore her to perfect health; but let us\n speak of our dear Sister.\n\n \"The following is a copy of the account I wrote of this marvel\n to our holy Bishop day before yesterday, after Mass:\n\n \"'I acquaint Your Grace with an incident of God's great mercy,\n displayed to our Community in the sudden cure of one of our\n choir religious, named Hyacinthe, aged forty-seven years.\n This good Mother, the 14th of last January, had a stroke of\n paralysis. It did not affect her head, but immediately fixed\n itself in the left side, which became motionless and devoid\n of feeling. We hastened to summon the physician, who bled\n her freely in the arm; next day we tried leeches, medicines,\n a blister on the neck, and three days after one upon the\n paralyzed limb, but all of no avail. The poor patient, as well\n as ourselves, must submit to the decrees of Him who strikes\n and heals at will. At the end of fifteen days I was inspired\n with the thought of making a novena in honor of the Immaculate\n Conception, the medal of which, called the miraculous, we all\n wear. On the fourth day of the novena, as we were about to\n recite the prayers around her bed, the good Mother desired Holy\n Communion. She was taken to the choir by three persons; after\n receiving, the limb felt a little better, and she could return\n with the aid of two persons only. Her confidence in the Mother\n of God increased daily; yesterday she asked permission to come\n down on the last day of the novena, and this morning, with the\n assistance of a cane and some one to support her, she came down\n and had the happiness of receiving Holy Communion. Immediately\n after, we finished the novena prayers, just at the end of which\n she was seized with a pain in the paralyzed arm, followed by an\n icy chill and then a sensation of extreme heat. She came to me\n with both arms lifted, exclaiming, \"I am cured!\" And perfectly\n cured she was, being able to walk and use her limbs as freely\n as if she had never felt a symptom of paralysis.\n\n \"'To give you an idea of our joy and gratitude, Monseigneur,\n would be impossible. The patient fainted, and I came very near\n doing the same; it was with difficulty I could continue our\n prayers of thanksgiving, so marvelous did it seem that the Lord\n should have granted this favor to our Community, under the\n government of one of His most unworthy servants.'\n\n \"I send you this copy, which we had kept, of the letter.\n\n \"In the same letter I asked Monseigneur's permission to have\n a _Te Deum_ chanted at the end of Benediction. His Grace\n hastened to send word that he not only permitted but ordered\n it, which order was joyfully complied with. The Vicar General,\n our Superior, wrote, asking me to defer our Vespers half an\n hour, as he wished to assist at the _Te Deum_. Several other\n ecclesiastics also came, and saw our healed ones blessing God.\n Since that day our good Mother Hyacinthe follows the rules,\n complies with all her duties, and has never felt the least\n return of her malady.\n\n \"This miracle created great excitement in our city; the\n laborers who were working at the house having learned it on\n the spot, immediately spread the news; the evening previous,\n they had seen our poor Sister dragging her limb, a cane in\n hand, and almost carried by two persons, and next morning they\n beheld her perfectly cured! These men, who have seldom much\n religion, sang the praises of God's power, and asked me to\n give them medals. I gave a medal to each with great pleasure.\n Clergymen have come to learn the particulars of this event, and\n I let the miraculously cured herself recount the wonders of the\n Lord.\n\n \"I must not omit informing you that the physician having vainly\n exhausted all remedies, had been nine days without seeing the\n patient; and the very eve of her recovery he told one of our\n boarders that the disease having settled itself he believed\n our afflicted one might be able to walk, but she could never\n use her arm again. On coming next day to visit his other\n patients, he was surprised beyond expression when she appeared\n before him perfectly cured. Wishing to get his candid opinion\n on the subject, I remarked that probably it was not real\n paralysis, but only a numbness. 'It was a strongly marked case\n of paralysis,' he answered, 'and there is certainly something\n supernatural in her recovery.'\n\n \"In thanksgiving we continue the novena prayers, but preface\n them with the _Laudate_.\n\n \"Make such use of this letter as you may deem advisable. If\n you insert it in the notice, you are at liberty to name our\n city and house. Oh! how we long to spread abroad the knowledge\n and love of God's power, signally displayed in answer to our\n invocation of the Immaculate Mother of His Divine Son.\n\n \"SISTER ST. MARIE,\n \"_Superioress of Calvary of Orleans_.\"\n\n\nCURE OF MADAME LEBON (DIJON).\n\nNOTE.--\"The venerable lady upon whom this cure was wrought\nbelongs to a highly honorable family of Dijon, and her personal\ncharacter is very well calculated to inspire the utmost confidence,\"\nsays _L'Ami de la Religion_, in its issue of April 17th, 1835.\nMoreover, the letter she wrote, March 12th, to one of her friends, and\nwhich she was anxious should be transmitted to us, is accompanied by\nthe certificates of the pastors of St. Michael of Dijon, of Dampierre\nand Beaumont-sur-Vingeanne, also of five members of the municipal\ncouncil, and several other very reliable persons, some of them members\nof her family; more than this, it is followed by a detailed account\ngiven by the medical attendant, who had charge of her case for sixteen\nyears.\n\n \"_Dijon, March 12, 1835._\n\n \"_Madame and Dear Friend_:\n\n \"You ask me the details of the miraculous manner in which it\n has pleased God to restore me to health. Well! it might be\n summed up in these few words: I implored Mary to obtain my\n recovery, and she did obtain it instantly; having said this,\n you know all, but you desire me to recall the circumstances of\n my sickness and my experience subsequent to the cure. I give\n them as follows:\n\n \"You doubtless remember that, for more than twenty years, I\n could not walk, in consequence of an abscess on the intestines,\n which left me in such a state of sensibility that ever after a\n walk of more than a hundred steps I was exposing myself to the\n most serious accidents. Neither are you ignorant of the fact\n that, nearly fifteen months ago, by reason of influenza, a\n second abscess formed, and so increased the irritability that I\n hovered between life and death, and even when at my best I was\n scarcely able to drag myself from one room to another. But you\n have probably never heard that, since the 1st of last December,\n my condition was so critical that, with great difficulty, could\n I remain out of bed three or four hours at a time, which made\n me, as well as those around me, think my end was near and I\n would not survive the spring.\n\n \"This was my condition, dear friend, when some one mentioned\n to me the medal of the Immaculate Virgin, and urged me to get\n it. I was a long time deciding to do so, for I considered it\n presumptuous to solicit the cure of an infirmity the physicians\n had pronounced incurable. At last, having thought, on the one\n side, that the more desperate the malady, the greater God's\n glory should He deign to cure it; and, on the other, that He\n had wrought the most wonderful miracles for those who were\n least worthy, I decided to mention it to my confessor. I did\n so, and he encouraged me to make the novena.\n\n \"The 2d of February, Feast of the Purification, the first\n day of the novena and one ever memorable for me, I was taken\n to church in a carriage; my daughter, sole confidante of my\n intentions, assisted me to the Blessed Virgin's altar, where,\n after hearing Mass as well as my infirmity would permit, I\n received Holy Communion. Scarcely had I knelt to make an act\n of adoration, when I was obliged to take my seat. A Sister of\n Charity, whom I did not know was there, for I had not hoped to\n receive the medal just yet, put it on my neck. Immediately,\n I got on my knees to beg the Mother of the afflicted to\n intercede with her divine Son for the restoration of my health,\n should He foresee that it would be conducive to God's glory and\n her honor, to my salvation and the happiness of my husband and\n children. Scarcely had I pronounced a few words, petitioning\n our Lord to graciously hear His holy Mother's prayer, ere Mary\n had interceded and God in His great mercy had hearkened; I was\n cured, Madame, entirely cured.... I finished all the prayers\n of thanksgiving after Communion and those of the novena on my\n knees, and, without experiencing the slightest inconvenience,\n my malady had disappeared and I have never felt the slightest\n symptom of it since. I walked, unassisted, to the church door,\n sent away the carriage and returned home on foot.\n\n \"I have given you a detail of the facts, but to express the\n feelings that filled my heart on re-entering my house would be\n impossible; my joy, my astonishment, were boundless; I could\n hardly realize it myself. Cured in an instant! The thought was\n overpowering! It seemed as if I must be in a dream, but my\n husband's astonishment, my mother's, and that of the servants,\n who, seeing the great change wrought in me, although they were\n ignorant of the means, could not forbear exclaiming: 'But a\n miracle must have been worked upon you!' convinced me that I\n was not asleep.\n\n \"Since that time I walk as well as any one; scarcely was my\n novena finished ere I could go from one end of the city to the\n other. It has not been six weeks since my cure, and I have\n already walked more than three miles at a time, and could have\n accomplished twice as much. You see, Madame and dear friend,\n that the miracle is a most striking one.\n\n \"I now beg of you, as well as all other pious souls, to unite\n heartily with me in thanking God and His august Mother.\n\n \"Your ever devoted\n \"\u00c9LIS. M. DARBEAUMONT LEBON.\"\n\nThe physician's certificate ends thus: \"Whatever may have been the\ncause of a cure, heretofore regarded as impossible by all the doctors\nwho attended Mme. Lebon, it should be considered none the less certain\nand positive, for the evidence of the fact is indubitable.\n\n\"Wherefore, I sign the present attestation, which I declare sincere and\ntrue.\n\n \"FOURNIER, Doctor.\n\"_Dampierre, March 19, 1835._\"\n\n\nCURES WROUGHT AT SMYRNA AND CONSTANTINOPLE.\n\nExtract of a letter from M. Le Leu, Lazarist missionary:\n\n \"_Constantinople, March 16, 1835._\n\n \"It has been a long time since I proposed writing you something\n about the medal. In my eyes, one of the greatest miracles it\n has ever worked is the rapidity of its propagation and the\n confidence it inspires. By our demands upon you for medals, you\n may judge of their effect in this country. We could dispose\n of thousands and yet not satisfy the innumerable calls we\n have for them. At Smyrna, it is the same. We had occasion to\n send a few into the interior of Asia, and the Blessed Virgin\n showed herself no less powerful or beneficent there than in\n Europe. At Angora, an old man was deprived of the use of all\n his limbs, and had neither walked nor worked for years; he\n lived in frightful poverty, and sighed for death, for he was\n especially grieved at being so long a burden upon a family in\n indigent circumstances. (In this country there are numbers of\n Armenian families very devoted to the Blessed Virgin, and this\n was one of them.) He had no sooner heard of the Miraculous\n Medal, than he solicited the happiness of obtaining and wearing\n it. In these countries the Faith has retained its primitive\n simplicity; this recipient of a medal does not content himself\n with praying before it, or hanging it around his neck, but he\n kisses it with profound respect and applies it to the affected\n part; the Blessed Virgin cannot resist such confidence, and the\n good old man instantly recovers the use of his limbs--he now\n works and supports himself.\n\n \"Here is another incident: A young woman belonging to a\n respectable and very pious family had, for a long time, been\n a prey to a disease, the nature of which neither the French,\n Greek nor Turkish physicians could understand. Its symptoms\n were most violent pains in the side, which prevented her\n walking, eating or sleeping, and which sometimes disappeared,\n only to return with renewed violence. Having heard of our\n medal, this lady felt interiorly urged to employ it for her\n recovery, but believing herself unworthy of obtaining a direct\n miracle, she besought the Blessed Virgin to enlighten the\n physician and make known to him the proper remedy. Thereupon,\n she went to the country. At the end of several days, she was\n astonished to see her physician, who exclaimed as soon as he\n saw her: 'Madame, good news! I have found the remedy for your\n disease. I am sure of it; in a few days you will be perfectly\n well. I do not know why it is, but your case has constantly\n occupied my mind since your departure, and by a careful study\n of it I have at last discovered the cause of the disease and\n the manner of treating it.' The lady recognized at once that\n this knowledge came from above, and she had not implored Mary\n in vain. To-day she is in excellent health. It was from the\n mouth of her mother I received these details. 'O Monsieur,'\n exclaimed this good mother, 'how happy I am at my poor\n daughter's recovery! It is the Blessed Virgin who has restored\n her to me. If you could only get me a few more of these medals;\n I am overwhelmed with requests for them.' The physician himself\n published the details I have just given. So persuaded is he of\n the efficacy of the medal that he calls it his final remedy,\n and advises his patients to wear it whenever he is at a loss\n concerning their malady. And the Blessed Virgin has rewarded\n his faith; for one of his own daughters, a most pious person,\n but in miserable health, has just experienced its beneficial\n effects.\n\n \"I could mention numberless other incidents, as many\n conversions as cures, but one more will suffice for to-day.\n Not long ago the mother of a family had every symptom of an\n attack of apoplexy; she had already lost consciousness, when\n her son, a very pious young man, who wore one of these medals,\n took it off his neck and put it around hers. He then ran for a\n doctor and a priest. On reaching the house they were all three\n astonished to find that she had quite recovered. That evening\n the son asked his mother for the medal, and she returned it,\n but a moment after was stricken with another attack. The\n protection of the Blessed Virgin seemed to have been withdrawn\n with this sign of her power. He immediately put the medal on\n her neck again, this time to remain, and she has been well ever\n since.\n\n \"Oh! do not delay, I beg you, in sending us the medals we have\n asked of you.\"\n\n\nCONVERSION AND CURE OF AN OLD MAN AT CASTERA-LES-BAINS.\n\nNOTE.--These details are sent us and attested by M. Bellos,\nclerk of registration at Auch, and by other very reliable persons.\n\n \"In the early part of March, 1835, an old man in the parish of\n Castera-les-Bains (Gers), fell dangerously ill. The venerable\n parish priest, M. Bar\u00e8re, hastened to visit him, hoping he\n might persuade the poor creature to cast himself into those\n arms that were extended on the cross for all sinners. Our\n patient, who had not been to confession for long years,\n received him like an infidel as he was, refused all religious\n assistance, and ended by saying: 'M. cur\u00e9, I would rather\n lose my speech than comply with your wishes!' The charitable\n pastor retiring, though very reluctantly, now thought of the\n Miraculous Medal he wore, and, taking it off, gave it to one\n of the household with instructions to put it in the patient's\n bed; advising, however, in case the ruse were discovered, no\n allusion to the subject, so as to spare the unhappy one all\n occasion of invective against religion. But, oh! marvelous\n to relate! a little while after, the dying man awakens as if\n from a profound slumber, and earnestly begs that the cur\u00e9\n be sent for to hear his confession. At this news, the good\n pastor flies to his lost sheep, who receives him with every\n expression of joy, begs his pardon, and asks to receive the\n Sacrament of Penance. It would be superfluous for us to dwell\n at length upon the sentiments and language of the charitable\n minister of religion. He was so touched by his penitent's\n dispositions, that he did not hesitate to take him the Holy\n Viaticum next morning. Many of the faithful accompanied the\n Blessed Sacrament to the sick man's chamber; confessing again,\n he abjured his errors before all the assistants, and earnestly\n entreated them to pardon the scandal his past conduct had\n given them. Every one was affected to tears, and it was in\n the midst of this universal emotion that he received the good\n God, with the deepest sentiments of humility and compunction,\n and recommending himself to the prayers of all present. In the\n course of the following night, fearing he might be carried\n off by a spell of weakness, he requested Extreme Unction, and\n received it with the same evidences of faith and piety. This\n conversion was followed by his perfect recovery, and the good\n old man now blesses Divine Providence, which, through Mary's\n protection, rescued him from the borders of a frightful abyss\n into which his infidelity would have plunged him forever.\n\n \"The undersigned, who got these details from the mouth of\n the cur\u00e9 of Castera, vouches for their authenticity. He has\n neither added to nor taken from them in the slightest, knowing\n full well that the Blessed Virgin has no need of falsehoods\n to prove her power and goodness. It is, then, on his word of\n conscience he gives this fact, which none of the inhabitants of\n Castera and the neighboring country would deny, even were he\n incredulous.\"\n\n\nCURE OF ROSALIE MORVILLIERS, ACKNOWLEDGED AS MIRACULOUS BY ALL THE\nPARISH.\n\n \"_Hangest_ (_Somme_).\n\n \"I have mentioned to you the cure wrought by the Miraculous\n Medal upon a person aged fifty years; the fact is\n incontestable. Rosalie Morvilliers, the recipient of this\n favor, had never been free from suffering since her seventh\n year; an affection of the nerves caused almost constant\n palpitations of the heart and severe headaches, which, however,\n did not hinder her performing some slight work without\n aggravating the malady. But about five years ago, she was\n afflicted by an unmistakable attack of epilepsy, which threw\n her family into the greatest consternation. Henceforth, she was\n obliged to keep her bed, and saw no one but her most intimate\n friends; the very sight of a face that was not familiar was\n sufficient to throw her into dreadful convulsions for several\n hours. Independent of any external cause, these paroxysms\n usually came on three times a day, and so violent were they,\n that it was with great difficulty she could be kept in her\n room; she uttered most frightful cries, her features were\n horribly distorted, her mouth covered with foam, and, indeed,\n according to the testimony of those who usually witnessed the\n attacks, it was some time before she regained consciousness.\n\n \"Such was her condition when some one gave her a Miraculous\n Medal. She received it with the greatest confidence, and\n immediately applied it to that part of her head where the\n pain was most acute; the pain disappeared immediately. From\n that moment she felt urged to make a novena in honor of the\n Immaculate Conception for the cure of her epilepsy. But\n diffidence in mentioning the matter to her director made her\n defer the execution of this pious design six weeks. At length,\n she yielded to her desires, saying she felt fully persuaded\n that this novena would ensure her recovery through the Blessed\n Virgin's intercession, and her confidence was not misplaced.\n The cur\u00e9 immediately began the novena, engaging in it the\n sodality of the Holy Family. Whilst at Mass on the morning of\n the last day, the 17th of Mary's month, the patient was seized\n with the most violent attack possible, the worst she had ever\n had, although during the novena, the paroxysms had increased\n in intensity. Suddenly it ceases. A number of persons begin to\n pray and recite the chaplet; the patient, regarding them with\n a smile, gently falls asleep. A few minutes after, she opens\n her eyes and exclaims: 'I am cured! I am cured! The Blessed\n Virgin has just cured me of epilepsy! Oh! how good she is, how\n powerful! It seems to me as if there had just been a general\n revolution throughout my body. I feel confident, my friends,\n that this disease has been banished from my system forever.'\n\n \"It was very easy for the assistants to believe that some\n extraordinary change had really been wrought in her, for her\n countenance presented not the slightest vestige of the attack.\n She now desired to communicate, and oh! with what transports of\n faith, gratitude and love she received the good God!\n\n \"The noise of this cure soon reached the neighboring villages.\n How beautiful yet, Monsieur, is the simplicity of the faith in\n these rural districts! Henceforth, every one wished to wear the\n medal.\n\n \"This event took place on the 17th of May, at nine o'clock\n in the morning. Since that time the patient has not felt the\n slightest symptom of epilepsy. She leaves her room, walks about\n the garden, and receives visitors indiscriminately, without\n experiencing any ill effects. However, the Blessed Virgin\n did not cure all her infirmities; she still has the nervous\n affection that existed before the epileptic attacks, but I\n should observe that as the novena was made solely for the cure\n of epilepsy, the Blessed Virgin has obtained all that was asked\n of her.\n\n \"This, Monsieur, is the exact statement. Some, no doubt, would\n attribute the cure to natural causes; as for ourselves, we,\n like the patient, feel convinced that it was owing to Mary's\n powerful intercession. The cur\u00e9 agrees with us, and so do all\n who glory in the truths of religion. Honored, then, be the\n power and goodness of Mary conceived without sin!\"\n\n\nCURE OF A DAUGHTER OF CHARITY AND ANOTHER PERSON (DIOCESE OF MOULINS).\n\nThe following letter was sent by a gentleman of unquestionable veracity\nto the _Journal du Bourbonnais_, and published in its issue of June 6,\n1835:\n\n \"_Monsieur_:\n\n \"We are all Mary's children; at the foot of her Divine Son's\n cross did her maternal heart adopt us as her own. All ages\n have felt the salutary effects of her powerful protection; our\n fathers have admired them, we ourselves admire them, and our\n days are filled with marvels. Even recently has she appeared,\n shedding torrents of grace upon a privileged kingdom, and this\n kingdom is France. The vision is verified, for the age which\n saw it has also witnessed the multiplication of countless\n miraculous cures and conversions.\n\n \"And shall Bourbonnais, our dear country, be excepted in the\n distribution of Mary's favors? Oh! no; it also shall have a\n share in this harvest of glory. The truly astonishing rapidity\n with which the thousand Miraculous Medals brought to our city\n have been disposed of is to me a sufficient guaranty of our\n hopes, and it would keep one's pen in daily use to note the\n wonderful traits of Mary's protection.\n\n \"1st. Sister Chapin, of St. Joseph's Hospital, was for more\n than two years racked by pains and a fever that defied all\n medical skill.\n\n \"This angel of earth lamented her inability to fulfil the\n duties of her noble vocation; far from abating, her charity,\n zeal and resignation seemed to increase with her gradually\n declining health, which now excited our serious fears. Having\n vainly exhausted all the resources of medicine, she turned her\n back upon art and nature that she might address herself to\n faith alone. Full of confidence in the Miraculous Medal, she\n began a novena to Mary for the recovery of her health. Before\n the novena was ended, both pains and fever had disappeared, and\n henceforth, she began a new existence, her strength returned,\n and she is happy to prove herself by deeds (fulfilling with\n ease the most painful duties) what her virtues have ever\n proclaimed her, a true daughter of St. Vincent de Paul.\n\n \"2nd. Yesterday, again, was witnessed in our Bourbonnais,\n another wonderful trait of Mary's protection. Here are the\n facts: On Monday, June 1st, at eight o'clock in the evening,\n in the parish of Montilly, near the borders of Allier and the\n castle of Beau-Regard, a woman was stricken with a violent\n rush of blood to the head; the lamentations and piercing cries\n of the family attracted their neighbors. Two alarming crises\n succeeded; they were followed by a third, which was thought to\n be mortal. The patient, after violently struggling against the\n combined efforts of four men to restrain her, fell motionless\n and apparently lifeless; her limbs were stiff and chill, her\n face a livid blue, her features distorted, her eyes fixed, her\n respiration insensible, death seemed imminent. This frightful\n attack had lasted about half an hour, when some one present\n thought of the Miraculous Medal; she approaches the dying woman\n and lays the medal upon her lips. At that instant the latter\n arouses from her slumber, she breathes, she clasps her hands\n as if thanking the person who had restored her to life she\n recognizes all around her, speaks to them and thanks them for\n their kind attentions.\n\n \"The next morning, Tuesday, it was not at the gates of death\n she was to be found, but in the streets of Moulins, where I saw\n her myself and spoke to her.\n\n \"Pardon me, O divine Mary, if among a thousand striking\n traits of your power and goodness, I dwell upon some which\n are comparatively slight, it is only because of their recent\n occurrence in our very midst. Happy shall I esteem myself to\n awaken among my brethren a passing tribute to Faith, that\n living, salutary Faith, whose efficacy I have experienced, and\n whose truths I long to see planted and nourished in all hearts!\n\n \"Deign to accord, etc.\"\n\nWe have learned that Sister Chapin's recovery is permanent.\n\n\nCURE OF MARIE LACROIX (DIOCESE OF LANGRES).\n\nNOTE.--It is M. Barillot, Vicar General, who sends us this\naccount:\n\n \"_Bishopric of Langres, June 20, 1835._\n\n \"_Monsieur_:\n\n \"M. Regnault, cur\u00e9 of Ormoy, canton of Chateau-Villain, in our\n diocese, an excellent pastor and judicious priest, writes me\n the subjoined letter of the 19th inst.:\n\n \"'A very extraordinary thing has just taken place in my\n parish. A young woman aged twenty went blind in consequence\n of a fall; her hip was displaced, and she lost all use of\n her limbs, except the arms. For three months she was at a\n hospital of Bar-sur-Aube, under treatment for these severe\n afflictions, but in vain. At last, judging her case hopeless,\n the physicians sent her back to her parents at Ormoy. Here,\n as at Bar-sur-Aube, she endured for three months incredible\n sufferings, not even being able to turn herself in bed or\n change her position in the slightest. Her recovery was now\n despaired of by all, and lately the minister received a\n petition (with the accompanying certificates of the two\n physicians who had attended her at Bar-sur-Aube) asking her\n admission into the hospital of Quinze-Vingts. Meanwhile,\n this young woman, who had always appeared to me very pious\n and submissive to God's will, having received a Miraculous\n Medal, immediately begins a novena. Seven days elapse, and\n her sufferings, far from diminishing, are intensified; on the\n eighth she is bathed in a profuse perspiration, after which she\n suddenly rises, dresses herself, and walks through the streets\n to church, to the great astonishment of all the people, who,\n seeing her, cannot restrain their tears.\n\n \"'I questioned her closely, but did not express my opinion\n on the subject. I went to Bar-sur-Aube to get additional\n information; the physician declares it astonishing, especially\n when we consider her former hopeless condition. The hospital\n Sisters, the cur\u00e9s of Bar-sur-Aube, the patients, all say it is\n truly a miracle. The people of Ormoy and even of the vicinity,\n who come to see her, wonder that I do not mention it from the\n pulpit. I beg of you to let me know how to act in the affair,\n and also that you will speak to the Bishop about it.'\n\n \"The Bishop has since sent word through me to the cur\u00e9\n of Ormoy, to publish this miraculous occurrence to his\n parishioners; he has also charged me with forwarding you a copy\n of the good cur\u00e9's letter, leaving to your discretion the use\n you may make of it.\n\n \"I am, etc.,\n\n \"BARILLOT, Canon, Vicar General.\"\n\nBefore printing this, we wished to ascertain if the cure were\npermanent, and the Vicar General sent us the following response from\nthe cur\u00e9 of Ormoy:\n\n \"The cure is permanent; for several months past the young\n woman has been with the Ursulines of La Chapelle, who consider\n her physically able to share in the labors of the house; her\n condition having been attested by three doctors. Her sudden\n recovery, as above mentioned, leads us to believe that it was\n surely supernatural. I was far from meriting this favor which\n has been granted my poor parish. I hope the Blessed Virgin will\n finish her work.\n\n \"_November 3, 1835._\"\n\n\nCURES WROUGHT IN THE CHABLAIS DISTRICT (SAVOY).\n\n \"_The Borders of Lake Geneva, June 18, 1835._\n\n \"_Monsieur_:\n\n \"The country purged of Calvin's heresy by the labors of\n Geneva's holy bishop, is not a stranger to the blessings\n figured by the medal's mysterious rays. This wonderful\n instrument of Mary's liberality has been propagated with\n astonishing rapidity, though only a few months since we heard\n of it in our midst. I consider it a pious obligation to offer\n you a few small stones towards the construction of that temple\n of glory now in process of erection, to the honor of her,\n who has lately proved herself more powerful and merciful on\n earth than ever before. I am a young villager living amidst my\n family; I do not announce miracles to you, but merely recount\n facts just as I have seen or heard them. I could have subjoined\n a list of signatures, but I did not judge it necessary, the\n docile, religious heart deeming them superfluous, and the\n skeptic, fraudulent, like the facts. On a perusal of the first\n few phrases in each incident, persons living in the vicinity\n will recognize the individuals concerned, and thereby be more\n deeply impressed.\n\n \"1st. In the month of July, 1824, Mlle. C., aged twenty-nine\n years, bade, as she thought, a last adieu to her family; she\n and some other generous companions were going to one of the\n large cities in southern Italy to consecrate themselves there\n to the service of the sick and poor. After a few months'\n novitiate in a religious house devoted to works of this nature,\n she was attacked by one of those debilitating, wasting maladies\n that physicians are at a loss to define. Attributing it to the\n climate, the Superiors, after twenty-two months' ineffectual\n treatment at the novitiate, sent her to breathe her natal\n air. But change of air proved vain also, and the doctors at\n last ceased their visits, judging the re-establishment of\n her health an impossibility. About six years ago, she had\n improved sufficiently to walk a few steps beyond her chamber,\n and even remain in the open air some minutes, but amelioration\n was illusory, and since 1830 she had not been able to leave\n her couch of suffering except for a few instants. Many times\n during these last five years was she apparently on the verge\n of death, and that for several consecutive days, always,\n however, retaining her hearing and intellectual faculties,\n since she could respond by signs to the priest who visited\n her. It was he who gave me these particulars. Her condition\n had become such that it was judged advisable to administer the\n Last Sacraments. This house was now a school of edification,\n where Christians might study the price of sufferings and the\n heroism of patience. Finally, about the end of last April,\n this poor creature, so tortured for the past eleven years,\n conceived a hope of relief through the Miraculous Medal,\n but, mistrusting the somewhat extraordinary impressions the\n thought made upon her imagination, it was only from obedience\n she could be induced to commence a novena. The sole exercises\n consisted of repeating, three times a day, the invocation: 'O\n Mary! conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to\n thee!' On Wednesday, April 24th, the second or third day of\n the novena, she felt an irresistible desire to arise. It was\n yet very early in the morning; a little child assisted her\n to dress. Finding that her limbs support her, she begins to\n think it must be something miraculous, and, filled with joy,\n she wishes to announce the news to her mother, who is in an\n adjoining room. Arrived at the door, she is seized with fright,\n and precipitately turns back; but, being reassured of her newly\n restored strength by the facility with which she reaches her\n own chamber, she overcomes herself, and, retracing her steps,\n seeks the embraces of her mother, her sister and brother.\n Her unexpected appearance fills them with great emotion, and\n abundant tears attest the depths of their joy and gratitude. A\n clergyman, who often visited this lady, soon heard rumors of\n her recovery, but gave no credit to them. Meeting her mother\n on the street not long after, she burst into tears at sight\n of him, and was unable to express the cause of her emotion.\n Suspecting it, he went immediately to the house, and saw for\n himself what a miracle had been wrought. With Mlle. C., he\n unites in blessing her powerful protectress, the Immaculate\n Mary.\n\n \"Since that time, April 24, to the present date, June 18th,\n Mlle. C. rises about seven o'clock, hears Mass on her knees,\n employs herself in various duties during the day, makes visits\n and walks of half an hour's or even an hour's duration, and\n continues well, even her complexion begins to assume a healthy\n tinge. Her legs are still a little swollen, and she cannot yet\n take much nourishment.\n\n \"The sudden appearance of this person, whom every one had\n known to be seriously afflicted for eleven years, created an\n extraordinary sensation. All eyes were fixed upon her, and many\n persons even followed her. This took place in the capital of\n the province.\n\n \"2d. In the month of August, 1833, my sister, at the sight of\n a child who barely missed falling through an open trap door,\n was suddenly attacked by frightful nervous convulsions, which\n henceforth returned daily, and even as often as fifteen times\n a day. It was only at the end of two months that remedies, and\n a four weeks' strict hospital treatment, succeeded in checking\n them. Last year, they manifested themselves again in the month\n of February, but disappeared, leaving her a prey to great\n weakness, and a fever that kept her in bed four weeks.\n\n \"In the February of this year, the nervous convulsions\n returned, and with a frequency and force that were truly\n alarming. The patient wasted visibly, the paroxysms were\n renewed seven and ten times a day, and were of a most frightful\n character; the circulation of her blood seemed checked, her\n feet and hands were deathly chilled, she jerked her head with\n violence and precipitation, an agitated cry escaped her breast;\n the attack lasted from three to six minutes, and left her\n completely exhausted. The witnesses of this painful spectacle\n were affected to tears. She was taken to a skillful physician,\n who after seeing her in one of these convulsions, pronounced\n the case hopeless, saying, 'it baffled him, he could not\n understand it.' However, he prescribed remedies. Meanwhile, the\n first medals arrived in our midst. On Shrove Tuesday, my sister\n had five attacks, which she assured me were the worst she had\n ever had. Next day, wearing the medal, she began a novena, and\n the two convulsions she had that day were the last; never since\n has she felt the slightest symptom (and that without employing\n the prescribed remedies), neither has she had a sign of the\n fever, which last year replaced the less violent convulsions.\n This cure was wrought in an insensible, but very efficacious\n manner, the first day of a novena made through the medal. My\n sister immediately resumed the manifold duties of a laborious\n household. She attributes, and we also, her recovery to Mary\n alone. Thousands of times be love and glory to this good Mother!\n\n \"3d. In the Chablais district, on the frontiers of the canton\n of Geneva, lived a poor widow, the mother of quite a large\n family. This good woman, about sixty years old, had a natural\n predisposition to paralysis. At the age of forty-eight, an\n attack of this disease deprived her of the use of her left\n arm. At intervals since then, she has had spells of illness\n so serious and so protracted, that at least a hundred times\n she seemed on the verge of the tomb. She never consulted a\n physician, but animated with a lively, persevering faith, she\n employed only supernatural means. 'God and the Saints are the\n only good doctors,' she would say, and 'God and the Saints'\n rewarded her confidence. She has recovered from these hopeless\n maladies in an extraordinary manner. On the first of last\n March, her left foot lost the power of supporting her body\n in walking, doubtless owing to her natural predisposition to\n paralysis. Persons informed on the subject have given the\n following description of the convulsive movements of this poor\n woman's foot: suspended, it preserved its natural position, but\n on putting it to the ground, it immediately lost its balance;\n her body was bent, her knee turned out, the sole of her foot\n exposed, and the left side of her foot was the foundation of\n support for the left limb in walking. She went thus to church,\n distant about four minutes' walk; but even in that short space\n of time, the convulsive movements of the foot were sometimes\n such that she was not able to keep her balance, but fell to\n the ground. Every one pitied her, she was always calm and\n perfectly resigned. Her children had made for her an iron\n brace which reached to the knee, but after a trial, she was\n obliged to discard it, the remedy causing more suffering than\n the disease. During the Lenten season, some charitable persons\n advised her to seek Mary's assistance through the Miraculous\n Medal. The good widow did so, and wore her medal with the\n utmost confidence. On Holy Saturday, she perceived that her\n foot had become steady; the next day, Easter, without any\n remedies having been used, it resumed its natural position, and\n since that time, though a little weaker than the right, not\n once has it given way or turned. She attributes her recovery to\n the Blessed Virgin, whom she invoked by wearing the medal, so\n justly styled miraculous.\n\n \"I could cite many other less striking cases; one time it is a\n hardy peasant who attributes to Mary's intercession relief from\n violent pains; another time, a little child, who in a few days,\n is completely cured of a large tumor under its arm, accompanied\n by fever; a mother who tells me how her daughter's ill health\n is sensibly improved by the application of the medal; or a\n Protestant girl, who, after wearing it, abjures heresy, etc.\n Nearly all the children of our village wear the Miraculous\n Medal around their neck, they recite the invocation, they kiss\n the precious image and give it to their little sisters and\n brothers in the cradle to kiss.\n\n\nIII.\n\n_Graces obtained from 1836 to 1838 in France, Italy, Holland, etc._\n\n\nCONVERSION AND CURE OF M. GAETAN (BOULOGNE).\n\nThis account was sent me by the cur\u00e9 of Boulogne, February 8, 1836.\n\n \"In my parish, a young man named Gaetan U---, aged twenty-seven\n years, was leading a life of criminal intimacy with a woman.\n Several years after abandoning his mother and brother, that he\n might be under no restraint in his shameless course, he was\n prostrated by a serious pulmonary attack. M. Jean Pulioli, an\n excellent physician, undertook the case; but the violence or\n the disease overcame his skill, and the patient (still in the\n house of the bad character with whom he lived,) was reduced to\n such a deplorable state of exhaustion, that he could not move\n himself. From the beginning of his sickness he had insisted\n that he would not be worried by a priest. But the disease\n making very rapid progress, the doctor believed it his duty to\n warn a priest of his condition. My chaplain went immediately\n to see him, and earnestly entreated him to put an end to this\n scandalous state of affairs by marrying the woman, but all in\n vain. I then paid him a visit, and besides remarking in him\n neither any intention of marrying her nor of separating from\n her, I perceived from the excuses he gave, that his soul was\n enshrouded in impenetrable indifference. Having uselessly\n exhausted all efforts to effect a change, I concluded it would\n be better to leave him awhile to quiet and serious reflection,\n and return later to know his decision. I urged him to seek\n the mediation of that refuge of sinners, the Blessed Virgin,\n and slipping the Miraculous Medal under his pillow, I left.\n There was no necessity for my returning to learn his decision,\n he sent his mother for me, with whom he had become reconciled\n in the meantime; after informing me of the very just reasons\n he had for not marrying the woman, he asked me if I would\n not request her to leave, a commission I willingly accepted.\n She consented, and immediately abandoned the house. The sick\n man's peace and joy at this were indescribable; when I showed\n him the medal, he kissed it most fervently and impulsively,\n notwithstanding his state of exhaustion. Then, with every mark\n of sincere repentance, he confessed, received the Holy Viaticum\n and Extreme Unction, for we expected each moment he would\n breathe his last. This occurred January 19, 1836. Interiorly,\n he enjoyed unspeakable peace, a favor he always attributed to\n the Blessed Virgin. From this time he began to improve, and\n in a few days his health was completely re-established. He\n continues to persevere in his good resolutions, and full of the\n tenderest affection for his celestial Benefactress, he still\n reverently wears the medal I gave him, often kissing it with\n truly filial love.\n\n \"Monsieur, I was a witness of the above-mentioned fact; I send\n it to you, not only with the permission of the newly converted\n and cured, but at his request, and I hope that the knowledge\n will redound to the honor and glory of the Omnipotent God, who,\n through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin, has wrought\n this double miracle.\n\n \"I subjoin the certificate of the physician who attests the\n disease and its cure.\"\n\n\nCURE OF A JUDGE AT NAPLES.\n\nThe judge of the civil tribunal of Naples, M. Joseph Cocchia, seriously\ndebilitated by a chronic disease of the bowels, was afflicted with most\nviolent pains, accompanied by a spasmodic sensation that, continually\nincreasing, banished sleep and appetite, and perceptibly diminished\nhis frame. This was followed by a bilious gastric fever, long and\nobstinate, of fifty days duration. When freed from the fever, the sick\nman found himself in a frightful state of emaciation and exhaustion;\nsigns of inflammation in the bowels, and such extreme irritation that\nthe least jolt induced fever, made skillful physicians fear lest these\nwere the symptoms of an incurable malady still more deplorable. Whilst\nin this pitiable condition, there reached the sick man's ears accounts\nof the prodigies Divine mercy had wrought in favor of those who wore\nthe medal; he eagerly asked for one, and received it with faith;\nhenceforth, he had no longer any need of medical assistance, for he\nrecovered the strength and perfect health he now enjoys.\n\n\nCURE OF F.P. DE MAGISTRIS.\n\nM.F. Paul de Magistris, aged seven years, was attacked about the\nmiddle of November, 1835, by a bilious gastric fever, which, by reason\nof accompanying circumstances, threatened to shorten his life. After\nthree weeks' illness, his nervous system was also attacked, and he\nbecame a prey to a state of profound drowsiness that resulted in the\nloss of reason and speech. His afflicted parents, seeing the obstinacy\nof the disease, notwithstanding all efforts of medical skill to the\ncontrary, considered the case hopeless, and their child lost to them.\nOn the evening of January 9th, the cur\u00e9 administered Extreme Unction,\nbelieving, as did all the assistants, that the little sufferer had but\na few hours to live. A young person, who came to the house, having\nmentioned the Miraculous Medal brought from France by the priests of\nthe Congregation of the Mission, it was immediately procured, and,\nwith confidence in its healing powers, applied to the child, whilst\nall present knelt around his bed and recited the _Ave Maris Stella_.\nScarcely had they finished, ere he was considered out of danger. With\nrenewed confidence in the medal, it was resolved to begin a novena\nin honor of the Blessed Virgin. During its progress, the disease\ndiminished perceptibly, and the child has now entirely recovered. Its\nparents, as well as other persons of credit and veracity, among them\nthe attendant physician, attest that, having witnessed his deplorable\ncondition, they feel convinced his recovery was a miracle, resulting\nfrom the application of the medal.\n\n_February 22, 1836._\n\n\nCURE OF A DROPSICAL MAN (SWITZERLAND).\n\n \"_Soleure, January 19th, 1836._\n\n \"Baptiste, a wood sawyer, whom you knew during your sojourn\n in this city, was confined to his bed two whole months by\n an attack of the severest form of dropsy on the chest. One\n of our best physicians, who attended him at the beginning\n of his sickness, having told Baptiste's wife that the case\n was a hopeless one, the family decided to consult another,\n M. Gougelmann, at Attyswill, a league from Soleure. After\n seeing the patient, he also gave the same opinion, and the\n poor wife's distress was beyond expression. A pious lady,\n witnessing her grief, gave her a Miraculous Medal. The sick\n man's arms, legs, and whole body were greatly swollen. His\n breath was short, and he had scarcely any power of motion; his\n back, and his elbows upon which he was obliged to lean, were a\n mass of sores. In this pitiable state, death might be expected\n any moment. His confessor having come to visit him, brought\n the Notice of the miracles wrought through the Miraculous\n Medal. The sick man on receiving it began to read it aloud,\n greatly to the astonishment of his wife and the priest, who\n were both witnesses that he had been almost past the power\n of speech but a few minutes before. And he continued reading\n thus until he had finished the little book (it was one of the\n first editions). This was the evening of January 19. His wife,\n overcome with fatigue, fell asleep for a few moments, his\n children were in an adjoining room expecting at any instant to\n hear the sad news of their father's death. He slept a little\n towards three o'clock in the morning, and on awaking found\n himself so well that it was impossible to resist the desire of\n rising from his bed and throwing himself on his knees before a\n crucifix, in thanksgiving to Our Lord and His divine Mother.\n His wife awoke, and not seeing him in bed, called to know where\n he was. 'I am well; the Blessed Virgin has cured me,' was the\n answer of Baptiste, whom she perceived kneeling before the\n crucifix. The children, hearing the noise, hastened to their\n father's presence, believing him about to breathe his last,\n but judge of their surprise at finding him restored to health,\n and his sores perfectly healed! Imagine, if you can, the joy\n of this poor family, and the happy effects the news of this\n wondrous cure produced upon the many who heard it. Baptiste has\n had excellent health ever since.\"\n\n * * * * *\n\nCURE OF FRAN\u00c7OIS WENMAKERS, OF BOIS-LE-DUC (HOLLAND).\n\nThe _Noord Brabander_, a Holland journal, printed at Bois-le-Duc,\ncontains in number 68 the following account of an extraordinary cure,\nwhich is attributed to the Blessed Virgin:\n\n \"_Bois-le Duc, June 6th, 1836._\n\n \"The 25th of last April, Fran\u00e7ois Wenmakers, a young\n apprentice, aged fourteen years, fell from a height of\n about sixteen feet. An affection of the brain and an almost\n complete paralysis of the lungs, larynx and oesophagus were\n the result; he was not in a condition to take any medicine\n into his stomach, or even to swallow the least liquid, and he\n was deprived of consciousness. One of the physicians, feeling\n worried at his fixed stare, advised the administration of\n Extreme Unction; and yet another, the eve of his recovery,\n declared him on the verge of death. The sick man moreover,\n had become nearly blind the last few days. On the 1st of May,\n advantage was taken of a lucid interval, to give him the Holy\n Viaticum; and on the 4th of the same month, he received Extreme\n Unction from one of the chaplains of St. Jean. His parents, who\n immediately after his fall, had hung a medal of the Immaculate\n Conception around his neck, seeing there was now no hope of his\n recovery, except in the divine goodness and the intercession\n of the Blessed Virgin, began, on the 16th of May, a novena in\n honor of the Mother of God. Three days after, about six o'clock\n in the morning, the patient suddenly asked his mother if the\n medal around his neck were blessed. She answered yes, regarding\n the question as the effect of delirium. He immediately\n kissed it, and sat up for the first time since the fall, for\n heretofore he had been stretched out helpless on the bed, and,\n for some days past, had been deprived of the use of his limbs.\n 'Something tells me,' he exclaimed, 'that I must get up, that\n I am cured!' The astonishment of those present may easily be\n imagined. The mother called his sisters, who repaired to the\n room with an elder girl, and they, seeing that he stoutly\n persisted in declaring himself cured, persuaded his mother to\n let him rise. He did indeed get up, and pointing to a picture\n in the room, representing the medal, he said: 'It is this good\n Mother who has cured me.' From that moment the boy's health was\n perfectly re-established, and his intellectual faculties were\n brighter than ever.\n\n \"Reflections here are superfluous. Glory to God and her who\n thus rewards the confidence of her servants! The parents and\n their child will ever remember the blessing they have received,\n and never cease to publish it!\"\n\n * * * * *\n\nCURE OF ROSALIE DUCAS, OF JAUCHELETTE (BELGIUM).\n\nRosalie Ducas, of Jauchelette, near Jodoigne, aged four years and\na-half, was, on the 9th of November, 1835, suddenly struck with total\nblindness without the slightest premonitory symptoms; there was no\ndisease, no weakness, she was in apparently perfect health. Not only\nwas the least light, but the least breath of air so painful, that her\nface had to be kept constantly covered with a cloth four doubled. This\npoor child's sufferings night and day, were heart-rending! At last the\nmother herself was taken sick. Some pious individual procured her a\nblessed medal of the Immaculate Conception. She took it and commenced\na novena. Another medal was put on the child's neck, the 11th of June,\n1836, about six o'clock in the evening; at midnight, the little one\nceased its moans, on the fourth or fifth day of the novena, it opened\nits eyes. The mother and father redoubled their prayers to the Blessed\nVirgin, and on the ninth day, towards evening, the child recovered its\nsight entirely, to the great astonishment of the neighbors and all who\nwere witnesses of the occurrence.\n\n \"The cur\u00e9 of Jodoigne-la-Souveraine, who had given the medal,\n has himself seen the child who lives not more than half a\n league distant; he positively asserts that it has perfectly\n recovered its sight, and that not the slightest vestige of the\n attack remains, which fact is well known, and contributes not a\n little in exciting devotion to the Immaculate Mary.\"\n\n * * * * *\n\nCONVERSION OF THE FATHER OF A FAMILY (BELGIUM).\n\n \"There are still in existence here some families who,\n persistently recognizing in the present clergy only a purely\n civil power, hold themselves utterly aloof, live in a state of\n schism, and comply with none of the duties of religion.\n\n \"One of these miserable creatures was afflicted with a virulent\n cancer on the side of his face, which for a long time had been\n eating away the flesh. The malady increasing, I believed it my\n duty to visit him and offer the consolations of my ministry.\n I saw him several times, he was suffering greatly; the\n oesophagus was exposed, the right side of his emaciated face\n presented only a deep sore, the eye, starting from its socket,\n hung suspended over a terrible disfigured mouth; his tongue\n caused him acute pain; his condition was pitiable indeed,\n especially as he seemed determined to die impenitent. He was\n a rough, blunt man, who wanted to hear nothing about priests\n or Sacraments. In vain was he reminded of our Lord's bountiful\n kindness and the rigors of His justice, nothing touched\n him; to all expostulations his invariable reply was: 'God's\n mercy is great, I will confess to God, the Blessed Virgin,\n to St. Barbara and the good Saints.' He was the counterpart\n of those men to whom Jesus Christ said: '_In peccato vestro\n moriemini_--you shall die in your sin.'\n\n \"His relations and numerous friends endeavored both by prayers\n and entreaties to snatch him from perdition, but on the other\n side visited daily and sustained by his old associates in\n impiety, he persisted in dying as he had lived, in schism.\n\n \"In the meantime, I was obliged to be absent several days. This\n period was for him one of Divine mercy. A lady of the parish\n made a last attempt to recall him to God, by bringing him one\n of those medals of the Immaculate Conception called miraculous.\n She sent it to him with the request to wear it and put all his\n confidence in the Blessed Virgin. The sick man took the medal,\n kissed it respectfully, and put it under his pillow. In giving\n it to him, his daughter had taken care to acquaint him with\n its origin and advantages, at the same time urging him, as\n usual, to make his confession. 'Leave me in peace,' was the\n wretched father's reply, and she could say no more. Next day,\n a neighboring cur\u00e9 was sent for to administer Extreme Unction\n to another person in the parish. He came, and forgetting, as\n it were, the one for whom he had been sent, he thought only of\n the cancerous patient. 'I felt,' he afterwards told me, 'an\n inexplicable and irresistible desire to visit him, I could not\n have returned without seeing him.' He asks some one to announce\n his arrival to the sick man; this person speaks to the latter,\n and urges him to confess. 'The cur\u00e9 of P. is here,' she adds,\n 'and would like to see you, if you have no objection.' 'Well,\n yes, let him come.' The cur\u00e9 went to him immediately; at first\n there was a slight air of resistance about the patient, but it\n vanished, the hour of grace had come, he confessed with every\n indication of true repentance, and received Extreme Unction\n with an indescribable peace and joy, that never faltered during\n the four remaining days of his life. The Holy Viaticum could\n not be administered because he was not able to swallow.\n\n \"At noon, on the 18th of last May, the month consecrated to\n Mary, he died, aged seventy-eight.\n\n \"Except his former companions in irreligion, this conversion\n was a subject of rejoicing to the parish, and doubtless it\n will rejoice all the servants of Mary who hear of it. May this\n example, among thousands, inspire sinners with great confidence\n in the Blessed Virgin, propagate devotion to her, and multiply\n the medal styled miraculous!\n\n \"I have thought it a duty to give these few details, for the\n purpose of making known the truly visible effects of the\n protection of the Mother of God, and the ever impenetrable\n springs of grace in regard to man.\n\n \"I have the honor to be, Monsieur, with great esteem, &c.\"\n\n * * * * *\n\nCURE OF MLLE. ANTOINETTE VAN ERTRYCK (BOIS-LE-DUC).\n\n \"The protection of the Blessed Virgin, which for the last few\n months has shown itself so powerful in a neighboring kingdom,\n has also wrought wonders in Bois-le-Duc. Mary has here likewise\n given equal proofs of her maternal bounty when we have implored\n her intercession.\n\n \"Mlle. Antoinette Van Ertryck, aged twenty-five years, was for\n more than twenty months deprived of the use of her limbs; they\n were stiff and paralyzed, almost without feeling, and stretched\n motionless on a sort of bench made for the express purpose.\n Medicine afforded no relief. In this sad condition, wearing\n a blessed medal of the Immaculate Conception, she thought of\n making a novena in honor of the Feast, to recover her health.\n On the last day of the novena, she made a fervent communion.\n Even after the departure of the priest, who came to administer\n the Blessed Sacrament, there seemed no change for the better,\n but she felt a shiver through all her body, like the impression\n often experienced from sudden cold. Just whilst finishing the\n last prayers, however, she seemed to hear an interior voice\n saying to her: 'You are cured.' On attempting to move, she\n found that her limbs had become flexible, and she was able to\n walk. The miracle was wrought on Saturday, May 16th. The next\n day, Sunday, she went to church to return thanks for this\n blessing to the common Mother of all the faithful. The people\n of our city, always distinguished for their veneration for the\n Blessed Virgin, and their confidence in her intercession are\n not wanting in gratitude, and this new favor will but increase\n their devotion to Mary Immaculate.\n\n \"The duration of the malady, the inutility of medical skill,\n and her astonishing sudden cure are attested by the doctor.\n\n \"A. BOLSIUS, M.D.\"\n\n\nCURE OF A YOUNG GIRL AT CRACOW, POLAND.\n\nExtract from a letter of the Countess Lubinska:\n\n \"_March 12th, 1837._\n\n \"I took into my service, the 20th of last December, a young\n girl whose excellent qualities elicited my deepest interest.\n\n \"After being with me some months, she began to suffer most\n acute pains in the head; the remedies we employed affording\n no relief, the attending physician advised her to keep her\n bed, and did not conceal from her his opinion that these pains\n proceeded from the humor flowing constantly from her ears, and\n which seeming to be upon the brain, threatened her life, or at\n all events, her reason.\n\n \"What confirmed this opinion was the fact that whenever she\n walked rapidly or stooped, she was forced by the pain to throw\n her head back, as she assured me various times during her\n sickness. The continued suffering induced her, at last, to\n follow the physician's advice, and consent, if necessary, to\n the operation of trepanning. I shuddered at the very idea, and\n made her promise to ascertain if a delay of ten days would be\n attended with any serious consequences. Upon a negative answer\n from the physician, I stopped all medicines and determined\n to try the efficacy of the Miraculous Medal. This was on a\n Saturday, and the very day observed by her as a strict fast,\n in thanksgiving to the Blessed Virgin for having miraculously\n cured her of a mortal typhus, after her mother had dedicated\n her to Mary. Her confidence in Mary was great; and as I did\n not give her the medal for some hours after promising it,\n she told one of her friends, as I have since learned, that\n her impatience to receive it was almost beyond bounds, and\n assured her that she would not have hesitated between it and\n two thousand francs had she been allowed a choice, and we\n must remember that this girl was very poor. To display more\n clearly the miraculous nature of the cure, God permitted her\n sufferings to increase to such a degree that very day, that\n notwithstanding her patience and resignation, it seemed as\n if she really could not endure them much longer. Knowing her\n lively faith and confidence, I deemed it unnecessary to enter\n into a detailed account of the salutary effects of the medal;\n I gave it to her; she immediately made with it the sign of\n the cross upon her poor head, repeated the invocation and\n fell asleep amidst excessive sufferings. On awaking she was\n perfectly cured, and has never since experienced the slightest\n symptom of the disease.\n\n \"Filled with sentiments of the deepest humility and the\n most lively gratitude, the miraculously cured now wishes to\n consecrate herself to God in the religious life.\n\n \"Blessed a thousand times be God and the Immaculate Mary, and\n may we ever appreciate such boundless mercy!\"\n\n\nCONVERSION OF M. REGNAULT, MAYOR OF POITIERS.--1837\n\nThe following account was sent us by the abb\u00e9 of Chazelle:\n\n \"_Poitiers, June 12th, 1837._\n\n \"M. Regnault, mayor of Poitiers, had exercised his functions\n since the year 1830. In some difficulties, occurring during his\n administration, with the bishop and several of the clergy, he\n had shown himself just and equitable. His charity to the poor\n was well known. But far different are these moral virtues,\n which generally receive their recompense here below, from the\n Christian virtues so seldom rewarded, except in a better world!\n M. Regnault never appeared at church, except when his presence\n as mayor was necessary. A prey for some time to a grave malady,\n he continued to exercise his functions as long as possible,\n imposing upon himself for that purpose many sacrifices, and\n displaying an admirable zeal; but, vanquished by the disease,\n he was at length forced to suspend his duties, and, since the\n 1st of last January, to resign altogether. The cur\u00e9 of St.\n Hilaire, having learned the alarming state of his parishioner's\n health, hastened to visit him, and offer the consolations of\n his ministry, but in vain. He repeated his visits. He was\n received into the house, but not taken to see the patient. He\n now sent word to the latter that he was at his command, and\n would come immediately when sent for. Meanwhile, the disease\n made such rapid progress that there was no longer any hope of\n recovery. Several of his friends, interested in his salvation,\n were grieved to see him so near death without the slightest\n preparation for it. One of them brought him a Miraculous Medal,\n and, not being able to see him herself, she asked a woman\n about the house to give it to him for her. The woman did so,\n and, fearing he might reject it with contempt, she begged him\n to receive it for the donor's sake. He took it, saying: 'It is\n a medal of the Blessed Virgin; I accept it respectfully, God\n is not to be trifled with.' And, putting it under his pillow,\n he sent a kind message of thanks to the lady who had given\n it. Some moments after, he takes it out, contemplates it, and\n kisses it respectfully.\n\n \"Having placed his temporal affairs in order, he now expresses\n a wish to do the same with his conscience, and requests his\n attendants to send for the parish cur\u00e9. The latter hastens to\n the sick man's bedside. 'I have made you come in a hurry,'\n says the patient, 'I want to have a conversation with you.'\n After this conversation, he asks the cur\u00e9 to return next day,\n as he wishes time to prepare himself for the grand action he\n contemplates. 'The step I am about to take,' he adds, 'I do\n with full knowledge and entire conviction.' The cur\u00e9 of St.\n Hilaire, with whom, as mayor, he had just had a law-suit,\n suggested that he make his confession to some other priest; he\n answered that he wished no one but his pastor. Next day, the\n cur\u00e9 returned, and as he addressed his penitent by the title of\n M. the Mayor: 'Do not call me that,' said M. Regnault; 'you are\n now my father, I am your son, I beg you to address me thus.'\n The cur\u00e9 paid him frequent visits, and as the disease continued\n to progress, he suggested administering the Holy Viaticum and\n Extreme Unction. 'I have not been confirmed,' replied the\n pious patient, 'I ardently desire to receive Confirmation.'\n The bishop was soon informed, and, readily forgetting all\n subject of complaint, and thanking God for this unexpected\n change, the venerable prelate went at once to the sick man.\n The happy dispositions of the latter touched him deeply, and he\n administered to him the Sacrament of Confirmation the very day\n of his receiving Extreme Unction and the Holy Viaticum.\n\n \"It is impossible to give an idea of M. Regnault's faith\n and truly angelic fervor during this ceremony, or the deep\n impression made upon him at seeing Monseigneur enter his\n chamber. It was Saturday, January 21st, the eve of Septuagesima\n Sunday. Monseigneur addressed him in a few words full of\n unction and charity, and to inspire him with hope, reminded\n him of the very touching parable of the next day's Gospel, the\n laborers in the Father's vineyard, who coming at the last hour\n received the same recompense as those who had borne the heat\n and burden of the day. All the assistants were deeply affected\n at this edifying spectacle, and many were moved to tears.\n The bishop, on leaving, charged the cur\u00e9 to testify again to\n M. Regnault how great consolation he had experienced at this\n happy change, and how much he had been edified at his piety\n during this touching but long ceremony. 'As first magistrate\n of the city,' he answered, with a peaceful smile, 'I ought to\n set good example to those under my administration.' The cur\u00e9\n sought by repeated visits to sustain this new-born piety,\n already tried most severely by the excruciating sufferings of\n the malady, sufferings which the patient bore with calmness\n and resignation, offering them to God in expiation of his past\n offences. To recompense his services to the city during his\n administration, the government bestowed upon him the cross of\n honor. The cur\u00e9 could not refrain from congratulating him. 'I\n do not know,' was the modest answer, 'I do not know what I\n have done to merit it,' and when reminded of his services to\n the city, 'Oh! do not speak of them,' said he, 'such things\n might awaken self-love!' What immense progress virtue makes\n in the soul in a very little while! It was in these happy\n dispositions he died, the 2d of the following February, Feast\n of the Purification. The whole city of Poitiers, we might say,\n assisted at the funeral. The bishop, the authorities, and\n a host of other distinguished personages came to pay their\n tribute of gratitude and admiration to his memory, and the\n prefect congratulated the cur\u00e9 of St. Hilaire on so wonderful a\n conversion.\"\n\n\nMARY'S PROTECTION OF A LITTLE CHILD (PARIS).\n\nMadame R\u00e9mond, living number 70, rue Mouffetard, held at her chamber\nwindow, on the second story, one of her children, aged twenty-two\nmonths. Fainting suddenly, she fell back into the room, and the\nchild was precipitated upon the pavement below. Immediate death\nmight naturally have been expected as the inevitable consequence of\nsuch a fall; but no, wonderful to relate, the child was not injured.\nAfter reading the Archbishop's circular (upon the occasion of the\nconsecration of the church of Notre Dame de Lorette), in which he\nrecommends all the faithful to wear the Miraculous Medal, the pious\nparents had hastened to procure one and put it on their child. The\nImmaculate Mary did not fail to reward their piety. On picking the poor\nlittle creature up, and examining it, not even the slightest bruise was\ndiscovered. As the mother was a long time recovering from her swoon, it\ncaused great anxiety, and several physicians were called in to see her.\nThey also saw the child, and declared its escape wonderful indeed. But\nby way of precaution, they applied a few leeches to it, and a poultice\nto one knee which seemed to be the seat of some slight pain. The child\nhad been eating an instant before this terrible fall, which, strange\nto say, occasioned no vomiting, and immediately after being picked up\nit took all the little delicacies offered it. Every one declared this\noccurrence a miracle, and the innocent little creature itself seemed\nto proclaim it, by kissing the medal and pressing it to its lips,\nespecially when the subject was mentioned, as we ourselves witnessed\nwhen the father showed him to us the 25th of June, 1837.\n\n \"The mother recovered perfectly, and she never ceases to thank\n the Immaculate Mary for the double protection she considers due\n the medal.\"\n\n\nTHE ARCHCONFRATERNITY OF NOTRE DAME DES VICTOIRES.\n\nScarcely six years since the apparition of 1830, and already the\ndesigns of Providence were realized; the Miraculous Medal had awakened\ndevotion to the Blessed Virgin, belief in the Immaculate Conception had\npenetrated all classes of society, and the innumerable favors accorded\nthose who fervently recited the prayers revealed by Mary, had clearly\nproved how she prizes this first of all her privileges. But so far, her\nservants remained isolated, having no bond of union, no central point\nwhere they could meet; the majority of those who wore the medal as the\nlivery of the spotless Virgin, knew neither the place, the mode, nor\ndate of its origin.\n\nGod was now about to complete the work, by giving to this devotion, an\norganization and fixed exercises which favored its development, and\nincreased the efficacy of prayer, by the power of association.\n\nTowards the end of the year 1836, a man was raised up to execute the\ndivine plans; this man was M. Dufriche Desgenettes, cur\u00e9 of Notre Dame\ndes Victoires, Paris. From 1820 to 1832, in charge of St. Francis\nXavier's Church, he numbered among the religious establishments of his\nparish, the Mother House of the Daughters of Charity, where the Blessed\nVirgin had appeared. He was one of the most earnest in thanking God for\nthis grace, and most eager to propagate the medal. It was his desire\nthat the privileged chapel should become a pilgrim shrine, but this\ndesire not being realized, he was chosen by Providence to supply the\nsubstitute.\n\nLet us quote his own words, relating how he was led to found the\nArchconfraternity of the Holy and Immaculate Heart of Mary. \"There\nwas in Paris, a parish scarcely known even to many of the Parisians.\nIt is situated in the centre of the city, between the Palais Royal\nand the Bourse, surrounded by theatres and places of dissipation, a\nquarter swallowed up in the vortex of cupidity and industry, and the\nmost abandoned to every species of criminal indulgence. Its church,\ndedicated to Notre Dame des Victoires, remained deserted even on the\nmost solemn festivities.... No Sacraments were administered in this\nparish, not even to the dying.... If, by dint of novel persuasion, the\ncur\u00e9 obtained permission to visit a person dangerously ill, it was not\nonly on condition of waiting until the patient's faculties were dimmed,\nbut also on another almost insuperable condition, that of presenting\nhimself in a secular habit. What benefit were such visits? They were\nmerely a useless torment to the dying.\"[20]\n\n [Footnote 20: Manual of the Archconfraternity, edition of 1853.\n p. 84.]\n\nSuch was the parish confided to M. Desgenettes. With the hope of\nrecalling to God, even a few strayed souls, the poor cur\u00e9, for four\nyears, employed every means that the most active zeal could suggest,\nbut in vain. Sad and grieved beyond measure, he thought of quitting\nthis ungrateful post, when a supernatural communication revived his\ndrooping courage.\n\nOn the 3d of December, Feast of St. Francis Xavier, thoroughly\npenetrated with the inutility of his ministry in this parish, he\nwas saying Mass at the Blessed Virgin's altar, now the altar of the\nArchconfraternity.... After the _Sanctus_, he distinctly heard these\nwords pronounced in a very solemn manner: \"Consecrate thy parish to the\nmost Holy and Immaculate Heart of Mary.\" They did not strike his ears,\nbut seemed to proceed from an interior voice. He immediately recovered\npeace and liberty of spirit. After finishing his thanksgiving, fearing\nto be the dupe of an illusion, he endeavored to banish the thought of\nwhat was apparently a supernatural communication, but the same interior\nvoice resounded again in the depths of his soul. Returned to his house,\nhe begins to compose the statutes of the association, with a view of\ndelivering himself from an importunate idea, and scarcely does he take\nhis pen in hand, ere he is fully enlightened on the subject, and the\norganization of the work costs him nothing but the manual labor of the\nwriting.[21]\n\n [Footnote 21: Manual of the Archconfraternity, p. 7.]\n\nThe statutes prepared, are submitted to Mgr. de Qu\u00e9len who approves\nthem, and the 16th of the same month, an archiepiscopal ordinance\nerects canonically the Association of the Holy and Immaculate Heart\nof Mary for the conversion of sinners. The first meeting took place\non Sunday, the 11th of December. In announcing it at High Mass, the\npious pastor expected to see in the evening not more than fifty or\nsixty persons at most. Judge of his astonishment on finding assembled\nat the appointed hour, a congregation of about five hundred, a large\nproportion of whom are men! What had brought them? The majority were\nignorant of the object of the meeting. An instruction explaining the\nmotive and end of the exercises made a deep impression; the Benediction\nwas chanted most fervently, and there was a notable increase of fervor\nduring the Litany of the Blessed Virgin, especially at the thrice\nrepeated invocation: \"_Refugium peccatorum, ora pro nobis._\" The cause\nwas gained, Mary took possession of the parish of Notre Dame des\nVictoires.\n\nThe good cur\u00e9 still doubted; to assure himself that the association was\ntruly the work of God, he demanded a sign, the conversion of a great\nsinner, an old man on the borders of the tomb, who had several times\nrefused to see him. His prayer was granted, the old man received him\ngladly, and became sincerely converted. It was not long before new\ngraces showered upon his parish increased M. Desgenette's confidence,\nnumberless sinners changed their lives, indifferent Christians became\npractical and fervent, the offices of the Church were attended, the\nSacraments frequented, the apparently extinguished Faith was relighted,\nand this parish, lately so scandalous, soon became one of the most\nedifying in Paris.\n\nThe Confraternity of the most Holy and Immaculate Heart of Mary was\nnot to embrace one parish only. God willed that it should extend\nthroughout France, and even the entire world. M. Desgenettes, who\nunderstood this design, addressed himself to the Sovereign Pontiff,\nand obtained, April 24th, 1838, a brief, erecting the association into\nan Archconfraternity, with the power of affiliating to itself other\nassociations of the same kind throughout the Church, and granting them\na participation in the spiritual favors accorded it. From this day, the\nArchconfraternity developed wonderfully, and became an inexhaustible\nsource of graces. The church of Notre Dame des Victoires was henceforth\nnumbered among the most celebrated sanctuaries in the world. At all\nhours may the faithful be seen around its altars in the attitude of\nprayer and recollection. The re-unions which take place every Sunday\npresent a touching spectacle, a dense crowd composed of persons of\nevery condition, who, after fervently chanting Mary's praises, listen\nattentively to a long series of petitions received in the course of the\nweek from all quarters of the globe.\n\nThese present a picture of all the miseries, all the sufferings, all\nthe corporal and spiritual necessities possible; to which are added\nnumberless acts of thanksgiving for benefits obtained through the\nassociates' prayers. These petitions are so multitudinous that they\ncannot be announced except in a general manner and by categories; they\nactually amount, each week, to the number of twenty-five or thirty\nthousand, and, for the entire year, form a total of a million and\na half. At the time of its founder's death, the Archconfraternity\nnumbered fifteen thousand affiliated confraternities in all quarters of\nthe globe, and more than twenty million associates. At the beginning of\nthis year, 1878, the affiliated confraternities amount to 17,472.\n\nA bulletin, issued monthly, gives an account of the progress of the\nArchconfraternity, the exercises which take place at Notre Dame des\nVictoires, the graces obtained, etc. The first nine numbers were\npublished by M. Desgenettes himself, but at irregular intervals; they\nare full of interest and edification.\n\nAmidst the wonderful success of his work, the venerable pastor, far\nfrom seeking any of the glory, thought only of humbling himself;\nregarding his share in it as naught but that of a simple instrument, he\nconfesses even his resistance to the inspirations of grace, his doubts,\nhis incredulity;[22] he will not admit that he may be called the\nfounder of this work of mercy; it is God who has done all, it is the\nImmaculate Heart of Mary, that has opened to poor sinners a new source\nof graces, as for himself, he was not even the originator of the idea.\n\n [Footnote 22: Manual of the Archconfraternity, page 86.]\n\nThese sentiments reveal the soul of a saint; the true servants of\nGod are always humble of heart, and the good they accomplish is in\nproportion to their self-abasement.\n\nIn his deep gratitude to God, the pious cur\u00e9 never forgot the bond\nattaching Notre Dame des Victoires to the chapel of the Daughters of\nCharity; he always loved this blessed sanctuary; it was there Mary had\nconcealed the source of those vivifying waters which flowed through\nhis parish; it was there this Mother of divine grace had promised\nthose benedictions which the Archconfraternity reaped so abundantly.\nTo preserve the remembrance of this mysterious relation, he desired\nthat the medal of the association should be the Miraculous Medal.\nHenceforth, the influence of this medal became confounded with that\nof the Archconfraternity, the extraordinary graces attributed to the\nformer were often due the associates' prayers, and reciprocally, for\nexample, the conversion of M. Ratisbonne. In this case, as in many\nothers, two equally supernatural means united to obtain the same result.\n\nIt is related that M. Desgenettes, seeing the Daughters of Charity\nfrequently around the altar of the most Holy Heart of Mary at Notre\nDame des Victoires, would sometimes say to them: \"My good Sisters, I\nam much pleased to see you in my dear church, but know that your own\nchapel is the true pilgrim shrine, it is there you have the Blessed\nVirgin, there she manifested herself to you.\"----\n\nThe Miraculous Medal, as revealed to Sister Catherine, bears on the\nreverse the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, the first crowned with\nthorns, the second pierced by a sword. These are symbols which all\ncomprehend. Are they not, at the same time, a prophetic sign?\n\nWe are permitted to recognize here a foreshadowing of that devotion\nwhich would be rendered by the Archconfraternity of Notre Dame des\nVictoires, to the most Holy and Immaculate Heart of Mary.\n\nWe may likewise see pre-figured, that later development in our day, of\ndevotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a devotion born in France, and\nwhich the entire nation wishes to proclaim amidst pomp and grandeur,\nby the construction of a splendid monument, that from the heights of\nMontmartre, shall overlook all Paris.\n\nThus by a mysterious gradation, the medal of the Immaculate Conception\nhas conducted us to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and the Heart of the\nMother has introduced us into the Heart of the Son, the adorable Heart\nof Jesus, that Heart which has so loved men, and which saves nations as\nwell as individuals.\n\n\n\n\nIV.\n\n_Graces Obtained from 1838 to 1842, in Greece, America, China, etc._\n\nCURE WROUGHT IN SANTORIN (GREECE)--1838.\n\n\nLetter of M.N., Priest of the Mission, in Santorin:\n\n \"Mme. Marie Delenda, wife of M. Michel Chigi, son of the\n Vice-Consul from Holland to Santorin, for seven years had\n suffered most excruciating pains, inducing such a state of\n nervous sensibility, that she was unable to bear the least\n excitement. She had had several children, but they all died\n before birth and receiving baptism. The physicians consulted,\n declared unanimously, that her disease was incurable, and that\n none of her children would ever come into the world alive.\n Greatly distressed at such a sad prospect, she had recourse to\n the Miraculous Medal, and obtained from it what medical skill\n was unable to effect; her next child, born not long after, was\n a fine, live, healthy one. Her husband, as pious as herself,\n was transported with joy and gratitude. 'Behold!' said he to\n the attendant physician, and conducting him to an image of the\n Immaculate Mary, 'Behold our Protectrice, our Liberatrix, the\n Mother of our child!' The physician knelt, said a prayer and\n retired. Since then, the mother's health is good; at least she\n has had no relapse of her former apparently incurable disease,\n which recovery is sufficient to attest the protection of Mary\n Immaculate. Full of gratitude, the two spouses have never\n ceased to urge the erection of the altar and inauguration of\n the image of Mary Immaculate, in fulfillment of their promise.\n\n \"Several other miraculous cures have also been wrought there\n through the invocation of Mary Immaculate. I am assured of\n this; four of them are well attested, and really marvelous.\n The bishop, the clergy, the people of Santorin, are all ready\n to affirm my assertions, and not one of them but would be\n more likely to exaggerate than detract from my account. When\n Monseigneur went to visit the Chigi family after the birth\n of their child, he asked to see the image, and looking at\n it, said: 'This is the second miracle wrought in Santorin by\n the Immaculate Virgin. The first is known to me through the\n confessional, and consequently, I cannot divulge it.'\n\n \"It was on the 28th of May, the inauguration of the image of\n the Immaculate Conception took place. Monseigneur himself\n officiated in the translation, after the High Mass and\n procession terminating the Forty Hour's Devotion at the\n cathedral. The image was placed upon an altar prepared for the\n purpose, in the court-yard of the donor's house. From the altar\n to the outer door, a very prettily decorated arched pathway\n was formed by means of drapery, and upon the threshold, was a\n triumphal arch. All the pavement, not only in the court but\n even to our church, was covered with flowers and fragrant\n grasses. Monseigneur, preceded by the clergy, and followed by\n all the Catholics and a number of Greek schismatics, repaired\n to the place where the image was exposed. Having incensed it,\n he intoned the _Ave, Maris Stella_, and the procession began\n to move. The clergy with the cross at their head commenced to\n defile. Then came two young girls bearing each a banner of\n white silk, whereon was depicted the spotless Virgin, these\n were suspended diagonally at the entrance of the sanctuary.\n Next, were two more young girls holding extended, the front of\n the altar representing the reverse of the medal, and finally,\n the image borne by the donor and one of his nearest relatives.\n Monseigneur walked immediately after, and behind him, Mme.\n Chigi holding her child in her arms and accompanied by her\n sister. The people were not in the ranks of the procession,\n but ranged along each side, that they might readily see the\n image and kiss it as it passed, which they did with so much\n eagerness and enthusiasm that there was considerable danger\n of its meeting with an accident. This, however we averted\n by many precautions, and at length reached the church. At\n the entrance, another very beautiful triumphal arch had been\n erected, surmounted by a large representation of the reverse\n of the medal upon a floating banner, bearing the inscription:\n '_Ave, Maria Immaculata_.' The church door was decorated with\n drapery, likewise the interior of the walls, which were also\n hung with flowers, verdant crowns and garlands. The image was\n now placed upon a temporary throne, which had been prepared\n until a more suitable one could be erected. Another High Mass\n was celebrated, at the end of which the children chanted\n alternately with the choir the '_Te Mariam laudamus_,' this\n being the first time it was ever heard in this country. The\n other individuals I have already mentioned as having been cured\n through the Immaculate Mary's intercession, made each one a\n votive offering to her image. One gave a veil, another a pretty\n golden cross, which decorated the Blessed Virgin's bosom during\n the ceremony; a third proposed having a silver crown made in\n fulfillment of her vow, but she was advised to give something\n else, since several others in unison had already promised a\n most beautiful golden crown.\"\n\n\nCURE OF MLLE. \u00c9LISE BOURGEOIS.\n\nLetter of the Superior of the Daughters of Charity, in Troyes:\n\n \"_Troyes, March 4th, 1842._\n\n \"In 1838, we had in our work-room a young woman, named \u00c9lise\n Bourgeois, aged eighteen years, who, after great suffering, was\n attacked by an anchylosis in the knee. For seven months and a\n half she suffered excruciatingly, and her malady had reached\n the crisis. Her limb had shrunk up about two inches, and she\n could not walk without the aid of a cane or some one's arm. On\n the 8th of April, which was Monday in Holy Week, one of our\n young Sisters told me that the Notice contained an account of a\n Christian Brother, whose foot on the point of being amputated,\n was cured by the sole application of the Miraculous Medal,\n one night when his sufferings were greater than usual. I now\n reproached myself for having allowed this poor child to be so\n long afflicted, without our once thinking of having recourse\n to Mary for her recovery; and ascending to the work-room, I\n related to the children this account of the Christian Brother,\n and told the young woman to arouse her faith, to put all her\n confidence in Mary Immaculate, to apply the medal to her knee,\n and commence a novena with her companions. All Tuesday night\n her sufferings were great indeed, she said it seemed as if\n all her bones were dislocated. Nor was she able to obtain a\n moment's repose the next day. There now issued from a little\n hole which had formed in her knee, a quantity of serous\n matter. The day following, she arose with much difficulty,\n and was taken to the chapel where she heard Holy Mass. At the\n elevation, she placed her sound knee upon the bench, saying\n most fervently to the good God: 'Since Thou art present, deign\n to cure me, that I may be entirely Thine.' She immediately felt\n something like the touch of a hand, which replaced the bones in\n their natural position, and lengthened the shrunken limb; but\n she did not yet dare rest upon it, for fear of injury. At the\n end of Mass, she knelt to receive the priest's benediction, and\n in spite of herself, she rested her weight upon the afflicted\n knee. She remained in the chapel with her companions to say her\n prayers and thank the Blessed Virgin for the great favor just\n obtained. From that time she has never suffered the slightest\n pain in the limb, and it appears perfectly sound.\n\n \"As soon as the children perceived that she was cured, they\n declared it a miracle, and all hearts were filled with the\n deepest emotion and gratitude. \u00c9lise now asked permission\n to go to the cathedral to confession; a request I granted\n reluctantly, although she assured me she was not suffering in\n the slightest, yet she had not been out for seven months and\n a-half, and I could scarcely realize her recovery. Several\n Masses of thanksgiving were said in our chapel, during the\n first of which we had the Blessed Sacrament exposed, and the\n _Te Deum_ chanted. The noise of this miracle soon spread\n throughout the city, and several persons came to see the healed\n one. She also requested permission to go to the house of one\n of her uncles, who had a very impious neighbor, that had been\n informed of her miraculous recovery, but who had also been told\n that he need not believe until he had seen \u00c9lise for himself.\n He was perfectly convinced, acknowledged it beyond denial, and\n said that in thanksgiving, a _Te Deum_ should be chanted in the\n cathedral.\n\n \"I forgot to say, that our physician had seen this young woman\n two months before her recovery and pronounced the disease\n incurable. I had also had her examined by a surgeon, who\n ordered much blistering, but without expecting a cure.\"\n\nAccompanying this letter are the signatures of seven Sisters of Charity\nand twenty-three other individuals, witnesses of the miracle.\n\n * * * * *\n\n\nA TRAIT OF PROTECTION. (TEXAS).\n\nThe following was sent us by Mgr. Odin, Vicar Apostolic of Texas, in a\nletter dated April 11th, 1841.\n\n \"I had, in the city of Nacogdoches, an opportunity of\n witnessing how Mary Immaculate loves to grant the prayers of\n those who put their trust in her. A Maryland lady, on leaving\n her native State to settle in Texas, had received a Miraculous\n Medal; her confessor, on giving it to her, exacting the\n promise, that she would never omit the daily recitation of the\n little prayer, 'O Mary! conceived without sin, pray for us who\n have recourse to thee!' and assuring her at the same time that\n this good Mother would never allow her to die without the last\n consolations of religion. She faithfully complied with her\n promise. For four years she was confined to her bed, and often,\n it was thought, at the point of death, but her confidence in\n Mary, always inspired her with the hope of receiving the last\n Sacraments ere leaving this world. As soon as she heard of our\n arrival, we were summoned to her bedside; she received the Holy\n Viaticum and Extreme Unction, and expired a few days after,\n filled with gratitude for her celestial Benefactress.\n\n\nCURES AND INCIDENTS OF PROTECTION. (CHINA).\n\nIn a letter of July, 1838, Mgr. Rameaux, Vicar Apostolic of the\nprovinces of the Kiang-Si and Tch\u00e9-Kiang, in sending us the invocation\nof the medal translated into Chinese, says, that the Chinese have\na great devotion to this little prayer, and always follow the _Ave\nMaria_ by a recitation of it. He also informed us, that Mgr. de\nB\u00e9zy, Vicar Apostolic of the Hou-Kouang, and M. Perboyre, Missionary\nApostolic, would transmit to us several accounts of miraculous marks\nof protection. We received these accounts some months later, and quote\nthem as follows:\n\n \"1st. In the province of the Hou-Kouang, a Christian had been\n racked by a terrible fever for two months, accompanied by\n constant delirium. Three physicians had attended him, but in\n vain. Finding himself on the verge of death, he sent for me to\n administer the Last Sacraments. I gave him the Holy Viaticum,\n but deferred Extreme Unction, seeing that my duties would\n retain me in that locality some time longer. I made him a\n present of the medal, and advised a novena, assuring him, that\n if it were for the benefit of his soul, he would be restored to\n health. He began the novena; on the seventh day, the fever left\n him, and on the eighth he had recovered his usual strength.\n On the ninth day of the novena he came to see me, and assured\n me that he was perfectly well. I reminded him of thanking the\n Blessed Virgin for so great a favor, and he promised to recite\n with his friends the Rosary in her honor. But our Christian,\n pre-occupied with various affairs that his sickness had\n interrupted, forgot the promise. Five days after, he had a\n relapse. This made him conscious of his fault; he approached\n the Sacraments again, and began another novena. Though he\n continued to grow worse from day to day, I still had great\n hopes that the Immaculate Mary would come to his assistance,\n and I assured him of his recovery before the end of the novena.\n My confidence was not deceived; he recovered entirely, to\n the great astonishment of all the Christians. This time his\n gratitude was effectual, and the fever did not return.\n\n \"2d. In Tien-Men, a village of the same province, the\n Christians, numbering about two hundred, are distinguished\n for their piety and a great devotion to the Blessed Virgin.\n For eight years, successive inundations had reduced these\n Christians to extreme poverty; but this year, at the first\n sign of an overflow, they had recourse to Mary Immaculate by\n means of the medal, and soon the waters retired without doing\n the slightest harm to the Christian territory, whilst that of\n the pagans was devastated. And our Christians now return most\n grateful thanks to their good Mother for the abundant harvest\n they have just gathered.\n\n \"3d. The following account was sent us by M. Perboyre, in\n a letter of August 10th, 1839. The reader will learn, with\n interest, that this is the same missionary who, arrested a\n month after for his religion, so generously confessed the Faith\n one whole year amidst the most frightful tortures, and at last\n consummated the sacrifice by his glorious martyrdom, September\n 11th, 1840.\n\n \"Whilst I was giving a mission to the Christians of the Honan\n province, November, 1837, they brought to me a young woman\n who had been afflicted with mental aberration for about eight\n months, telling me she was very anxious to confess, and, though\n she was incapable of the Sacrament, they begged me not to\n refuse her a consolation she appeared to desire so earnestly.\n Her sad condition of mind precluded all idea of her deriving\n any benefit from the exercise of my ministry, but I heard her\n out of pure compassion. In taking leave of her, I placed her\n under the especial protection of the Blessed Virgin--that is,\n I gave her a medal of the Immaculate Conception. She did not\n then understand the value of the holy remedy she received;\n but, from that moment, she began to experience its beneficial\n effects, her shattered intellect improving so rapidly that,\n at the end of four or five days, she was entirely changed. To\n a complete confusion of ideas, to fears that kept her ever in\n mortal agony, and which, I believe, were the work of the demon,\n succeeded good sense, peace of mind and happiness. She made her\n confession again, and received Holy Communion, with the most\n lively sentiments of joy and fervor. This especial instance\n of Mary's generosity will doubtless surprise you little, you\n who know so well that the earth is filled with her mercy; but\n your hearts will be excited anew to fervent thanksgiving for\n this particular favor, which is the principal reason of my\n acquainting you with it.\"\n\n_1st. Letter from a Missionary of Macao, dated August 25th, 1841:_\n\n \"A widow who had but one son, reared like herself in paganism,\n saw him suddenly fall under the power of the demon; his\n paroxysms were so furious that all fled before him, and he ran\n through the fields uttering the most lamentable cries. Anyone\n that attempted to stop him was immediately seized and thrown to\n the ground. His poor mother was in despair, and almost dying\n of grief, when Divine Providence deigned to cast upon her a\n look of compassion. One day when he was unusually tormented,\n the young man fled hither and thither like a vagabond, not\n knowing where he went; everyone tried to stop him, but he\n brutally repulsed all who lay hands on him. The most merciful\n God permitted a Christian to be among the number of those\n who witnessed this spectacle. Animated with a lively faith,\n and touched at the unfortunate creature's sufferings, the\n Christian told all who were pursuing the demoniac to desist,\n that he unaided could arrest him, that he would quiet him, and\n restore him docile and gentle to his mother. This language\n astonished the pagans, but they did as requested, although\n thinking the Christian ran a great risk. Our good Christian\n wore the Miraculous Medal of the Immaculate Mary; taking it\n in his hands he approached the possessed, and showing it to\n him he commanded the demon to flee and leave the young man in\n peace. The demon obeyed instantly, and the young man seeing\n the medal in the Christian's hands, humbly prostrated himself\n before the miraculous image, without knowing what it was. The\n pagans, watching from a distance, were greatly astonished.\n The Christian now commanded the young man to rise and follow\n him, and still holding in his hand the medal, which was as a\n magnet attracting the young pagan, he thus conducted him to\n his mother. 'Mother,' he exclaimed, to her great consolation,\n as soon as he saw her, 'Do not weep any more, I am freed from\n the demon; he left me as soon as he perceived this medal.'\n Imagine the poor mother's joy, on hearing these words! She was\n perplexed to know whether it was a dream or a reality! The\n Christian reassured her, and recounted all that had passed,\n adding, that her son would never be possessed again, if she\n renounced her idols and became a Christian. She promised\n sincerely, and they immediately began to divest their altar\n of its false gods. Then the Christian, feeling assured they\n would be faithful when instructed in the truths of religion,\n withdrew, laden with the thanks of both mother and son for the\n inestimable service he had just rendered them.\"\n\n_2d. Extract of a Letter from M. Faivre, Priest of the Mission in the\nProvince of Nankin, May 6th, 1841:_\n\n \"The two great means God uses for the accomplishment of good\n in this Mission are our Lord's cross and the Immaculate\n Mary's protection. As to the most powerful protection of Mary\n conceived without sin, we have experienced it so often, and in\n so especial a manner, both as regards ourselves and the welfare\n of the Mission, that it would be tedious to recount in detail,\n even if I wished to do so, all the favors we have received at\n her maternal hands.\n\n \"Seeing the Blessed Virgin's clemency towards us and our\n Christians, we have done all we could to honor her and advance\n her honor among the Christians, by seeking to inspire them\n with the most lively confidence in this good, holy Mother.\n On the Feast of the Assumption, 1839, we consecrated this\n Mission to her, and ever since it has been called Mary's\n Diocese. We have given as a rule to our virgins especial\n devotion to the Immaculate Conception. We have established Mary\n Immaculate patroness of the seminary Providence has created\n in this Mission. (This seminary now numbers six scholars who\n lead lives of regularity and edification, and make rapid\n progress in the study of Latin.) One of our virgins, already\n advanced in age, had been for several years confined to her\n bed, without the slightest hope of recovery, the thirteen\n physicians who had been successively consulted having declared\n her malady incurable. Seeing her end approach, she asked for\n the missionary, that she might receive the Last Sacraments. He\n came, and administered the Sacraments of the dying, exhorting\n her to accept death in a spirit of conformity to the will of\n God. She replied that she was fully resigned to His holy will,\n and had no hope of deriving any benefit from human means, but\n she felt convinced that if she could get a Miraculous Medal,\n her health would be restored. The missionary, seeing so much\n faith and confidence, gave her the one he wore, having no other\n convenient just then, and recommended her to make a novena in\n honor of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin. All\n the family joined her in making the novena, and from the fifth\n day she was entirely cured. The attending physician, who was a\n pagan, coming to see her at the end of the novena, was utterly\n surprised to find her so well, and he eagerly inquired what\n extraordinary remedy had been employed to effect such a change.\n She replied that she had used no remedies, but the Lord of\n Heaven had restored her health. The physician returned, filled\n with veneration for the Lord of Heaven, who had displayed such\n great power; and the virgin, in expression of her gratitude to\n the Immaculate Mary, her august Benefactress, donated three\n hundred piastres to repair a chapel dedicated to Mary.\"\n\n\nCONVERSION OF M. RATISBONNE, AN ISRAELITE.\n\n _Rome, 1842._\n\nM. Alphonse Ratisbonne belonged to a Jewish family of Strasburg,\ndistinguished in the world as much for its social position as the\nuniversal esteem in which it was held; he himself was a member of\na society for the encouragement of labor, contributing thus to the\nbenefit of his unfortunate brethren. Towards the end of the year 1841,\nhe became affianced to a young Jewess, who united in her person all\nthose qualities calculated to assure his happiness. Before entering\nupon this new state of life, he decided to take a pleasure trip to the\nEast, visiting on the way some of the most remarkable cities of Italy.\nThere was nothing, he thought, interesting to him in the Eternal City,\nso from Naples he would direct his course to Palermo; but Divine mercy\ncalled him, though he did not recognize the voice; he is constrained,\nas it were, by a secret design of Heaven, to change his determination,\nand visit Rome. It was in this centre of Catholic unity that the God\nof all patience and goodness awaited him, it was here that grace was\nto touch his heart. But what were his dispositions? Thou, O Lord,\nknowest them!... His hatred of Catholicity was very far from suggesting\na thought of his ever embracing it. He felt for our holy and sublime\nreligion that violent animosity which could not contain itself, which\nchafed at anything reminding him of Christianity, and which had even\ngrown more rancorous since his brother M. Theodore Ratisbonne's\nabjuration of Judaism and reception of Holy Orders. He could not\npardon this desertion, and his implacable hatred increased with time.\nBut the innocent object of his aversion never ceased to supplicate\nHeaven to shed a ray of divine light upon the deluded brother, who\nloaded him with indignation and contempt. Made sub-Director of the\nArchconfraternity of Notre Dame des Victoires, he often implored the\nassociates' prayers for this brother's conversion.\n\nSuch were M. Ratisbonne's sentiments when he entered Rome. He had\nscarcely arrived ere he thought of leaving; everything he saw in the\nHoly City urged him to hasten from it, everything excited him to\ndeclaim against what shocked and vilified his belief.... He was not\nproof, however, against a species of emotion in visiting the church\nof Ara Coeli; but it was an emotion which lost all its influence,\n(if influence it could be said to have exerted upon this heart buried\nin the shades of death,) when he understood that it was the general\neffect produced by the first sight of this remarkable monument. So, far\nfrom giving way to it, he hastened, on the contrary, to affirm that\nit was not a Catholic emotion, but an impression purely religious. In\ntraversing the Ghetto, his hatred against Christianity was still more\ninflamed at witnessing the misery and degradation of the Jews; as if\nthe chastisement of that deicidal people had been inflicted by the\nchildren of the Church, as if this people had not called down upon\nitself the vengeance of innocent blood!\n\nBefore leaving Rome, M. Ratisbonne was to visit one of his childhood's\nfriends, an old schoolmate with whom he had always kept up an intimacy,\nalthough their religious belief was so widely at variance. This friend\nwas M. Gustave de Bussi\u00e8re, a zealous Protestant, who several times had\nendeavored to profit by their intimacy, by persuading M. Ratisbonne\nto embrace Protestantism, but the latter was immovable, and the two\nfriends, after useless discussions, usually ended by a renewal of\ntheir faith in two words, expressing most emphatically how invincible\neach deemed himself. \"Headstrong Jew!\" said one; \"Enraged Protestant!\"\nreplied the other. Such was the result of these conversations, which\nnever succeeded in shaking the opinion of either, or dissipating any\nof their deplorable errors. This opposition of principles, however,\ndid not estrange their friendship. M. Ratisbonne called to see M.\nDe Bussi\u00e8re, and was admitted by an Italian servant. He inquired\nfor M. Gustave de Bussi\u00e8re, but this gentleman was absent, and by a\nprovidential mistake the servant introduced him into the salon of M.\nTheodore Bussi\u00e8re, Gustave's brother, whom M. Ratisbonne had seen but\nonce. It was too late to withdraw, and though somewhat disconcerted\nat the mistake, he stopped to exchange a few words of courtesy with\nhis friend's brother. M. De Bussi\u00e8re had had the happiness of abjuring\nProtestantism, and he was a zealous advocate of the Faith he had\nso lately learned to prize. He knew that M. Ratisbonne was a Jew;\nhe received him with affectionate eagerness, and the conversation\nnaturally turning upon the various places of interest in Rome visited\nby the young French traveler, it soon drifted into a religious\ndiscussion. M. Ratisbonne did not disguise his real sentiments, he\nexpressed his animosity against Catholicity, his inalterable attachment\nto Judaism and to the baron De Bussi\u00e8re's solid arguments, his only\nreplies were the frigid politeness of silence, a smile of pity, or new\nprotestations of fidelity to his sect, repeating that a Jew he was born\nand a Jew he would die!\n\nIt was then that M. De Bussi\u00e8re, not the least discouraged by M.\nRatisbonne's emphatic language, and impelled by a secret impulse\nof grace, thought of offering him the Miraculous Medal. Doubtless\nthis idea appears rash to many, and many would have banished it as a\nveritable folly, but the simplicity of faith teaches us to discern\nthings by a very different light from that in which they are revealed\nto the world. Filled with this holy fearlessness of the Saints, M. De\nBussi\u00e8re presents the young Jew a medal of the Immaculate Conception.\n\"Promise me,\" said he, \"to always wear this little image, I beg you not\nto refuse me.\" M. Ratisbonne, unable to conceal his astonishment at\nso strange a proposition, rejects it instantly with an expression of\nindignation that would have disconcerted any other than his new friend.\n\"But,\" continues our fervent Catholic undismayed, \"I cannot understand\nthe cause of such a refusal, for, according to your view of things, the\nwearing of this object must be to you a matter of total indifference,\nwhilst it would be a real consolation to me if you would condescend to\nmy request.\" \"Ah! I will comply, then, if you attach so much importance\nto it,\" replied the other with a hearty laugh; \"I should not be sorry,\nmoreover, to have an opportunity of convincing you that Jews are not\nso headstrong as they are represented. Besides, it will give me an\ninteresting chapter to add to my notes and impressions of travel.\" And\nhe continued to jest on the subject in a manner rather painful to the\nChristian hearts around him.\n\nDuring this debate, the good father of the family had told his two\nlittle daughters (interesting children, whom an eminently religious\neducation had already imbued with sentiments of piety), to put the\nprecious medal on a cord. They did so, and gave it to their father,\nwho hung it around the young Israelite's neck. Encouraged by this\nfirst success, he wishes to go still farther. He attempts nothing less\nthan binding M. Ratisbonne himself to ask the favor and protection of\nMary, of Mary whom he despises without knowing, Mary whose image he\nreceives most reluctantly! M. De Bussi\u00e8re presents him a paper upon\nwhich is written St. Bernard's powerful invocation, the _Memorare_....\nThis time, the Jew can still less dissimulate his displeasure, it seems\ntried to the utmost; but the baron feels himself actuated by a secret\nimpulse, that urges him to persevere in his solicitations, and conquer.\nHe repeats his request, and even goes so far when he presents the\nprayer as to beg M. Ratisbonne to take a copy of it for him, as he has\nbut one. M. Ratisbonne, convinced that resistance is useless, rather\nthan repeat his refusal prefers acceding to the request, and thus\nridding himself of such vexatious importunity. \"Agreed,\" said he, \"that\nyou take my copy and I keep yours.\" And, hastening to this indiscreet\nzealot, he retired, murmuring to himself: \"I really wonder what he\nwould say if I were to insist upon his reciting the Jewish prayers?\nI must admit that I have, indeed, met a striking original!\" It was\nthus he left this house of benediction and salvation, ignorant of the\ntreasure he bore with him, the key of Heaven that had been given him;\nthe image of the Mother of holy hope he wore upon his heart, and whose\nblessed effects he would so soon experience.\n\n * * * * *\n\nM. De Bussi\u00e8re, deeply grieved at the young Jew's levity, united with\nhis family in conjuring the God of mercy to pardon the words of one who\nknew not what he said; and he recommended his dear children to lift\nup their hands to the Refuge of Sinners, supplicating her to obtain\nthe gift of Faith for this poor soul in the shades of darkness and\nerror!... O Mary! your tender love graciously welcomed these prayers of\nthe innocent, they penetrated your maternal heart, and soon obtained\nthe object of their desires. The zeal of this devout servant of the\nQueen of Heaven was not confined within the narrow limits of his own\nfamily circle.... Going, that evening, according to a pious custom in\nRome, to keep watch before the Blessed Sacrament with the prince B.\nand some other friends, he also engaged their prayers for the young\nIsraelite's conversion.... Let us follow attentively all the details\npreceding the ever memorable day which was to crown M. De Bussi\u00e8re's\npious efforts. Let us not forget that a generous Christian, elevated by\na lively faith above the vain prejudices of the world, and docile to\nthe secret inspirations of grace, becomes the instrument of Providence\nin procuring God's glory and the salvation of a soul.\n\nMeanwhile, M. Ratisbonne was making arrangements to leave Rome; he\nhad already fixed upon the day of his departure, and had come to say\ngood-bye to his friend and acquaint him with his intention of starting\nthe next evening. \"Going!\" replied M. De Bussi\u00e8re; \"do not think of\nit. I want you to grant me just eight days longer; our conversation of\nyesterday occupies my thoughts more than ever; let me entreat you to\nprolong your stay, and let us go to the diligence office to countermand\nyour order.\" It was in vain. M. Ratisbonne declined, saying he had\nalready decided to go, and had no motive for deferring his departure.\nUnder the pretext of a very imposing ceremony which was to take place\nat St. Peter's, M. De Bussi\u00e8re forced, rather than persuaded him to\nremain a few days longer.\n\nWe shall not here enter into a detailed account of what passed\nbetween them from the moment M. De Bussi\u00e8re's constancy gained the\nlast triumph--that is, from the 16th of January to the 20th--inasmuch\nas there was not the slightest sign of the happy change, either in\nthe language or conduct of M. Ratisbonne, towards the new friend\ndivine Providence had given him, in spite of himself. He could not,\nhowever, avoid receiving this new friend's civilities, or refuse to\nbe accompanied by him in visiting the various places of note in the\nEternal City. M. De Bussi\u00e8re, full of hope against all human hope,\nallowed no opportunity to escape of enlightening his young friend; but\nnot one consoling response could he obtain, M. Ratisbonne, by jest and\nraillery, always avoiding the arguments he would not take the trouble\nto refute, always ridiculing Catholicity, and thus afflicting the heart\nof the servant of Jesus Christ by responding coldly to the assiduity of\nhis zeal, the serious nature of his propositions. \"Make your mind easy;\nI will think of all this, but not at Rome. I am to spend two months\nat Malta; it will serve to while away the time.\" He was astonished at\nthe imperturbable tranquillity with which M. De Bussi\u00e8re persevered in\ntrying to convince him; he could not understand that union of serenity\n(which religion alone inspires) with that ardent desire (that he\ndoubtless attributed to obstinacy) of leading him to a new belief, for\nwhich, according to his own words, he felt more aversion than ever. To\nhim this tranquillity appeared incomprehensible. M. De Bussi\u00e8re did\nnot hesitate to express his belief in the triumph of his cause; for\ninstance, in passing the _Scala Sancta_ with the young Israelite, as\nhe pointed it out he bared his head respectfully and said aloud, as\nif in a voice of prophecy, \"Hail, holy staircase! here is a man who\none day will ascend your steps on his knees.\" This was on the 19th.\nM. Ratisbonne's only response was a disconcerting peal of laughter,\nand the two friends separated again, without the slightest religious\nimpression having been made upon the Israelite, although, unknown to\nhuman ken, he was on the eve of the brightest day of his life.\n\nDuring this short interval, M. De Bussi\u00e8re tasted the bitterness of\nlosing one of his dearest friends. M. De La Ferronays died suddenly on\nthe evening of the 17th, leaving to his family and all who knew him\nthe sweet hope that he had bid adieu to this perishable life only to\nenter upon the joys of a blissful immortal one. Doubtless this event\ncontributed to the young Israelite's speedy conversion, for whilst on\nearth M. De La Ferronays had prayed for him, and we have every reason\nto believe that he soon became his advocate in heaven. M. De Bussi\u00e8re\nhad informed this dear friend of his hopes and the means employed for\ngaining the young Israelite to Jesus Christ, and he had received the\nconsoling answer: \"Do not be uneasy; if you have succeeded in making\nhim say the _Memorare_, he is yours.\" ... Such was the admirable\nconfidence of this fervent Christian in the powerful protection of the\nmost compassionate Virgin Mary!\n\nYet notwithstanding the bitterness of the sacrifice Heaven had just\ndemanded of the Baron De Bussi\u00e8re, he found it hard to part from this\nyoung man whom he longed to conquer to the Faith, and the resignation\nof his grief was a new prayer attracting the Divine mercy. Immediately\nafter leaving him on the 19th, he went to prostrate himself beside the\nremains of his virtuous friend, begging that friend's assistance from\nthe heights of heaven in obtaining what had been already recommended to\nhis prayers on earth.\n\n * * * * *\n\nThursday, 20th.--M. Ratisbonne's dispositions are not changed in the\nleast; he never raises his thoughts above terrestrial things, the\nreligious discussions of the preceding days have not even fixed his\nattention, or apparently not excited in his soul the slightest anxiety.\nAs to his false belief, he never dreams of taking one step towards a\nknowledge of the truth; M. De Bussi\u00e8re is not with him to continue the\nconversation on religion, and he dismisses the subject from his mind.\nLeaving the caf\u00e9, he meets one of his fellow-boarders; they discourse\nof balls and other frivolous amusements in such a way as to convince\none that he was surely not engrossed with anything serious. It was then\nnoon, and two hours later the young Jew had seen the light, two hours\nlater he eagerly desired the grace of holy baptism, two hours later he\nbelieved in the Church!... Who is like to Thee, O my God? Who can thus,\nin an instant, triumph over human reason, and force it to render homage\nto Thy sovereign truth?... Ah! it is Thyself, Thyself alone, Lord, it\nis the prerogative of Thy mercy to work such prodigies! Let us return\nto our Israelite.\n\nIt is one o'clock; M. De Bussi\u00e8re must repair to the church of\nSt. Andrew delle Fratte to make some arrangements for the funeral\nceremonies of M. De La Ferronays, which take place on the morrow. He\nsets out, and on the way happily meets M. Ratisbonne, who joins him,\nwith the intention of taking one of their usual walks, when M. De\nBussi\u00e8re had fulfilled the imperative duty that required his immediate\nattention.... But the moment of grace has come. They enter the church,\nwhere various decorations already announce the morrow's ceremonies;\nthe Israelite inquires the meaning of them, and M. De Bussi\u00e8re, having\nreplied that they were for the funeral obsequies of M. De La Ferronays,\nthe intimate friend he had just lost, begs him to wait there an\ninstant, whilst he goes into the house to execute a commission with\none of the monks. M. Ratisbonne then glances coolly around the church,\nseeming to say by his air of indifference, that it is not worth his\nattention. We must remark that he was then at the epistle side of\nthe altar. M. De Bussi\u00e8re returns after an absence of about twelve\nminutes, and is surprised at not seeing his young companion. Could he\nhave grown weary of waiting in a place that inspired only repugnance\nand disgust?... He knew not, and sought M. Ratisbonne. What was his\nastonishment at finding him on the left hand side of the church,\nkneeling, and apparently wrapt in devotion!... He could scarcely\nbelieve his eyes, and yet it was no mistake.... It was in the chapel\nof the archangel St. Michael that the prince of darkness had just been\ncrushed.... A great victory already rejoiced all Heaven.... The young\nJew was vanquished.\n\nM. De Bussi\u00e8re approaches, but he is not heard; he touches his\nfriend, but he cannot distract him; he touches him again, but still\nno response; he repeats it a third or fourth time, and at last M.\nRatisbonne turns to answer, and his tearful countenance, his utter\ninability to express what has passed, his hands clasped most fervently,\npartly reveal the heavenly secret. \"Oh! how M. De La Ferronays has\nprayed for me!\" he exclaims. This is all he says. Never did M. De\nBussi\u00e8re enjoy a more consoling surprise. The bandage of error blinding\nthe young Israelite had fallen, and M. De Bussi\u00e8re's heart was filled\nwith the most lively gratitude to God.... He raises his young friend,\nwho was completely overcome by this celestial visitation; he takes\nhim and almost carries him out of the church.... He is all eagerness\nto know the details.... He asks M. Ratisbonne to reveal the mystery,\nand begs him to say where he wishes to go. \"Lead me,\" replies the new\nPaul, completely vanquished, \"lead me where you will.... After what\nI have seen, I obey.\" ... And not being able to say more, he draws\nforth the unknown treasure he had been wearing upon his heart for four\ndays. He takes the dear medal in his hands, he covers it with kisses,\nhe waters it abundantly with tears of joy, and amidst his sobs escape\na few words expressive of his happiness, but which a profound emotion\nalmost prevents his articulating. \"How good is God! What a plentitude\nof gifts! What joy unknown! Ah! how happy I am, and how much to be\npitied are they who do not believe!\" And continuing to shed torrents\nof tears over the miseries of those whom Faith has never enlightened,\nhe already feels the holy desire of seeing the kingdom of Jesus Christ\nextended throughout the world. He can scarcely himself understand such\na transformation, and amidst the various feelings surging through his\nheart, he interrupts his tears, his exclamations and his silence, to\nask M. De Bussi\u00e8re if he does not think him crazy.... Then answering\nhis own question, \"No,\" he continues: \"I am not crazy.... I know well\nwhat I think and what passes within me.... I know that I am in my right\nmind.... Moreover, everybody knows that I am not crazy!\" By degrees,\nthese first transports of emotion give place to a more composed frame\nof mind; he can at last express his new desires, his new belief, and\nhe asks to be conducted to the feet of a priest, for he craves the\ngrace of holy baptism.... Already favored with the most lively Faith,\nhe aspires after the happiness of confessing his Divine Master in the\nmidst of torments and recalling the sufferings of the martyrs he had\nseen represented upon the walls of St. \u00c9tienne le Rond; he wishes to\nshed his blood in attestation of his Faith as a disciple of Jesus\nChrist.... Meanwhile, he has told M. De Bussi\u00e8re nothing of the sudden\nblow that vanquished him, and he refuses to tell except in the presence\nof God's minister; \"for what he saw he ought not, he could not reveal\nexcept on his knees.\"\n\nFather De Villefort, of the Society of Jesus, is chosen to receive\nthe neophyte and hear this consoling secret, which will reveal the\nexcess of Divine mercy towards the soul of the young Israelite. M. De\nBussi\u00e8re himself conducts him to the Reverend Father, who welcomes him\ntenderly.... Then, in the presence of M. De Bussi\u00e8re, M. Ratisbonne\ntakes in his hand the medal, the dear pledge of the Immaculate Mary's\nprotection, and again covers it with respectful kisses, mingled with a\nshower of tears. He endeavors to overcome his emotion, and exclaims in\na transport of joy: \"I have seen her! I have seen her!\" Conquering his\nfeelings, he continues his narration, interrupted from time to time by\nthe sighs of an overburdened heart.\n\n \"I had been in the church but an instant, when suddenly I was\n seized with an inexplicable fear. I raised my eyes, the whole\n edifice had disappeared from my view, one chapel alone had,\n as it were, concentrated all the light, and in the midst\n of this effulgence there appeared standing upon the altar the\n Virgin Mary, grand, brilliant, full of majesty and sweetness,\n such as she is represented upon the medal--an irresistible\n force impelled me to her. The Virgin made me a sign with her\n hand to kneel, and she seemed to say: 'It is well.' She did not\n speak to me, but I understood all.\"\n\n[Illustration: _APPARITION OF THE MIRACULOUS MEDAL_\n\n_To M. Ratisbonne, January 20, 1842, in the Church of St. Andrew,\ndelle Fratte, in Rome. \"She did not speak one word to me,\" said M.\nRatisbonne, \"but I understood it all._\"]\n\nHe ceased, but this short account eloquently revealed the abundant\nfavors with which his soul had just been inundated. Reverend Father De\nVillefort and the pious baron listened with a holy joy, mingled with an\ninvoluntary feeling of religious awe, at thoughts of the infinite power\nwhich had just triumphed by such a striking manifestation of mercy....\nThe mystery was revealed, but M. Ratisbonne, now the disciple of the\nmost humble of Masters, a God annihilated, expressed a wish to have the\nwonderful vision kept a profound secret; he even earnestly entreated\nthat it should be, but Father De Villefort considered it wiser not\nto yield to the neophyte's modesty, God's glory, the Immaculate\nMary's honor, demanding that such a miracle should be proclaimed. M.\nRatisbonne's humility gave way to obedience. In the brief narration\njust quoted, one thing especially had struck the Reverend Father,\n\"She did not speak to me, but I understood all!\" What, then, had he\nunderstood, he who, having hitherto lived in the shades of darkness,\nfound himself in an instant instructed in heavenly knowledge? What,\nthen, had he understood, he who was suddenly recalled from the bosom of\ndeath which he loved, to a new life which but a short time previous he\nhad solemnly declared he would ever ignore, 'a Jew he was born and a\nJew he would die?' What had he understood, he the young Jew, so lately\nheadstrong in his belief, an avowed enemy of Catholicity, but who now\nhumbly prostrates himself at the feet of our Lord's minister to retract\nhis words and renounce his own will, for he declares that, after what\nhe has seen, he obeys?... What has he understood? What has he seen? He\nhas seen the Mother of divine grace, the bright aurora of the Sun of\nJustice; he has understood the gift of God, the eternal truth ... the\nunity of the Church, its infallibility, the sanctity of its morals, the\nsublimity of its mysteries, the grandeur and elevation of its hopes....\nHe has understood Heaven, and henceforth everything is changed for\nhim, everything is renewed within him, he is no longer the same. His\ndesires, projects, thoughts, earthly affections, where are they in the\nbrilliancy of this celestial radiance? Vain prejudices of error, where\nare they?... The Immaculate Mother of Jesus has rent asunder the band\nthat veiled the young Israelite's eyes, and the shades of error are\ndissipated, the blind man sees the light, and his joy is inexpressible,\nfor he knew not till then the true gifts, the blessings promised the\nchildren of the true Church.\n\n * * * * *\n\nM. Ratisbonne had heretofore been completely ignorant of the truths\nof Catholicity, he acknowledges that he had never read even one book\ncalculated to enlighten him on the subject, his hatred of Christianity\nkept him aloof from all that might change his views in regard to it.\nHe blasphemed without examining the object of his blasphemy, he judged\nwithout hearing, he despised without investigating.... And behold!\nin spite of himself, in an instant, in defiance of all his past\nprotestations, he bends, he falls, he is conquered!\n\nRejoice, O Mary! for the dew of grace has not descended upon an\nungrateful soil.... No; not in vain at your mysterious school has he\nlearned all this privileged soul of your love, this heart that your\nincomparable beauty, your ineffable bounty have vanquished for Jesus\nChrist!\n\nWe see, indeed, that, from the moment his eyes are opened to the\nlight, he adores the mysteries he formerly despised, loves what he\nhated, venerates what he ridiculed, and proves himself as humble\nand submissive to the Church as the most fervent Christian. That\nvery day, he goes to the basilica of St. Mary Major, in tribute of\ngratitude to her who had just descended from Heaven, to bring him the\ngift of Faith, and its attendant blessings; thence he repairs to St.\nPeter's, to declare in that sanctuary dedicated to the Prince of the\nApostles, his belief in the truths that Peter taught. M. De Bussi\u00e8re,\nwho found a pious delight in offering to God this conquest of grace,\naccompanied him on his holy pilgrimage, and conversed intimately with\nhim, they had but one heart and one soul. A new Paul, Ratisbonne, in\nwhat he experienced, at the moment the Blessed Virgin gently forced\nhim to prostrate himself at her feet, to receive the light of Heaven,\nrecognized the strength of Him who vanquished His persecutors.... The\nprofound emotion, the holy awe that filled the neophyte on entering\na church, declared more fully the secrets that had been revealed to\nhim.... Penetrated with the liveliest faith for the great Sacrament\nof love, he could not approach the altar, he was overwhelmed at the\nthought of the Real Presence of the God who resides in the Most\nHoly Sacrament. He considered himself unworthy to appear in this\naugust Presence, as he was yet stained with original sin, and M. De\nBussi\u00e8re relates, that he took refuge in a chapel, consecrated to the\nBlessed Virgin, exclaiming: \"I have no fears here, for I feel myself\nunder the protection of a boundless mercy.\" O Mary! you opened your\nmaternal heart, and there he concealed himself, knowing that divine\njustice yields to mercy, when the guilty soul has found and invoked\nwith confidence the Refuge of Sinners.... So great was the fervent\nneophyte's happiness when in the temple of the Lord, that he was unable\nto find words expressive of his happiness. \"Ah!\" said he in a holy\ntransport, \"how delightful it is to be here! How great reason have\nCatholics to love their churches and to frequent them! How zealous\nthey should be in ornamenting them! How sweet to spend a lifetime in\nthese holy places! They are truly not of earth but of Heaven!\" Ah! are\nwe not confounded and abashed by the fervor of him who has just been\nborn into the truth! What would he think of the coldness, the levity,\nthe ingratitude of the majority of Christians?... Let us acknowledge\nit to our confusion; there is a Host who dwells in our midst, and\nwhom we know not; we who eat at His table, who feed upon His own\nflesh, the Bread descended from Heaven, and behold! a young Israelite,\ninstructed but a few hours in the wonders of God's love, teaches us how\nwe must conduct ourselves in the presence of this Host, and with what\nsentiments our hearts should then be filled.\n\n * * * * *\n\nNext day, the news of this wonderful conversion had spread through\nRome; every one was anxious to learn something about it, and collected\nwith pious curiosity the various statements in circulation; every one\nwished to see the newly converted and hear his account.... General\nChlabonski even went to M. De Bussi\u00e8re's house. \"So you have seen the\nimage of the Blessed Virgin,\" said he, accosting the neophyte. \"The\nimage?\" answered the latter, \"ah! it was no image, but herself I saw;\nyes, M. her real self, just as I see you now!\" We must here remark that\nto the Church alone, appertains the power of judging and qualifying\nthis vision; but every one was impressed with the fact, that mistake\nor illusion seemed impossible, considering the young Israelite's\ncharacter, education, prejudices and horror for Christianity; moreover,\nin this chapel there was neither statue, picture nor any representation\nwhatever of the Blessed Virgin. And we love to quote here the words of\na wise man, who, referring to the event, says, \"that without one grain\nof exaggeration, just as it happened, just as all Rome narrates it, the\nunexpected fact, the public fact of this conversion, considering all\nthe circumstances, would of itself be a miracle, if a miracle had not\ncaused it.\"\n\nM. Ratisbonne reluctantly gave the details of what he had seen. When\nquestioned closely as to what took place at the moment he found himself\nenvironed by this celestial effulgence, he answers ingenuously that he\ncould not account for the involuntary impulse causing him to leave the\nright hand side of the church for the chapel on the left, especially\nas he was separated from it by the preparations for the morrow's\nceremonies; that, when the Queen of Heaven appeared before him in all\nthe glory and brilliancy of her immaculate purity, he caught a glimpse\nof her incomparable beauty, but immediately realized the impossibility\nof contemplating it, that urged by the desire, three times had he\nendeavored to lift his eyes to the face of this Mother of mercy, whose\nsweet clemency had deigned to manifest herself to him, and three times,\nin spite of himself, had his gaze been stayed at sight of the blessed\nhands, whence escaped a torrent of graces. \"I could not,\" he told us\nhimself after his arrival, \"I could not express what I saw of mercy and\nliberality in Mary's hands. It was not only an effulgence of light,\nit was not rays I distinguished, words are inadequate to depict the\nineffable gifts filling our Mother's hands, and descending from them,\nthe bounty, mercy, tenderness, the celestial sweetness and riches,\nflowing in torrents and inundating the souls she protects.\"\n\nIn the first moments of his conversion, M. Ratisbonne gave vent to some\nof those thoughts which strongly pre-occupied him, those outpourings\nof a fervent heart which happily, are still preserved. \"O my God!\"\nhe exclaimed in a transport of astonishment and gratitude, \"I, who\nonly half an hour before was blaspheming! I, who felt such violent\nhatred against the Catholic religion!... Every one of my acquaintances\nknew full well, that to all human appearances, it was impossible for\nme ever to think of changing my religion. My family was Jewish, my\nbetrothed, my uncle were Jewish. In embracing Christianity, I know that\nI break away from all earthly hopes and interests.... And yet I do\nit willingly; I renounce the passing happiness of a future which was\npromised me; I do so without hesitation, I act from conviction; ...\nfor I am not crazy, and have never been; they well know it.... Who,\nthen, could refuse to believe me, and believe in the truth?... The most\npowerful interests enchained me to my religion, and consequently all\nshould be convinced that a man who sacrifices everything to a profound\nconviction must sacrifice to a celestial light, which has revealed\nitself by incontrovertible evidence. What I have affirmed is true. I\nknow it, I feel it; and what could be my object in thus betraying the\ntruth and turning aside from religion by a sacrilegious lie?... I have\nnot said too much; my words must carry conviction.\"\n\nThe Baron De Bussi\u00e8re had the consolation of entertaining at his own\nhome the new son Heaven had given him; the young Jew remained there\nuntil the retreat preceding his baptism. It was right and just,\nindeed, that this friend should gather the first bloom of a heart\nrefreshed by the dew of grace, that he should be the happy witness of\nthe wonders wrought in that soul.... M. Ratisbonne himself had need\nof a confidant, some one that understood him thoroughly, and to whom\nhe could communicate the emotions of his heart.... It was in moments\nof sweet intimacy, when alone with his friend, that he could give\nfull vent to his feelings, and, in unison with him, admire the loving\ndesigns of divine Providence, and the means that had dissipated such\ndeplorable errors. He bewailed the blindness in which he had lived!...\n\"Alas!\" said he, \"when my excellent brother embraced Catholicity,\nand afterwards entered into the ecclesiastical state, I, of all his\nrelatives, was his most unrelenting persecutor.... I could not forgive\nhis desertion of our religion--we were at variance, at least; I\ndetested him, though he had none but the kindest thoughts for me....\nHowever, at the time of my betrothal, I said to myself that I must be\nreconciled to my brother, and I wrote him a few cold lines, to which\nhe replied by a letter full of charity and tenderness.... One of my\nlittle nephews died about eighteen months ago. My good brother, having\nlearned that he was seriously ill, asked as a personal favor that the\nchild be baptized before its death, adding, with great delicacy, that\nto us it would be a matter of indifference, whilst to himself it would\nbe a veritable happiness, and he hoped we would not refuse. I was\ninfuriated at such a request!\n\n\"I hope, oh! yes, I hope that my God will send me severe trials, which\nmay redound to His honor and glory, and convince all that I am actuated\nby conscience....\" What generosity of heart! What knowledge! His eyes\nare scarcely opened to the truths of Catholicity, ere he embraces\nthem in their full extent.... He knows already that the cross is the\ndistinctive mark of the children of the Church, of God's elect, and\nthis cross which so many Christians drag reluctantly after them, he\ngreets, he awaits, he desires.... Moreover, it had been shown to him in\na very mysterious manner; for he relates that the night preceding his\nconversion there was constantly before his eyes a large cross without\nthe Christ, that the sight really fatigued him, although he considered\nit of no importance. \"I made,\" said he, \"incredible efforts to banish\nthis image, but in vain. It was only later, when having, by chance,\nseen the reverse of the Miraculous Medal, he recognized the exact sign\nwhich had struck him.\n\nDivine Providence, looking with a loving eye upon this young convert,\ndirected his steps, and in these early days of his conversion, led\nhim to a venerable Father who was to give him very precious counsel,\nupon the life of abnegation and perpetual sacrifice he had embraced.\nThis servant of the Lord, immediately lay before him the importance\nof the step he had taken, the trials awaiting him, the temptation that\nwould most assuredly beset his path, and without fearing to shake\nhis constancy, he read him a few verses of the second chapter of\nEcclesiasticus, upon the trials testing the virtue of the true servant\nand friend of God. With pleasure we quote here a part of this good\npriest's instructions:\n\n \"My son, when thou comest to the service of God, stand in\n justice and in fear, and prepare thy soul for temptation.\n Humble thy heart and endure; incline thy ear, and receive the\n words of understanding; and make not haste in the time of\n clouds. Wait on God with patience; join thyself to God and\n endure, that thy life may be increased in the latter end. Take\n all that shall be brought upon thee; and in thy sorrow endure,\n and in thy humiliation keep patience. For gold and silver\n are tried in the fire, but acceptable men in the furnace of\n humiliation. Believe God, and He will recover thee; and direct\n thy way, and trust in Him. Keep His fear, and grow old therein.\"\n\nM. Ratisbonne listened in respectful silence to these words of life; he\ncherished the remembrance of them, and the eve of his baptism, he asked\nthe Reverend Father to put them in writing that he might meditate upon\nthem the rest of his days.... It was accomplished, the joys of earth\nwere sacrificed to the glory of bearing the cross of Jesus Christ....\nHe was initiated into heavenly secrets by reason of those favors the\nImmaculate Mary had conferred upon him.... He already felt the strength\nthat God communicates to the soul, resolved to share the sorrows of its\ndivine Master.\n\nTen days elapsed between the happy moment of the young Israelite's\nsudden comprehension of the truth, and his baptism. The Mother of Mercy\nhad brought him from Heaven, the torch of Faith; in enlightening his\nintelligence, she had touched his heart; he sighed after the happy day,\nwhen the Church would admit him among the number of her children, and\nit was on the 31st of January, this tender Mother opened to him all\nher treasures, clothed him with innocence, called down upon him the\nplenitude of the gifts of the Spirit of love, and invited him to the\nbanquet of Angels that she might give him the Bread of life.\n\nThe G\u00e9su was the church selected for this solemn ceremony. Long before\nthe appointed hour, it was filled with a devout, eager multitude, all\nanxious to get as near as possible to the holy altar. Nothing disturbed\nthe beauty or serenity of the occasion, no cloud dimmed the brightness\nof this heavenly festival, which inundated truly Christian hearts with\nthe purest joys.\n\nM. Ratisbonne, clothed in the white robe of the catechumen, appeared\nabout half-past eight, accompanied by the Reverend Father Villefort,\n(whose consoling duty it had been to prepare the neophyte for this\nbeautiful day), and the Baron De Bussi\u00e8re, his god-father. They\nconducted him into the chapel of St. Andrew, where the touching\nceremony was to take place. An object of the most profound curiosity,\nthe fervent neophyte, wrapt in recollection, awaited with angelic\nserenity, the solemn moment.... The pious Romans gave vent to their\nfeelings by words and gestures, kissing their chaplets in an effusion\nof grateful love for Mary Immaculate, the cause of our joy.... They\npointed out one to another the zealous baron, whom divine Providence\nhad chosen to give the Miraculous Medal to the young Israelite. \"He is\na Frenchman,\" they repeated, \"He is a Frenchman! Blessed be God!\"\n\nHis Eminence, the Cardinal Vicar, was to receive M. Ratisbonne's\nprofession of Faith. He appeared at nine, clothed in his pontifical\nrobes, and commenced the prayers prescribed for the baptism of adults.\n\nThe prayers terminated, His Eminence went in procession with the\nclergy to the foot of the church; the young Israelite was conducted\nto his presence. \"What do you ask of the Church of God?\" \"Faith,\"\nwas the immediate answer. \"What name do you wish?\" \"Mary,\" said the\nneophyte, in a tone of tender gratitude; Mary, who had opened to him\nthe path of salvation; Mary, who was to conduct him into the new life;\nMary, who will one day introduce him into the City of the Saints,\nwhence she descended to lead him to the divine fold.... Then followed\nhis profession of Faith, his solemn promises.... He believes all,\nhe promises all, he accepts all, he wishes to be a Christian, he is\nalready one at heart.... His desires are gratified, the vivifying\nwaters are poured upon his head, the grace of holy baptism has invested\nhim with all the rights of his eternal heritage, the spirit of darkness\nis confounded. Behold the child of God, the brother of Jesus Christ,\nthe new sanctuary of the Spirit of love, the favorite of the Queen of\nHeaven, the friend of Angels and the well-beloved son of Mother Church!\n\nIt was on this occasion that the Abb\u00e9 Dupanloup, who happened to be in\nRome at the time, celebrated before an immense audience the infinite\nmercies of God and the Immaculate Mary's miraculous protection of a\nchild of France. We cannot refrain from inserting here a few fragments\nof the account printed at Rome. It is well calculated to increase\ndevotion to Mary:\n\n \"How admirable are the thoughts and ways of divine Providence,\n and how deplorable the lot of those who neither comprehend nor\n bless them. For such, the life of man is only a sad mystery,\n his days a fatal series of events, man himself a noble but\n miserable creature, cast far from Heaven upon this land of\n tears, to live here in perpetual darkness, to die in despair,\n oblivious of a God who heeds neither his virtues nor his\n sorrows.... But, no; Lord, Thou art not forgetful of us, and\n life is not thus; despite our infinite misery, thy Providence\n watches over us, it is far above the heavens, more boundless\n than the sea--it is an abyss of power, wisdom and love.----\n\n \"Thou hast made us for Thyself, Lord, and our hearts are never\n at rest until they repose in Thee! We feel an insatiable need,\n which stirs the depths of our being, which consumes us, and\n when we yield to it, we inevitably find Thee!\n\n \"I bless Thee especially, I adore Thee, when from the depths of\n Thy eternity, Thou dost remember compassionately the lowliness\n of our being, the dust of which we are fashioned; when from the\n heights of heaven, Thou dost cast a glance of pity and love\n upon the most humble of Thy children; when, according to the\n Prophet's expression, 'Thou dost move heaven and earth,' and\n work innumerable marvels to save those who are dear to Thee, to\n conquer one soul!\n\n \"O, you, upon whom, at this moment, all eyes are bent with\n inexpressible emotion, with the tenderest love; for it is God,\n it is His mercy we love in you, in you whose presence in this\n holy place inspires these thoughts, tell us yourself what were\n your thoughts and ways, by what secret mercy the Lord pursued\n and reclaimed you?\n\n For who are you? What do you seek in this sanctuary? What are\n these honors you seem to bear? What is this white robe in which\n I see you clothed? Tell us whence you came and whither you\n were going? What obstacle has suddenly changed your course?\n For walking in the footsteps of Abraham, your ancestor, whose\n blessed son you are this day, like him, blindly obedient to\n the voice of God, not knowing whither your journey tends, you\n suddenly find yourself in the Holy City.... The Lord's work was\n not yet accomplished; but it is for you to describe to us the\n rising of the Sun of truth and justice upon your soul, for you\n to picture its brilliant aurora.... Tell us why you enjoy, like\n ourselves, perhaps more keenly than ourselves, the good word,\n the virtues of the future and all our most blessed hopes....\n Tell us, for we have the right to know, why you enter into\n possession of our goods as your heritage? Who has introduced\n you among us, for yesterday we knew you not, or rather we knew\n you.... Oh! yes, I shall tell all; I know the joy that will\n fill your heart at my revealing your miseries as well as the\n celestial mercies.----\n\n \"You did not love the truth, but the truth loved you. To\n the purest and most ardent efforts of a zeal that sought\n to enlighten you, did you oppose a disdainful smile, an\n indifferent silence, a subtle response, a haughty firmness, and\n sometimes blasphemous pleasantries. O patient God! O God, who\n lovest us in spite of our miseries! Thy mercy has oftentimes\n a depth, a sublimity, a tenderness and, allow me to say it, a\n power and delicacy that are infinite!\n\n \"Suddenly a rumor is circulated throughout the Holy City, a\n rumor that consoles all Christian hearts, he who blasphemed\n yesterday, who this morning even ridiculed the friends of\n God, has become a disciple of Christ; celestial grace has\n touched his lips, he utters now only words of benediction\n and sweetness, the most vivid lights of the evangelical law\n seem to beam from his eyes; we may say that a celestial\n unction has taught him all things. Whence does he receive this\n enlightenment of the eyes of the heart, that heart which sees\n all, which has understood all? O God! Thou art good, infinitely\n good, and I love to repeat those sweet words, so lately on the\n blessed lips of him, whose memory is henceforth ineffaceably\n impressed upon our hearts. We wept over him a few days ago,\n we still regret him, but we have dried our tears. 'Yes, Thou\n art good, and the children of men have truly called Thee the\n good God!' (Last words of M. de La Ferronays.) Thou dost set\n aside the laws of nature, Thou dost account nothing too much to\n save Thy children! When Thou dost not come Thyself, Thou dost\n send Thy angels!... O God! shall I here relate all? I ought\n to enjoin reserve upon my speech.... But who is she? _Qu\u00e6 est\n ista?_ I cannot say the word, and yet I cannot be silent.\n\n \"Hail Mary! You are full of grace; _Ave, gratia plena_, and\n from the plentitude of your maternal heart, you love to bestow\n your gifts upon us. The Lord is with you, _Dominus tecum_,\n and it is through you He is pleased to descend to us! And now\n to praise you worthily, I must borrow the images of Heaven or\n speak the inflamed language of the prophets! For, O Mary! your\n name is sweeter than the purest joys, more delightful than the\n most exquisite perfumes, more charming than the harmony of\n angels, _in corde jubilus_; more refreshing to the faithful\n heart than honeycomb to the wearied traveler, _mel in lingua_;\n more encouraging and cheering to the guilty but repentant heart\n than the evening dew to the leaves parched and shriveled by\n the mid-day sun, _ros in herba_. You are beautiful as the orb\n of night, _pulchra ut luna_; you, who guide the bewildered\n traveler; you are brilliant as the aurora, _aurora consurgens_;\n fair and pure as the morning star, _stella matutina_; and it is\n you who precede the dawn of the Sun of Justice in our hearts.\n\n \"O Mary! I can never portray all your loveliness and grandeur,\n and it is my joy to succumb beneath the weight of so much\n glory! But since I speak in the midst of your children, your\n children who are my brothers, I shall continue to proclaim\n your praises from the depths of my heart's affection.... At\n your name, O Mary, Heaven rejoices, earth quivers with joy,\n hell fumes with impotent rage.... No, there is no creature so\n sublime or so humble, that invoking you, will perish. Those\n august basilicas, erected by the piety of mighty nations,\n those golden characters, those rich banners worked by royal\n hands, likewise the modest offerings of the sailor in your\n lowly chapels, in the crevices of the rock, on the shores of\n the sea, or even your humble picture which martyr's hands have\n traced upon the catacombs, all attest your power in appeasing\n the tempests of divine wrath, and attracting upon us heavenly\n benedictions.\n\n \"O Mary, I have seen the most savage wilds of nature smile\n at your name and blossom into beauty; the pious inhabitants\n of the deserts celebrate your glory, the mountain echoes,\n the torrent billows, vie with one another in repeating your\n praises. I have seen great cities bring forth and cherish,\n under the shadow of your name, the purest and most noble\n virtues. I have seen youth, with generous impulse, confident\n ardor, and the inexpressible charm of virtue irradiating its\n countenance, prefer your name and the happiness of celebrating\n your festivals to all the enchantments of the world and its\n most brilliant destinies! I have seen old men, after a godless\n life of sixty or eighty years, rise upon their couch of pain,\n to remember at the sound of your name the God who had blessed\n their early infancy; you were to them as a pledge of security\n and of peaceful entrance into the Eternal City! O Mary, who are\n you then? _Qu\u00e6 est ista?_ You are the Mother of our Saviour,\n and Jesus, the fruit of your womb, is the God blessed from\n all eternity. You are our Sister, _soror nostra es_; though a\n child of Adam like ourselves, you have not participated in our\n sad heritage, and our woes excite your deepest and most tender\n compassion.\n\n \"O Mary! you are the masterpiece of the Divine power! You are\n the most touching invention of God's goodness! I could not say\n more--you are the sweetest smile of His mercy! O God, give eyes\n to those who have them not--eyes that they may see Mary and\n understand the beautiful light of her maternal glance; and to\n those who have no heart give one, that they may love Mary; for\n from Mary to the Word Eternal, to the Beauty ever ancient and\n ever new, to that uncreated Light which strengthens the feeble\n sight and appeases every desire of our souls, from Mary to\n Jesus, from the Mother to the Son, there is but a step!----\n\n \"Our dearly beloved brother--and I am happy to be the first\n to call you thus--behold under what favorable auspices you\n enter this new Jerusalem, the tabernacle of the Lord, 'the\n Church of the living God, which is the pillar and ground of\n truth. But before delivering your heart to these emotions of\n joy, there is one severe lesson it should learn this day; and\n since I am destined to be the first to announce to you the\n words of the Gospel, I shall conceal from you nothing of the\n austerity it inculcates. 'You have understood all,' you say;\n but let me ask if you have understood the mystery of the cross.\n Ah! be careful, for it is the foundation of Christianity. I\n speak now not only of that blessed cross which you lovingly\n adore, because it places before your eyes Jesus crucified in\n expiation of your sins, but borrowing the emphatic language of\n an ancient apologist of our Faith, I shall say to you: 'This is\n no question of the cross that is sweet for you to adore, but\n of the cross to which you must soon submit.' _Ecce cruces jam\n non adorand\u00e6, sed subeund\u00e6._ Behold what you must understand if\n you are a Christian and what baptism must disclose to you!...\n Moreover, in vain would I endeavor to dissimulate the truth, by\n saying that your future may reveal no crosses; I see them in\n store for you. No doubt, we must venerate them afar off, but\n it is infinitely better to bend beneath their weight when laid\n upon us, and courageously carry them. I shall be mistaken, if\n the evangelic virtues are not increased and fortified in your\n soul by patience. And blessed be God for it! You have been\n introduced into Christianity through Mary and the Cross!...\n It is an admirable mode of introduction! And again I repeat,\n blessed be God for it! For I say to you, He has given you\n ears to hear and a heart to feel this language! Son of the\n Catholic Church you will share your Mother's destiny! Look\n at Rome, Rome where you have just been born into the Church;\n her heritage here below, is always to combat and always to\n triumph. Moreover, nothing astonishes her; and after eighteen\n centuries of combats and victories, it is here, in the centre\n of Catholic unity, at the foot of the Apostolic See, that focus\n whence daily emanate the most vivid and purest rays of Faith,\n piercing the shades of paganism, error and Judaism, that the\n Church has poured over your forehead the beneficent water of\n celestial regeneration. What do I say? It is Peter himself, the\n Moses of the new law, worthily represented by the first Vicar\n of his august Successor, who has struck for you the mysterious\n rock, the immovable stone. _Petra erat Christus_, whence gush\n forth those waters springing up unto eternal life.\n\n \"But I have said enough; I retard your happiness. Heaven, at\n this moment, regards you with love, the earth blesses you\n and Jesus Christ awaits you; go forward then; angels have\n commenced the feast, and the friends of God continue it with\n you here below! And even he who seems dead in our eyes, and\n whose heart is living in the hand of the Lord! you know him,\n his supplications and prayers have been poured forth in your\n behalf; the solemn moment has now arrived! Abraham, Isaac,\n Israel, the patriarchs and prophets from their heavenly abode\n encourage you, and Moses blesses you, because the law in your\n heart has developed into the Gospel; mercy and truth sustain\n you, justice and peace attend you, repentance and innocence\n crown you.... And finally, it is Mary who receives and protects\n you!\n\n \"O Mary! it is a necessity and a duty for us to repeat once\n more this prayer, this cherished prayer, and I know that not\n one of all the multitude here assembled, but will fervently\n repeat it with me: 'Remember, O most pious Virgin Mary, that\n no one ever had recourse to thy protection, implored thy aid\n or sought thy mediation, without obtaining relief. Groaning\n under the weight of our sins, we come, O Virgin of virgins, to\n cast ourselves in thy arms, and do most humbly supplicate thee.\n O Mother of the Eternal Word, to remember the just, remember\n sinners, remember those who know thee, and those who know thee\n not; remember our woes and thy mercy.' I shall not say remember\n this young man, for he is thy child, the sweet and glorious\n conquest of thy love, but I shall say, remember all those dear\n ones for whom he offers this day, the first prayers of his\n Catholic heart; restore them to him in time and eternity.----\n\n \"And since I am a stranger here (no, let me recall my words,\n no one is a stranger in Rome, every Catholic is a Roman), but\n since we were both born on the soil of France, I think my\n prayers find an echo in the hearts of all who hear me, when I\n say: remember France, she is still the home of noble virtues,\n generous souls, heroic love.... Restore to the Church in France\n her pristine beauty.\"\n\n * * * * *\n\nThe Holy Sacrifice terminated the imposing ceremony. Our new Christian,\noverwhelmed beneath the weight of so many favors, had to be assisted\nto the Holy Table, where he received the Bread of Angels as the seal\nof his celestial alliance. Inundated with happiness, the tears gushed\nfrom his eyes, and after receiving, it was necessary to assist him\nto his place.... A number of pious Christians participated in the\ndivine banquet, to which the Church so tenderly invites all her happy\nchildren, and the admirable spectacle of a blessed union with their new\nbrother, was another edifying episode of this memorable day.\n\nThe _Te Deum_ which followed, that most fervent hymn of gratitude,\narising from every heart and mingling with the sound of all the\nbells, was not less impressive. \"I pray God,\" wrote a witness of this\nceremony, \"never to let the memory of what I experienced during these\nthree hours be effaced from my heart; such an impression is, beyond\ndoubt, one of the most precious graces a Christian soul can ever\nreceive.\"\n\nClothed with innocence, enriched with the gifts of Heaven, admitted\nto its joys, buried in the sweet transports of gratitude and love, M.\nRatisbonne could not relinquish immediately his dear solitude. He had\nmade one retreat, as a preparation for the reception of these three\ngrand Sacraments, and he was filled with ineffable consolation; feeling\nnow the necessity, the imperative duty of returning thanks to his\nBenefactor, he wished to commence a second retreat, so that afar from\nthe world, he might be deaf to the confused noises of its frivolous\njoys, and amidst the silence of a sweet peace, celebrate the Lord's\nmagnificence, chant hymns of gratitude, taste in secret and at leisure\nthe gifts which had been imparted to him, and the new treasures he\npossessed.\n\nAnother grand consolation was in store for him. He sighed after the\nhappy moment when he could prostrate himself at the feet of the\nSovereign Pontiff, and there testify his submission to and love for\nthat holy Church who had just admitted him into the number of her\ncherished children. An audience was granted him. The two friends, M.\nRatisbonne and the Baron de Bussi\u00e8re, were conducted into the presence\nof His Holiness by the reverend Father General of the Society of Jesus.\nHaving bent the knee three times before the Vicar of Jesus Christ, they\nreceived in unison, that holy and desirable benediction, which many\npious Christians esteem themselves happy in obtaining, after long and\nwearisome journeys. They were welcomed with truly paternal tenderness\nby the venerable Pontiff, who conversed some time with them, and loaded\nthem with tokens of his favor. M. Ratisbonne knew not how to express\nhis admiration for the great simplicity, humility and goodness of this\nworthy Successor of the Prince of the Apostles. \"He was so exceedingly\nkind,\" has M. Ratisbonne told me several times since, \"as to take\nus into his chamber, where he showed me near his bed, a magnificent\npicture of my dear medal, a picture for which he has the greatest\ndevotion. I had procured quite a number of Miraculous Medals. His\nHoliness cheerfully blessed them for me, and these are the weapons I\nshall use in conquering souls for Jesus Christ and Mary.\"\n\nThe Holy Father crowns all his favors, by presenting M. Ratisbonne\na crucifix, a precious souvenir which the young Christian will ever\ncherish, clinging to it in his combats and his sorrows, as a weapon\nthat must assure him the victory over hell. A new soldier of Jesus\nChrist, he needs no other arms than the cross and Mary Immaculate,\nsignal protectors that will guide him in the ways of justice, and one\nday, usher him into the light of eternal felicity.\n\nShortly after his second retreat, M. Ratisbonne made preparations for\nhis return to France, and bade adieu to the Holy City, though not\nwithout the sweet hope of again offering there his tribute of fervent\nthanksgiving. We have seen and conversed with him many times. The first\nemotions of a boundless and almost unparalled happiness are past,\nbut the fruits remain; daily does the precious gift of Faith strike\ndeeper root into this soul regenerated by the waters of holy Baptism;\nand the divine life, which was communicated to him on the day of his\nbaptism, our new brother nourishes by the frequent reception of the\nHoly Eucharist, and a withdrawal from all worldly society; for whilst\nawaiting the manifestations of the Lord's will in regard to his future,\nhe feels the necessity of preserving, in the secrecy of a peaceful and\nrecollected life, the treasures he has received.\n\nM. Ratisbonne's conversion, publicly styled a miracle, excited too much\ninterest and comment for the Holy See to allow it to pass unnoticed.\nThe Sovereign Pontiff ordered a canonical examination according to the\nrules of the Church. The Cardinal Vicar prescribed an investigation.\nNine witnesses were examined; all the circumstances weighed, and\nafter a favorable conclusion, the most eminent Cardinal Patrizzi,\n\"pronounced and declared the 3d of June, 1842, that the instantaneous\nand perfect conversion of Alphonse Marie Ratisbonne, from Judaism to\nCatholicity, was a true and incontrovertible miracle, wrought by the\nmost blessed and powerful God, through the intercession of the Blessed\nVirgin Mary. For the greater glory of God and the increase of devotion\nto the Blessed Virgin Mary, His Eminence deigns to permit the account\nof this signal miracle, not only to be printed and published but also\nauthorized.\"--A picture commemorative of the apparition of the Blessed\nVirgin to M. Ratisbonne, a representation of the Virgin of the medal,\nwas placed in the chapel of St. Andrew's Church, where the miracle had\ntaken place.\n\nA few days after his return to France, M. Ratisbonne, in token of\nhis gratitude, and with the intention of obtaining his family's\nconversion, felt urged to erect a chapel under the invocation of Mary\nImmaculate, in the Providence orphanage of the Faubourg St. Germain,\nParis. The laying of the corner stone took place May 1st, 1842, and\nthe sanctuary was finished and dedicated May 1st, 1844, with great\nsolemnity, in the presence of the founder of the house, M. Desgenettes,\ncur\u00e9 of Notre Dame des Victoires, the Baron de Bussi\u00e8re, M. \u00c9tienne,\nSuperior General of the Priests of the Mission and daughters of\nCharity, M. Eug\u00e8ne Bor\u00e9, then a simple layman, but afterwards M.\n\u00c9tienne's immediate successor, the abb\u00e9 de Bonnechose, later an\nArchbishop and Cardinal, and many other distinguished persons.\n\nThe pious convert often repaired to this sanctuary to mingle his\nprayers with those of the Daughters of Charity and their dear orphans;\nand many times has he also enjoyed the ineffable consolation of\ncelebrating the Holy Sacrifice and thanking his celestial Benefactress,\nbefore the beautiful picture of the Immaculate Conception placed above\nthe high altar, as a souvenir of the miracle of St. Andrew delle\nFratte, for M. Ratisbonne is now a priest. Not content with leading a\npious life in the world, he has renounced forever the joys and hopes\nof time to embrace the ecclesiastical state, which consecrated him\nunreservedly to God. For several years past he has been associated with\nhis beloved brother Theodore in the order of Our Lady of Sion, the\nobject of which congregation is the conversion of Israelites.\n\n\nV.\n\n_Graces Obtained from 1843 to 1877, in France, Germany, Italy, America._\n\n\nCURE OF A LITTLE GIRL (PARIS)--1843.\n\nThis account was sent us in the month of January, 1877, by the very\nperson who was cured:\n\n \"About the 15th of December, 1843, a little girl, Z\u00e9nobie de\n M., just one year old, was attacked, at the same time, by\n water on the chest, a disease of the bowels, and cerebral\n congestion. Dr. Flandrin, a friend of the family was called in\n immediately, and gave the child every attention, but his skill\n was powerless, and the family was plunged in the deepest grief.\n The child's eldest sister alone cherished a faint hope in the\n depths of her heart; she had intended consecrating herself to\n God in a religious state, and had always regarded the birth\n of this little one as a gift of Providence, sent to take her\n place in the family, and console her afflicted parents. God\n will not, she thought, take back the child. In her room was a\n picture representing the apparition of the Miraculous Medal;\n she knelt before it, begging the child's recovery, and renewing\n her promises of embracing a religious life should the petition\n be granted. This generous offering she kept a secret. A little\n while after, the doctor came and declared the child's case\n hopeless, and moreover, its recovery not desirable as it would\n remain imbecile, paralyzed or blind. He proposed, however, a\n consultation with M. Blache, physician of the Necker hospital,\n who prescribed energetic treatment, but said, 'this child\n cannot live.'\n\n The poor mother, deeming it inadvisable to cause the little\n creature unnecessary suffering, gently laid it in the cradle,\n saying with the faith and resignation seen in none but a\n Christian mother: 'The Lord gave it to me, the Lord wishes\n to take it away, may His holy will be accomplished!' In the\n afternoon, one of the aunts came to accompany the elder sister\n to church, and whilst their prayers ascended to the Most\n High, more for the mother than the child, this mother obeys\n spontaneously a supernatural impulse, and taking the Miraculous\n Medal as a last hope, she applies it to the body of the child,\n and repeats with confidence the invocation: 'O Mary! conceived\n without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!' The\n plaintive cries ceased, and when M. Flandrin came that evening\n to see if the little one were still alive, he was greatly\n surprised to perceive a faint improvement since morning, the\n whole body covered with a gentle perspiration, and the little\n paralyzed arm able to move in any direction. 'But what a pity,'\n said he, 'the child will be blind,' which indeed it seemed to\n be already, as a light passed several times before its eyes\n produced no effect whatever.\n\n \"The mother who had not yet mentioned her secret, waited until\n all had left the room, then taking her dear medal, she lay it\n upon her infant's eyes and repeated the invocation. After a\n sound sleep of about twenty-four hours, little Z\u00e9nobie awoke,\n recognizing all around her, and smiling upon all, her sight was\n restored!\n\n \"The child's father, penetrated with faith and piety, said:\n 'Assuredly, God alone has restored our child to us; henceforth,\n she shall be called Marie, that she may ever bear in mind\n to whom she is indebted for life.' An attack of measles now\n supervened and finished the work, according to the doctor, by\n absorbing the water on the brain, and throwing out upon the\n surface of the skin the heretofore internal malady. A small\n gold cross, having engraven upon it the memorable date of this\n miraculous cure, was hung around the neck of little Marie, who\n is now a Daughter of St. Vincent de Paul.\"\n\n\nCONVERSION OF A CAPTAIN IN THE AUSTRIAN ARMY.\n\nLetter from the Superioress of the Daughters of Charity, at the\nHospital of Gratz (Austria), 1860:\n\n After the war in Italy, a Polish regiment passed through Gratz;\n the captain, attacked by a violent hemorrhage, was obliged\n to stop at the general hospital, in charge of the Daughters\n of Charity. Their constant and unremitting attentions did\n not retard the progress of the disease, and his life was in\n imminent danger.\n\n Full of consideration, gratitude and politeness for those\n who nursed him, he nevertheless expressed great displeasure\n whenever they approached him on the subject of religion; he\n had requested to be spared the visits of the chaplain of the\n regiment, and as to the hospital chaplain, he dared not present\n himself. It was necessary to keep the patient very quiet, and\n avoid all worry, for the least excitement might cause a mortal\n hemorrhage.\n\n A Sister, who had been watching by his couch one night, left,\n in mistake, a little book containing an account of favors\n obtained through the Blessed Virgin's intercession. The sick\n man took the book and read a few pages; another Sister coming\n into his room, he showed her a passage, and said, putting his\n hand to his forehead with a significant gesture: \"Here, Sister,\n just read this nonsense; as for myself, I cannot understand\n how any one can write such books--if I may dare, let me beg you\n to take this away.\"\n\n Vain was every effort to reach his heart by pleasant\n distractions, by engaging his attention or his interest; he\n was insensible to all. A few days after the occurrence just\n mentioned, a Sister ventured to offer him a medal of the\n Blessed Virgin suspended to a cord, so that he might wear it\n if he wished. He was too polite to refuse the present, but he\n let it remain just where the Sister had put it. His servant,\n though a devout Christian, dared not speak to him of receiving\n the Sacraments, and, although the patient expected to leave the\n hospital soon, it was very evident to all else that the fever\n was daily sapping his strength and rapidly conducting him to\n the tomb. Much grieved at his condition, and especially his\n impenitence, the Sisters determined to make one last effort\n to save this soul. And what was it? They wrote the Blessed\n Virgin a note, as follows: \"Grant that, by some means, most\n holy Mother, he may accept your medal, prepare him yourself to\n receive the Sacraments, and assist him at the hour of death.\n O Mary! conceived without sin, pardon our temerity, we attach\n this note to your statue, and leave it there till you deign to\n hear our prayers.\"\n\n The chief physician of the hospital said, one day, to the\n Sister on leaving this patient's room: \"The captain will die\n without the Sacraments, he seems inflexible.\" \"Oh! as to that,\"\n she replied, \"the Blessed Virgin will not fail to overcome his\n obstinacy.\" Three or four days elapsed; one morning the sick\n man requested the Sister to put the medal around his neck,\n which she did most joyfully. In the afternoon, he called her\n again: \"Sister,\" said he, \"I beg you to send for the chaplain\n of my regiment to hear my confession, so that to-morrow I may\n receive the Holy Eucharist and Extreme Unction.\" The worthy\n priest was happy to answer the summons; he remained a long time\n with the sick man, and next morning, after celebrating Mass at\n the altar of the Immaculate Conception, he administered to him\n the Holy Viaticum and Extreme Unction. We were all edified at\n the dying man's piety. He cherished his medal with religious\n fidelity, often asking for it and kissing it tenderly. A few\n days after receiving the Last Sacraments, he rendered his\n soul to God, saved, as we have every reason to hope, by the\n intercession of Mary conceived without sin.\n\n\nCONVERSION OF A HARDENED SINNER.\n\nA letter from the Superioress of the Daughters of Charity at Issoudun,\n1862:\n\n In the month of August, 1862, a young man aged twenty-nine, and\n who had been married several years, was dying of consumption.\n Vainly did his friends endeavor to turn his thoughts to\n eternity; every idea of religion seemed extinguished in his\n heart, and he positively refused to see the priest. A pious\n acquaintance informed the Sisters of his deplorable state;\n one of them went immediately to see him. She met with a cool\n reception, but was not the least disconcerted, and spoke to him\n very kindly, proposing to send him a physician, and adding,\n that she would supply all necessary medicines and nourishment.\n \"I need neither doctors nor medicines,\" was the reply, \"I am\n going to die, and I ask only that you will let me die in\n peace.\" His poor wife, who was present, holding their little\n child in her arms, said to him with tears: \"Accept Sister's\n offer, and perhaps you will recover,\" but he made no answer;\n and the Sister now turning to his wife, endeavored to console\n her, by promising to send the doctor and return soon herself.\n The doctor came and met with no better reception. In a few days\n the Sister presented herself again, and was received as before,\n all her advances eliciting no response save a frigid silence;\n but naught discouraged, she returned day after day, though her\n reception was always the same. As the young man grew worse,\n the Sister's prayers increased, and she felt inspired to offer\n him a medal of the Immaculate Conception, still hoping that\n the good God would lead back to the fold, this poor strayed\n sheep. \"I accept a medal!\" he exclaimed vehemently, \"and what\n do you wish me to do with it? It would suit my wife or child\n well enough, but as for myself, I want no medals!\" The Sister\n withdrew from the contest for the time, but not discouraged,\n she returned to the charge next morning. \"Ah,\" said she\n pleasantly, \"you are going to take the medal to-day?\" \"You know\n what I told you yesterday,\" he answered, \"besides, Sister,\n I am afraid of becoming imbued with your sentiments should\n I accept it, for I perceive that you are much more unhappy\n than I care about being.\" A ray of happiness illumined the\n Sister's countenance, for she knew that he who fears is already\n conquered. After plying her with questions about religion, he\n concluded thus: \"After all, death will be a great relief to\n me; I have twice made an unsuccessful attempt at committing\n suicide. I suffer so much that I desire nothing but to die as\n soon possible.\" Next day, the Sister asked her Superioress to\n visit him and offer him the medal. She did so, and he not only\n accepted it, but at last consented to see the priest. When our\n Sister next saw him he was completely changed, and expressed\n his joy at the priest's visit, and his desire of seeing him\n soon again. \"Sister,\" said he, \"I am too miserable, I wish to\n be like you.\" The priest did not delay his second coming, and\n the poor, suffering creature, having made his confession, asked\n for Holy Communion, which he had not received for many years,\n but this favor was denied him, his throat being so inflamed\n that he could swallow only a few drops of liquid. His last days\n were sanctified by the most admirable resignation; no one ever\n heard him utter a complaint, he asked for one thing only, the\n visits of the priest and Sister, which alone seemed to afford\n him any consolation. And on the Feast of All Saints, evincing\n every mark of a sincere conversion, he breathed his last.\n\n\nCONVERSION OF A MALEFACTOR.\n\nA Letter from the Superioress of the Daughters of Charity, at the\nHospital of Beuthen (Prussian Poland)--1865:\n\n There was brought to our hospital, a young man of notoriously\n bad character. He entered our doors blaspheming, and as the\n physician had told the Sister that he had but a few days to\n live, she essayed a few words of piety and consolation, to turn\n his attention to the state of his soul; but he answered her by\n maledictions. At last, one day she said to him, \"My friend,\n since you will not listen to me, I will ask my Superioress\n herself to come.\" \"Let her come,\" was his reply, \"if she were\n to tell me to hang myself, I would obey her, but as for\n confession, she may talk about that as much as she pleases,\n I shall never yield.\" These words were followed by so many\n blasphemies, that it was with a very heavy heart the poor\n Sister sought her Superioress. \"Have you given him a medal?\"\n said the latter. \"A medal!\" was the reply, \"he would throw it\n away.\" \"Ah, well, we must put one under his pillow and trust to\n prayer, for it is useless to talk to him; tell him only that I\n say he is not worthy of going to confession, and I forbid his\n doing so.\"\n\n As soon as the Sister who was nursing him left the presence\n of her Superioress, the latter threw herself upon her knees\n and began to repeat that beautiful prayer, the _Remember_. In\n a very few minutes the Sister returned, this time shedding\n tears of joy. \"Ah, Sister,\" said she, \"he wishes to confess;\n as soon as I had put the medal under his pillow and recited\n the _Remember_ for him, I delivered your message.\" \"Indeed!\"\n said he, rising from his seat, \"Well, I would just like to see\n the person that could prevent it; tell your Superioress that\n to-morrow morning at eight o'clock, I am going to pay the cur\u00e9\n a visit.\"\n\n The Sisters felt a little troubled concerning a confession\n apparently dictated by the spirit of contradiction, but their\n fears were dissipated when the penitent returned bathed in\n tears. He had just been to Holy Communion; asking the Sisters'\n pardon for his past misconduct, he begged them to implore the\n Blessed Virgin to let him live eight days longer, that he might\n weep for his sins. This favor was granted him, and daily did he\n bedew his pillow with tears. At the end of the eight days he\n died, blessing God, and pressing the medal to his lips.\n\n\nCONVERSION OF AN ACTRESS.\n\nA letter from the Superioress of the Daughters of Charity, at the\nHospital of Beuthen (Prussian Poland), 1865:\n\n Some years ago, a young Protestant woman, belonging to a troupe\n of comedians, arrived in Beuthen with her company. The good God\n permitted that she should find lodgings in a Catholic family,\n with whom she soon essayed a controversy. \"Mademoiselle,\" said\n the master of the house, \"it would be better for you to go see\n the Sisters about these things; the Blessed Virgin has wrought\n wonders in their establishments, I am sure you would return\n fully enlightened on the subject you have been discussing.\"\n The young girl laughed at such a proposition; but a few days\n after, impelled by curiosity, she repaired to the hospital\n and asked for the Sister-Servant. \"Invite her in,\" said the\n latter, who had already heard of the young actress; \"no doubt,\n the Blessed Virgin has something in store for her here.\" After\n a few formalities of etiquette, our visitor introduced the\n subject of religion, and attempted to enter into a controversy\n with the Sister. \"Alas! Mademoiselle,\" replied the latter, \"the\n poor Daughters of Charity have neither the time nor learning\n necessary for a discussion of these subtle questions, but they\n have other arms with which to vanquish you;\" and, smiling, she\n presented her disputant a little medal of the Blessed Virgin.\n \"Promise me to wear this slight souvenir, it will be a constant\n reminder that we are praying for you.\" She allowed the Sister\n to put the medal on her neck, and retired rather pleased with\n her visit.\n\n From this day, the Sisters at the hospital began to recommend\n the young actress to Mary conceived without sin. Not many\n weeks after, the cur\u00e9 said to the Sister-Servant: \"Do you\n know, Sister, that Mademoiselle M., who spent the most of\n her time promenading with gentlemen and smoking cigars, now\n comes to me for religious instruction? In a little while she\n will make her abjuration.\" And, indeed, it was not very long\n before she repaired to the hospital. \"Sister,\" said she to the\n Sister-Servant, \"I am going to confession to-day, and to-morrow\n I make my First Communion. On my first visit here, I was\n enraged at you. I could have fought you, and cast to the winds\n this medal that I now kiss. From the very moment you put it on\n my neck, an unaccountable change was wrought in me.\" Next day,\n the church was filled with Protestants and Jews, all anxious\n to witness a ceremony which had excited so much comment. After\n her reception into the Church, the young convert, on the eve of\n her departure, paid another visit to the Sister Servant, and\n the latter saw by her very countenance what great changes grace\n had wrought in this soul. \"Well,\" said the Sister, just to try\n her, \"here is a silver medal to replace yours which has become\n very black.\" \"Oh, no,\" was the earnest, prompt reply, as she\n tenderly pressed her own medal, \"I would not exchange this for\n any other in the world, for it is since I began to wear it my\n soul has awaked to a new life.\"\n\n Some years later, the Sister received a letter dated from\n Rome, it was from the young convert, who wrote to her as\n follows: \"Sister, Providence has led me to Rome, and it is no\n longer Mlle. M. you must address, but Sister St.---- of the B.\n convent. Your desires are accomplished; I now belong entirely\n to God, as I once did to the world; the Blessed Virgin\n vanquishes souls with other arms than those of controversy.\"\n\nWe must add, to the praise of the young actress, that her moral\ncharacter was always irreproachable.\n\nThe Superioress of the hospital at Beuthen, in narrating these facts,\nadds: \"I could mention, for the greater glory of God and honor of the\nImmaculate Mary, numberless incidents of this kind, but lack of time\nand my weak eyes prevent my giving the details. I will say, however,\nand that without the slightest exaggeration, that not a week passes\nbut the Blessed Virgin bestows upon our patients at the hospital some\nnew proof of her maternal bounty. The medal, so dear to us, is really\nmiraculous, and the instrument by which we snatch from destruction\nsouls that have cost Our Lord so much. Ah! how numberless, in this\nunhappy land, the snares of the enemy of our salvation to entrap souls;\nbut to vanquish him, I everywhere circulate the Miraculous Medal (you\nknow what numbers we get), and my confidence in Mary is never deceived.\"\n\n\nCONVERSION OF A PROMINENT FREE MASON.\n\n _New Orleans (United States), 1865._\n\n Among the patients at the great Charity hospital, New Orleans,\n was a very prominent Free Mason. His hatred of religion was\n displayed in a thousand ways; not only did he interdict the\n Sister who nursed him any allusion to his salvation, but\n he even habitually repaid by harsh and injurious words her\n kindness and attention to his physical sufferings. If others\n ventured to mention the subject of religion to him, they were\n received with jeers and banters. Several times was he at\n the point of death, and yet, sad to relate, his dispositions\n remained the same. At last, when the Sister saw that he had but\n a few hours to live, she stealthily slipped a Miraculous Medal\n under his bolster, and said interiorly to the Blessed Virgin:\n \"My dear Mother, you know I have spared no effort to touch this\n poor man's heart, but in vain; now I abandon him to you, it\n is you who must save him; I leave him entirely in your hands,\n and shall try to divest myself of all anxiety concerning him.\"\n That evening, in making her rounds, she glances at him and\n learns from the infirmarian that ever since her (the Sister's)\n last visit, he had been very calm and apparently absorbed in\n thought. On inquiring of the patient himself how he felt, she\n was astonished at his polite answer, but remembering that she\n had entrusted him entirely to the Blessed Virgin's care, she\n did not venture a word about his soul, and bidding him good\n night, she left the room.\n\n About nine o'clock, he called the infirmarian, and asked for a\n priest; knowing his former bitterness, the infirmarian thought\n it a joke and treated it accordingly; the patient repeated his\n request, but with no better success. Then he began to weep\n and cry aloud for a priest; all the other patients were mute\n with astonishment, and the infirmarian unable to resist such\n entreaties went for the chaplain and the Sister. The dying\n man requested Baptism, which was administered immediately, as\n well as Extreme Unction, and before morning he had rendered\n his account to the Sovereign Judge. His body was interred with\n Masonic rites, but his soul, thanks to the powerful protection\n of Mary Immaculate, had been carried by angels to the bosom of\n its God.\n\n\nCONVERSION OF A SICK PROTESTANT.\n\n _New Orleans (United States)._\n\n At the same hospital in New Orleans, a Sister for a long time\n had vainly endeavored to convince a Protestant of the most\n essential truths of religion, that he might receive Baptism,\n but he was deaf to all her persuasions. One day she showed him\n a Miraculous Medal, and related its origin. He appeared to\n listen somewhat attentively, but when she offered it to him,\n \"Take it away,\" said he, in a tone of great contempt, \"this\n Virgin is no more than any other woman.\" \"I am going to leave\n it on your table,\" was the Sister's reply, \"I am sure you will\n reflect on my words.\" He said nothing, but to put it out of\n sight, placed his bible over it. Every day, under the pretext\n of arranging and dusting his room, the Sister assured herself\n that the medal was still there. Several days elapsed, during\n which the patient grew worse; one night, whilst lying awake\n racked with suffering, he perceived a brilliant light around\n his bed, though the rest of the room was enveloped in darkness.\n Greatly astonished, he succeeded, in spite of his weakness, in\n rising and turning up the gas, to discover if possible, the\n cause of this mysterious light. Finding none, he returned to\n bed, and a few minutes after, he perceived that the luminous\n rays escaped from the medal. He then took it in his hands,\n and kept it there the remainder of the night. As soon as the\n Sisters' rising bell rang (which was four o'clock), he called\n the infirmarian, and begged him to tell the Sister he desired\n Baptism. The chaplain was immediately informed. \"Impossible!\"\n he exclaimed, for having had frequent conversations with the\n sick man, he was well aware of his sentiments, and could\n scarcely believe him in earnest. Nevertheless, he obeyed the\n summons, and finding the patient really disposed to profit by\n his ministry, he administered the Last Sacraments, and shortly\n after receiving which the poor man died, blessing God and the\n Blessed Virgin for the graces bestowed upon him.\n\n\nCONVERSION OF A PROTESTANT GIRL.\n\n _New Orleans, (United States)._\n\n A poor young Protestant girl, brought to our hospital to be\n treated for a grave malady, had so great a horror of our holy\n religion, that at the very sight of a Catholic near her,\n she acted like one possessed. The presence of a Sister was\n especially irritating, and one day she even went so far as to\n spit in the Sister's face, but the latter, nothing dismayed,\n and ever hoping that the God of all mercy would change this\n wolf into a lamb, continued her kind attentions, the more\n disrespectful her patient, the more gentle and considerate\n the Sister. The latter was at last inspired with the thought\n of slipping a Miraculous Medal between the two mattresses;\n she acted upon the inspiration, and the following night the\n Immaculate Mary's image became an instrument of salvation and\n happiness to a guilty soul. Pitching and tossing upon her bed\n by reason of a high fever, the patient, in some unaccountable\n manner, found the medal, and the Sister's astonishment next\n morning at seeing her clasping it in her hands, and covering\n it with kisses, was second only to that she experienced on\n perceiving the wonderful transformation grace had wrought in\n this poor creature's soul. A supernatural light had revealed\n to her the sad state of her conscience; her criminal life\n filled her with horror, and, penetrated with regret for the\n past, she sighed only for holy Baptism. After the necessary\n instruction, she was baptized; and, during the remainder of her\n sickness, which was long and tedious, her patience and fervor\n never faltered. She persevered in these edifying sentiments,\n until a happy death placed the seal upon the graces she had\n received through the intercession of Mary Immaculate.\n\n\nCONVERSION OF A PROTESTANT.\n\n _New Orleans (United States)._\n\n A Protestant gentleman had spent four years at the hospital,\n sometimes in one hall, sometimes another. As his malady had\n not been very serious, no one had considered it necessary to\n speak to him concerning his soul. However, when his condition\n became more aggravated, the Sister, after invoking the Blessed\n Virgin's assistance, told him the physician considered his case\n dangerous, and she thought he ought to receive Baptism, without\n which no one could be saved. He listened attentively, then\n turning to her, said: \"Sister, if I were to ask you to become\n a Protestant, would you comply with my request?\" \"No,\" was\n the decided answer. \"Well, then,\" he continued, \"rest assured\n that it is just as useless for you to attempt persuading me to\n become a Catholic.\"\n\n In spite of this positive refusal, she let no occasion pass\n without enlightening him, were it ever so little, upon some\n of the truths of religion. One day, showing him a Miraculous\n Medal, she told him he would confer a great favor on her by\n reciting the little invocation: \"O Mary! conceived without\n sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!\" \"What, Sister! a\n Catholic prayer! that is impossible, I cannot!\" She said no\n more, but slipped the medal under his pillow, and there it\n remained untouched for several days, during which time she\n redoubled her attentions to the physical necessities of the\n poor patient, who gradually grew weaker. At last, one evening\n she said to him: \"Well, Henry, are you not going to do what I\n asked you?\" \"Yes, Sister, I most earnestly desire to become a\n Catholic.\" The chaplain was called immediately; he had barely\n time to administer Baptism and Extreme Unction, ere the dying\n man's regenerated soul was carried by angels to the abode of\n the blessed.\n\n\nCONVERSION OF A YOUNG METHODIST.\n\n _St. Louis (United States), 1865._\n\n A young man, a Methodist, arrived at the hospital in an\n extremely weak condition. The physician at once pronounced\n his case hopeless, and said he had but a few days to live.\n Consequently, the Sister's first care was for his soul.\n Questioning him, she soon learned that he believed neither in\n the efficacy nor necessity of Baptism, and all her efforts\n to induce him to receive this Sacrament were unavailing. He\n had no desire for any conversation on the subject, and his\n invariable reply to all her arguments was: \"I believe in Jesus,\n that suffices; I am sure of being saved.\" The Sister redoubled\n her prayers, for in them lay her only hope, and time was\n precious. A good priest visited him every day; once, after a\n much longer visit than usual, he told the Sister on leaving the\n room it was impossible to do anything with that man, unless\n God wrought a miracle in his favor, and they must entreat Him\n to do so. The poor man persisted, indeed, in refusing all\n spiritual succor, though receiving gratefully the attentions\n bestowed upon his body. His strength diminished day by day,\n and he calmly awaited death; one thought alone disquieted\n him, that of never seeing his mother and dying afar from her.\n Perceiving himself on the brink of the grave, he called one of\n his companions whom he begged to be with him at that fearful\n moment, and write the particulars of it to his mother. Whilst\n he made this request, the Sister slipped a Miraculous Medal\n under his pillow, confidently believing that Mary would not let\n this soul entrusted to her perish; yet he was already in his\n agony. Two Sisters watched beside his bed till midnight, when\n obliged to retire, they left him in charge of an infirmarian\n and the young man who had promised to be with him at the hour\n of death. Apparently he had not more than half an hour to\n live, so next morning when the infirmarian came to meet the\n Sister, she was prepared for news of the patient's death, but\n to her astonishment the infirmarian exclaimed: \"Come Sister,\n come see him, he is restored to life!\" He then told her that\n the patient, to all appearances, had been dead an hour; that\n the friend and himself had rendered all the last duties to the\n body, having washed and dressed and prepared it for the grave;\n then the young man went to bed, and he alone remained with\n the corpse. After watching near it some time, he approached\n to bandage the jaws, but what was his fright whilst thus\n engaged, to see the dead man open his eyes! The Sister heard\n no more, but eagerly hastened to the spot, and found the man\n still breathing. With a great effort he said: \"Oh! what a\n blessing that you have come!\" In reply, she exhorted him to\n receive Baptism, and told him that he was indebted to the\n Blessed Virgin for this prolongation of his life. \"I wish to\n be baptized,\" said he, and when the Sister replied that the\n priest would come, \"Oh! that will be too late!\" was his pitiful\n answer. The other patients now joined their entreaties to his,\n and the Sister, after reciting aloud the acts of faith, hope,\n charity and contrition, which the dying man endeavored to\n repeat, with hands clasped and eyes raised to Heaven, baptized\n him. Whilst the regenerating waters flowed upon his soul,\n transports of love and thanksgiving escaped his lips. Half\n an hour later, he closed his eyes, never to open them here\n below. All that the infirmarian related of his first death, was\n confirmed in the most positive manner, by the Protestant friend\n who had assisted in preparing him for the grave.\n\n\nCONVERSION OF M. F----\n\n _St. Louis, (United States)._\n\n A Protestant named F---- was brought to our hospital in an\n advanced stage of consumption. He detested the Catholic\n religion most heartily, and received the Sisters' services\n with extreme repugnance. His physical strength diminished\n perceptibly, but his mind retained its energy and clearness.\n By degrees, the odor escaping from his decayed lungs, became\n so intolerable that all abandoned him. M. Burke, a missionary\n priest and the Sisters, being the only persons who had the\n courage to go near him, and pay any attention to his comfort.\n Yet neither priest nor Sister dare mention religion. They\n contented themselves with putting a Miraculous Medal under\n his pillow, and invoking her, who so often deigns to display\n her power in favor of those who deny it. She did not delay in\n granting their petition. A few days later, as the Protestant\n minister left the ward, after making his usual distribution of\n tracts, the sick man said to the Sister, \"Sister, it is done;\n I am converted.\" \"Ah,\" said the latter interiorly, \"our good\n Mother has accomplished her work.\" And it was indeed true; for\n the patient requested a priest, was instructed, and in a few\n days received the Sacraments of Baptism, the Holy Viaticum and\n Extreme Unction, with inexpressible fervor. The very expression\n of his countenance was changed; the happiness that inundated\n his heart beaming from every feature. \"Ah!\" said he, \"my\n sufferings are great, but I feel that I am going to Heaven;\n the truth has made me free.\" In these happy dispositions, he\n expired, promising that in heaven he would pray for all who had\n been instruments of his conversion.\n\n\nCONVERSION OF AN UNBAPTIZED PATIENT.\n\n _St. Louis, (United States)._\n\n A patient brought to the hospital in a hopeless condition,\n openly manifested his hatred of Catholicity. Yet, as he was in\n imminent danger of death, the Sister, profiting by a moment in\n which he seemed a little better disposed than usual, ventured\n to ask him if he would be baptized; he answered roughly, \"No,\n that he scarcely believed in baptism, and not at all in\n Catholic baptism, that in case of his recovery, perhaps he\n would receive baptism by immersion, and become a member of some\n church, but that would never be the Catholic Church.\" \"At any\n rate,\" added he, \"I am not going to torment myself now about\n such things.\" The poor Sister having no other resource than the\n Blessed Virgin, and seeing that the young man approached his\n end, stealthily slipped a medal under his pillow. Next morning\n it was picked up by the infirmarian, who, thinking the Sister\n had dropped it accidentally, was about to return it, but the\n patient opposed him; the little image pleased his fancy, and he\n wanted to keep it himself. To quiet him, the infirmarian was\n obliged to ask Sister if the patient might have it. The request\n was granted. Towards evening some one came to the Sister with a\n message from the patient, he wished to see her. \"Sister,\" said\n he as soon as she approached, \"you have told me I could not be\n saved without Baptism; let me be baptized, for I wish to be\n saved.\" Filled with joy at this news, she began to instruct and\n prepare him for the ceremony. It took place next morning, and\n during the course of the day, this soul, now the child of God,\n went to repose in the bosom of its celestial Father, to bless\n and thank Him for all eternity for His mercies.\n\n\nCONVERSION OF A YOUNG GIRL.\n\n_Buffalo (United States)._\n\n A young Protestant girl about twenty years of age came to the\n hospital, covered from head to foot with a disgusting itch,\n which the physician pronounced incurable. The Sister who\n dressed her sores, told her that the Blessed Virgin could\n obtain her recovery, and would do so, if she wore the medal and\n relied upon the Blessed Virgin's intercession. The poor girl\n knowing her case was deemed hopeless by the physician, answered\n bluntly: \"I do not believe in your Blessed Virgin, and I want\n no medal.\" \"Very well,\" replied the Sister, \"then you may keep\n your sores.\" A few days after she asked for a medal herself,\n put it on her neck, received instruction and was baptized, and\n in a short time she left the hospital perfectly cured, greatly\n to the astonishment of the physicians, who had all pronounced\n her malady incurable.\n\n\nCONVERSION OF A SINNER.\n\n _Hospital of Gratz (Austria)._\n\n An artist whose life had been far from edifying, was an\n inmate of our hospital. One morning the Sister was greatly\n surprised at his expressing a desire to confess. Perceiving\n her astonishment, he said: \"This morning, Sister, the chapel\n door was slightly open, and from my bed I could see the Blessed\n Virgin's statue.\" (It was that of the Immaculate Conception.)\n \"It appealed so strongly to my heart, that I have had no\n peace since. I must put my conscience in order.\" He did go to\n confession, not once, but several times, and he often expressed\n great regret for his past life. \"Ah!\" he would say, \"what a\n life I have led, and how sad the state of my soul when Mary\n came to my aid.\" When asked what he supposed had attracted\n Mary's compassion, he answered: \"I was merely looking at the\n statue, no thought of religion was in my mind; when suddenly,\n recollections of my past life filled me with fear, and Mary\n at the same time inspired me with a horror for sin.\" In\n this instance, repentance and reparation were the immediate\n consequences of the Immaculate Mary's merciful and maternal\n glance.\n\n\nCONVERSION OF A GREEK SCHISMATIC.\n\n _Hospital of Gratz (Austria.)_\n\n A Greek schismatic, attacked by a mortal malady, was brought to\n the hospital. He declared his intention of remaining attached\n to the errors in which he had been educated, and the Sisters,\n seeing his determination, entrusted him to the Blessed Virgin,\n consecrating him to her by placing under his pillow a medal,\n which for him proved truly miraculous. One day, a Franciscan\n Father visited the sick, and the young man asked the Sister\n to bring the good Father to see him. He conversed a long time\n with the latter, but manifested no intention of becoming a\n Catholic. Meanwhile, he grew worse, and, one day, when taken\n with a hemorrhage, he asked for this Father, \"because,\" said\n he, \"I wish to embrace the Catholic religion.\" The Sister\n was surprised, for she had said nothing to persuade him, but\n the Blessed Virgin had accomplished her work without earthly\n assistance. He confessed and made his abjuration; he even\n requested the Reverend Father to announce, in a loud voice, to\n the other patients that he entered the Church of his own free\n will. His attacks of vomiting made the priest hesitate to give\n him the Holy Viaticum, but he insisted so strongly, and had so\n ardent a desire to receive, that the good God permitted these\n spells of vomiting to become less frequent, so that he could\n make his first and last Communion at the same time, which he\n did with inexpressible fervor and consolation. Interrogated on\n the subject of his conversion, he answered: \"For a long time I\n felt that everything earthly was of little value, and I sought\n for the true and lasting.\" During the delirium of his last\n moments, he spoke continually of a white robe. The grace of\n Baptism had clothed his soul in spotless raiment, and to Mary's\n intercession was he indebted for it.\n\n\nCONVERSION OF AN APOSTATE.\n\n _Austria, 1866._\n\n In one of the prisons confided to the care of the Daughters of\n Charity, was a young man belonging to a respectable Catholic\n family, whose shame and disgrace he had become. After a short\n stay, he fell sick, and his condition necessitated removal\n to the infirmary; faithful to his principles of impiety, he\n absolutely refused all spiritual succor, and whenever he saw\n one of the chaplains pass, he either turned away his head or\n concealed it under the bedclothes. All the Sisters begged the\n Superioress to make one last effort for his soul. She paid him\n a visit, and was received politely, but to rid himself of her\n importunity, he avowed himself a Protestant, and related how\n he came to forsake the Faith, after making the acquaintance\n of several very bad characters, his companions in crime and\n his counselors in advising him to become a Protestant. The\n Sister asked him if he felt no remorse for such conduct, but\n he became enraged and exclaimed aloud: \"I am a Protestant, and\n I wish to live and die a Protestant!\" Seeing it impossible\n to do anything with the miserable creature, she interiorly\n recommended him to the Refuge of Sinners, and merely asked him\n to accept the medal she offered, to wear it and sometimes kiss\n it. He seemed quite pleased to get rid of her so easily, and\n placing all her confidence in Mary, she withdrew.\n\n The poor man passed a sleepless night, our Blessed Mother\n touched his heart, and very early next morning he sent word\n to the Sister that he wanted a priest to receive his solemn\n profession of Faith, in reparation of his scandalous apostasy\n and crimes. But his reputation was such that the prison\n chaplain doubted his sincerity, and would not go to him except\n upon repeated solicitations of the Superioress. He was deeply\n affected at witnessing the change grace had wrought in this\n soul, and the consequent compunction with which the prodigal\n confessed his sins. The dying man then made a public abjuration\n of his errors, and expired a few minutes after, in the grace of\n God and under the protecting smile of Mary.\n\n\nCONVERSION OF A SOLDIER AT THE HOSPITAL OF CAVA.\n\n _Cava, (Italy), 1866._\n\n A young soldier suffering from disease of the chest, was\n brought to the Military Hospital of Cava. His first question\n was to ask if the Sisters had charge of that hospital; on\n receiving an affirmative answer, he said to himself: \"They will\n bother me about going to confession, so I shall call myself a\n Jew to get rid of them,\" and Jew he was designated on the card\n of admission. Perceiving the serious nature of his malady, the\n Sisters to whose especial care he had been confided, visited\n him as often as possible. One of them offered him a medal\n of the Immaculate Conception; regarding it with a smile of\n pity, he said: \"I accept it, because it would not be polite\n to refuse, but believe me, I consider it a mere plaything and\n nothing more.\"\n\n Every time the chaplain visited the hall, to speak a word of\n consolation to one and another, the poor Jew covered his head.\n The Sister sometimes ventured a few words to him about the good\n God, but he would never reply, and her approach was the signal\n for his feigning sleep. One evening when he appeared worse than\n usual, two Sisters went to see him just before they retired\n for the night. On hearing them approach, he exclaimed: \"O\n Sister, a priest!\" The chaplain was immediately summoned to his\n bedside, the poor dying man repeating all the while: \"A priest!\n a priest!\" As soon as the chaplain came, the patient made his\n profession of Faith in a very audible voice; he then confessed,\n and just as the priest, in administering Extreme Unction, was\n anointing the ears, the penitent rendered his soul to God,\n leaving us the consoling hope that it had found mercy in its\n Maker's sight.\n\n\nCONVERSION OF A WOUNDED SOLDIER.\n\n _Palermo (Italy), 1866._\n\n In 1866, at the Military Hospital of Palermo, was a poor man\n who had just undergone the amputation of his left arm. His\n impiety was so great, that the Sister felt constrained to\n remove a large crucifix that had been placed near his bed, for\n he covered it with invectives. The miserable man's bodily\n infirmities were as hopeless as his spiritual, yet no one could\n succeed in inducing him to give any attention to his soul, or\n even to listen to a word about the good God. What could be done\n in such an extremity? The poor Sister was in great distress,\n when one day whilst dressing his wounds she was inspired to\n slip a medal of the Immaculate Conception between the bandages\n around the stump of the amputated member. Next morning, on\n witnessing the great change that had been wrought in her\n patient's spiritual condition during the night, she was less\n astonished than happy, for she had confidently relied upon the\n Blessed Virgin. He asked for a priest, who came immediately;\n he confessed, publicly repaired the scandals of his past life,\n and received with piety the Holy Viaticum and Extreme Unction.\n His few remaining days were spent in blessing that God who had\n shown him such boundless mercy. \"Oh! how good God is!\" did\n he repeat incessantly to his companions, \"I have committed\n manifold sins and He has pardoned me all!\"\n\n\nCURE OF AN AUSTRIAN OFFICER.\n\n _Hospital of Gratz (Austria), 1867._\n\n An officer in the garrison at Gratz, suffered from a serious\n wound in the right arm. He was brought to the general hospital,\n that he might be more conveniently under the especial treatment\n of M. Rzehazeh, a very eminent surgeon. The latter exhausted\n all his skill, but in vain, and after a few weeks he saw the\n necessity of amputation to save the officer's life. Learning\n the doctor's decision, the patient was deeply grieved, and\n his oppressed heart sought refuge in piety. He who had never\n spoken of God, who had accepted a proffered medal only from\n courtesy, now appeared to experience a genuine satisfaction\n when the Sisters told him they would implore the Blessed Virgin\n in his behalf. During the few days immediately preceding the\n operation, he felt inspired with a great confidence in his\n medal, and frequently repeated the invocation engraven upon it:\n \"O Mary! conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse\n to thee!\" The danger was now imminent, and the amputation,\n which must not be delayed, was to take place on the morrow. One\n of the Sisters, perceiving that the young officer's confidence\n expressed itself in continual prayer, suggested that evening\n that he lay the medal upon his afflicted arm, and let it remain\n all night, a suggestion which was joyfully received. Next\n morning she hastened to ascertain her patient's condition, and\n get the medal. He had spent a quiet night, his sufferings being\n less severe than usual; and the Sister, whilst attributing his\n improvement to the anodynes prescribed, understood full well\n that the precious medal had also been instrumental in procuring\n relief, and that Mary had looked compassionately upon him;\n but she did not yet realize the full extent of the blessing.\n The surgeon came a few hours after, and whilst awaiting his\n assistants, he carefully examined the wounded arm, he touched\n it, he probed it, and to his great astonishment, perceived that\n amputation was not necessary. The other doctors on arriving,\n confirmed his opinion of this surprising change. The officer\n was mute with happiness, and not until he found himself alone\n with the chief surgeon did he impart to the latter, as a\n secret, his opinion as to the cause of this wonderful change.\n On leaving him, the surgeon (notwithstanding the injunction\n of secrecy), could not refrain from saying to the Sister: \"I\n believe the Sisters of Charity have engaged the good God in\n this case.\"\n\n The officer's arm was entirely healed; a few weeks later he\n left the hospital, taking with him the precious medal as a\n memento of gratitude and love for Mary Immaculate.\n\n\n * * * * *\n\n\nCONVERSION OF M. N---- AT LIMA.\n\nLetter from a Daughter of Charity in Lima (Peru), 1876:\n\n M. N---- had been suffering a long time from hypertrophy of\n the heart, the physicians having vainly exhausted all the\n resources of their skill, were forced to tell the family that\n he was beyond the power of human aid, and should look to the\n state of his soul, sad news for this father of a family, and a\n man devoid of religion. In vain did his relatives and friends,\n with all possible delicacy, endeavor to turn his thoughts to\n religion and induce him to receive the Sacraments; he would\n hear nothing on the subject; a priest, who was an intimate\n friend of the family, attempted to second their efforts, but he\n met with no better success; the sick man became exasperated at\n all allusions to religion, he blasphemed everything relating to\n it, sparing not even the Blessed Virgin.\n\n One day, after listening to an account of the conversion of\n M.----, of Lima, our patient's relatives expressed a desire\n of having recourse to similar means for their dear one's\n conversion. \"It is very simple,\" said the person addressed,\n \"you have only to ask Sister N., of St. Anne's Hospital for a\n medal, she got one for M. Pierre, she will not refuse you.\"\n One of his nephews immediately repaired to the hospital and\n returned with a medal. A niece offered it to him; \"Mamma,\"\n said she, \"sends you this medal and begs that you will wear\n it.\" \"Certainly,\" was the reply, \"I will wear it for her sake,\n but I want everybody to understand that I have no notion of\n confessing.\"\n\n He spent a quiet night, and was quite pleased next morning to\n find himself somewhat better. \"Euloge,\" said he, to one of his\n nephews, \"what preparation should a person make who intends\n taking a long journey?\" Euloge, who thought he certainly\n must be in a dream to hear his uncle speak thus, inquired\n to what journey he alluded. \"Ah!\" was the answer, \"I speak\n of Eternity.\" The poor young man, delighted at such a happy\n change, replied that the best preparation was to put one's\n conscience in order by making a good confession. \"I will do so,\n send me a priest,\" said his uncle. As soon as the clergyman\n arrived and heard his confession, he administered the Holy\n Viaticum. All the assistants were overcome with emotion when\n they saw the sick man, almost in his last agony, supported by\n his children, to receive on bended knee, the God who had just\n pardoned all the sins of his life. A few moments after, he\n blessed his children, gave them his parting counsel, and died\n in sentiments of piety rivaling his past irreligion. His family\n was deeply grateful to Mary Immaculate for this token of her\n favor.\n\n\nCONVERSION OF AN UNBELIEVER.\n\nLetter from a Sister of Charity in Lima, Peru, 1877:\n\n An old lady whose youth had been pious, having lost her Faith\n by reading bad books, had not frequented the Sacraments for\n thirty-five years. The Sister with whom she lived was carried\n to her grave, after an illness of only five days, and it was\n natural to suppose that the Christian death of one so dear\n would have softened her heart; on the contrary, it embittered\n her the more, and she vented her grief in blasphemies. A\n Sister of Charity witnessing this scandal, and not being able\n to soothe the poor creature, was inspired with the thought\n of giving her a medal of the Blessed Virgin; the old lady\n accepted, and wore it for several days, during which she\n appeared greatly pre-occupied, and somewhat less confident in\n her scepticism; but having yielded to a diabolical suggestion,\n that urged her to lay the medal aside, doubtless because grace\n tormented her conscience with keen remorse whilst the medal\n was on her person, she fell back into an habitual hardness\n and melancholy that she styled peace. The Sister perceived\n this, and inquired if she still wore the medal; on receiving\n a negative answer, our good Sister represented the danger\n to which her soul was exposed without it, and the old lady\n promised to put it on again. Many prayers were offered up\n for her, and at the end of fifteen days, the Sister, who was\n greatly interested in this poor woman's soul, paid her another\n visit; perceiving no change in her sentiments, she inquired\n immediately if the medal had been resumed. The poor woman, who\n was very uncouth, dared not speak, but made a sign with her\n head which revealed all. \"What have you done with it, and where\n is it?\" asked the Sister. The old lady replied that it was in\n her wardrobe, and she had made several ineffectual efforts to\n put it on again. The Sister understands that this miserable\n soul is under some diabolical influence, holding her aloof from\n aught calculated to reclaim her to God; she feels that now\n is the moment for prompt action, and in a tone of severity,\n says: \"Very well, since you will not wear the medal, I abandon\n you entirely.\" These words produced the desired effect; the\n old lady ran to the wardrobe, and taking up the medal, put it\n around her neck this time to remain. Soon experiencing the\n sweet and powerful influence of Mary Immaculate, so justly\n called the Gate of Heaven, in a few days she assisted at the\n Holy Sacrifice and listened to the instruction, and from that\n time was entirely changed; she confessed and made her Easter\n Communion, and the deepest compunction and gratitude are now\n the abiding sentiments of her heart. She wished to remain\n at the church door, feeling herself unworthy to penetrate\n further into the sacred edifice, and it was with the greatest\n difficulty her friends could prevail upon her to accept a place\n nearer the altar. She never ceases to thank God and Mary; and\n she told the Sister that, from the moment the medal was on her\n neck, she knew neither peace nor rest till she had returned to\n her duties, so great are the power and love of that Virgin who\n is the sovereign Terror of demons.\n\n\nCONVERSION OF A SCANDALOUS SINNER.\n\n _Moirans, 1877._\n\nThe Superioress of the Sisters of Charity at Moirans, relates as\nfollows a very consoling conversion, redounding to the glory of Mary\nImmaculate:\n\n \"The most important manufacturer of our village, who employed\n from four to five hundred men and women, has just died, and\n contrary to all expectations, his death was penitent and\n consoling. He had been impious and immoral, and the profligate\n characters in his workshops were a curse to the surrounding\n country. His rudeness was such, that everybody trembled before\n him. His wife and two daughters, pious Christians, silently\n bewailed his misconduct; and as for myself, I had barely\n sufficient acquaintance with him to render justifiable my\n calling upon him in any urgent need.\n\n \"One morning I received a message in great haste; this person\n was very sick and wished to see me. I went at once, but the\n disease was of so serious a character and its progress so\n rapid, that I saw the poor man on the verge of the grave ere\n I could find a means of turning his thoughts to eternity.\n I had told his wife and daughters to give him a medal of\n the Immaculate Conception, but he refused to accept it, and\n we were reduced to the necessity of stealthily putting it\n under his pillow. On the third day, as I was about to leave,\n after rendering him all the care and attention in my power,\n he wished, in the effusion of his gratitude, to shake hands\n with me. I profited by the opportunity to tell him how much\n pleasure he could give me by consenting to receive the cur\u00e9,\n who had just come to see him. He made a sign in the affirmative\n and with a smile that very rarely parted his lips. We went\n out of the room, leaving him alone with the priest, whom he\n had welcomed cordially. In half an hour the latter returned\n blessing God, for the sick man had made his confession. He\n now consented to wear the medal, and that evening he received\n Extreme Unction, but not the Holy Viaticum, as he had spells\n of suffocation. I asked his wife to let his employees see him,\n that they might be edified at their patron's conduct. The\n request was granted, but not many came, as the workshops were\n closed at this hour; those who did come, prayed a few minutes\n beside him. Next morning his family was greatly rejoiced at his\n apparent physical improvement, but their hopes were deceived,\n and very soon his last agony began. He was recommended to\n the prayers of the parish; the whole village manifested a\n touching interest in his condition, and his employees all came\n to see him. The throng around the dying man was renewed every\n quarter of an hour, and we recited the _Chaplet_ aloud, a most\n appropriate devotion for this occasion, the last moments of\n one whom the Blessed Virgin had snatched from eternal misery.\n Amidst this concert of praises to Mary, he expired. The\n Christian Brothers, to whom he had been very hostile, willingly\n aided us in rendering to him the last duties of religion.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VII.\n\nPROGRESS OF THE DEVOTION TO MARY\n\n\n CROWNED BY THE DEFINITION OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION.--I. OUR\n LADY OF LA SALETTE.--II. THE CHILDREN OF MARY.--III. THE DEFINITION\n OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION.\n\n_I.--Our Lady of La Salette.--1846._\n\n\nIn her first manifestation to Sister Catherine, July 19, 1830, the\nImmaculate Virgin announced the disasters which threatened France;\ngrief was depicted upon her countenance, tears stifled her voice, she\nearnestly recommended prayer to appease the wrath of God.\n\nSixteen years later, this Mother of mercy, appearing to two little\nshepherd children upon one of the summits of the Alps, repeated, in a\nmost solemn manner, the same warnings and the same counsels. The first\napparition remains in obscurity, but a knowledge of the second has\nbeen spread throughout the world, and with most consoling results. The\nmiracle of La Salette has greatly increased devotion to the Blessed\nVirgin, and given Christians a clearer idea of the important duties\nof penance and prayer, which, in reality, are the embodiment of all\npractical piety.\n\nWe quote the best authenticated account of La Salette, that of the Abb\u00e9\nRousselot, who himself received it from the mouths of the children.\n\n \"Two peasant children, M\u00e9lanie Mathieu, aged fourteen years,\n and Maximin Giraud, aged eleven, both simple and ignorant, as\n might naturally be expected of their age and condition, were\n together upon the mountain of La Salette, which overlooks a\n village where they were at service under different masters.\n Their acquaintance was very slight, their first meeting having\n been only the day before the occurrence we are about to relate.\n When the _Angelus_ announced the hour of noon, they went to\n soak their hard bread in the water of a spring. After this\n rural repast, they descended a little farther, and laying down\n their crooks beside another spring, then dry, they seated\n themselves a slight distance apart, upon a few stones which had\n been piled up there, and went to sleep.\n\n \"It was Saturday, September 19th, 1846, and eve of the day on\n which fell the Feast of Our Lady's Seven Dolors.\n\n \"'After taking the cows to water, and eating our lunch,' says\n Maximin, 'we went to sleep beside a stream, and very near a\n spring which was dry. M\u00e9lanie awoke first, and aroused me to\n hunt our cows. We crossed the stream, and going in an opposite\n direction, saw our cows lying down on the other side, and not\n very far off.'\n\n \"'I came down first,' says M\u00e9lanie; 'when I was within five or\n six steps of the stream, I perceived a light like that of the\n sun, but even more brilliant and not the color of sunlight,\n and I said to Maximin: Come quick to see the bright light down\n here.' 'Where is it?' inquired Maximin, coming towards me. 'I\n pointed with my finger in the direction of the spring, and he\n stood still when he saw it. Then the light seemed to open,\n and in the midst of it appeared a Lady, she was seated, and\n her head resting upon her hands.' 'We were both frightened,'\n continues Maximin, 'and M\u00e9lanie, with an exclamation of terror,\n let fall her crook.' 'Keep your crook,' said I, 'as for me,\n I am going to keep mine. If it does anything to us, I will\n give it a blow with my crook.' And the Lady arose. She crossed\n her arms, and said to us: 'Come to me, my children, do not be\n afraid. I am here to tell you something very important.' All\n our fears vanished, we went towards her and crossed the stream,\n and the Lady advancing a few steps, we met at the place where\n M\u00e9lanie and I had fallen asleep. The Lady was between us, and\n she wept all the time she was talking. 'I saw her tears flow,'\n adds M\u00e9lanie.\n\n \"'If my people,' said she, 'do not humble themselves, I shall\n be forced to let them feel the weight of my Son's uplifted arm.\n I have stayed it heretofore, but it now presses so heavily that\n I can scarcely support it much longer. And all the while I am\n suffering thus for you, I must pray without ceasing if I wish\n to prevent your abandonment by my Son. And, moreover, you do\n not appreciate it.'\n\n \"'In vain will you pray, in vain will you strive, never can you\n recompense what I have undergone for you. I have given you six\n days of the week wherein to work, the seventh I reserved for\n myself, and even that is denied me! It is this which weighs\n down my Son's arm.'\n\n \"'Even those who drive carts must curse, and mingle my Son's\n name with their oaths.'\n\n \"'These are the two things that weigh down my Son's arm.'\n\n \"'If the harvest fails, it is for no other reason than your\n sins. I tried last year to make you see this in the failure of\n the potato crop. You took no account of it. On the contrary,\n when you found the potatoes rotted, you swore and mingled my\n Son's name with your maledictions. The potatoes will continue\n to rot, at Christmas there will be none.'\n\n \"I did not know what this meant,\" said M\u00e9lanie, \"for in our\n part of the country we do not call them potatoes. I asked\n Maximin what they were, and the Lady said to me:\n\n \"'Ah! my children, you do not understand me, I will use other\n language.'\n\n \"The Blessed Virgin now repeated the preceding in _patois_, and\n the remainder of her discourse was also in _patois_. We give\n the translation as follows:\n\n \"'If you have wheat, it must not be sown, the animals will\n devour what you sow; and should any remain, it will yield\n naught but dust when threshed.'\n\n \"'There will be a great famine. Before the famine comes, little\n children under seven years of age, will be seized with fright\n and die in the arms of those who are holding them. Some will do\n penance by reason of the famine. Even the nuts will fail and\n the grapes rot.'\n\n \"After these words, the beautiful Lady continued to speak aloud\n to Maximin. Though seeing the motion of her lips, M\u00e9lanie hears\n nothing. Maximin receives a secret in French. Then the Blessed\n Virgin addresses herself to the little girl, and Maximin ceases\n to hear her voice. She likewise confides to M\u00e9lanie a secret\n in French, but a more lengthy secret it appears than that\n entrusted to Maximin. Continuing her discourse in _patois_, and\n so as to be heard by both, she adds: 'If they turn aside from\n their evil ways, the very rocks and stones will be changed into\n heaps of grain, and potatoes will be found scattered over the\n fields.'\n\n \"The Queen of Heaven then addressed herself more directly to\n the children.\n\n \"'Do you say your prayers with devotion, my children?'\n\n \"'Oh, no, Madame,' they both answered, 'we say them with very\n little devotion.'\n\n \"Our divine Mother continued: 'Ah! my children, you must say\n them fervently evening and morning. When you have not the time,\n and cannot do better, say an _Our Father_ and a _Hail Mary_;\n and when you have the time you must say more.\n\n \"'No one goes to Mass, except a few aged women; all the rest in\n summer spend Sunday working, and in winter, when at a loss for\n something to do, they go to Mass only to ridicule religion; and\n during Lent they frequent the shambles as if they were dogs.'\n\n \"After a few more words, reminding Maximin that he had already\n seen the failure of the grain, the august Queen finished in\n French as follows: 'Ah! my children, tell this to all my\n people.' And before leaving them, she repeated the command.\n\n \"The two children add: 'Then she ascended about fifteen steps,\n to the place where we had gone to look after our cows. Her feet\n barely touched the surface of the verdure, which did not even\n bend beneath her, she glided over the surface as if suspended\n in the air, and impelled by some invisible power. We followed\n her, M\u00e9lanie a little ahead, and I two or three steps from the\n Lady's side. The beautiful Lady was now gently elevated to\n about the height of a yard,' said the children. 'She remained\n thus suspended in the air for a moment. She glances up to\n Heaven and then at the earth, her head disappears from our\n view, next her arms, and lastly her feet. She seemed to melt\n away. There remained a brilliant light that gleamed upon my\n hands, and the flowers at her feet, but that was all.'\n\n \"At the first words of his son's narration, Maximin's\n father began to laugh, but very soon recognizing the marks\n of incontestable sincerity, he hastened to comply with\n his Christian duties, so long neglected. The neighboring\n inhabitants followed his example, there were no more\n blasphemies, no more profanation of Sunday, the whole country\n was soon transformed, even maternally. Like those of Jonas to\n Nineveh, the prophetic warnings of the divine Messenger were\n conditional. They were fulfilled in general, as can still be\n remembered.\"[23]\n\n [Footnote 23: Several details of this account have been derived\n from \"Illustrious Pilgrim Shrines.\"]\n\nThe apparition of La Salette, as is the case with all extraordinary\nevents, was variously appreciated even among Catholics, some receiving\nthe account with enthusiastic confidence, others strongly contesting\nthe reality. But for a long time doubts have ceased, Providence having,\nby numberless miracles, confirmed the faith of those who believed;\nand the mountain sanctified by Mary's presence, has never ceased to\nbe visited by pilgrims from the most distant countries. Mgr. De\nBruillard, Bishop of Grenoble, anxious to prevent illusion on so\nimportant a question, nominated a commission composed of most competent\npersons, to examine and pass judgment upon this apparition. The result\nbeing in the affirmative. His Grace, in a circular of September 19th,\n1851, declared as follows:\n\n \"We assert that the apparition of the Blessed Virgin to two\n little peasants, the 19th of September, 1846, upon one of the\n peaks of the Alps, situated in the parish of La Salette, of\n the archpresbytery of Corps, bears every mark of truth, and\n that the faithful are confirmed in believing it indubitable and\n certain.\n\n \"Wherefore, to testify our lively gratitude to God and the\n glorious Virgin Mary, we authorize the devotion to Our Lady of\n La Salette.\"\n\nThe circular, before publication, was submitted to the Holy See, whose\napproval it received, and Mgr. De Bruillard's two successors have\nalways endorsed his appreciation of the apparition.\n\nConsequently, this devotion is invested with every guarantee of\nauthenticity that the severest criticism could exact.\n\nA church of the Byzantine style and graceful appearance is erected\nupon the holy mountain, near where the apparition took place. The\nidentical spot remains uncovered, and the grass still grows upon the\nsoil hallowed by Mary's sacred footsteps; a series of crosses, fourteen\nin number, to which are attached the indulgences of the _via crucis_,\nindicate the path she took. The spring, formerly intermittent, has\nbeen inexhaustible since the apparition, and its waters have worked\nmiracles. Near the church, a convent has been built to accommodate the\nnumberless pilgrims, who daily resort hither in the favorable season.\nNumerous chapels, dedicated to Our Lady of La Salette, are scattered\nthroughout Christendom, and abundant graces repay the faith of those\nwho in these sacred shrines invoke her intercession.\n\n\n * * * * *\n\n\n_II.--The Children of Mary.--1847._\n\nRome, the guardian of our Faith and Catholic traditions, has given\nmunicipal privileges to the Children of Mary, in consecrating to them\na chapel in one of her most celebrated churches, St. Agnes Beyond the\nWalls. The Italian sodalities are all inscribed there, and represented\nby a group of the children of Mary surrounding this young Saint, who\nin the third century was martyred for her virginity. They seem to say\nto her, \"Agnes, you are our eldest Sister, the well beloved of Jesus\nChrist and His Mother.\"\n\nThis place of honor, this representation proclaims most eloquently,\nthat the Children of Mary form in the Church, a family as ancient as\nCatholicity itself.\n\nNearly nineteen centuries ago, Jesus, our Redeemer, was in the agony\nof death upon the tree of the cross, which his love had chosen as the\ninstrument of our redemption; \"seeing,\" says the Evangelist, \"that all\nwas consummated\" for our salvation, He wished to place the seal upon\nHis work, by making His last will and testament.\n\nLooking first at Mary, His Mother, and then at John, the beloved\ndisciple, he made John a Child of Mary in these memorable words: \"_Ecce\nMater tua, ecce filius tuus_: Behold thy Mother, behold thy son.\"\n\nSuch is the origin of the Children of Mary. We believe with the holy\nChurch, that the eternal Word, after becoming incarnate to render men\nredeemed with His blood, the Children of His heavenly Father, gave them\nalso, at the hour of His death, His own Mother to be theirs. We know\nlikewise, that among the children of every family, there is always one\nmost tenderly attached to the mother, for instance, Jacob and Rebecca;\nJohn and Mary.\n\nEven so, in the bosom of the great family of Catholicity, do we find in\nall ages, souls jealous of rendering to Mary the most intimate filial\ndevotion, selecting her in an especial manner, for their model and\nprotectress.\n\nSuch are the religious orders particularly devoted to her service,\nalso, the confraternities established for the same purpose in many\nparishes. The Society of Jesus, which was founded in the sixteenth\ncentury, laboring zealously to extend the glory of God among the youth\nunder its charge, found no means so effectual in forming hearts to\nvirtue and piety, as that of placing them under Mary's protection; and\nthe celebrated Association of the Prima Primaria, canonically erected\nby Pope Gregory XIII, in 1584, became the parent stem of all the\ncongregations, subsequently found in honor of the Mother of God.\n\nIt was reserved for our age, to give full development to this fruitful\ndevotion, by popularizing and thus making it a powerful means of\nsalvation. In placing themselves under the patronage of the Immaculate\nConception, the Children of Mary cannot fail to obtain from their\ndivine Mother the most abundant and precious benedictions.\n\nIn 1830, the Immaculate Virgin had uttered a prophecy which resounded\nincessantly in the heart of the missionary, to whom was confided the\naccount of the apparitions of the medal. \"The Blessed Virgin wishes\nyou to found a congregation, of which you will be the Superior, a\nconfraternity of Children of Mary; the Blessed Virgin will bestow many\ngraces upon it as well as upon yourself, indulgences will be granted\nit. The month of Mary will be celebrated with great solemnity; Mary\nloves these festivals; she will requite their observance with abundant\ngraces.\"\n\nBut why this command and this prediction of the Queen of Heaven to her\nservant, in regard to something which was not all new?\n\nSodalities of the Children of Mary already existed among the numberless\nyouths educated by the Fathers of the Society of Jesus. And following\ntheir example, the Ladies of the Sacred Heart had formed similar\nassociations among their scholars, and in 1832, had even established\nthem for ladies in the world, under the invocation of the Immaculate\nConception. It would seem then that a new work was superfluous.\n\nIt is true, Associations of the Children of Mary already existed and\naccomplished much good, but they were confined to a few isolated\nplaces, and recruited from a chosen class, they were not popular;\nand Mary designed as elements of the future work, that multitude of\nyoung girls in the ordinary walks of life, surrounded by all the\ntrials, exposed to all the dangers of the world, who to-day form her\nblessed family, whose innocence she guards, whose modest virtues she\nencourages, and from whom she receives in exchange, a tribute of love,\npraises and a visible service acceptable to her heart. Let us speak\na word concerning its establishment. When the apostolic heart of M.\nAladel received Sister Catherine's consoling predictions, he did not\nfully comprehend how he, a simple missionary, should accomplish the\ndesigns of the Queen of Heaven.\n\nWhilst quietly awaiting the propitious hour and means foreseen by\nProvidence, he seized every opportunity of speaking to the children and\nyoung people of Mary's bounty and the happiness of belonging to her.\nHis simplicity and animation, when discoursing upon this his favorite\ntheme, attracted all hearts; his listeners hung entranced upon the good\nfather's words; and the unction of grace sustaining the ardor he had\nenkindled, the associations were formed by way of trial, in the houses\nof the Daughters of Charity, where M. Aladel had officiated.\n\nSuch were those of the Providence Orphanage in Paris, of the House of\nCharity of St. M\u00e9dard, of the Madeleine; also, those of St. Flour,\nMainsat, Aurillae, established from 1836 to 1846. The young girls, who\nwere externs, very soon rivaled the inmates of the establishments in\nobtaining similar favors; several new associations were begun in the\nyear 1846, those of St. Vincent de Paul, St. Roch, St. Paul, St. Louis,\nin Paris, and others in Toulouse, Brugui\u00e8re, etc., in the province.\n\nWhilst in Rome in 1847, M. \u00c9tienne, Superior General of the Priests\nof the Mission and Daughters of Charity, obtained from the Sovereign\nPontiff a rescript dated June 20th, empowering him and his successors\nto establish among the scholars attending the schools of the Daughters\nof Charity a pious confraternity, under the title of the Immaculate\nConception of the Most Blessed Virgin, with all the indulgences\naccorded the Congregation of the holy Virgin established at Rome for\nthe scholars of the Society of Jesus.\n\nThree years later, the Sovereign Pontiff extended a similar favor to\nthe youths educated by the Priests of the Mission; also, to the little\nboys in charge of the Daughters of Charity.\n\n[Illustration: _The Miraculous Medal adopted as the Livery of the\nChildren of Mary._]\n\nFrom this time, 1847, thanks to the benediction of Pius IX, the\nSodality of the Children of Mary, spread rapidly in all quarters of\nthe globe, wherever the Daughters of Charity were established. A\nmanual containing the rules of the Association, its privileges and\nobligations, was compiled by M. Aladel, the Director of the work. The\nlivery naturally adopted by the Children of Mary was the Miraculous\nMedal, suspended from a blue ribbon.\n\nThe new Association from its very origin gave a wonderful impulse to\nyouthful piety; humble girls, earning their daily bread, practiced the\nmost heroic virtues, under the influence of a desire to become faithful\nChildren of Mary; and, sustained by the same spirit, the poorest\ncourageously resisted temptation, and complied with those duties so\nlittle esteemed at the present day--filial devotion and self-denial.\n\n[Illustration: _The Miraculous Medal adopted as the Livery of the\nChildren of Mary._]\n\nTo these precious fruits are also joined some beautiful flowers of\ndevotion; how eagerly the Children of Mary repair to re-unions of the\nAssociation, especially on all their Mother's feasts, chanting her\npraises and exciting one another to fervent piety.\n\nBut the death of these young girls is still more admirable than their\nlife; many of them stricken down in the very bloom of youth, fortified\nwith their medal and ribbon as with a precious talisman, smile at death\nand defy hell.\n\nThirty years have passed since the grain of mustard seed was confided\nto the earth, and it has now become an immense tree, whose branches\novershadow the most distant countries. Europe numbers nearly a thousand\nof these Sodalities, about six hundred being composed of externs, or\nmixed associates. They amount, in other portions of the world to nearly\ntwo hundred. This displays the visible effects of the benediction of\nSt. Peter's Successor; the promises made in 1830 were not realized\nuntil they had received the approbation of the Vicar of Jesus Christ,\nPius IX, whose name will always be dear to the Children of Mary.\n\nThe Associations vary in number from ten to three hundred sodalists,\nwhich gives us an average of eighty thousand young girls, courageously\nholding themselves aloof from satan's snares and pomps, and leading a\nlife of purity and piety amidst the seductions of a corrupt world.\n\nSurely this must be a miracle of God's right hand and Mary's bounty!\n\nWe have thought it would not be uninteresting to the readers, to give\nthe statistics for the end of the year 1877, of the Sodalities of the\nChildren of Mary, established in the houses of the Daughters of Charity\nthroughout the world.\n\n\n\n\nLIST OF THE _SODALITIES OF CHILDREN OF MARY_.\n\n\n SODALITIES.\n _Internal._ _External SUMMARY.\n and\n Mixed._\n France 287 451 } Internal Sodalities 287\n } External and Mixed 451\n\n _Europe._\n\n (Exclusive of France.)\n Belgium 11 14 }\n Switzerland 1 7 }\n Italy 55 64 }\n Spain 17 25 }\n Portugal .. 1 } Internal Sodalities 100\n Great Britain 2 13 } External and Mixed 153\n Poland 8 9 }\n Prussia .. 5 }\n Austria 4 11 }\n Greece .. 1 }\n Turkey 2 3 }\n\n _Asia._\n\n Turkey 2 7 } Internal Sodalities 2\n Persia .. 2 } External and Mixed 10\n China .. 1 }\n\n _Africa._\n\n Egypt 3 2 } Internal Sodalities 6\n Algeria 3 17 } External and Mixed 20\n Canary Isles .. 1 }\n\n _America._\n\n United States 11 44 }\n Guatemala 4 3 }\n Brazil 11 9 } Internal Sodalities 54\n Peru 9 6 } External and Mixed 81\n La Plata 1 6 }\n Chili 3 1 }\n Cuba 5 4 }\n Mexico 9 7 }\n Ecuador 1 1 }\n\n _Oceanica._\n\n Philippine Isles 1 6 } Internal Sodalities 1\n } External and Mixed 6\n\n --- --- ----\n Total 450 721 Total 1,171\n\n\n_III.--Definition of the Immaculate Conception._\n\nWe have observed several times in the course of this work, that the\nprincipal end of the apparition of 1830, was to popularize belief\nin the Immaculate Conception. The facts we have related, prove most\nconclusively that, thanks to the Miraculous Medal, this object has been\nfully attained.\n\nAs a preparation for the accomplishment of this great design,\nProvidence placed in St. Peter's chair, a Pontiff animated with the\nmost filial tenderness for Mary, and inspired him from the beginning\nof his pontificate, with the desire of glorifying the most holy Mother\nof God, by proclaiming the Immaculate Conception an article of Faith.\nAnd this hope, this desire, had Pius IX, in the ninth year of his\nreign, the happiness of realizing amidst the universal applause of the\nCatholic world.\n\nWe quote below from M. Villefranche's beautiful History of Pius IX, the\naccount of this memorable event:\n\n \"By an Encyclical dated from Ga\u00ebta, Pius IX had interrogated\n the Episcopacy of the Universal Church, on the subject of the\n belief in the Immaculate Conception. The answers received were\n six hundred and three in number. Five hundred and forty-six\n Bishops earnestly entreated the doctrinal definition, a few\n hesitated, though only as to whether it were an opportune\n moment or not for the decision, for the sentiment of the\n Catholic world was in unison as regards the belief itself.\n\n \"To assist at this solemnity, Pius IX summoned to his presence,\n all the Bishops who could repair to Rome. They came five\n hundred and ninety-two in number, and from all quarters of\n the globe except Russia, where they were held in check by\n the suspicious despotism of the Emperor Nicholas. These\n prelates put the finishing touch to the work of the commission\n charged with preparing the Bull; but at the very moment of\n making the final pause in its rendition, it was asked if the\n Bishops assisted there as judges, to pronounce the definition\n simultaneously with the Successor of St. Peter, and if their\n presence must be mentioned as judges, or, if the supreme\n judgment should not be attributed to the word of the Sovereign\n Pontiff alone. The debate terminated suddenly, as if by the\n inspiration of the Holy Spirit. 'It was the last sitting,' says\n Mgr. Audisio, an eye-witness; 'the hour of noon had just been\n sounded, every knee was bent to recite the _Angelus_. Then each\n one resumed his place, and scarcely had a word been spoken,\n when there arose a universal acclamation to the Holy Father,\n a cry of eternal adherence to the Primacy of St Peter's See,\n and the debate was ended:' '_Petre, doce nos; confirma fratres\n tuos!_ (Peter, teach us; confirm thy brethren!)' And the\n instruction these pastors asked of the supreme Pastor was the\n definition of the Immaculate Conception.\n\n \"The 8th of December, 1854, was the grand day, the triumphal\n day, which, according to the beautiful words of Mgr.\n Dupanloup's circular, 'crowns the hopes of past ages, blesses\n the present age, evokes the gratitude of future generations,\n and leaves an imperishable memory; the day that witnessed\n the first definition of Faith, which was not preceded by\n dissension and followed by heresy.' All Rome rejoiced. Immense\n multitudes, representing every tongue and nation on the globe,\n thronged the approaches to the vast Basilica of St. Peter's,\n far too small to accommodate all who came. Soon, the Bishops\n were seen forming into the line of march, ranged according to\n their seniority, and followed by the Cardinals. The Sovereign\n Pontiff, amidst the most brilliant surroundings, appeared\n last, whilst the chant of the Litany of the Saints, wafted to\n Heaven, invited the celestial court to unite with the Church\n militant in honoring the Queen of Angels and men. Seated upon\n his throne, Pius IX received the obeisance of the Cardinals and\n Bishops, after which the Pontifical Mass began.\n\n \"When the Gospel had been chanted in Greek and Latin, Cardinal\n Macchi, Dean of the Sacred College, accompanied by the Dean of\n the Archbishops, and the Dean of the Bishops present, with an\n Archbishop of the Greek rite and one of the Armenian, presented\n themselves at the foot of the throne, and supplicated the\n Holy Father, in the name of the universal Church, to raise\n his Apostolic voice and pronounce the dogmatic decree of the\n Immaculate Conception. The Pope replied that he willingly\n granted this prayer, but ere doing so he would invoke once more\n the assistance of the Holy Spirit And, now, every voice united\n in the solemn strains of the _Veni Creator_. When the chant had\n ceased, the Pope arose, and in that grave, sonorous, majestic\n voice, to whose profound charm millions of the faithful have\n borne testimony, commenced reading the Bull.\n\n \"He established: first, the theological motives for belief in\n Mary's privilege; then he adduced the ancient and universal\n traditions both of the East and West the testimony of religious\n orders and schools of theology, of the holy Fathers and\n the Councils, and finally, the pontifical records, ancient\n as well as modern. His countenance, as he pronounced the\n words inscribed upon these pious and magnificent documents,\n betrayed his emotion. Several times he was so overcome that\n for a few moments it was impossible for him to proceed. 'And\n consequently,' he adds, 'after having offered unceasingly in\n humility and fasting, our own prayers and the public prayers\n of the Church to God the Father through His Son, that He would\n deign to direct and confirm our thoughts by the inspiration of\n the Holy Spirit, after having implored the assistance of all\n the celestial court, ... in honor of the holy and indivisible\n Trinity, for the glory of the Virgin Mother of God, for the\n exaltation of the Catholic Faith and the increase of the\n Christian religion, by the authority of Our Saviour, Jesus\n Christ, the blessed Apostles, Peter and Paul, and our own.'----\n\n\n \"Here his voice was stifled with emotion, and he paused an\n instant to wipe away the tears. The assistants, deeply affected\n as well as himself, but mute with respect and admiration,\n awaited in profound silence the continuation. In a clear,\n strong voice, slightly elevated by enthusiasm, he proceeded:\n\n \"'We declare, profess, and define, that the doctrine affirming\n that the Blessed Virgin Mary was preserved and exempt from\n all stain of original sin, from the first instant of her\n conception, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, Saviour of\n men, is a doctrine revealed by God, and for this reason, all\n the faithful must believe it with firm and unwavering faith.\n Wherefore, if any one should have the presumption, which\n God forbid, to allow a belief contrary to what we have just\n defined, let him know that he wrecks his faith and separates\n himself from the unity of the Church.'\n\n \"The Cardinal Dean, prostrating himself a second time at the\n feet of the Pontiff, supplicated him to publish the Apostolic\n letters containing the definition; the Promoter of the Faith,\n accompanied by the Apostolic Prothonotary also presented\n themselves, to beg that a verbal process of the decree be\n prepared. And now the cannon of the castle of St. Angelo and\n all the bells of the Eternal City, announced the glorification\n of the Immaculate Virgin!\n\n \"In the evening, Rome, enwreathed in illuminations, and crowned\n with inscriptions and transparencies, resounded with joyous\n music, and was imitated at that very time by thousands of\n cities and villages all over the face of the globe. If we were\n to compile an account of the pious manifestations relating to\n this event, it would fill, not volumes, but libraries. The\n Bishops' responses to the Pope before the definition were\n printed in nine volumes; the Bull itself, translated under\n the care of a learned French Sulpitian into every tongue and\n idiom of the universe, filled about ten volumes; the pastoral\n instructions, publishing and explaining the Bull, and the\n articles on the subject in religious journals, would certainly\n require several hundred, especially if we add thereto the\n poems, scraps of eloquence, and descriptions of the monuments\n and f\u00eates. We should not omit mention here of the spontaneous\n and incomparable periodical illuminations at Lyons, each time\n the course of the year brings round the memorable 8th of\n December.\"\n\nPius IX knew that the Catholic movement leading to the definition of\nthe Immaculate Conception had originated in France, and he was happy to\nsee the French people enthusiastically welcome the Pontifical decree\nof December 8th, and celebrate with unparalleled magnificence Mary's\nglorious privilege. Henceforth, the love he bore that country was\nfirmly rooted in his heart, and her misfortunes had but increased his\ntenderness and compassion. It consoles us to insert here the prayer to\nthe Blessed Virgin which he composed, and recited daily to obtain for\nher the protection of the Queen of Heaven:\n\n \"O Mary! conceived without sin, look down upon France, pray for\n France, save France! The greater her guilt, the more need of\n your intercession. Only a word to Jesus reposing in your arms,\n and France is saved.\"\n\n \"O Jesus! obedient to Mary, save France!\"\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII.\n\nTHE MIRACULOUS MEDAL AND THE WAR.\n\n\nThe wars which have taken place since the year 1854, the epoch of the\ndefinition of the Immaculate Conception, have presented a spectacle to\nwhich the world was unaccustomed. Not only were _priests_ called upon\nto administer to the spiritual necessities of the soldiers in camps\nand ambulances, but _Sisters_ also were charged with the care of the\nsick and wounded. The priest's cassock and the robe of the religious,\nbecame almost as familiar to the eye as the military costume itself!\nSisters of Charity accompanied the armies in the wars of the East, in\n1854; in Italy, in 1859; in the United States, in 1861; in Mexico, in\n1864; in Austria and Prussia, in 1866; in France and Germany, in 1870;\nand we find them ministering to the Russian army and also the Turkish\nambulance in 1877. For them no enemies existed; the camps of both\nbelligerents claimed their attention, they were equally devoted to all\nwho needed their ministry of charity.\n\nDuring the hardships and dangers of war, chaplains and Sisters could\nnot fail to invoke the Blessed Virgin, and the Miraculous Medal\nnaturally became the sign of the soldier's devotion and the pledge\nof our merciful Mother's protection, against the moral and physical\ndangers war brings in its train. The medal was profusely distributed;\nit was accepted and worn with confidence; even Protestants and\nSchismatics asking eagerly for it; officers as well as private soldiers\nattaching it to their uniforms when they set out for the combat; the\nsick employed it to obtain recovery, or at least, an alleviation of\ntheir sufferings; the dying kissed it with love; many attributed to it\ntheir preservation in battle, and a still greater number were indebted\nto it for their eternal salvation.\n\nIn proof of the above, we shall present some facts, selected from the\nthousands related in the correspondence of the missionaries and Sisters\nwho followed the several armies.\n\n\nWAR IN THE EAST, FROM 1854 to 1856.\n\n \"On the Feast of the Assumption, we shall have at Varna, a\n beautiful religious ceremony, at which the whole army will\n assist. I have brought from Constantinople a banner of the\n Blessed Virgin; this we will set up, and confidently invoking\n Mary, we know she will obtain the cessation of the cholera, and\n success of our arms.\"[24]\n\n [Footnote 24: Letter of Mr. Bor\u00e9, Aug. 13, 1854.]\n\n \"The inmates of our hospital of P\u00e9ra, at Constantinople, number\n about twelve hundred, including sixty officers. These gentlemen\n receive the Miraculous Medal with joy and gratitude. Endeavor\n to find some good souls who will send us a large supply of\n these pious objects.\"[25]\n\n [Footnote 25: Letter of a Sister, September 29.]\n\n * * * * *\n\n \"The three patients whose confessions I heard were poor\n Irish. They manifested great resignation in their sufferings;\n all three asked for, and gratefully received a medal of the\n Immaculate Conception. An English officer (a Catholic), who\n wore with pious confidence the medal of Mary, told me that\n several of his colleagues, though Protestants, had accepted the\n medal and preserved it respectfully, and that the cholera and\n balls of the Russians had, so far, spared them.\"[26]\n\n [Footnote 26: Letter of Mr. Bor\u00e9, October 25.]\n\n * * * * *\n\n \"Even amidst the turmoil of war, and in spite of the multitude\n of sick and wounded, the Catholics of Constantinople celebrated\n solemnly the definition of the dogma of the Immaculate\n Conception. Mr. Bor\u00e9 wrote as follows, March 22d, 1835: 'The\n _triduum_ of thanksgiving for the declaration and promulgation\n of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception was fixed for the\n Feast of Saint Joseph. We have endeavored to unite, in the\n expression of our joy, with that of the faithful throughout the\n Catholic world, and to imitate, to the best of our ability,\n those magnificent and most consoling manifestations that have\n taken place in France, who in this has shown a true love for\n the Mother of God, a love already repaid by a new development\n of national strength and vigor. The zeal and skill of our dear\n Sisters in charge of the adjoining establishment have greatly\n contributed to the splendor of the feast. The good taste\n and experience of one of them suggested to her the idea of\n substituting for the large picture over the main altar a figure\n of the Immaculate Conception; the Blessed Virgin was crowned\n with golden stars, her dress and drapery were rich and radiant\n in a glory of gauze, the whole framed in lilies. The head,\n borrowed from the portrait of a Circassian lady, and the golden\n crescent under her feet, were happy indications, both in color\n and emblem, of the events transpiring around us. A Catholic\n Armenian lady lent a set of diamonds, which flashed back the\n myriad flames of tapers and candles contained in candelabras,\n hidden in the abundance of lilies. This illumination,\n improvised by our pupils in imitation of those they knew would\n take place throughout France, was indeed an honor to their\n taste and piety.'\"\n\n * * * * *\n\n \"We sometimes meet with sick persons, who, through human\n respect, ignorance, or indifference, are prevented from\n receiving the succors of religion. We give them a medal of\n the Immaculate Conception, and the Blessed Virgin charges\n herself with their conversion. Nearly always, without any\n other inducement, and, as it were, of themselves, they ask for\n the priest and prepare to receive the Sacraments, manifesting\n the most lively sorrow for having offended God and abused His\n benefits. I could cite examples by thousands.\"\n\n \"Numbers of soldiers wear the Miraculous Medal, the scapular, a\n reliquary, a cross, or sometimes not one but all of these, and\n those who do not possess these articles are happy to receive\n them. In a word, the army is, in a great measure, Catholic, and\n knows how to pray.\"\n\n \"A soldier wounded in both legs at the battle of Alma, received\n for more than two months, the unremitting attention of the\n physicians and Sisters though without experiencing any relief.\n Having despaired of saving his life otherwise, the surgeons\n decided upon amputation. They began by the limb which was most\n shattered. Next day the patient was in a hopeless condition;\n there was no question of further amputation. Recourse was\n then had to supernatural remedies; a novena was made to the\n Immaculate Mary, and in a few days the patient showed signs of\n improvement. He is now cured, and his piety and good example\n are the admiration of his comrades.\"[27]\n\n [Footnote 27: Report of Mr. Doumerq, 1855.]\n\n * * * * *\n\n \"A patient who was brought in yesterday, refused to go to\n confession. I placed under his pillow a medal of the Blessed\n Virgin, and left him quiet, continuing to give him assiduous\n care. This morning he called me, and in a resolute tone,\n inquired if people here died like dogs. 'I am a Christian, and\n I wish to confess.' 'Yesterday I proposed confession,' said\n I, 'but you objected, and even sent the priest away.' 'It is\n true,' he replied; 'but I am sorry for having done so; I wish\n now to see him as soon as possible.' Since his confession\n he is completely changed; and calmly awaits the approach of\n death.\"[28]\n\n [Footnote 28: Letter of a Sister, 1855.]\n\n * * * * *\n\n \"Among the Russian prisoners brought to Constantinople after\n the battle of Tcherna\u00efa, many wore the medal of the Immaculate\n Conception. By this I understood at once that they were\n Catholics and Poles.\"[29]\n\n [Footnote 29: Letter of Mr. Bor\u00e9, August 25, 1855.]\n\n \"A young lieutenant in the eighty-fifth regiment, had been\n wounded in the skull, and when brought to the hospital, his\n throat was gangrened, and he could scarcely speak. A secret\n sympathy attracted us towards each other, and he accepted\n gratefully the services I rendered him. As he was evidently\n sinking, I spoke to him of the Blessed Virgin, and alluded to\n the medal he wore around his neck. He smiled, and replied by\n pressing my hand. When his confession (during which he regained\n his voice and strength) was finished, he said: 'Monsieur abb\u00e9,\n I have a favor to ask of you.' 'What is it, my friend? tell\n me; I am anxious to gratify you.' 'Be so kind,' said he, 'as\n to inform Father Bor\u00e9 that I am here, and am very ill.' These\n words pierced my heart; however, I was able to answer him:\n 'Father Bor\u00e9 is he who now speaks to you.' Raising his eyes\n moistened with tears, and, again pressing my hand, he added:\n 'I am the brother-in-law of your dear friend, Mr. Taconet, and\n also brother of the captain of zouaves, whom you assisted a\n year ago at Varna.' I then recognized in him Mr. _Ferdinand\n Lefaivre_; he had been recommended to me by a pressing letter\n from Mr. Taconet, but this letter reached me only after my\n young friend's death. Mr. Taconet wrote that, on the eleventh\n of May, the lieutenant with his family had heard Mass at the\n church of Notre Dame des Victoires, and that he did not doubt\n but the Blessed Virgin would watch over a life so precious.\n His hope was not misplaced, for the Blessed Virgin called him\n to herself, fortified with the Sacraments, on the day of her\n triumph.\"[30]\n\n [Footnote 30: Letter of August 25, 1855.]\n\n \"While we were invoking our Immaculate Mother, on the eve of a\n combat, in which one of our young soldiers was to take part for\n the first (and perhaps last) time, he arose and went to Mary's\n altar; kneeling an instant, he arose again, and hung around\n the statue's neck a silver heart, in which were inscribed his\n name and the names of his parents. I feel, as St Vincent has\n forcibly expressed it, that he did not perform this act of\n devotion without tearful eyes and a sobbing heart.\"[31]\n\n [Footnote 31: Letter of Sister M----, 1855.]\n\n * * * * *\n\n \"A serious fire had broken out in the city of Salonica. The\n flames soon appeared opposite the Sisters' house, the buildings\n on the other side of the street, a few yards distant, being\n seized and devoured by the fire, which the wind continued to\n fan into activity. Already the Sisters' roof and that of the\n adjoining house were covered with dense smoke. I cast therein\n several Miraculous Medals. There was no prospect of human\n succor, as the rumor of there being powder in the vicinity had\n caused every one to seek safety in flight. I also retired,\n deeming it useless to expose myself longer; and besides, I was\n obliged to go to the assistance of a poor man, who, partially\n intoxicated, persisted in remaining near the fire. I returned\n shortly after, expecting to see our houses in flames; I doubted\n not but they would be wholly consumed. As I approached, a\n young man stopped me on the way, and said: 'Your property\n is saved, sir; the Sisters' house is not even in danger.'\n Only on reaching the scene could I be convinced that he had\n spoken truly. It would be impossible to express my emotion at\n the sight. I sent to inform our dear Sisters of the fact and\n they could scarcely credit this marvellous preservation. It\n suffices to add, that all Salonica is unanimous in pronouncing\n it a miracle.\"[32]\n\n [Footnote 32: Letter of Mr. Turroque, July 16, 1856.]\n\n * * * * *\n\n \"In an ambulance crowded with Russians was a young Pole,\n severely wounded and suffering intolerable pain; he earnestly\n invoked the sweet and merciful Virgin Mary. By his side lay\n a Russian Protestant, wounded also, and attacked by violent\n dysentery. So offensive was the odor from his disease, that\n both patients and nurses complained. He appeared utterly\n indifferent to everything concerning religion. He took no\n notice of the Sister as she passed and repassed; he never\n even deigned to look at her. The young Pole, on the contrary,\n called her frequently, and gratefully received her care and\n consolations. One evening our young Catholic was suffering more\n than usual; the pain drew tears from his eyes; his groans and\n cries were incessant. He called the Sister and begged her to\n help him, saying his patience was exhausted; he was in despair;\n his sufferings were excruciating. The Polish Sister, consoling\n and encouraging him, bade him have confidence, and gave him\n a medal to apply to the wounded limb. The young man followed\n her suggestion; and laying his hand on the medal to keep it in\n place, he soon fell asleep. Our Protestant appeared unconscious\n of what was going on, yet he had seen and examined all. Some\n days after, he called our Polish Sister to him, (she was the\n only one who could understand him) and said: 'Sister, please\n give me what you gave this young man that did him so much\n good, for I suffer greatly!' 'My friend, she replied, I desire\n nothing better than to relieve you also; but you lack what\n effected his cure, faith and confidence. You Protestants deny\n the power of the Blessed Virgin; you do not acknowledge her as\n your Queen, your Advocate, your Mother. So what can I do? It\n was a medal of Mary that so speedily relieved your neighbor,\n the young Pole.' 'Give me one also, Sister,' he answered; 'I\n believe all that you tell me; you do good to every one, why\n should you deceive me?' 'But,' said the Sister, 'have you\n confidence in Mary, the Mother of God? Do you believe in her\n mercy and her power?' 'I believe all that you believe, Sister,\n since Mary hears the prayers of the unfortunate, and brings\n relief to the suffering, she cannot deceive us!' The Sister,\n much consoled at hearing these words, gave him a medal, and\n our admirable talisman effected in his soul most gratifying\n results. He asked to receive instruction from a priest, and\n after some days employed in studying the holy doctrines of\n the Church, and in assiduous prayer to Mary he abjured his\n errors. As he had been separated from the other patients, on\n account of the unpleasant odor we have mentioned, he was at\n full liberty to act as he wished. After his baptism, and the\n reception of the holy Eucharist, being unable to restrain\n his transports, he exclaimed: 'Oh! how happy I am! My heart\n has never known such joy! I am content to die, and I do not\n regret having been struck on the battlefield! To my wound do\n I owe my salvation. Oh! how we poor Protestants are deceived!\n By what lies are we led astray! How good God is to rescue me\n from error! May the sweet and holy Virgin be known and loved\n always and everywhere!' And in these beautiful dispositions, he\n expired.\"[33]\n\n [Footnote 33: Letter of Sister M----, July 9, 1857.]\n\n \"A sergeant advanced in years had been suffering for three\n months from a severe dysentery; one morning the Sister who was\n visiting the sick found him in tears. 'Ah! my brave soldier,'\n said she, 'what is the meaning of all this grief?' 'O Sister,'\n he exclaimed, 'lend me patience, for mine is exhausted. I am\n in despair; I can endure my sufferings no longer; I feel that\n I am going to die, and just at the time I was to receive a\n pension--at the very moment I hoped to return to my country\n with honor and see my family once more. Must I die afar from\n home and leave my bones in a strange land?' Groans were\n mingled with his words, and his gestures had all the violence\n of despair. The Sister who relates the fact says: 'My heart\n ached at witnessing the grief of this brave man, with his white\n hairs and numerous scars. However, as my tears would not have\n dried his, I tried to rouse his courage by other means, and I\n promised him a perfect cure if he would unite in prayer with\n our little family at the hospital. Giving him a Miraculous\n Medal, I recommended him to God and Mary with my whole heart.\n We made a novena to the Immaculate Virgin, and ere its\n termination our sergeant was entirely cured.\"[34]\n\n [Footnote 34: Letter of Sister M----, July 9, 1857.]\n\n * * * * *\n\n \"Every evening our soldiers assembled around the Sisters in\n charge and sang pious canticles; they even composed music and\n words suited to the occasion. These they intoned, uniting\n their deep, sonorous voices with the Sisters'. In unison and\n harmony of mind as of voice, they repeated in chorus the sacred\n names of Jesus and Mary as a rallying cry of hope, confidence\n and triumph--a chant of love, a united echo of heaven and\n country. Then their hearts thrilled with joy inexpressible,\n and they were filled with pride and happiness at the thought\n of belonging to that France who imparts to her children the\n heroism of courage and the virtue of the perfect Christian.\n During the month of May our military concerts were multiplied;\n all were rivals in zeal. The altars were adorned with admirable\n piety and taste, notwithstanding our extreme poverty. Entire\n trees were felled to assist in concealing the dilapidated state\n of the barracks, which had been converted into chapels. Had\n our soldiers been free to do so, they would have despoiled the\n gardens of the Turks to adorn the sanctuary of the Queen of\n Heaven.\n\n \"In the ambulances of P\u00e9ra some of the most zealous soldiers,\n both officers and privates, wished to present Mary a solemn\n homage of their devotedness and gratitude. They chose a heart\n as the symbol of their sentiments. All the balls extracted\n from their wounds were collected to compose the offering. But\n a soldier suddenly exclaimed with enthusiasm: 'Comrades, what\n are we doing? Shall we offer the Blessed Virgin a schismatical\n heart? All these balls are Russians!' 'True,' replied another,\n 'these balls are Russian; we must have French balls. Let us ask\n the Russians for those we sent them.' 'Stay,' said a third,\n 'you have forgotten that these Russian balls are stained with\n our blood!' 'Well, then, let us use them,' suggested a fourth,\n 'the French balls will form the centre.' They went immediately\n to ask the Russians for the French balls. These were willingly\n given. The heart was prepared; their names inscribed on it with\n the designation of the regiment, and the offering was presented\n to Mary amid the most lively acclamations and transports of joy\n and gratitude.\"[35]\n\n [Footnote 35: Letter of Sister M., July 9, 1857.]\n\n\nITALIAN WAR, 1859.\n\nLetter of Sister Coste:\n\n _Ga\u00ebta, December 18th, 1860._\n\n During the siege of Ga\u00ebta, the Sisters of Charity willingly\n remained in the city, to assist the sick and wounded\n Neapolitans. They felt that there was no greater security\n against the dangers to which they were exposed, than that of\n recommending themselves and their abode to the protection\n of the Blessed Virgin, by means of the Miraculous Medal.\n Their Superioress, Sister Coste, wrote December 18th, 1860:\n \"Frequently the cannon roars in our ears; bombs whiz around us,\n but divine Providence is our shield. The first night of our\n sleeping at the palace, we were saluted by the Piedmontese, who\n sent us a multitude of bombs; one of them burst just outside\n our room, and you might have supposed a thunderbolt had fallen.\n Yet, the precious medal of our Immaculate Mother, which we\n had placed at all the doors and windows, shielded us from the\n danger. A large piece of iron detached itself from the bomb\n above mentioned, and remains in the wall, a visible testimony\n of Mary's protection. This circumstance reanimated our\n confidence, and we hesitate not to pass through the streets,\n notwithstanding the whizzing of projectiles.\"\n\n\nUNITED STATES.\n\nExtracts of letters written by Sisters of Charity during the War of\nSecession, from 1861 to 1865:\n\n _\"Military Hospital (House of Refuge),_ }\n _\"St. Louis, Missouri._ }\n\n \"Many of our poor soldiers scarcely knew of the existence of\n God, and had never even heard baptism mentioned. But, when\n the Sisters explained to them the necessity of this Sacrament,\n and the goodness of God, who, by means of it, cleanses us from\n the original stain, and adopts us as His children, they were\n filled with the deepest emotion, and often shed tears. On one\n occasion, a patient said: 'Sister, do not leave me; tell me\n more about that good God whom I ought to love. How is it that\n I have lived so long and have never heard Him spoken of as you\n have just done? What must I do to become a child of God? 'You\n must,' replied the Sister, 'believe and be baptized.' 'Well,\n baptize me,' was his answer. The Sister persuaded him to await\n the arrival of Father Burke, who would be there next morning.\n The patient consented reluctantly. 'Ah!' said he, 'it is very\n long to wait, and I am so weak; if I die unbaptized, I shall\n not go to Heaven.' To relieve his anxiety, the Sister promised\n to watch near him and administer baptism, should she perceive\n any unfavorable change in his condition. 'Now,' said he, 'I am\n satisfied; I rely on you to open for me the gates of Heaven;\n it is through your intervention I must enter.' He spent a\n quiet night. Next morning, Father Burke admitted him into the\n Catholic Church, by the Sacrament of Baptism, which he received\n with admirable piety. A crucifix was presented him; grasping it\n eagerly, he kissed it, saying as he did so: 'O my God! I did\n not know Thee or love Thee before coming to this hospital!'\n Then, turning to the Sister, he said: 'Sister, I have forgotten\n the prayer you taught me;' and he repeated after her several\n times, 'My Father, into Thy hands I commend my spirit, sweet\n Jesus, receive my soul.' He died pronouncing these words.\"\n\n \"The precise number of baptisms cannot be ascertained; there\n were probably seven hundred during the two or three years of\n our residence in the hospital. Five hundred Catholics who\n had led careless or sinful lives returned sincerely to God\n and resumed the practice of their religious duties. A great\n number of these had received no other Sacrament than that of\n Baptism, and they made their first Communion at the hospital.\n The majority of the newly baptized died; the others on leaving\n asked for medals and catechisms, saying they desired to\n instruct themselves and their families.\"\n\n * * * * *\n\n \"A soldier named Nichols fell dangerously ill, and in a few\n days was reduced to the last extremity. Vainly did we strive\n to touch his heart and awaken him to a sense of religion.\n His sufferings were terrible; both day and night was he\n denied repose, and he could scarcely remain a moment in the\n same position. His condition was most pitiful. Many of his\n companions, knowing that he had never been baptized, and having\n perceived the beneficial effects of baptism upon others, begged\n the Sisters to propose to him the reception of this Sacrament,\n thinking it might be a comfort to him, and not being aware of\n the many efforts that had already been made to induce him to\n believe in its necessity and efficacy. However, we redoubled\n our efforts, and placed a Miraculous Medal under his pillow.\n His comrades regarded his sufferings as a visible chastisement\n of his impiety. We could not induce him to pronounce the name\n of God, but he implored the physician, in the most heart\n rending accents, not to let him die. Four days passed without\n the least change, when one of his companions, who appeared\n the most deeply interested in his welfare, said to him, with\n eyes filled with tears, how much he regretted to see him die\n thus, utterly bereft of a hope for the future. The other\n soldiers had engaged this man to acquaint the patient with his\n danger, and persuade him to make his peace with God, for they\n saw that human respect alone prevented his showing any signs\n of repentance. This last effort of charity was crowned with\n success; he called for the Sister, and when she came, said to\n her: 'Sister, I am ready to do all you wish.' After instructing\n him in what was necessary for salvation, and feeling convinced\n of the sincerity of his dispositions, she asked him by whom\n he wished to be baptized. 'By any one you please,' was his\n answer. But, to be sure that he did not desire a Protestant\n minister, she said: 'Shall I send for the priest who attends\n this ward?' 'Yes,' he replied, 'it is he I wish to baptize\n me.' The priest was sent for without delay, and we had the\n inexpressible consolation of seeing this poor sinner admitted\n into the number of the children of God by the very person who,\n a few days previous, had been an object of his raillery. He\n became perfectly calm, and expired shortly after, invoking the\n holy name of Jesus.\"\n\n * * * * *\n\n \"Among the patients was a poor young man named William Hudson,\n who for a long time refused to receive baptism. The Sisters,\n however, nowise discouraged, explained to him the Sacrament\n of Baptism, and instructed him in the mysteries of our holy\n religion, and the Sister, under whose immediate charge he\n was, hung a medal around his neck. Finally, he asked to speak\n to good Father Burke; was baptized, and expired in the most\n edifying dispositions, pronouncing the holy name of Mary.\n Several others followed his example, and made their peace with\n God before death.\"\n\n * * * * *\n\n \"Mr. Huls, a man of thirty-five, though convinced of the\n necessity of baptism, postponed the reception of it from day\n to day. Knowing that he had but little attraction for our holy\n religion, I forbore to mention the subject too frequently.\n Nevertheless, seeing that death was rapidly approaching, I\n placed a medal under his pillow and begged the Blessed Virgin\n to take charge of his salvation. The next day, just as I was\n turning away after giving him a drink, he called me and said:\n 'Sister, what ought I to do to prepare for the next world?' I\n told him that it was necessary to repent of his sins, because\n sin is the greatest of evils, and it had caused the sufferings\n and death of our Lord Jesus Christ; that God's goodness and\n mercy towards sinners are infinite, and that He is always ready\n to pardon us, even at the last moment, if we sincerely return\n to Him. I urged him to cast himself with confidence into the\n arms of this merciful Father, who earnestly desired to open\n for him the gates of the Eternal City, and I added that it was\n absolutely necessary to be baptized. He assured me that he\n believed all I had said to him; he then repeated with fervor\n the acts of faith, hope, charity, contrition, and resignation\n to the will of God. Seeing that he was entering into his agony,\n I baptized him; the Sacraments appeared to revive his strength.\n He began to pray, and made such beautiful aspirations of\n love and gratitude to God, that one might have said his good\n angel inspired them, particularly the act of contrition. I\n remained with him to the last, praying for him, when he had not\n strength to do so himself; if I paused a moment through fear of\n fatiguing him: 'Go on Sister,' he would say in dying accents,\n 'I can still pray.'\"\n\n * * * * *\n\n \"Another soldier, William Barrett, scarcely twenty years of\n age, was almost in a dying condition when brought to the\n hospital. After doing all I could for the relief of his poor\n body, I inquired very cautiously as to the state of his soul.\n Alas! it was deplorable; not that he had committed great\n crimes, but that he was entirely ignorant of everything\n relating to his salvation. He had never said a prayer, and he\n hardly knew of the existence of a God. My first conversation\n with him on the subject of religion, was not altogether\n pleasing to him, for he did not understand it; but when I\n had briefly explained the principal articles of Faith, he\n listened very attentively, and begged me to tell him something\n more. When I told him that our Lord had loved us so much as\n to become man and die on a cross for our salvation, he could\n not restrain his tears: 'Oh!' said he, 'why did no one ever\n tell me that? Oh! if I had only known it sooner! How could I\n have lived so long without knowing and loving my God!' I now\n prepared him to receive the Sacrament of Baptism, and tried\n to make him sensible of God's great mercy, in bringing him to\n the hospital, that he might die a holy death. He understood\n this and much more, for grace had spoken to this poor heart,\n so truly penetrated with sorrow for sin. 'I wish to love God,'\n said he, 'but I am such a miserable creature! I would like to\n pray, but I do not know how. Sister, pray for me, please.' I\n promised to do so, and offering him a medal of the Blessed\n Virgin, I told him that by wearing it, he would secure the\n intercession of the Mother of God, who is ever powerful with\n her divine Son. He gladly accepted the medal, put it around\n his neck, and repeated, not only the aspiration, O Mary!\n conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee,\n but other prayers, to obtain the grace of a happy death. He\n then asked me when I would have him carried to the river, for\n he was under the impression that he could not be baptized\n without being immersed. I explained to him the manner in\n which the Catholic Church administers this Sacrament, and the\n dispositions necessary for receiving it. Listening eagerly to\n every word I uttered, 'Pray with me, Sister,' said he, 'come\n nearer, that I may hear you better, for I do not know how to\n pray.' He repeated with great fervor all the prayers I recited,\n and thought only of preparing himself for his baptism which\n was to take place on the following day. From that time he\n wished to converse with the Sisters only. If his companions or\n the attendants came to him, he answered them in a few words,\n evidently showing that he desired to be alone with his God. One\n of the officers asked him, if he wished any one to write to his\n family. 'Do not speak to me of my family now,' said he, 'the\n Sisters have written to my parents. I wish for nothing but to\n pray and to be baptized.' And the words ever on his lips, were\n these: 'O God, have mercy on me, a sinner.' Towards evening he\n became so weak, that I thought it best to remain with him. At\n three o'clock in the morning, fearing that he was in his agony,\n I administered the Sacrament of Regeneration; he lived till\n seven o'clock. The fervor with which he united in the prayers\n was truely edifying; even when scarcely able to speak, he tried\n to express his gratitude to God for His goodness and mercy to\n him. He was most anxious to quit this world, that he might go\n to that Father, who had admitted him into the number of His\n children, and whom he so earnestly desired to see and know.\"\n\n * * * * *\n\n \"A soldier, advanced in age, told me one day, that in his\n country the prejudices of the people were so strong against our\n Faith, that they would refuse hospitality to a traveler did\n they know him to be a Catholic; as to himself, he had never\n met with a Catholic previous to his coming to the hospital;\n but what he had seen here (nothing comparable to which had he\n ever witnessed among Protestants), was sufficient to convince\n him of the truth of Catholicity; that he had belonged to the\n Presbyterian Church, but he would remain in it no longer, and\n desired to be instructed in our holy religion. I gave him\n a catechism and some other books, which he read with great\n attention. Perceiving that his end approached, he asked for a\n priest and was baptized. 'If it were the will of God,' said he,\n speaking of his property, which was considerable, 'I should\n like to live a little longer and enjoy my fortune; but if the\n Lord wills otherwise, I am ready to leave all.' He was ever\n repeating these words: 'Not as I will, O Lord, but as Thou\n wilt.' From the moment of his baptism, he applied himself\n most diligently to a profitable disposition of the remainder\n of life, that he might prepare for his journey to eternity.\n At times, when he felt a little stronger, he studied the\n catechism; and when he could no longer hold a book, he prayed\n and meditated in silence. One day as I was giving him a drink,\n he showed me his medal. 'Ah!' said he, tears of gratitude\n streaming down his cheeks, 'behold! my Mother. I kiss her\n every hour!' He prayed constantly, even when he could neither\n eat, drink, nor sleep. Once when he was extremely weak, the\n attendants having changed his position, he fainted, and rallied\n only with great difficulty. On perceiving that I was trying to\n restore him: 'Ah! Sister,' said he, 'why did you not let me\n go?' He also remarked to the attendants, that he feared the\n Sister would prolong his life for a month, but his fears were\n not realized; in a few days he slept the sleep of the just.\n\n * * * * *\n\n \"One of the soldiers, who had been a long time in the hospital,\n having fallen very ill, I tried to persuade him to make his\n peace with God, before going to meet that God as his Judge. My\n efforts met with little success; he did not admit the necessity\n of baptism, and he was not in the least concerned about his\n salvation. But he accepted a medal, and without being aware of\n it, he swallowed some drops of holy water. Then I recommended\n him very earnestly to the Blessed Virgin, and in a few days\n after he asked to be instructed, and was baptized. We could not\n give him greater pleasure than to pray beside him. He received\n Extreme Unction with deep and sincere devotion, and expired in\n the most happy dispositions.\"\n\n * * * * *\n\n \"In the hospital was a soldier named Sanders, who, though not\n very ill, was unable to join his regiment. He had no idea of\n religion. I remarked that he observed us very closely, as if\n examining our conduct; nothing escaped him. Before leaving, he\n came to bid me good-by and thank me for the care I had bestowed\n upon him. I was somewhat surprised, as I had had no occasion of\n serving him; but, seeing he was so well disposed, I profited by\n the opportunity to offer him a medal and a book explaining the\n Catholic Faith. He accepted them with gratitude, and returned\n to his regiment. A year later, he came again to the hospital,\n hastening to inform me of his conversion, and seeking a priest,\n by whom he was gladly instructed and received into the fold\n of the Holy Church. 'I owe my conversion,' said he, 'to the\n intercession of the Immaculate Mary and your prayers, and it\n has been my happy lot to bring other souls to God.' This was,\n indeed, the case; employed in a military hospital, where he was\n the only Catholic, by his zeal and solicitude he instructed\n many poor sick, called a priest, had them baptized, and enjoyed\n the consolation of procuring eternal happiness for a large\n number of his fellow-soldiers.\"\n\n * * * * *\n\n \"In 1862, a Sister of the hospital at New Orleans gave a medal\n to one of the attendants on the point of setting out for the\n army, and she advised him to keep it always about him. Some\n time after, he returned, having received a slight wound on\n the head. On seeing the Sister, he exclaimed: 'Sister, here\n is the medal you gave me; it has saved my life! Just in the\n midst of battle, the string by which the medal hung around my\n neck broke, and whilst the cannons were roaring around us, I\n attached it to a button of my uniform; all my companions fell,\n and I escaped with this slight contusion.'\"\n\n * * * * *\n\n\"_Military Hospital of Philadelphia._\n\n \"A soldier was brought to the hospital grievously wounded. A\n few questions which the Sister put to him on the subject of\n religion revealed the fact, that not only was he not baptized,\n but also most ignorant of the truths essential to salvation.\n The Sister then began to instruct him, and with all requisite\n prudence, gave him to understand that the physicians despaired\n of his recovery. From this moment he listened with the deepest\n interest to explanations of the catechism; and, one day, when\n Sister had spoken to him of the necessity of that Sacrament\n which renders us children of God and heirs of heaven, he joined\n his hands and said in the most beseeching tone: 'Oh! do not let\n me die without baptism!' The Sister then asked him from what\n minister he desired to receive this Sacrament and he replied:\n 'From yours; from him who says Mass in the Sister's Chapel.'\n Before the close of the day, Father MacGrane had satisfied\n the sick man's pious desire, and the new Christian, filled\n with joy, incessantly repeated acts of love and gratitude. The\n physician, making his evening visit, found him so ill, that\n he directed the attendant to watch him all night, saying he\n might die at any moment. Before retiring, the Sister gave him a\n medal of the Blessed Virgin, and briefly narrating to him how\n this tender Mother had often wrought miraculous cures by means\n of her blessed image; she encouraged the dying man to address\n himself to Mary with entire confidence.\n\n \"Next morning she was surprised to find him better; but he\n was much troubled about 'his piece,' which he could not find;\n he feared it had been taken away. The Sister soon found and\n restored it to him; receiving it most joyfully, he asked for a\n string and placed the medal over his wound. When the physician\n came, which was soon after, he was no less surprised than the\n Sister at perceiving the change in his patient's condition.\n The patient, (Duken by name), continued to improve, and in a\n few weeks he could walk with the aid of crutches. His first\n visit was to the chapel; from that day, whenever we had Mass,\n he rose at five o'clock in order to assist at it; and so eager\n was he for Father MacGrane's instructions, that the intervening\n time from one Sunday to another seemed to him very long. He\n attributed his cure to the Blessed Virgin, and it was indeed\n most remarkable; for he was out of the physician's hands long\n before many other soldiers of the same ward whose wounds were\n less dangerous, and who had received the same attentions, were\n able to leave their beds. He asked for a furlough that he might\n visit his wife, whom he was very anxious to see a member of the\n true Church, but 'knowing her prejudice against Catholics, he\n dared hope for such a happiness.' It was, nevertheless, granted\n him; she consented to be baptized with her children, and Duken\n returned to the hospital, blessing God and the holy Virgin for\n the wonderful graces bestowed on his family.\n\n \"Our Sisters of the South, like those of the North, were\n in great demand wherever sufferings and miseries claimed\n relief, and they responded to the call with a holy courage and\n eagerness.\n\n \"In these divers localities was the Miraculous Medal the\n instrument God frequently employed in delivering souls from\n the yoke of Satan. How often have we seen Mary's image\n kissed respectfully by lips which had formerly uttered only\n blasphemies against the Mother of God! Every one asked for\n a medal; some, no doubt, urged by curiosity or the desire\n of possessing a souvenir of the Sisters, as they themselves\n acknowledged; but, even so, they could not carry upon\n their person this sweet image, without growing better and\n experiencing the effects of Mary's protection. In nearly every\n case, what rendered the triumph of grace still more remarkable\n was the fact of its acting upon men who were not only ignorant,\n but fanatical, hating the name of Catholic, and excited to\n fury at the sight of a priest. A Sister relates that she\n ventured, one day, to ask a soldier, who was in the threshold\n of eternity, if he had been baptized. 'No,' was the reply, in\n a voice of thunder; 'no, and I have no wish to be plunged in\n water just now. Let me alone!'\n\n \"'Recommending him to Mary,' says the Sister, 'I left him.\n Towards evening, I heard a noise in the ward in the direction\n of his bed, and the attendant came in haste to say that the\n patient had sent for me.' 'Ah!' said the latter, in a tone\n very different from that of his morning's speech; 'I am dying,\n baptize me, I beg of you.' 'Giving him briefly the necessary\n instruction, I administered the holy rite, and a few hours\n later he peacefully expired.'\n\n \"Rarely did these poor soldiers complain of their fate; though\n but little accustomed to the rigors of military life, they bore\n them with admirable patience. However, there was one exception\n to the general rule, that of an old soldier, who murmured\n continually and accused God of afflicting him unjustly.\n Arguments were worse than useless, they served but to aggravate\n the evil. Failing in this means to bring him to a better state\n of mind, I offered him a medal of the Blessed Virgin. By\n degrees, his complaints ceased, his countenance became composed\n and serene, and I had the consolation of seeing him expire in\n the most edifying dispositions.\"\n\n\nTHE WAR BETWEEN PRUSSIA AND AUSTRIA, 1866.\n\nLetter of Mr. Stroever, Priest of the Mission, July 1st, 1867:\n\n \"The wounded arrive in great numbers, and all our houses are\n filled. Every one wishes to have a medal; I inquired of one,\n who had begged for a medal at any price, if he were a Catholic.\n 'No,' was the answer; 'I am a Protestant but I would like to\n have it as a souvenir of yourself;' and he received it most\n gratefully.\n\n \"We observe a certain degree of piety among the soldiers,\n and the sick are most eager to receive the Sacraments. The\n Protestants show a remarkable inclination to Catholicity. Not\n only the private soldiers, but even persons of distinction,\n wishing to have medals, scapulars or a crucifix. They take no\n measures to conceal these objects of devotion, and no one seems\n surprised at seeing them on their persons.\"\n\n\nREMINISCENCES OF THE COMMUNE, PARIS, 1871.\n\nNotes of a Sister of the Hospital d'Enghien:\n\n \"During the siege, we had placed Miraculous Medals over all the\n doors and windows of the house. As one of our Sisters expressed\n the intention of concealing them, Sister Catherine exclaimed:\n 'No, no; they must be seen; put them in the middle of the\n principal entrance.'\n\n \"During the few days immediately preceding our departure from\n the house, the federal national guards said to one another:\n 'Let us go and ask the venerable Sister Catherine for medals;\n she has given some to our comrades who have shown them to us,\n we would like to have them too.' 'But you, poor creatures,'\n replied a Sister, 'you have no faith, no religion, what good\n will the medal do you.' 'Very true, Sister,' said they, 'we\n have not much faith, but we believe in the medal; it has\n protected others, it will also protect us, and when we go to\n battle, it will help us to die as brave soldiers.' Good Sister\n Catherine gave medals to all who presented themselves, and\n many, who belonged to the enemy, sent their comrades to procure\n them.\n\n \"After the army had entered Paris, thirty of the wounded\n insurgents, before being brought to trial, were sent to the\n Hospital d'Enghien to be nursed by the Sisters. The house\n was already transformed into an ambulance, and we were\n obliged to take one of the dormitories of the orphans for the\n newly-arrived patients. The appearance of these men were so\n frightful, that Sister Eugenie who had been appointed to attend\n them, had not the courage for the first two days to make any\n suggestions to them concerning religion; but finally, feeling\n that she must comply with her duty, and urged by the advice of\n a companion, she went to Sister Catherine and asked for medals\n for the insurgents. Sister gave them cheerfully, and encouraged\n her to use this powerful means of inspiring these unfortunate\n men with Christian sentiments. Animated by this thought, Sister\n Eugenie repaired to the ward, and much affected, proposed\n to say evening prayers. 'Yes, Sister,' answered some among\n them. Trembling, she began; but at the _Creed_, overcome by\n excitement and terror, she wept like a child, and was obliged\n to pause. When she recovered her voice, it was not to continue\n the prayers, but to tell the prisoners how much she felt at the\n thought that on the morrow, they would be judged and perhaps\n condemned; then making them a brief exhortation, inspired by\n the circumstances, she offered to give each one a medal of the\n Blessed Virgin, begging them to retain it about their person,\n happen what might. The proposition was accepted immediately,\n but Sister Eugenie was too frightened to give the medal into\n their hands; in the middle of the night, when all seemed to be\n asleep, she quietly placed a medal under each one's pillow.\n How great was her joy next morning, to see all these poor\n insurgents with the medal around their neck.\n\n \"The Superioress came into the hall where the men were\n collected and asked if they wished a priest to come and hear\n their confessions. All consented with unequivocal signs of\n gratitude. A good priest, one of the hostages of the Commune,\n came and heard their confession. On leaving them he seemed\n much consoled, and said he had every reason to hope for their\n salvation. The unfortunate men left the house at seven o'clock,\n and were conducted to Versailles; they were calm and resigned,\n and when about to leave, showed the Sisters the medal they\n wore. Doubtless, God accepted the sacrifice of their life in\n atonement for their faults.\"\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\nCHAPTER IX.\n\nRecent Apparitions of the Blessed Virgin\n\n_IN FRANCE, ITALY AND GERMANY_.\n\nTHE CONFIDENCE WITH WHICH THESE APPARITIONS SHOULD INSPIRE US.\n\n\nThe definition of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, has, in our\nage, brought to its climax, devotion to the Blessed Virgin. Divine\nProvidence employed twenty-four years in preparing the world for this\ngreat event; we have seen in the preceding chapters, how much the\napparition of 1830, contributed thereto, and how powerful the influence\nof the Miraculous Medal in propagating this devotion. Since this time a\nsecond period of twenty-four years has elapsed, during which devotion\nto the Immaculate Mary has shone as a radiant star in the firmament\nof the Church, spreading everywhere the light of truth and the warmth\nof true piety; and, by a gentle yet efficacious impulse, producing\nunanimity of mind and heart in the great Catholic family.\n\nSince the definition, as well as before it, France continues to be the\nprivileged country of Mary; nowhere else are miracles so numerous, or\ngraces so abundant. Whence arises this glorious prerogative? So far as\nwe are permitted to penetrate the secrets of God, it appears to us, to\nour understanding: France who has wrought so much evil by disseminating\nphilosophical and revolutionary doctrines, is to repair the past by\npropagating truth, and Mary desires to prepare her for this mission.\nEveryone knows, moreover, that the French character possesses a force\nof expansion and a power of energy that render the French eminently\nqualified to maintain the interests of truth and justice. Then, again,\nis not France the eldest daughter of the Church, since she was baptized\nin the person of Clovis, the first of the Most Christian Kings; and in\nvirtue of this title, is it not her duty to devote herself under the\npatronage of her Mother in heaven to the defence of her Mother on earth?\n\nBe the motives of Mary's predilection for the French nation what they\nmay, the fact is incontrovertible. Nevertheless, the Blessed Virgin has\nnot forgotten other Catholic countries; they also have had their share\nin the singular favors she has so generously dispensed in our days.\n\n\nOUR LADY OF LOURDES.--1858.\n\nFour years after the definition of the Immaculate Conception, Mary\nvouchsafed to manifest herself anew to the world, and this time, as if\nin token of her gratitude, she took the glorious name the Church had\njust decreed her: \"_I am the Immaculate Conception_.\" It was in France\nthat the vision of the medal took place, preparatory to the act of\nDecember 8th, 1854; it was also in France, at Lourdes, in the diocese\nof Tarbes, at the base of the Pyrenees, that Mary came in person, to\ntestify and proclaim that privilege which she prized above all others.\nIn 1830, she choose a young, unlettered Sister for her confidant; in\n1846, she addressed herself to two poor peasant children; in 1858, she\nalso selects one in the humblest ranks of life as the depository of her\nmerciful designs.\n\nBernadette Soubirous, born at Lourdes in 1844, of poor parents, was\na young girl of weak and delicate health; she could neither read nor\nwrite; she knew no prayers but her _Chaplet_, and she could speak only\nthe _patois_ of the country. \"On February 11th, 1858,\" says she, \"my\nparents were in great perplexity for want of wood to cook the dinner. I\nput on my hood, and offered to go with my younger sister Marie and our\nfriend, the little Jeanne Abadie, to pick up some dead branches.\" The\nthree children repaired to the bank of the Gave, opposite the grotto\nof Masabielle; in which were collected the sand and branches of trees\ndrifted there by the current. But to reach the grotto, it was necessary\nto wade through the shallow bed of the river. Marie and Jeanne took off\ntheir shoes without hesitation; Bernadette delayed and feared to cross,\nas she was suffering from a cold. Whilst thus deliberating, she was\nastonished by a rushing of wind, instantly repeated, though the trees\nnear the river were motionless. One vine only was slightly agitated,\nan eglantine, which grew in the upper part of this natural grotto.\nThis niche and the wild rose within reflected a most extraordinary\nbrilliancy; a Lady of admirable beauty appeared in the niche, her feet\nresting on the eglantine, her arms gracefully bent, and her hands\njoined; with a sweet smile, she saluted the child. Bernadette's first\nemotion was one of fear; she instinctively grasped her chaplet, as if\nseeking defence in it, and she tried to raise her hand to make the sign\nof the cross, but her arm fell powerless and her terror increased. The\nLady also had a _Chaplet_ suspended from her left wrist; taking it in\nher right hand, she made a very distinct sign of the cross, and passed\nbetween her fingers the beads (white as drops of milk); but her lips\ndid not move. She smiled upon the shepherdess, who, reassured from\nthis moment, recovered the use of her arm, made the sign of the cross\nand recited the _Chaplet_. The little Bernadette remained on her knees\nnearly an hour, in ecstacy. At length, the Lady made her a sign to\napproach, but Bernadette did not move. Then the Lady, extending her\nhand, smiled, and, bowing as if bidding farewell, disappeared. Returned\nto herself, Bernadette thought of rejoining her companions, who, having\nseen nothing, were at a loss to understand her conduct. She entered\nthe water, which she found, to her surprise, of a gentle warmth. On\nreaching home, she imparted the secret to her sister, and then to her\nmother, who did not credit it.\n\nHowever, the child being tormented by an earnest desire to behold the\napparition again, her parents granted permission for her return to the\ngrotto with several companions; the same manifestation took place and\nthe same ecstacy. On Thursday, February 18th, she again repaired to the\ngrotto; the apparition was visible for the third time, and the Lady\nrequested Bernadette to come there daily for a fortnight. Bernadette\npromised. \"And I,\" replied the Lady, \"promise to render you happy not\nin this world, but the next.\"\n\nOn the succeeding days, the young girl went to the grotto, accompanied\nby her parents and an ever increasing crowd. None of them saw or\nheard anything. The transfiguration of the countenance of Bernadette\nannounced the presence of a supernatural being, who urged the child to\npray for sinners.\n\nOn the sixth day of the fortnight, the august Lady revealed to\nBernadette three secrets, forbidding her to communicate them to any\none. She taught her a prayer, and charged her with a message. \"You will\ngo,\" said she, \"and tell the priest that a chapel must be built here,\nand that the people must come here in procession.\"\n\nBernadette communicated this order to the cur\u00e9, but he hesitated to\nbelieve the child, and told her to ask the Lady for a sign which might\nconfirm her words, for example, to make the wild rose which winter has\ndivested of its leaves, break forth into blossom, then the month of\nFebruary.\n\nThe Blessed Virgin did not judge proper to grant the miracle, but she\ntried Bernadette's obedience, by commanding her to kiss the ground\non several occasions, and to climb the rock on her knees, praying\nmeantime for sinners. One day she enjoined upon her to go and drink at\nthe fountain of the grotto, to wash therein, and to eat of a certain\nherb which grew in that place. Bernadette saw no fountain, and no one\nhad ever heard of one in the grotto, yet on a sign from the Lady, the\ndocile child dug the earth with her fingers, and discovered a muddy\nwater which, notwithstanding her repugnance, she used as commanded.\n\nAt the end of several days, the little thread of muddy water had become\na limpid and abundant spring, and what was still more marvelous, it\nwrought innumerable prodigies. On February 26th, by the use of this\nwater, a man who had gone blind twenty years previous, by the explosion\nof a mine, recovered his sight, and on the last day of the fortnight, a\nchild dying, or as was supposed, dead, regained life and health in the\nwaters of this fountain.\n\nWe will not dwell here upon the persecutions directed against\nBernadette by the magistrates, or upon the vexations besetting the\npilgrims who flocked hither from all parts of the world. Every one has\nread these details in the work of M. Lasserre, who so ably depicts the\ndignity and firmness displayed in the affair by the parish priest, M.\nPeyramale.\n\nThe apparition of March 25th, has a special significance. Bernadette,\non several occasions, inquired the Lady's name. At this question, the\nvision, on the day mentioned, unclasped her hands, the chaplet of\ngolden chain and alabaster grains sliding on to her arm. She opened her\narms and directed them towards the earth, as if to indicate that her\nvirginal hands were filled with benedictions for the human race; then\nraising them towards the celestial country, whence descended on this\nday the divine messenger of the Annunciation, she clasped them with\nfervor, and looking towards heaven with an indescribable expression\nof gratitude, she pronounced these words: \"_I am the Immaculate\nConception_.\" Having said this, she disappeared, and the child found\nherself and the multitude in presence of a bare rock.\n\nThe Immaculate Virgin appeared to Bernadette twice again; on Easter\nMonday, April 5th, and July 16th, the Feast of our Lady of Mount\nCarmel.\n\nThe following 28th of July, the Bishop of Tarbes named a commission of\ninquiry, composed of ecclesiastics, physicians and learned men. July\n18th, 1862, he published a decree concerning the events that had taken\nplace at Lourdes; it was couched in the following words:\n\n \"We judge that the Immaculate Mother of God did really appear\n to Bernadette Soubirous, Feb. 11th, 1858, and on succeeding\n days to the number of eighteen times in the grotto of\n Masabielle, near the city of Lourdes; that this apparition\n bears all the characteristics of truth, and that the faithful\n may rely upon its reality.\"\n\nMary had petitioned that a chapel be built upon the spot. The first\nstone was laid in the month of October, 1862, the piety of pilgrims\nfurnishing the necessary funds for the erection of the edifice, and on\nthe 21st of May, 1868, the Holy Mass was celebrated there for the first\ntime, in the crypt which was to bear the new sanctuary. The connection\nexisting between the apparitions of 1858 and 1830 is indicated by two\npainted windows in the sanctuary, one of which represents Bernadette's\nvision, the other that of Sister Catherine.\n\nThe pilgrimage to Lourdes has assumed vast proportions; thanks to the\nrailroads, the pilgrims each year number hundreds of thousands, coming\nfrom every quarter of the globe, and countless miracles recompense the\nfaith of those who seek in this sanctuary the merciful power of the\nImmaculate Mary.\n\nThe grotto of Lourdes, reproduced in a thousand places, has become one\nof the most popular objects of devotion.\n\nAs to Bernadette, the interest and veneration attached to her have not\nin the least affected her candor and simplicity. She has retired to the\nconvent of Sisters Hospitallers of Nevers, and nothing distinguishes\nher from the most humble of her companions.\n\n\nOUR LADY OF PONTMAIN (DIOCESE OF LAVAL).--1871.\n\n \"France, having been invaded by the Prussians, was conquered;\n Paris was besieged and suffered the horrors of famine,\n aggravated by the rigors of an extremely cold winter. It\n was at this period the Blessed Virgin vouchsafed to appear,\n bringing words of hope and consolation to the people of her\n predilection. The place favored with this apparition was the\n little town of Pontmain, situated about four leagues from\n Foug\u00e8res, on the confines of the dioceses of Laval and Rennes.\n It was Monday, January 17th, 1871, about six o'clock in the\n evening; Eug\u00e8ne Barbedette, a child aged twelve years, looking\n from the door of the barn where he was occupied with his father\n and younger brother, Joseph, aged ten years, perceived in the\n air, a little above and behind the house of the family of\n Guidecoq, which was opposite him, a tall and beautiful Lady,\n who smiled upon him. He called his brother, his father, and\n a woman of the village who was talking to him at the moment.\n But his brother was the only one except himself who saw the\n vision, and both gave exactly the same description of this\n wonderful being. The Lady was clothed in a wide-sleeved blue\n robe, embroidered with golden stars. Her dress descended to\n the shoes, which were also blue, fastened with a clasp of\n gold-colored ribbon. She wore a black veil, covering a portion\n of her forehead and falling behind her shoulders to the girdle.\n Upon her head was a golden circle like a diadem, and with no\n ornament but a red line passing through the middle. Her face\n was delicate, very white, and of incomparable beauty.\n\n \"In a little while, quite a crowd had collected around the\n barn-door; Madame Barbedette, the Sisters in charge of the\n parish school, the venerable cur\u00e9, and more than sixty other\n persons, but of all these, only two shared the happiness of the\n Barbedette children. These two were also children, boarders\n at the convent. Frances Richer, aged eleven years, and Jane\n Mary Leboss\u00e9, aged nine and a half. The other spectators were\n witnesses only of the joy and happiness of the four privileged\n ones, but all were convinced that it was truly the Blessed\n Virgin who had appeared.\n\n \"The Blessed Virgin's attitude was at first, that seen in the\n Miraculous Medal. After the parish priest arrived, a circle of\n blue was formed around the apparition, and a small red cross\n like that worn by pilgrims, appeared on the Blessed Virgin's\n heart. All began to pray. Suddenly the vision was enlarged,\n and outside the blue circle, appeared a long white strip or\n band, on which the children saw letters successively traced\n and forming those words: '_But pray, my children. God will, in\n a short time hear you. My Son allows himself to be touched by\n your supplications._' Then, raising her hands, as if in unison\n with the singing of the canticle, '_Mother of hope_,' there\n appeared in them a red crucifix at the top of which was the\n inscription: _Jesus Christ_.\n\n \"This prodigy was visible for three hours. After juridical\n information, Mgr. Wicart, Bishop of Laval, confirmed by a\n solemn judgment, the reality of the apparition.\n\n \"On the 17th of January, 1872, the first anniversary of the\n event, a beautiful statue representing the apparition, was\n solemnly set up, in presence of more than eight thousand\n pilgrims, and a magnificent church is now in course of erection\n on the spot.\n\n \"The Holy See has authorized the clergy of the diocese of Laval\n to recite the _Office_ and celebrate the Mass of the Immaculate\n Conception, every year, on the 17th of January; and by Papal\n brief, an archconfraternity, under the title of _Our Lady of\n Hope_, has been instituted in the parish of Pontmain.\"[36]\n\n [Footnote 36: Extract of a relation approved by the Bishop of\n Laval.]\n\n * * * * *\n\nWe could enumerate many other apparitions of the Blessed Virgin in\nFrance, but, not having been approved, by ecclesiastical authority, we\ndare not give them as authentic. We shall mention only the apparitions\nwith which Miss Estelle Faguette was favored with at Pellevoisin, in\nthe diocese of Bourges. The instantaneous cure of this lady, afflicted\nby a malady judged incurable, may be regarded as evidence of the truth\nof the account. Moreover, the Archbishop of Bourges appears to have\nconsidered it reliable, as he has authorized the erection of a chapel\nin memory of the event. On the 14th of February, 1876, the Blessed\nVirgin appeared to Miss Faguette, and the vision was repeated fifteen\ntimes in the space of ten months. Mary's attitude was similar to that\nrepresented on the Miraculous Medal, except that the rays proceeding\nfrom her hands were replaced by drops of dew, symbols of grace. A\nscapular of the Sacred Heart of Jesus was on her breast.\n\nMary expressed her love for France, but complained of her admonitions\nbeing disregarded. She recommended fervent prayer, by the fulfillment\nof which duty we may confidently rely upon God's mercy.\n\n \"What have I not done for France?\" said she. \"How many\n warnings have I not given! Yet, this unhappy land refuses to\n listen. I can no longer restrain my Son's wrath. France will\n suffer. Have courage and confidence. I come especially for the\n conversion of sinners. You must pray; I set you the example.\n My Son's heart has so great love for my heart that He cannot\n refuse my petitions. You must all pray, and have confidence!\"\n Showing the scapular, she said: \"I love this devotion.\"\n\n * * * * *\n\nWho has not heard of the wonderful manifestations of the Blessed Virgin\nin Italy of late years? How many thousands of persons, moved by piety\nor curiosity, have visited the Madonnas of Rimini, of San Ginesio,\nof Vicovaro, of Prosessi, etc., and have witnessed the movement of\nthe eyes, the change of color, and other miraculous signs certainly\nattributable to none but a supernatural power. It does not appear,\nhowever, that Mary has, in this country, presented herself in person,\nthough here she receives the most sincere and abundant tributes of\naffection. Doubtless, she considers any stimulus to the faith of its\npeople unnecessary. And besides, may we not say that she has fixed her\nabode in Italy, since her own house, the house of Nazareth, wherein the\nmystery of the Incarnation was accomplished, and where dwelt the Holy\nFamily, has been transported thither by the hands of angels?\n\n * * * * *\n\nWhilst the Prussian government is persecuting the Church, the Blessed\nVirgin vouchsafed to appear in the two most Catholic provinces of her\nkingdom, and in two opposite frontiers, near the banks of the Rhine\nand in the Grand Duchy of Posen. Does she not seem to say to the good\npeople of these localities, that they must have confidence and that\nGod will conquer their enemies? We must remark that on both of these\noccasions, Mary announces herself as the _Virgin conceived without\nsin_.\n\nWe give an abridged account of these two apparitions, which we have\nevery reason to consider supernatural. The second vision had been\nformally approved by the Bishop of Ermeland.\n\nOn the 3rd of July, 1876, at Marpingen, an inconsiderable village of\nthe district of Tr\u00e8ves (Rhenish Prussia), the Blessed Virgin appeared\nto three little girls, in a pine forest about the hour of the evening.\nThe three children were each about eight years of age, and belonged\nto families of poor, honest farmers residing in the village. They\nperceived a bright light, and in the midst of it a beautiful Lady\nseated, holding a child in her right arm. The Lady and child were clad\nin white, the Lady crowned with red roses, and in her clasped hands, a\nlittle cross.\n\nThe vision was renewed several times. To the childrens' questions as\nto her name, she answered; \"_I am she who was conceived without sin_;\"\nand when asked what she desired, the reply was: \"That you pray with\nfervor, and that you commit no sin.\" Several sick persons were cured by\ntouching the place which the children pointed out as that occupied by\nthe Blessed Virgin. These facts are incontestable; but they have not\nyet been examined by ecclesiastical authority.[37]\n\n [Footnote 37: Extract from _Catholic Annals_.]\n\n * * * * *\n\nIn the village of Grietzwald, in Varmia, one of the ancient provinces\nof Poland annexed to Prussia, four young girls, poor and of great\ninnocence, were favored on various occasions for two months, beginning\nJune 27th, 1877, with apparitions of the Blessed Virgin, who appeared\nsometimes alone, sometimes carrying the Child Jesus, holding in his\nhands a globe surmounted by a cross. Both Mother and Child were clothed\nin white.\n\nTo the children's question: \"Who are you?\" the apparition answered, on\none occasion: \"I am the Blessed Virgin Mary, _conceived without sin_;\"\nand another time, \"_I am the Immaculate Conception_.\"\n\nIn the first apparition, our Lady's countenance was sad, and she even\nshed tears; afterwards, it betokened joy. She asked that a chapel be\nerected and a statue of the Immaculate Conception placed therein. At\neach apparition she blessed the crowd, which was always numerous; she\nblessed also a spring, which has since then furnished an abundant\nsupply of water, effecting miraculous cures. She recommended the\nrecitation of the _Rosary_, and exhorted all to fervent prayer, and\nconfidence in the midst of the trials which were to come.[38]\n\n [Footnote 38: Letters from Poland.]\n\n * * * * *\n\nThese recent apparitions of the Blessed Virgin have founded new\npilgrimages, the faithful flocking to the favored spots in honor of the\nMother of God, and ask for the graces which she bestows with a truly\nroyal liberality. At the same time her ancient sanctuaries, far from\nbeing neglected, have only become more endeared to piety, many having\nbeen reconstructed with magnificence, or at least most handsomely\nembellished; it suffices to mention Fourvi\u00e8res, Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde,\nRocamadour, Boulogne-sur-mer, Liesse and Buglose.\n\nThe coronation of the most celebrated statues of the Blessed Virgin,\nin the name and by the munificence of Pius IX, was the occasion of\nimposing solemnities, and also a means of infusing into the devotion of\nthe people greater vigor and fervor.\n\nThe exercises of the Month of Mary have extended to the most humble\nvillages, and there is scarcely a parish without its confraternity in\nhonor of the Blessed Virgin.\n\nScience, eloquence, poetry, music, sculpture, painting and architecture\nhave rivalled one another in celebrating the glory of the Virgin Mother.\n\nWhat may we deduce from this wonderful increase of devotion to the\nImmaculate Mary?\n\nThe impression naturally produced is that of confidence. A society\nwhich pays such homage to Mary, cannot perish. If, as St Bernard says,\nit is unheard of that any one has been forsaken who had recourse to\nher intercession, how were it possible that the fervent prayers of an\nentire people should fail to touch her heart? No, the future is not\nwithout hope; the mediation of Mary will save us.\n\nThe venerable Grignion of Montfort, in his _Treatise_ on true devotion\nto the Blessed Virgin has written these lines: \"It is by the Blessed\nVirgin Mary, Jesus Christ came into the world; it is also by her,\nthat he is to reign in the world. If then, as is certain, the reign\nof Jesus Christ will come, so likewise is it certain that this reign\nwill be a necessary consequence of the knowledge and reign of the\nBlessed Virgin. Mary, by the operation of the Holy Ghost, produced that\nmost stupendous of all creations, a Man-God, and she will produce by\nthe power of this same Holy Spirit, the greatest prodigies in these\nlatter times. It is through Mary the salvation of the world began, it\nis through Mary the salvation of the world is to be consummated. Mary\nwill display still greater mercy, power and grace in these days. Mercy,\nto bring back poor sinners; power, against the enemies of God; grace,\nto sustain and animate the valiant soldiers and faithful servants of\nJesus Christ, combating for His interests. Ah! when will arrive the\nday that establishes Mary mistress and sovereign of hearts, to subject\nthem to the empire of Jesus?... Then will great and wonderful things be\naccomplished.... When will this joyful epoch come, this _Age of Mary_,\nin which souls absorbed in the abyss of the interior of Mary, will\nbecome living copies of the sublime, original, loving and glorifying\nJesus Christ?\"\n\nFather de Montfort adds, in addressing our Saviour: _Ut adveniat regnum\ntuum, adveniat regnum Mari\u00e6!_ May the reign of Mary come that they\nreign, O Jesus, may come!\n\nIs not this the _Age of Mary_? Was there ever in the Church, a period\nin which Mary was, if we may thus express it, so lavish of favors as\nin these, our days? Was there ever a period in which she has appeared\nso frequently and familiarly, in which she has given to the world,\nadmonitions so grave and maternal; in which she has worked so many\nmiracles; and poured out graces so abundantly? The reader of this\nvolume will answer unhesitatingly, that no period of history offers\nanything comparable to what we have witnessed in our own days.\n\nIt is true, that the day of triumph announced by the venerated\nMontfort, appears far distant; one might say that the kingdom of God on\nearth is more compromised than ever. The wicked make unexampled efforts\nto demolish the social edifice; they are numerous, powerful, and\npossessed of incalculable resources. But for the Church, when all seems\nlost, then is her triumph at hand. God sometimes permits the malice of\nmen to exceed all bounds, that His power may be the more manifest when\nthe moment of their defeat arrives.\n\nAll the united efforts of the Church's enemies in the course of ages,\nall their errors, hatred and violence directed against her, the Spouse\nof Christ, are now concentrated in what is termed the Revolution--that\nis, anti-Christianity reduced to a system and propagated throughout the\nworld, it is Satan usurping the place of Jesus Christ.\n\nBut He who has conquered the world, and put to flight the prince of the\nworld, will not permit Himself to be dethroned. He will reign, and even\nnow, before our eyes, is His kingdom being prepared, by the mediation\nof the Immaculate Mary, of whom the promise was made that _she should\ncrush the serpent's head, and to whom alone belongs the privilege of\ndestroying all heresies arising upon earth_.\n\n\n _THE END._\n\n\n\n\nTranscriber's Note: The book included a decorative image at the\nbeginning of each chapter.\n\nThe labels for these have been removed in the text version of\nthis book\n\nThe oe ligature has been expanded. There were many printer's errors in\nthis publication, which have been corrected.\n\n Page 25 Extraordinay is now extraordinary.\n Page 112 physican is now physician.\n Page 158 Physycian is now for physician.\n Page 258 Prepartion is now preparation.\n Page 266 Tranformed is now transformed.\n\nInconsistent use of accents has resulted in 2 words being\namended. Chalons is now Ch\u00e2lons, and Eugene is now Eug\u00e8ne.","title":"The Miraculous Medal: Its Origin, History, Circulation, Results","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":93488}