What a week this has been for saints! And today is no exception as we remember St. Jane Frances de Chantal, who was a wife, mother and religious as well as, with St. Francis de Sales, co-founder of the Sisters of the Visitation of Holy Mary. St. Jane's insights into and advice on prayer have helped me enormously over the years, some of which can be found here and here. I remember how absolutely liberated I felt when I first read these words of hers: "With Him there is no need for long speeches. In heaven the angels utter no other word than this: Holy. This is their entire prayer, and in paradise they are occupied with this single word as an act of homage to the single Word of God who lives eternally."
I've always been short on words when it comes to prayer, mostly because, as Gerard Manley Hopkins puts it so well, I am more often than not "lost, all lost in wonder at the God thou art." Back in those days when I was young and didn't know better, I stupidly compared my way of praying to that of others, most of whom seemed to be chatty souls who always had plenty to say while praying. I felt so inadequate about my lack of words along with what I perceived to be a lack of emotion. Even though my ceaseless repetition of a sacred word proved to be a worthy method of prayer for me, so much so that that I still pray this way today, I questioned the authenticity and efficacy of my prayer. Thanks to St. Jane, I've learned otherwise and have long since accepted my single word "as an act of homage to the single Word of God who lives eternally."
St. Jane had a hard life, which included the tragic death of her husband early in their marriage, after which she and their children lived with a extremely difficult father-in-law. Her spiritual director was a misguided tyrant who made unreasonable demands on her and led her to a state of high anxiety. God intervened by bringing her and St. Francis de Sales together in "the one bond of love", which grew ever stronger as they strove to "live Jesus" with all their hearts, souls and minds. The problems that St. Jane encountered when she co-founded the Sisters of the Visitation were many and large. Her greatest disappointment came when the local archbishop forbade the sisters to serve the poor and, instead, commanded them to take solemn vows and live in strict enclosure. For three decades, St. Jane endured a dark night of the soul, which she alludes to in her well-known talk to her sisters about talk the martyrdom of love. (This is the second reading in the Office of Readings for her feast today.) St. Jane's obedience to God in everything, both great and small, flowed from her confidence in and abandonment to Divine Providence. Her prayer below says it much better than I ever could!
I've always been short on words when it comes to prayer, mostly because, as Gerard Manley Hopkins puts it so well, I am more often than not "lost, all lost in wonder at the God thou art." Back in those days when I was young and didn't know better, I stupidly compared my way of praying to that of others, most of whom seemed to be chatty souls who always had plenty to say while praying. I felt so inadequate about my lack of words along with what I perceived to be a lack of emotion. Even though my ceaseless repetition of a sacred word proved to be a worthy method of prayer for me, so much so that that I still pray this way today, I questioned the authenticity and efficacy of my prayer. Thanks to St. Jane, I've learned otherwise and have long since accepted my single word "as an act of homage to the single Word of God who lives eternally."
St. Jane had a hard life, which included the tragic death of her husband early in their marriage, after which she and their children lived with a extremely difficult father-in-law. Her spiritual director was a misguided tyrant who made unreasonable demands on her and led her to a state of high anxiety. God intervened by bringing her and St. Francis de Sales together in "the one bond of love", which grew ever stronger as they strove to "live Jesus" with all their hearts, souls and minds. The problems that St. Jane encountered when she co-founded the Sisters of the Visitation were many and large. Her greatest disappointment came when the local archbishop forbade the sisters to serve the poor and, instead, commanded them to take solemn vows and live in strict enclosure. For three decades, St. Jane endured a dark night of the soul, which she alludes to in her well-known talk to her sisters about talk the martyrdom of love. (This is the second reading in the Office of Readings for her feast today.) St. Jane's obedience to God in everything, both great and small, flowed from her confidence in and abandonment to Divine Providence. Her prayer below says it much better than I ever could!
You are my Father and my God
from whom I expect all my happiness.
I am Your child, all Yours;
good children think only
of pleasing their father;
I don't want to have any worries
and I leave in Your care
everything that concerns me,
for You love me, my God.
Father, you are my good.
My soul rests and trusts
in Your love and eternal providence.
~ St. Jane de ChantalP.S. Learn more about St. Jane here, here, here, here and here.
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