EARLY YEARS OF MARGARET BOURGEOIS, AND HER VOCATION FOR THE CANADIAN
MISSION.
Margaret Bourgeois was born in the city of Troyes, in Champagne, on the
15th of April, 1620. Her father, Abraham Bourgeois, was an honest
merchant of that city, who espoused Guillamette Garnier. If these good
people were not distinguished for high birth or the possession of great
wealth, they were at least remarkable for the purity of their lives, for
sound religious principles, and for unusual probity of character. As
they belonged to the middle class of society, their means were limited,
yet they took care to have their children educated, and instilled into
their young minds a cordial love for the duties of religion. Their
family consisted of five children, two boys and three girls, Margaret
being the third born to them. She was baptized in the parish church of
St. John of Troyes, and nothing is known of her infancy or childhood
except that at a proper age she learned to read and write, with the
other attainments of early school years. Of this we are certain, that,
at an early period, she became a practical Christian, and never deviated
from the principles she then imbibed. Almighty God had special designs
on her future life, and from childhood infused into her heart a great
love of labor and mortification, which foreshadowed what she was one day
to become. Scarcely had she attained her tenth year when she was to be
seen among her little companions, like a mother in Israel, assembling
them together in secluded places, far from the noise and bustle of the
city, instructing them in the discharge of their duties, principally in
practices of piety, advising them to love labor and shun idleness, the
fruitful source of the sins of youth, and to select such work as
Almighty God had given them particular inclinations for.
These assemblies of children were so many little communities of innocent
souls in which God took great complacency, and it was at this time she
made her first Holy Communion. Her mother's death occurring soon after,
she had an opportunity of practising the virtues of obedience, etc.,
under circumstances far in advance of her years. By the death of his
wife, M. Bourgeois found himself embarrassed with the care of a helpless
young family, but noticing in little Margaret a certain air of gravity
and prudence, accompanied by sincere piety, he seriously thought of
giving her charge of the household, and particularly of the education of
a younger brother and sister. Nothing is known with certainty of the
after lives of these children, except that, in 1653, when Margaret was
making arrangements to leave France for Canada, two of them were minors,
in whose favor she voluntarily dispossessed herself of _her_ share of
the family inheritance. Neither can anything be recorded of the virtues
she displayed in discharging the laborious duties of the position in
which her father placed her at so tender an age. No one could speak of
these years of responsibility except herself, and humility would never
permit her to raise the veil, or speak of what must have been a most
interesting portion of her saintly life. Only one circumstance of these
early years could she ever be induced to mention, and of this she
sometimes spoke with great bitterness of soul, and much exaggeration. It
was that, a few times, during seasons of worldly dissipation, she had
attached undue importance to dress--taking great pains to arrange her
toilette fashionably so as to display her personal attractions to
advantage. Although this happened without dressing beyond her station of
life, or exceeding the bounds of modesty, she acknowledged that it
tarnished the purity of her heart, and filled her mind with vain and
foolish thoughts. It was one of those youthful faults for which she took
care to punish herself severely in after life, being remarkable for the
simplicity and modesty of her attire, even before she became a
religeuse. Her beautiful and well-concealed spirit of mortification made
her correspond faithfully to the motions of grace which Divine
Providence infused into her soul, and by which she was to become so
intimately united to God. As He always makes an instrument of His
Blessed Mother to bestow such graces on His elect, it was by devotion to
Mary that He attached Margaret Bourgeois irrevocably to His service. She
had always been a devoted client of the Blessed Virgin, and the singular
favor she received, that will now be related, was probably not the first
vouchsafed her by the Queen of Heaven. The circumstances under which she
received it prove that she was a member of the Rosary Society, which was
then effecting such wonders in the spiritual life of Christendom.
On the first Sunday of October, 1640--the Feast of the Holy Rosary--the
Dominicans held grand processions in honor of Mary, and celebrated the
feast with all possible splendor. Margaret Bourgeois, being then twenty
years old, came with many others to assist at the procession, which was
to take place within the monastery enclosure. The public were allowed on
such occasions to join in the ceremony, but by a particular dispensation
of Providence, the crowd was so great this year that the procession was
obliged to pass along a public route, and file off before the church of
Notre Dame-the cathedral of Troyes. There was a very fine marble statue
of the Blessed Virgin placed on a pedestal in the porch of the church,
and as Margaret turned reverently to gaze upon it, it shone brilliantly
with supernatural light--the face of the Virgin beaming with an
extraordinary life-like beauty. She had often seen the statue before,
but never as now, and, like St. Paul, was almost blinded by the dazzling
vision. To the last day of her life she felt her heart moved to its
inmost depths when she recalled this celestial favor.
On entering the church she reflected seriously on what had occurred, and
felt convinced that God demanded of her something more than she had yet
accomplished for His glory, and that His Blessed Mother was to be
hereafter her strength and support. She immediately resolved by the help
of God to eradicate from her heart the two imperfections that
counteracted the influence of divine grace. These were an inordinate
love of dress, and a strong desire to attract to herself the esteem and
love of creatures. Accordingly she determined for the future to wear a
simple dress of cheap material, to use no color but black or brown, and
never again to display the vain ornaments of jewelry that young girls so
much prize. In her fervor she made a vow to receive humiliations as
coming directly from the hand of God, and we shall see that as SISTER
BOURGEOIS she received many such favors.
With these dispositions it was natural she should seek admission into a
religious community, which in effect she did. There existed at Troyes a
Carmelite Convent, of the reform of St. Teresa. Every one knows that the
Carmelites are in a special manner devoted to Mary, under the title of
"Our Lady of Mt. Carmel," and that their congregation is the origin and
centre of the Confraternities of the Scapular. There is not a community
of women in the Church whose discipline and manner of life is so
austere, if we except the "Poor Clares." During all seasons of the year
they dress in a heavy coarse habit, wear sandals on their feet, never
make use of linen, are seldom seen in the parlor, sleep on a hard
mattress, rise simultaneously, to chant the Divine Office, spend at
least two hours each night at prayer, and are familiar with the use of
the discipline, hair-shirt, etc. In a word, their mortifications are
continual and rigorous. Now these extraordinary penances were what
especially attracted Margaret Bourgeois to join them. But in order to
act prudently, and learn the will of God clearly regarding her vocation,
she addressed herself to M. Antoine Jandret, a virtuous and enlightened
priest, who was confessor to the Carmelites. Having heard her
attentively, he was struck with admiration at the manner in which God
was working in her soul. She continued for some time to be his penitent,
and after he had made trial of her virtue, he no longer hesitated to
propose her as a subject to the Carmelites.
The chapter met to discuss the matter, but some changes in her exterior
manner of living (the motives of which they did not know) led them to
suppose that her disposition was frivolous and volatile; and they
refused to admit her. But it was not there Almighty God intended her to
become a religieuse, and their refusal did not lessen her esteem for the
austerities practised by them, and on which she modelled her own
penances for the remainder of her life. Neither did a _first refusal_
discourage her; on the contrary, she redoubled her prayers to learn the
will of God, and it pleased His divine Majesty to unfold to the eyes of
her soul, gradually but clearly, his designs regarding her. Being
rejected by the Carmelites, she next sought admission into the extern
congregation of young girls, at Troyes. It will be necessary to give
some explanation of this society, as the singular graces accorded to
Sister Bourgeois while she was one of its members influenced her very
much in the formation of the congregation she afterwards founded.
There existed in Troyes another convent of religieuses known as the
"Congregation of Notre Dame," who were founded by Pere Fourier, cure of
Martincourt, a man eminent for piety. They were cloistered nuns, who
added to the ordinary duties of a religious life the education of young
girls. This duty they discharged within the cloister, and without
secular assistance. The Ursulines conducted their schools more publicly,
and had established several successful missions. The former, therefore,
were obliged to use as auxiliaries an extern congregation composed of
virtuous young girls, who lived in their own families, but assembled on
Sundays and festivals for the exercise of works of charity. They went
two and two together, wherever the glory of God or the good of their
neighbors required, always subject to the appointment of the
religieuses. Most of the young ladies of the city belonged to this
association, which was of course secular (enclosure not being suitable
to their work), and they willingly admitted Margaret Bourgeois among
them. It was in this edifying association that God manifested his
designs on her future life, and it was for her a real apprenticeship in
the school of virtue. Once received, she was soon distinguished for zeal
and fervor, and was to be seen everywhere, exercising the duties of
Christian charity. Her distinguishing trait, however, was the
instruction of the ignorant, and teaching young girls the principles of
religion, as well as the rudiments of education. It may be truly said of
her from that period, that the animating principle of all her actions
was to unite them in spirit with the human actions of the Mother of God.
She never relaxed in her efforts to imitate this high model of sanctity,
and never ceased by word and example to animate the Christian virgins
who afterwards joined her religious order to imitate as closely as human
infirmity would permit, the daily actions of Mary during her sojourn on
earth. To quote her own words will best exemplify her spirit. She said:
"Our Lord before His ascension into heaven left behind Him on earth a
kind of congregation or community that would embrace persons of every
condition of life, the first superior being His own divine Mother. The
holy spirit in the Gospel has given us the name of this community, which
had a two-fold object, and was to serve as a model for all future
associations of women to be established in the Church. This was no other
than the community of Magdalen and Martha,' the disciples and friends of
Christ. The first represented religious congregations devoted to prayer
and contemplation in the cloister. While Martha was to be a model for
those who devote themselves to the service of their neighbor. But the
Blessed Virgin reserved to herself the duty of instruction. She was the
Mother and mistress of the rising Church, which she formed and trained
to the practise of virtue, by word and example. Not that she undertook
to preach the Gospel, which was the mission of the Apostles, but she
instructed the _little ones_ in the virtues of poverty and humility, of
which she herself made profession, knowing that the majority of the
followers of Christ would be the poor and lowly. Thus was she the true
model of a missionary congregation."
By such admirable sentiments as these did she excite her companions to
fervor in the discharge of their several duties. Yet her labors as a
member of the externs at Troyes did not satisfy her. She felt that God
required more from her, although He had not yet manifested his will, so
she again determined to seek admission into a religious house, applying
this time to the "Poor Clares." It is true she saw nothing in their
institute that corresponded to her ardent desire of consecrating herself
to the service of the Blessed Virgin, and of laboring for the salvation
of souls, but she felt she would be unfaithful to grace if she did not
make another effort to find out the will of God concerning her vocation.
She therefore consulted her director, who advised her to present herself
for admission, which she did, but as before, met with a humiliating
refusal, as it was not there _either_, that Almighty God intended to
make use of her for His glory, and He took this means of putting her
humility to the test, and proving and perfecting her virtue.
The first refusal of the Carmelites only served to animate her to
greater perfection, and she made the same use of this second mortifying
rejection. Being more and more impressed with a desire to consecrate
herself to God, she resolved on making a vow of perpetual chastity,
first acquainting M. Landret, her confessor, with her intention. He was
a prudent man, and thought that circumstanced as she was, she might
sometime repent having made the vow, or something might occur to change
her resolution, and therefore told her to postpone such a promise until
she was at least thirty years old, being then twenty-two. She submitted
to his decision in silence, as humbly as if God had spoken. He soon
changed his opinion, however, being convinced by her submission that God
was operating great things in her soul, and permitted her to follow her
inclination by consecrating her virginity to Jesus, which she did with
fervor on the Feast of St. Thomas the Apostle, December 21st, 1643,
being in her twenty-third year. Shortly after she added the a vow of
poverty, and from that time her career of sanctity was unmistakable. She
advanced in virtue as she advanced in age, and the practise of every
good work, and held the office of Prefect of the extern congregation for
many years. In 1647, her father falling dangerously sick, she attended
him with all the love and charity that might be expected from such a
daughter, and had the consolation of seeing him die full of hope and
trust in the mercy of God. She arranged his body in the coffin with her
own hands, although others were willing to spare her the performance of
that duty of filial love, and the pious practice of preparing the dead
for burial she ever after continued in Canada, until strength and life
failed her, although it was often repugnant to her feelings.
As M. Jandret knew the humiliation she endured by being refused
admission in two religious orders, and knew also her virtues, he did not
feel justified in advising anything that would stifle the operations of
divine grace in her soul. He was, moreover, an eye-witness of her
successful efforts in instructing young girls, both secularly and
religiously, and thought it might be pleasing to God to associate with
her other pious young persons, who could easily be found in the
congregation of which she was Prefect, and establish them _permanently_
in the discharge of that duty. He accordingly made the proposal to her,
which she did not refuse, believing it would contribute to the glory of
God, and be a means of accomplishing His will. In order to act
prudently, however, M. Jandret consulted his superior, M. de Theoloyal,
of the cathedral of Troyes, who assured him that the project was a wise
one, and the two priests in concert drew up a formula of rules which
they judged fit to lead those for whom they were intended securely in
the path of Christian perfection. M. le Theoloyal went to Paris to
submit the rules to the doctors of the Sorbonne, who decided in their
favor, and advised that they be reduced to practice.
Two virtuous young ladies were thereupon associated with Margaret
Bourgeois, and Mme. de Chuly, of whom we shall have occasion to speak
more at length, gave them an apartment in her own house to make the
experiment. In proposing the rules to these pious young women, the
persons who had written and approved of them had undoubtedly the
_future_ in view, but God had still wiser and other designs. It was only
a preparation or foundation for the rules and constitutions that
Margaret, many years after, sought to have approved in France for the
government of the Community she established at Ville-Marie, she and her
first companions having had a most happy experience of them during their
early religious life. They engaged zealously in the education of the
children confided to their care, always making moral training the
principal object, but most especially did they seek to guard those whose
surroundings endangered their virtue. On one occasion, a set of
libertines managed to entice a poor but honest girl away from home.
Margaret Bourgeois fortunately heard of the intended outrage, and taking
a crucifix in her hand fearlessly followed the ruffians in order to
rescue the girl. Without taking any notice of the violence they
threatened, as they were well armed, she spoke so forcibly of the
judgments of God, that would inevitably fall on them if they persisted
in their diabolical purpose, that they retired in confusion, leaving the
trembling girl at liberty, and overpowered with gratitude for her
benefactress. She afterwards became one of Margaret's life-long
companions, and accompanied her to Canada, where she was known as Sister
Crolo. But the trial establishment of M. Jandret did not last very long.
One of the two associates died, and the other left, so that Margaret,
finding herself alone, was forced to abandon a position in which she
could not succeed without companions, and again occupied herself as a
simple congregationalist. The mortified life she had thus been leading
for years, always uncertain of the future, and without a particle of
human consolation, could not fail to draw down upon her signal favors
from heaven, and those she experienced were of the most precious kind.
Almighty God favored her many times with ineffable and sweet
consolations when she approached Holy Communion. The fire of divine love
then burned so vividly in her heart that she could hardly refrain from
letting appear exteriorly the ecstatic joy with which her soul was
inundated. Once she saw Our Lord in the Holy Host during Mass, in the
form of a little child, of a ravishing and incomparable beauty, and by
such a singular favor we may easily judge of the state of her soul at
that period of her life.
On the Feast of the Assumption, 1650, which was the principal Feast of
the externs, she was appointed to remain in adoration before the Blessed
Sacrament during the annual procession in honor of the holy Virgin,
which was that day held. After remaining a considerable time in prayer
she felt suddenly inspired to raise her eyes and look at the holy Host
in the ostensorium. A vision of the Redeemer was distinctly presented to
her, and she was so profoundly penetrated with love and gratitude that
earth had no more charms for her from that happy hour. Such is always
the effect of celestial manifestations, and it was by these favors
Almighty God prepared the soul of His servant for the great designs He
had upon her, of which she was then ignorant. However, they were not
much longer unfolding, and we shall, in the sequel, everywhere find
occasion to notice the watchful care of Divine Providence and the marked
protection of the Blessed Virgin over the colony of Ville-Marie, over
Sister Bourgeois herself, and over the Institute of the Sisters of the
Congregation.