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Also known as: Jane
Frances of Chantel; Jane Frances Fremiot de Chantal
Profile
Born to the nobility, the daughter of the president of the Parliament of
Burgundy who raised her alone after the death of her mother when Jeanne
was 18 months old. Married in 1592 at age twenty to Baron de Chantal.
Mother of four. Widowed at 28 when the Baron was killed in a hunting
accident and died in her arms. Taking a personal vow of chastity, she was
forced to live with her father-in-law, which was a period of misery for
her. She spent her free time in prayer, and received a vision of the man
who would become her spiritual director. In Lent, 1604, she met Saint
Francis de Sales, and recognized him as the man in her vision. She became
a spiritual student and close friend of Saint Francis, and the two carried
on a lengthy correspondence for years. On Trinity Sunday, 6 June 1610 she
founded the Order of the Visitation of Our Lady at Annecy, France. The
Order was designed for widows and laywomen who did not wish the full life
of the orders, and oversaw the founding of 69 convents. Jeanne spent the
rest of her days overseeing the Order, and acting as spiritual advisor to
any who desired her wisdom. Visitationist nuns today live a contemplative
life, work for women with poor health and widows, and sometimes run
schools.
Born: 28 January 1572 at Dijon, Burgundy, France
Died: 13 December 1641 at the Visitation Convent, Moulins, France;
relics at Annecy, Savoy
Beatified: 21 November 1751 by Pope Benedict XIV
Canonized: 16 July 1767
Patronage: forgotten people, in-law problems, loss of parents,
parents separated from children, widows
Readings:
When shall it be that we shall taste the sweetness of the Divine Will in
all that happens to us, considering in everything only His good pleasure,
by whom it is certain that adversity is sent with as much love as
prosperity, and as much for our good? When shall we cast ourselves
undeservedly into the arms of our most loving Father in Heaven, leaving to
Him the care of ourselves and of our affairs, and reserving only the
desire of pleasing Him, and of serving Him well in all that we can?
Saint Jeanne
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Hold your eyes on God and leave the doing to him. That is all the doing
you have to worry about.
Saint Jeanne
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She was full of faith, and yet all her life long she had been tormented by
thoughts against it. Nor did she once relax in the fidelity God asked of
her. And so I regard her as one of the holiest souls I have ever met on
this earth.
Saint Vincent de Paul
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One day Saint Jane spoke the following eloquent words, which listeners
took down exactly as spoken: "My dear daughters, many of our holy fathers
in the faith, men who were pillars of the Church, did not die martyrs. Why
do you think this was? Each one present offered an answer; then their
mother continued. "Well, I myself think it was because there is another
martyrdom: the martyrdom of love. Here God keeps his servants and
handmaids in this present life to that they may labor for him, and he
makes of them both martyrs and confessors. I know," she added, "that the
Daughters of the Visitation are meant to be martyrs of this kind and that,
by the favor of God, some of them, more fortunate than others in that
their desire has been granted, will actually suffer such a martyrdom."
One sister asked what form this martyrdom took. The saint answered: "Yield
yourself fully to God, and you will find out! Divine love takes its sword
to the hidden recesses of our inmost soul and divides us from ourselves. I
know one person whom love cut off from all that was dearest to her, just
as completely and effectively as if a tyrant's blade had severed spirit
from body."
We realized that she was speaking of herself. When another sister asked
how long the martyrdom would continue, the saint replied: "From the moment
when we commit ourselves unreservedly to God, until our last breath. I am
speaking, of course, of great-souled individuals who keep nothing back for
themselves, but instead are faithful in love. Our Lord does not intend
this martyrdom for those who are weak in love and perseverance. Such
people he lets continue on their mediocre way, so that they will not be
lost to him; he never does violence to our free will."
Finally, the saint was asked whether this martyrdom of love could be put
on the same level as martyrdom of the body. She answered: "We should not
worry about equality. I do think, however, that they martyrdom of love
cannot be relegated to a second place, for 'love is as strong as death.'
For the martyrs of love suffer infinitely more in remaining in this life
so as to serve God, than if they died a thousand times over in testimony
to their faith and love and fidelity."
from the memoirs of the secretary of Saint Jane Frances de Chantal
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Fidelity toward God consists in being perfectly resigned to his holy will,
in enduring everything that his goodness allows in our lives, and in
carrying out all our duties, especially that of prayer, with love and for
love. In prayer we must converse very familiarly with our Lord, concerning
our little needs, telling him what they are, and remaining submissive to
anything he may wish to do with us...
We should go to prayer with deep humility and an awareness of our
nothingness. We must invoke the help of the Holy Spirit and that of our
good angel, and then remain still in God's presence, full of faith that he
is more in us than we are in ourselves.
There is no danger if our prayer is without words or reflection because
the good success of prayer depends neither on words nor on study. It
depends upon the simple raising of our minds to God, and the more simple
and stripped of feeling it is, the surer it is.
We must never dwell on our sins during prayer. Regarding our offenses, a
simple humbling of our soul before God, without a thought of this offense
or that, is enough...such thoughts act as distractions.
Saint Jeanne de Chantal, from Wings to the Lord
source:
http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saintj22.htm
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