Sit Nomen Domini benedictum!

May the Name of the Lord be blessed!

(Arch-confraternity for Reparation.)

The confraternity for Reparation sprang up, as it were, miraculously by the sole will of God, without the intervention of man. In our brief account of its establishment, we shall follow exactly the notes furnished us by the Carmelite annals, likewise those of M. Dupont.

One of the “Abridgment of Facts” fell into the hands of a fervent Christian of Rouen, M. le Brument-Jeulin, a man like M. Dupont, renowned for his zeal and for his many works of charity. It was through one of his friends, Rev. P. Veilcazes, former director of the Grand Seminary of Tours, and at the time of which we are speaking, superior of the Grand Seminary and of the Carmelites of Rouen, that he first heard of the said Abridgment; shortly after, being obliged to undertake a journey to Paris on business, he went as far as Tours on purpose to ascertain the truth and importance of these “Facts.” From what he there learned he did not hesitate to become the courier, and so to say, the travelling agent of the Reparation, resolving to plead its cause whenever Providence would give him the occasion, which was not far distant, as the designs of God were nearing their fulfilment.

On his return from Paris, M. le Brament met at the hotel were he was stopping, M. l’abbé Favrel, vicar general of Langres. During a short interview, the latter informed him that Bishop Parisis was staying at the same hotel, and invited him to visit this illustrious prelate, which he did the same day. During the course of the conversation, the pious gentleman spoke of his journey through Tourraine, and related what he had heard of M. Dupont relative to the work of Reparation, which he warmly advocated. The Bishop of Langres was forcibly impressed by what he had just heard and told the pious gentleman that for some time he had been very desirous of establishing in his diocese a confraternity to meet the need of reparation.

On his return home, the Bishop of Langres wrote to the Archbishop of Tours on this subject; the latter, who did not deem it advisable to take any steps of himself toward the establishment of a confraternity, through fear of giving any ostensible proof of his belief in the revelations of Sister Mary St. Peter, allowed the bishop of Langres to take the initiative, which he could do the more plausibly, as Langres was his own native city. After having received the prelate’s reply, Mgr. Parisis, by a mandate, dated June 28, 1847, vigil of the feast of the holy apostles, Peter and Paul, established in the parish church of St. Dizier, a Confraternity in Reparation for Blasphemy and for the Profanation of the Sunday under the protection of St. Martin. He sent M. l’abbé Marche, pastor of the parish, as his deputy to Rome to solicit the title of Arch-confraternity for the association, and also that it be enriched with special indulgences. Pius IX., then but two years raised to the pontifical chair of St. Peter, received this petition with enthusiasm, and exclaimed: “The Reparation is a work destined to save society,” which words have become the watchword of the zealous associates. The Holy Father granted the desired indulgences, and by a brief dated July 30, 1847, raised the Preparatory Association of St. Dizier to the dignity of an Arch-confraternity, desiring that his own name be inscribed the first on the register: an inestimable privilege and a source of benedictions for the new work.

Thus were realized the wishes of our dear sister conformably to the inspiration she had received from heaven.

Before going to Rome, the parish priest of St. Dizier, by order of the Bishop of Langres, kept up a regular correspondence with the Carmelites of Tours relative to the work of reparation. The rule for the Confraternity was long a subject of discussion between them; at last by their joint efforts, the society was molded into form; and though not comprising all the minutiae dictated by Sister M. St. Peter, yet Reparation was the prime object, all the rules and regulations of the association verging to this one point. The said association was consecrated to the adorable Trinity and to the Holy Name of Jesus, and placed under the patronage of St. Michael, St. Louis and St. Martin, protector of France. A cross bearing on one side these words, Sit Nomen Domini benedictum and on the other Vade retro, Satanas, was its insignia; as also a medal, bearing on one side a triangle with rays, symbolical of the adorable Trinity, and on the other, the Holy Face of Jesus. The words of the inscription were to be repeated by the members every time they heard a blasphemy, or that they witnessed the profanation of any of the feasts of obligation.

Being a confraternity, it had the privilege of aggregating to itself all other associations formed for this object, and adopting the rules, to which an express clause had been added, reserving to bishops the power of modifying this rule according to the necessities of their respective dioceses, provided that the fundamental points be not interfered with.

The object pursued by Sister Mary St. Peter was thus attained; but it was ever a subject of regret to her that this association had not been established at Tours, that a minor church in a small city of a distant parish, would have this glorious privilege of being the headquarters of a work destined to spread all over France. Another source of regret, then as now, is that perfect silence has been maintained in the episcopal decrees relative to the devotion to the Holy Face of our Lord Jesus Christ, specified by the sister as the visible object of Reparation.

Necessarily, this must be attributed to the ignorance of those at Langres with respect to the special lights on this point accorded to the humble virgin of Carmel; and perhaps, also, to the apparent necessity of not seeming to act in virtue of a revelation not yet sanctioned by the authority of the Church.

However, as a substitute, the Ecce Homo was engraved on one side of the cross, and the Litanies of the Holy Face, composed by Sister Mary St. Peter were inserted in the Manual of the Arch-Confraternity. Evidently, there was much more to be done, to fulfil the desires of Our Lord, according to the revelations of the Carmelite of Tours; but we must bear in mind that the devotion to the Holy Face of Our Lord, had not then the éclat it has to-day. The sister seemed satisfied with what was achieved; it was also a great subject of joy to M. Dupont, who for many years bad been so actively occupied in seeking the glory of the Holy Name of God by Reparation for blasphemy.

The Arch-confraternity of Reparation is perfectly adequate to the necessities of our times; and because it was so manifestly desired by God, it has spread with marvelous rapidity from city to city. From the very first moment of its existence, Reparation for blasphemy and for the profanation of the Sunday, until then concealed in the hearts of a few saintly souls, became the object of general attention; entire parishes were inscribed under its banner and the faithful from all parts of the globe solicited the honor of membership. It may be said, that the project communicated to the Carmelite, and by her to the entire Church, has been the fountain-head of the manifold works of reparation since established in France.

One of these deserves a particular notice, for it contains both Reparation and the devotion to the Holy Face: the Reparatory Congregation with perpetual adoration, founded at Paris by Mlle. Dubouché, in religion Sister Mary Teresa.

This pious lady, a distinguished artist, (portrait painter) and at the same time a person of uncommon strength of mind, and of high moral worth, heard of the Abridgment of Facts when on a visit to Mother Isabella of St. Paul, prioress of the Carmelites at Rue d’Enfer. She was struck by what she read in this little notice, and was full of admiration for the beautiful litanies of the Holy Face which she had just received, and commenced to recite them with great devotion. “The night following (Friday),” said M. Dupont, “Our Lord appeared to her in the same suffering condition as during his Passion. The next morning Mlle. Dubouché, full of holy ardor, undertook to reproduce on canvas the disfigured and bleeding Face of Our Lord which she had beheld in her vision. She was inspired to work at this painting only on Fridays and on her knees: for four successive Fridays she toiled at this labor of love, and at the expiration of the fourth week a picture was produced such as would be creditable to our best artists. Mlle. Dubouché, laden with her precious burden hardly finished, set out for Tours, and presented, herself unexpectedly at the Carmelite monastery, where she found souls ready to appreciate and understand her noble heart, for Our Lord had previously said to Sister Mary St. Peter:

“I will give you my Face and every time that you present it to my Father, my mouth will open to plead your cause.” Mlle. Débouché was received in the parlor by the mother prioress assisted by her secretary Sister Teresa of St. Joseph; and in presence of Sr. St. Peter, at the time portress, Mlle. Dubouché opened the box containing the picture set in a black frame with a gold star in each corner. Sister St. Peter was called upon by the lady to know if the picture corresponded to what she had seen; she humbly replied that the Face of Our Lord had never been shown her in a sensible manner, but that the picture was a good expression of the idea she had conceived of the suffering countenance of our Divine Lord.

To give the Community the pleasure and opportunity of beholding it, the picture was placed on the novitiate altar, and whilst the sisters were piously contemplating it, Sister Mary St. Peter approached and regarded it with such an expression of sorrow and love, that many of the sisters remained profoundly impressed thereat.

M. Dupont desired to behold this wonderful picture, and to gratify his wish, the pious artist had it brought to his house, and presented it to him herself. She very willingly gave the permission to have it copied, of which favor he was not slow in taking advantage; the first hasty but faithful copy was given to the Carmelites. It is preserved with great care in the chapter-room, above the spot where our good Sister St. Peter now reposes. Mlle. Dubouché, herself, recopied the picture several times; one of these copies is now in the chapel of St. Ursula at Tours.

From this time forth, as we would naturally suppose, friendly relations sprang up between this lady and the Carmelites; nor was she forgotten when the circulars announcing the death of Sister St. Peter were sent to the friends of the community. At the moment the death letter arrived, Mlle. Dubouché was seriously ill; after reading the notice she suddenly conceived the idea that she ought to make a novena in union with the dear deceased, promising if restored to health that in thanksgiving she would go on a pilgrimage to her tomb. Only ten days had elapsed, when full of joy and gratitude, she went to fulfil her vow. “On her return from the cemetery,” says M. Dupont, “I heard her exclaim with enthusiasm: ‘I was sick, given up by the physicians, but through the powerful intercession of this venerable servant of God, I am now perfectly restored to health.’”

On her return to Paris, Mlle. Dubouché put into execution the project with which she had been inspired. On the 6th of August, just one month after the death of Sister Mary St. Peter, she retired from the world, and together with a few chosen souls founded the “Congregation of Reparation” with the perpetual adoration of the most Blessed Sacrament. At the end of three months, the young community, although but few in number, commenced the nocturnal adoration once or twice a week, in the chapel of the Carmelites on Rue d’Enfer. It was on one of these occasions of perpetual adoration that the celebrated Hermann, a recent convert from Judaism, and later called Father Marie Augustin, conceived the idea of assembling the men together, that they might render their nightly homage of adoration to Our Lord in the most Blessed Sacrament of the altar.

One afternoon, this pious neophyte, who frequently visited the churches in which the Blessed Sacrament was exposed, entered the Carmelite chapel where he prostrated himself in adoration before Our Lord, concealed under the sacramental veils. There he knelt in prayer, heedless of the flight of time. It was in the month of November, one of the sister tourieres gave the signal for departure; a second was rung, yet Hermann, unconscious of the approach of night, made no movement; then, as if suddenly coming to himself he said to the sister: “Yes, yes, I will go when those near the altar rise to depart.” “But they will not leave here to-night,” replied the sister. This answer was the precious seed which fell from the hand of the sower on good ground. Our fervent convert, whom we shall soon call, the Angel of the Tabernacle, left the holy place and with all haste repaired to the house of Mgr. de la Bouillerie, then Vicar General, to whom he said: “I have just left a chapel where there are ladies who will remain in adoration all night before the Blessed Sacrament!” Mgr. de la Bouillerie, who had been one of the founders of the Reparatory Order of Mlle. Dubouché, replied: “Well, what of that? If you find the men, we shall authorize you to imitate these pious worshippers, whose lot at the feet of the Lord, you so much envy.”

The next day, with the assistance of the good angels, Hermann awoke a responsive echo in many holy souls; he was soon enabled to count twenty fervent adorers, and before the end of the year, the men’s nighty adoration was organized at Notre Dame des Victoires.

The first night of adoration was on December 6th, 1848, at the very moment of the news of the departure of Pius IX from Rome, fleeing from before the face of a revolution which had changed France to a republic, and had shaken the mighty thrones of Europe to their very foundations.

We perceive that the nightly adoration for men in France has always been characterized by these two principal intentions; first, for the expiation of the outrages committed against God, second to obtain mercy for France. We thus behold that the work of reparation by the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, when still in its cradle among a congregation of pious women, gave rise to the nightly adoration by men, while both were but the offspring of the communications made to Sister Mary St. Peter; the designs of the Divine Master manifested to his faithful servant, could not have been better carried out than by uniting together the perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and the devotion to the Holy Face. We remember that in the year 1844 (Feb. 21th) Our Lord had nominated our little Carmelite of Tours as his ambassadress to France, and had commanded her to remain continually before the most Blessed Sacrament, at least in spirit, praying for France and for the establishment of the work of Reparation. From that day forth, she felt called upon in a most particular manner by her Divine Master never to lose sight of his Sacramental presence on our altars. At the beginning of 1841, when the co-relationship between the Divine Majesty blasphemed and the veneration of the Holy Face had been manifested to her in the extraordinary manner we have portrayed, Our Lord allowed her to hear his lamentations over his love unknown in the most Blessed Sacrament, and then, as she said, “he had happily united at his feet both the heart and the mind” of his servant, in order that she might keep him company in his abandonment, adoring his most Holy Face concealed under the Eucharistic veils.

In founding this Reparatory Congregation with perpetual adoration, Mlle. Dubouché fulfilled to the letter the will of the Lord communicated to the sister. Mother Isabella of St. Paul, who rejoiced at the success to which she herself had contributed, had no hesitation in attributing (after God) all the honor to the Carmelite of Tours. In one of her letters to Mlle. Dubouché, we find the following remark: “Sister Mary St. Peter is certainly the foundress of this work, and I believe that from the highest heavens she aids us with her powerful assistance, and fills with fervor and generosity those who are the corner-stones of this edifice.” M. Dupont, aware of the origin of all the works of reparation, did not hesitate to say that Mlle. Dubouché was inspired with the project of her congregation at the tomb of Sr. Mary St. Peter, during her pilgrimage of thanksgiving. After the foundation of the nightly adoration by men at Paris he, himself had nothing so much at heart as to have a similar established at Tours (February, 1849) as if it were the mission of this great servant of God to see realized in a public and ostensible manner, the most secret designs communicated to the virgin of Carmel.