“O Mother of God! Remember thou art my mother, and that I am the little sister of the Holy Infant Jesus.”

(Words of the Sister.)

The Work of Reparation is now canonically established: at last Sr. Mary St. Peter has attained the essential object of all her desires. Our Lord will now spread out before her vision a new horizon, and cause her to behold a series of communications so extraordinary and mysterious, that before exposing them to our pious readers, we must point out their precise import and their nature. They form, in the history of her visions, a chain of revelations in themselves, of the highest interest. Indeed, they could not be omitted from these pages, without leaving in the shade the most hopeful and the most consoling part of this great work of Reparation. The Lord granted them to the virgin of Carmel for two reasons, clearly discernible in her own account of these favors. One in particular seems to have been to recompense her here below for all the sacrifices which the accomplishment of her mission had entailed; our good Master often acts in like manner toward the souls who serve him with fidelity. The other motive, more general, relative to the work of Reparation itself, was to prefigure the graces of mercy and salvation by which the realization of this work was to be followed. This future effusion of grace, promised to the world, will be the result of the merits and of the intercession of the Blessed Virgin, the august Mother of Jesus, (at the same time the Mother of Christians), a foretaste of which was given to the pious servant of her Divine Son in causing her to participate in a spiritual and heavenly manner in the virginal food which he, himself, received in the arms of his Mother during his infancy.

A favor so surprising is not an exception nor a novelty in the history of the saints. No one is ignorant of the miracle which took place in favor of St. Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux. In a celebrated vision, the Queen of Heaven, as a recompense for the many volumes he had written with so much learning and piety in her honor, caused to descend on his lips some drops of heavenly milk. This prodigy has not unfrequently occurred, it has even been a favorite subject of study among artists. According to the learned Baronius, (1028), St. Fulbert, bishop of Chartres, a devoted servant of Mary, was once favored with a similar privilege, when reduced to the last extremity by illness. By virtue of the divine milk which the Blessed Virgin made him taste, he instantly recovered his health, and was at the same time blessed with the gift of prophecy.

No one will contest that the foundation on which these extraordinary details rest, is perfectly in keeping with the teaching of faith and with the doctrine of the Church. The divine maternity is a dogma of the Catholic Church, essentially connected with the Incarnation of the Word; in all ages it has furnished to ascetic writers and to the holy fathers themselves, the most elevated and ravishing considerations upon the mystery of the Infancy of Jesus, and upon his first relations with his most Holy Mother. Let us, for example, glance over the writings of St. Athanasius, of St. Augustine, of St. Bernard and of St. Vincent Ferrier; these illustrious doctors extol the maternity of Mary in most admirable terms of faith and piety, bearing the very same signification which we observe m the writings of Sr. Mary St. Peter.

We must, likewise, not mistake the nature and the method of these divine operations in this daughter of Carmel. We have already affirmed and here affirm anew, that nothing has transpired in a visible or sensible manner. In explaining to the mother superior what passed, she has been obliged to employ expressions and images which strike the senses, while in reality all passed in a sphere purely intellectual. It is well known that theologians distinguish three kinds of divine communications; those which strike the senses physically, such as visions and other external apparitions; those which take place in the imagination with the aid of representations and interior, invisible images; and thirdly, those which pass in the understanding, the superior part of the soul, without any images whatever, either visible or invisible.. These last, according to the masters of the spiritual life, are the most elevated and the most perfect. Now this is precisely the kind of communication with which Sister Mary St. Peter was favored. Consequently, in all that she has described so ingeniously, she has beheld nothing with her eyes, heard nothing with her ears, touched nothing sensibly, not even in imagination, which has had no play whatsoever in her celestial communications. “Our Lord caused me to understand,” such is her ordinary expression; she saw, heard, felt and tasted, but as the pure spirits, by a means intellectual and angelic, satisfactorily explained by theology, but understood only by the chosen few who have had the experience of this most perfect mode of revelation.

We shall cite here the testimony of St. Theresa, so well versed in these matters; the following are her own expressions: “The vision of the intellect is the most elevated, the most sublime, and that to which the devil can have the least access. We behold neither with the eyes of the body, nor with those of the soul, understood that the vision is not imaginary. It is a light which, without striking the senses, illuminates the understanding that the soul may enjoy so great a Good. Truth is there imprinted by a knowledge sovereignly clear, excluding all doubt, even producing a certainty more positive than that afforded by the testimony of the senses, for oftentimes in that which strikes the latter, it not unfrequently happens that a doubt arises whether it be an illusion. In our case it may happen that a doubt presents itself at the first moment, but there is a firm conviction that this doubt is without any foundation… The language is so heavenly that no human effort could succeed in causing it to be heard, if the Divine Master himself did not teach it us by experience. He places in the depth of the soul what he wishes to make known to her, and while conversing with her makes her attentive to all that he says, despite herself; he forces her to hear him, and prevents her withdrawing her attention. She is then in the condition a person of excellent hearing to whom another, quite near, would speak so loudly, without allowing her to stop up her ears, that willing or not, she must hear… By this kind of conversation, the Lord wills to give the soul a faint idea of what passes in Heaven; he initiates her to speak without words, and this is the language of her heavenly home. That such language existed, I was in entire ignorance until it pleased the Lord to give me evidence in an ecstasy.”

“While in this valley of tears, God and the soul understand each other by this means, for he makes her comprehend all that he wishes her to know and comprehend; they have no need of any other art to express their secret thoughts. Even on earth, two persons of intelligence can express their mutual love without making signs, only by looking at each other. This is precisely what passes between God and the soul; but it is not given to see in what manner they cast their eyes one on the other, nor the glance in which they read their mutual love…”

“And again, God in this manner causes the soul now to understand some great truths, again some profound mysteries. By means of this divine language, truth is infused in us in the same manner as an aliment which is incorporated in us without the trouble of masticating it, ignorant of the way it has become a part of our substance, but quite positive of the fact that it is in us. There is, however, this difference; here the nature of the aliment remains unknown to us, whilst as regards this infusion, I know what is its substance, and that it comes from God, but I know not how he has given it to me, for I have not seen it, I cannot comprehend it.” These are the expressions of the illustrious reformer of Carmel; what she has experienced, what she has so admirably explained, has been worthily exemplified in one of her saintly daughters, the Carmelite of Tours. In perusing what is about to follow, let us not lose sight of these preliminary reflections; and instead of being scandalized, we shall rather be edified, and rejoice to behold such precious and rare favors accorded as a reward for her fidelity and her generous sacrifices.

Likewise, let us not forget that this good sister had long been prepared for the reception of these heavenly gifts by a precocious and tender devotion to the Blessed Virgin, and also by the particular attraction to the infancy of the Word Incarnate that we have remarked from the first moments of her religious life. This sweet mystery was, indeed, the principal cause of her rapid progress in religious perfection and the primary source of the wonderful lights lavished upon her.

According to the method hitherto adopted, we shall take her own simple and candid narration of the marvels of grace of which she was the object. Her letters on the divine maternity of Mary are preceded by the following” preamble: “A woman of the Gospel, speaking of our Divine Lord, cried out: ‘Blessed is the womb that bore thee and the breasts that gave thee suck!’ According to the testimony of the holy fathers, this woman, full of faith and piety, represents the Church; she recognized and confessed before the world both the divinity and the humanity of Christ, adoring in him a Man-God.”

“The mystery of an Infant-God nourished with the sacred milk of the Virgin Mary, his Holy Mother, is a hidden, unknown mystery, which the divine Infant Jesus discovers to whomever he wills. He has deigned, notwithstanding my unworthiness, to apply me to the contemplation of this mystery for live months, by giving me lights and ineffable consolations to rejoice and recreate my soul after the little labors and sufferings I have undergone in working for the glory of his Name. Yes, most amiable Infant Jesus, at the birth of thy Work of Separation, thou hast spread a grand banquet before my soul, in which she has tasted the most delicious viands!”

“My sins have merited nothing but the rigors of thy justice; but thy mercy is above all thy works, and the admirable familiarity which thou dost display toward some souls, surpasses the understanding of man.”

In speaking of a “hidden and unknown mystery,” the sister undoubtedly does not wish to lead us to infer that she imagines it has never been revealed to other than herself: but rather that it contains hidden and reserved lights, treasures above the knowledge and comprehension of the majority; then, to the eyes of the worldling, it will always be a “hidden mystery.” In a first letter to the mother prioress (June 24, 1847) the servant of God writes thus on the subject:

“It is with the greatest confusion that I behold myself obliged to say something of the favors which I have received from the Divine Jesus and his most holy Mother. I have long hesitated before undertaking to write this letter, for I would much rather write my sins; however, I must co-operate with the will of the Infant Jesus, who wishes to engrave his innocence in me, and in all simplicity, I will narrate what has passed in my soul.”

A few days ago, the Infant Jesus strongly applied me to consider the honor and the homage of perfect praise he rendered his heavenly Father during the period he was nourished with the virginal milk of his most holy Mother; he gave me to understand that he willed I should adore him in this humble condition in union with the angels, in order that his mercy might fill me with innocence, purity and simplicity, and that I might collect the precious graces which flow forth from, this ineffable mystery of an Infant God. Then ray Divine Savior ravished my soul to a most sublime state, and in a high contemplation I beheld this prodigy of love and humility. He, who is conceived eternally in the bosom of the Father, amidst the splendors of his glory, is nourished with the virginal milk of his Holy Mother! The Holy Ghost has caused me to penetrate the depth of this mystery, which until that moment I had never understood. O angelic spirits, you who are continually in adoration in his presence, tell me, which, think you, is the most charming, to see a virgin holding her Creator and her God in her arms to nourish him with her virginal milk, or to behold a God becoming a child, the Word reduced to silence, the All-powerful enveloped with swathing bands in the lap of his Virgin Mother! Ah! I imagine I hear you answer, that the humiliations of the Infant-God in this profound mystery, constitute the grandeur and the glory of Mary, whose most august privilege was to have been the mother and the nurse of a Man-God.”

“To-day, feast of the holy precursor, St. John the Baptist, joyful day of the happy birth of this friend of the Word Incarnate, the Divine Infant Jesus has prepared a feast for my soul.”

“I relate it with the greatest confusion, for such a favor were due only to a St. Bernard and not to a miserable sinner as I; yet I am obliged to avow it in the simplicity of my heart; it is not mere imagination, but a grace which I know not how to express, having no words at my command fit for so sublime a subject. Oh! would that it were given me to make known all the lights I have received!.. The treasure I have found!.. The Infant Jesus, if I may thus express myself, from the virtues of his holy infancy, has made up a bouquet with which he has adorned the chaste womb of his Mother; these are the virtues of meekness, humility, innocence, purity and simplicity, which, the brothers of Jesus, brought forth by Mary at the foot of the cross, ought to come and seek from their adopted Mother. Oh! what a grand mystery I perceive! Mary the nurse of a God! but she is also the nurse of man! What great things my soul has conceived here at the feet of Mary during this high contemplation which has ravished my soul! It took the entire hour of recreation for me to return a little to myself.”

“This is but an abridgment of the operations of the Divine Savior in an unworthy sinner. He desires to embellish my soul with the virtues of his Holy Infancy before I appear at the tribunal of God. I must become a little child, in order to enter the kingdom of heaven; for this reason, whatever time remains for me to pass on this earth, must be consecrated to honor and imitate his infancy, in order to receive its divine impress.”

“These, reverend mother, are the dispositions of my soul, which is entirely concentrated, as you perceive, on the Infant God and his Virgin Mother; I experienced a shower of graces falling gently on me. Nevertheless, I do not forget the Work of Reparation, for it is from the mouth of the Infant Jesus that God truly receives perfect praise and glory.”

Let us notice here the relationship she establishes between the “Reparation” of the outrages offered God by blasphemy, and the mystery of the “Infant Word”. This comparison seems to have been suggested by the passage from the psalms in which the prophet proclaims: “Out of the mouths of infants and of sucklings thou hast perfected praise because of thy enemies, that thou mayst destroy the enemy.” (PS. VIII.)

The first time that the pious Carmelite was drawn by the Lord to contemplate his divine infancy under this mysterious aspect, she was much surprised, and sought to ascertain if any of the saints had treated of this subject in their writings.

“Already,’’ said she, “had I consulted two priests distinguished for their knowledge and piety. I was told that the spirit of God was acting in my soul, that I should follow the attraction of grace and correspond to it, with fidelity, as God would draw forth his glory therefrom; also that I ought to despise the devil and pay no heed to these extreme repugnancies with which he filled me, seeking to withdraw me from a path apparently so extraordinary.”

“I was assured that there was no danger for me, that I must continue my exercises in peace; yet this did not entirely satisfy me, for I still sought to find the doctrine of some of the saints in harmony with these communications, but I did not know where to look for such, and I implored our Divine Lord to grant my request. My simple little prayer was not in vain, for I soon felt urged to ask our mother for the life of Father d’Argentan, which she gave me. What was my surprise and my gratitude to God, when on turning over the pages, I found a conference on the Maternity of the most Blessed Virgin, Mother of the Word Incarnate! my admiration continued to augment when in reading this conference, I observed the esteem in which the Fathers of the Church have held this grand privilege of Mary. What I read was an echo repeating letter for letter, all that had been imprinted on my soul touching this mystery during the operations of the Holy Ghost. Oh! with how much respect, with how much joy I kissed those sacred pages which Our Lord and his august Mother placed under my eyes, to enlighten my mind and reassure me against all disquietude! Convinced that this devotion was neither novel, nor visionary, since St. Augustin, St. Athanasius and St. Bernard have spoken of it with so much piety and eloquence, I became established in perfect peace of mind, abandoning myself into the hands of the Infant Jesus that he might perform his most holy will in me.”

To explain this pious transport of our dear sister, it may be well to state that the spiritual book of which she speaks was held in great repute, among those competent to judge, for its solid theological and ascetic principles. Father d’Argentan, one of the Capuchin Friars Minor, was one of the writers of the seventeenth century. With the exception of a few trite expressions and certain eccentricities of his oratorical style peculiar to himself, his works are not unworthy of the literary period in which he flourished. His conferences, on the greatness of Jesus and Mary, are well known and highly appreciated in the monasteries of his order.

The Carmelite of Tours, therefore, had good reason to rely on the authority of such a writer; she has even done more, we need not be astonished, for she is so imbued with the doctrine and even with the very words of the book she had in her hands, that she makes use of the most striking passages in her own narration, which she ingeniously avows.

“These thoughts of the holy Fathers have been so instructive to me, that I proposed making use of them in my own account, in order that those who read it afterward, may find it more intelligible. I shall write in a spirit of obedience and charity, according to the light which the Lord deigns to bestow upon me, in reference to a work so entirely consecrated to the Incarnation of the Word, and to the Divine Maternity. I shall speak in all simplicity. The Lord has transformed me, causing me to become as a little child to perform in me operations which surpass my understanding. ‘If you become not as little children,’ said he to his apostles, ‘you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven.’” These “Operations” began the day of the least of St. John the Baptist, June 25th.

She writes: “Having received the holy Infant Jesus in my heart in holy communion, and adoring him in the mystery of his birth, on which I meditated to-day, I beheld in spirit the most Blessed Virgin nursing her divine Infant; suddenly I found myself confined in the heart of the Infant Jesus. He caused me to understand that I should remain there in silence, in order not to disturb him by the acts I wished to perform. I obeyed his command. Soon after, the Blessed Virgin turned from her Divine Son, to converse with me, if I can express it thus, in order to make me understand the designs of mercy which her Divine Son had formed over me.”

“The following is what she said: ‘My child, my Divine Son desires to contract a most intimate union with you. Acknowledge that you are most unworthy of such a favor, for it is a prodigy of his love, for which he has charged me to prepare you.”

Then she avowed her past infidelities, and whilst asking pardon of Jesus, her soul was interiorly occupied with her extreme indigence, and the Blessed Virgin informed her that her Divine Son had charged her to nourish the humble sister with the spiritual milk of grace and virtue; that she should beg for these graces twice a day with the simplicity of a little child, a favor which would always be granted her, not in a sensible manner, but by the influence of grace lavished on her soul, which would render her more worthy still to contract an intimate union with the Infant Jesus.

“Then,” said the sister, “the most Blessed Virgin gave me to understand that I should honor her maternity by some practices of piety. I obeyed, and the Holy Ghost inspired me to compose a little exercise on the incomprehensible mystery of a God becoming man in the womb of a Virgin.”

This “little exercise” of the pious Carmelite was composed of invocations taken from the prayers and hymns of the Church, or else from the pious colloquies, with winch the reading of “Father d’Argentan” seemed to have inspired her. The following is a small extract: “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus, whom thou hast nourished with thy virginal milk for fifteen months.”

“Thanks be to thee, O most Blessed Virgin Mary, for the immense love with which thou hast nursed the King of heaven; mayst thy maternal tenderness ever be blessed.”

“Eternal Father, we offer thee the Word Incarnate at the breast of his divine Mother, rendering thee by this infantine action, a perfect act of praise in honor of thy Holy Name.”

“O most holy, and most worthy Mother of God! remember thou art my mother and that I am the little sister of the Infant Jesus, nourish me with the spiritual milk of grace; thy most holy child has blessed thy maternal heart with the charming virtues of his infancy, and to-day he sends me to collect this heavenly dew which will fill my soul with the lovely graces of purity, innocence and simplicity.”

“O favored Virgin, and most Blessed Mother! receive, I implore thee, these fifteen salutations in honor of the fifteen months thon didst nurse the Son of God, born in the stable of Bethlehem.”

“O divine, O august Lady! what art thou doing?” “Of my substance I am giving nourishment to him who has given me life. It will be incorporated into his being, becoming the very blood in his veins, which will be shed on the cross for the salvation of mankind.”

“O angels of heaven! What think you of this prodigy? You who have been commissioned to nourish creatures of this earth with the delicious manna from heaven! And this was accounted such a stupendous miracle! Behold the Virgin Mother, your Queen, giving nourishment to God himself, her Creator, and yours!”

“O most precious milk of Mary! O blood divine of Jesus! water the earth that it may bring forth legions of elect!”

Shortly after, the sister was consoled to find in the life of a Carmelite of Beaune, venerable Marguerite of the Blessed Sacrament, devoted to the holy infancy, an analogous trait, similar to that which she herself had experienced. It is related of this venerable sister that Jesus revealed to her he had been nursed for fifteen months by his Holy Mother, and that he desired her to honor him for the same length of time, to adore him in this stage of his holy infancy. At the termination of the fifteen months, the holy Child promised that he would grant many graces to the soul who would honor him thus, that she would be most specially assisted by the Blessed Virgin, his mother, and that in consideration of how lovingly she had nourished him with her precious milk, he would grant whatever grace would be desired through her intercession.

Our Carmelite of Tours says: “It is no more difficult to the holy Infant Jesus to make me a participator in the virtues of his infancy, than to have communicated them to one of our sisters two hundred years ago; for he is all-powerful. But what does astonish me, is that this sister was a saint, whilst I am but a miserable sinner, divested of either virtue or talents, a poor worm of earth meriting but hell-fire, yet of whom the Infant Jesus wills to make use, because of my abject misery; I have abandoned myself to him entirely for the accomplishment of his designs.”

The whole month of July was passed in the contemplation and the enjoyment of the humble and sweet mystery which had just been revealed to her. On the first of August, she wrote another letter to the mother superior.

“Notwithstanding my repugnance to write of the present dispositions of my soul, I will do so willingly, to practice the obedience and the simplicity of the Infant Jesus whom I wish to imitate. I will speak to you with the simplicity of a little, child, in giving you an account of what has passed in my soul from the feast of St. John the Baptist until to-day,”

“Reverend mother, my soul has been all absorbed in the contemplation of the Word Incarnate in the arms of his Holy Mother. Oh! what an ineffable mystery! My soul is ravished at the sight of such a prodigy. A God, the child of a Virgin! He who has spoken by the prophets, who has given his law to man in the midst of thunder and lightning! He by whom all things have been made, the Word of God the Eternal Father! He, there in silence in the arms of his Mother, in obedience to God his Father, offering him the homage of his absolute power, by reducing himself to the helpless condition of a little babe nursed with the milk which will soon be changed into his most precious blood, and be shed for the salvation of the world!”

“There is this Lamb of God, marked out for sacrifice, helpless in the arms of his Blessed Mother through the same obedience which will soon attach him to the cross. Oh! what a ravishing contemplation! After having considered this divine Infant, my heart turned toward his Blessed Mother. Oh! what must have been the sentiments which filled her heart in beholding God, her Creator, partaking of her substance! How much do I thank her for her tender care of the future victim for our salvation!”

The sister then explains that to correspond to this ineffable mystery, Jesus demanded of her perfect innocence of heart and a complete detachment from creatures. “I must now,” she writes, “imitate the virtues of his infancy. For having once been a little distracted, I lost sight of tire presence of the Blessed Virgin and the Infant Jesus for nearly a week, but I humbled myself before God at the remembrance of my manifold miseries and he pierced my heart with lively contrition; I wept bitterly over my past sins. Soon, like the father of the prodigal, he gave me the kiss of peace and of reconciliation, communicating himself to my soul in the most intimate manner. Then he made me understand the purity and the perfection which I ought to have before uniting myself to him, for he is my God, my all.”

“Afterward, he showed me the favors which he destined for me, if I were faithful to follow the attraction of his grace. This communication has entirely changed the disposition of my soul. I found the Infant Jesus once more in the arms of his Blessed Mother. Our Lord declared to me several times that he wished me to adore him in this state, because but few souls are capable of this holy application which demands a great purity of heart.”

“The devil came to torment me, trying to make me give up my devotions in honor of this mystery; but when I had submitted my inquietude to the guide of my soul and had put his counsels into practice, the Evil One took to flight.”

The pious Carmelite continued, therefore, to follow this divine attraction. In contemplating the sweet object present to her interior vision she united herself to the angels, to the Holy Innocents, offering to God the Father for the salvation of sinners, this Lamb without blemish, in his condition of absolute dependence and helplessness. Jesus made her a child like himself, and gave her to receive from his Holy Mother a part of this spiritual food; the happy sister was inundated with delights and filled with purity and innocence.

“My soul,” said she, “is lost in this ineffable mystery, I think of it day and night. Once, when I awoke at one o’clock in the mornings I felt the presence of the Blessed Virgin near me; she gave me to behold the treasures of grace contained in her maternal heart, inviting me to draw forth graces from this source with full liberty, urging me to share these riches with poor sinners. During holy communion, on this same day, the Infant Jesus admonished me to pray for the impure: ‘I have prepared and purified thy soul,’ he said, therefore, arise, go and seek souls for me that I may reign over them.’”

“Then he operated something in me which I cannot comprehend; I experienced a weight of sorrow, inexpressible. I was as if in fire, my senses were bound up as if by a divine power. I understood that the Infant Jesus wished me to combat the demon of pride and of impurity, with the virtues and the graces of his holy Infancy. Live Jesus and Mary.”

The sister makes the following reflection after the above letter, which is well worthy being copied: “Perhaps some will be surprised after having seen me occupied for four years in meditating the Holy Name of God, to behold me now so much absorbed in a mystery which may seem in the eyes of some Christians, to be the most insignificant, the least worthy of attention in the life of our Lord Jesus. I do not pretend to condemn those who may hold this opinion, because last year I would, perhaps, have shared it with them as I was without the lights which the Infant Jesus and his Mother have since granted me. But to-day it is not thus, I declare that this mystery, unknown and uncomprehended as it may be to the world, is nevertheless grand admirable, ineffable; its depth and sublimity are only penetrated by the Infant Jesus and his most Holy Mother.”

“May God grant that I may never imitate the rebel angels, who after having contemplated the awful majesty and the perfections of the Divinity, refused to acknowledge the Word made Flesh, or to adore him in this state of annihilation. Verily, O divine Child, thou art as worthy of our profound adoration in the arms of thy Mother as seated at the right hand of the majesty of thy Father; Thou art and hast even been the Eternal God!”

Mary of St. Peter, as we see, would not that “Christians” be scandalized after the perusal of her account of the action of God in her regard. During four years she had been occupied in redeeming the honor of his Holy Name, and in appropriating the fruit of his most sorrowful mysteries. And now, we behold her entirely lost in the contemplation of a circumstance in his mortal life which seemed to be the last and the least worthy of consideration. Is it that he has less love, less grace to offer his servant than formerly? Is not the susceptibility of man shocked at the thought of a Man God being nursed by a Virgin? Is not this abasement unworthy of the majesty of God, and of the superiority of man? Moreover, what good can accrue to the soul from the assiduous contemplation of this mystery?— The sister will give a satisfactory reply to these objections.

“There are, in the economy of the Incarnation, mysterious secrets, treasures of wisdom concealed from view which the world despises or ignores, but which for all, are none the less necessary for its instruction and salvation. Man, naturally independent and proud, cares not to recall to mind his origin, his nothingness; willingly does he cast off all remembrance of the early necessities of his nature, desirous only of contemplating himself in the full vigor of his manhood, when arrived at the age of maturity, he wills to recognize but his absolute independence, and his power over all other creatures. His pride, offspring of original sin, finds a lesson and a sovereign remedy in the humiliations and annihilations of the Son of God who in descending in our midst, willed to be born and brought forth in the world like himself, with the same necessity for the first tender cares of a Mother. By this means has he been pleased to instruct our proud humanity, and to correct our unfortunate spirit of independence.”

According to St. Paul, this is that which the wise and prudent of this world have not understood; what, even Christians themselves do not understand enough in our day. This likewise, was the rock on which the pride of the evil spirits was shipwrecked. According to the teachings of theologians, Lucifer and his accomplices, in the hour of trial, placed in the presence of a God humiliated and abased even to become the Son of a humble Virgin, refused to offer him the adoration which is his due;— their revolt consummated their reprobation. Reflecting on these rebellious spirits and on the infinite number of proud unbelievers who in their self-constituted grandeur of mind refuse to submit their feeble intelligence to the mystery of the Incarnation of the Word, and the Divine Maternity, the daughter of Carmel exclaims in a holy and laudable transport: “Thou art as worthy of our adoration in the arms of thy Mother as seated at the right hand of the Eternal God.” The sister here imitates the language of the Fathers and Doctors; of St. Bernard, among others, who speaking of the Word Incarnate, says: “The more vile and despicable has he made himself for my love, so much the more beautiful and worthy of all glory has he become.”(1) The Church in the hymns of her office publicly sings to her ministers and to her children: “A little milk has nourished him by whom all creatures are sustained and nourished.”(2) And again, “O glorious Mother, elevated above the highest heavens, he, by whom thou hast been created, has become a little child, whom thou dost nourish with thy most pure and virginal milk!”(3)

These, as we have seen, are the sum and substance of the thoughts which have filled the heart of the Carmelite of Tours in her pious contemplations of the Word made Flesh.

It was not only for the spiritual enjoyment of Sister Mary St. Peter alone, that she had been admitted, as we have seen, to the participation of the sweet and mysterious fruits of the infancy of the Word made Flesh. In this, as in all the preceding communications, she had with regard to the Church and immortal souls, a higher and more general mission to fulfil. God the Father, irritated against the world which blasphemed and outraged him, had menaced his people with his wrath; his justice had announced scourges and chastisements. But a Mother, full of mercy, the Blessed Virgin Mary, has interceded in favor of the guilty; she has bewailed the sins and wanderings of her people. She has appeared at La Salette, the tears flowed silently from her eyes, and covered her face; her hands were concealed, for the moment had not yet come to distribute grace and mercy on sinful man. But a beginning of Reparation takes place, she appears serene and compassionate, her eyes are raised to heaven, her hands are elevated to intercede and to bless: her maternal heart sends forth a fruitful stream of grace, to which souls may come and draw forth pardon and life.

This was the aspect, as novel as consoling, under which the mystery of the Divine Maternity was presented to the Virgin of Carmel. “I was,” said she, “in continual contemplation of the Infant Jesus in the arms of his Blessed Mother, reposing on her maternal breast. Then he gave me admirable instructions upon the Maternity of the Blessed Virgin toward men, whom he had given as her children on Mount Calvary at the foot of the cross.”

Mary, having been called by God to be the Mother of Christians, received at the same moment the charge of nourishing them and of training them to a spiritual life; consequently, she must procure for them the milk of grace for their souls even as she has procured the natural milk for Jesus, her first-born. The following communication will develop this idea. The sister opens the subject by excusing her incapacity. (August 13, 1847). She writes to the mother prioress: ‘‘Where shall I find words to express ideas so incomprehensible? With the aid of the Infant Jesus I shall try to lisp forth a few words which, although imperfectly uttered, will nevertheless give you some idea of the present state of my soul.” Then she exclaims in her enthusiasm: “Oh! if I could only speak! If I could only write! Never until now have I understood the value of the precious gift which Jesus dying has bequeathed us in the person of his most august Mother! O mystery of love and clemency! At the very instant he was bringing forth the human race, to a heavenly life on the cross in the midst of the most excruciating tortures, he placed these new-born children in the arms of Mary, the tenderest of mothers, to nourish and bring up to eternal life. With this object in view, he has filled her maternal breast with the milk of grace and mercy; he has made his Divine Mother legatee of the immense riches he has acquired for us during his laborious life, and his dolorous Passion, that she might become the admirable channel through which all his infinite merits would flow to the Holy Church, his spouse.”

How is it that Mary has been constituted the “legatee,” of the riches of redemption? This is precisely what Our Lord will explain to his servant. She writes: “I have again been enlightened on this mystery: the Holy Ghost, from the most pure blood of Mary, formed the adorable body of our Saviour Jesus Christ. This body was, therefore, of the substance of Mary; consequently, she possessed certain rights over it; for this reason it was deposited in her maternal arms after his death. My amiable Jesus caused me to understand that he wished to return to her all that he had received to operate the redemption of the world. She had nourished him with her most pure milk; Jesus, to thank her, remitted his blood, of which he made her the treasurer. There she remained, standing at the foot of the cross, in order to receive this precious deposit in the sacred vessel of her maternal heart. Mary had given to Jesus his most adorable body, and Jesus, after his death, returned it to her covered with his glorious wounds, that she might draw forth, from these sacred fountains, eternal life for the new children confided to her watchful care at the very last moment of his life. Verily, Jesus belongs to Mary together with all his treasures of grace, and Mary belongs to mankind, with all her tenderness. Oh! how magnanimous is this merciful Mother! She stretches forth her maternal arms inviting us to come and repose on her motherly heart, always open to receive us, that she may lavish on us the most heavenly favors.”

These communications, bestowed on the sister, were but a preparation for the reception of a knowledge more precise and more intimate. The Infant Jesus and his Blessed Mother, will, in turn, manifest themselves, to instruct this child of Carmel. Jesus said: “Man, while on this earth, is in a state of infancy; in heaven alone will be be arrived at his perfect age of manhood, for this reason should he have continual recourse to his mother, as a little child.”

Our good Carmelite exclaims: “Verily, I behold this truth clearly in the light of God: man should have continual recourse to the most Blessed Virgin, his Mother, if he wishes to arrive at the perfect age of manhood in eternity. Behold the two grand mysteries of the Maternity of Mary, which the Infant Jesus wishes to teach me; Mary, Mother of God, and Mary, Mother of man. For this reason it is, that he keeps me in constant contemplation of himself as Infant in the arms of his Mother, being nourished with her virginal milk, to teach me by his example to have recourse to her, that I may be fed with the heavenly clew of her virtues.”

The Blessed Virgin, likewise, revealed herself to the pious confident of Jesus. “She made known to me,” said the sister, “’that as she had chosen certain hallowed spots, wherein to bestow her favors in great profusion, so would she now make choice of my soul to lavish on it her boundless mercies. I was not long waiting for the accomplishment of this promise; for to-day after the holy communion, I beheld the Infant Jesus reposing in the arms of his Divine Mother. This great mystery is a hidden treasure, buried in the field of the Church, which he discovers to whomsoever he wills. There have been souls appointed to honor him in the mysteries of his Passion, and who consequently, have been favored with the sacred stigmatas; but for me, notwithstanding my unworthiness, he has bidden me to bear the state of his infancy, and for this favor he has already prepared me himself. Today, he has condescended to unite me to himself during the holy communion, and to make me penetrate even to his adorable heart, that I might draw the nearer to his Virgin Mother. He it is who has lead me to this source of grace and benedictions, bidding me draw forth the milk of divine mercy in the same spirit of charity with which he himself had imbibed the virginal milk of his tender mother; for he was nourished with this milk for the salvation of mankind, and for mankind had he shed it in such profusion on the cross. Therefore, in imitation of his example, I ought to imbibe this mysterious liquor from the maternal bosom of Mary in the name of all my brethren, to lavish it afterward over the entire world as a heavenly dew, to refresh and purify the earth desolated by the fire of concupiscence, and filled with the debris of sin and corruption.”

Then the sister seemed to hear Our Lord saying to her: “I wish you to be very simple and childlike, but that you have a large heart.” She added: “The following is a short prayer which was inspired to me, by which I can collect this mysterious liquor of mercy from the maternal heart of Mary:”

“O most holy and most worthy Mother of God! send down in life-giving showers the milk of grace and mercy upon all men, thy children.” The Blessed Virgin told her that she ought to be very grateful for this inestimable privilege granted by the bounty of her Divine Son. Closing this narrative the sister says: “O reverend mother! how can I express what I experienced during this operation of grace! Oh! how incomprehensible the favor of beholding oneself as a little child in the tender arms of Mary, reposing on her maternal breast! This source of grace and mercy is inexhaustible. But, alas! what am I, miserable and unworthy as I am, to be thus deputed to draw forth at this fountain of mercy for the salvation of sinners! I prostrated myself on the ground, confessing before God my unworthiness for such a mission; but the Lord has ever chosen the weakest among his creatures to show forth his power and glory. Sit Nomen Domini benedictum.”

1. Quanto pro me vilior, tanto mihi carior.

2. Et lacte modico pastus est,

Per quem nec ales esurit!

(Hymn for Lauds, Christmas.)

3. O gloriosa virginum

Sublimis inter sidera

Qui te creavit parvulum

Lactente nutris ubere.

(Office of the Blessed Virgin at Lauds.)