Sister Mary of Saint Peter

At the age of twelve she lost her mother, and, following the example of Saint Teresa, she immediately ran to throw herself at the feet of the Blessed Virgin to pray that she would take the place of the mother whom God had just taken from her. Mary effectively adopted this innocent soul and gave her tangible proofs of this throughout the course of her life. Her virtuous father, who was responsible for a large family, entrusted her to two of his aunts, ladies of high piety, who managed a workshop for young people. In this pious house, she made new progress in virtue, became a model for her companions, and served as their mistress in the interior ways, striving to teach them and make them love the practice of prayer and union with God. She did not limit herself to the care of the souls around her; she also seized every opportunity to practice, according to her means, the works of mercy: helping the poor, visiting the sick, assisting the dying, such were her favorite occupations when they did not interfere with the duties of her state.

A life already so perfect was not enough, however, to satisfy the attraction of this elite soul: early on she had understood the secret of the kingdom of heaven and heard in the depths of her heart the oracle of the divine Master: "Whoever does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple." Shortly after her first communion, the taste for religious life developed so much in her heart that she made it the sole object of her thoughts and vows. To achieve her ends, she performed fasts and small pilgrimages in honor of the Blessed Virgin and Saint Joseph; she also addressed herself to Saint Martin, Bishop of Tours, to whom she had a great devotion, and went to a chapel dedi Tours Place of retirement for Clotilde near the tomb of Saint Martin. cated to him. There, in the presence of a relic of this great Saint, she offered a most fervent prayer, begging him to receive her into his diocese as a nun, although she did not know that there were Carmelites there. Nevertheless, as her perplexities constantly returned because of the obsta cles that Carmélites Religious order to which the cited blesseds belong. stood in the way of her vocation, she had the inspiration to go on a pilgrimage to a famous chapel of the Virgin, located near Rennes (Notre-Dame de la Peinière). There, more than ever, she experienced a special as sistan Rennes Episcopal see where the saint exercised his ministry. ce from Mary, and, through Notre-Dame de la Peinière Marian pilgrimage site near Rennes. the graces she received there, she knew beyond a doubt that God was calling her to serve Him through the practice of the evangelical counsels. All her wishes were for the Carmel. But her confessor, no doubt wishing to test her, appeared determined that she should enter another religious institute. Our Lord, always full of mercy and kindness, drew her out of anxiety by letting her hear after Holy Communion, and repeating several times, these words: "You will be a Carmelite"; she believed that Our Lord had added: "a Carmelite in Tours." She reported this to her director, but great was her astonishment when he said to her: "My daughter, you are accepted at the Carmelites of Tours."

This day was one of the most beautiful of her life, but she still had to make painful sacrifices: leaving a family she cherished and by whom she was truly loved, a father above all who had so many claims to her tenderness; it was a terrible blow to her heart. She nevertheless took this difficult step with courage, after having obtained her father's consent. Leaving Rennes on the feast day of Saint Martin, she made her entry, at the age of twenty-three, among the Carmelites of Tours. She immediately embrac Carmélites de Tours Place of retirement for Clotilde near the tomb of Saint Martin. ed with fervor and generosity all the practices of religious life, in which she persevered until her death. Shortly after her entry, she received a very particular grace that produced great effects in her soul. An interior light gave her such a high idea of her holy vocation that everything she heard said was nothing in comparison, and she understood its spirit and duty so perfectly that she trembled incessantly for fear of failing in her slightest obligations. As a result of this inspiration, she abandoned herself entirely to Our Lord for the fulfillment of His designs and strove to respond to them with as much courage as fidelity.

It was in this way that she prepared herself to be clothed in the holy habit, which she received with happiness and gratitude. In return for this grace, of which she considered herself very unworthy, she gave new impetus to her fervor, and throughout her novitiate, she was so exact, so humble, and so mortified that one could not see without admiration, even astonishment, the progress she was making in virtue. During this time, she dedicated herself in a very special way to the Holy Childhood of Our Lord, which was always the object of her predilection; the science of the crib became the sole occupation of her mind. The Child Jesus, her model, made her as ingenious in honoring Him as she was faithful in imitating Him. Finally, the long-desired day of her profession arrived. United by indissoluble bonds to the divine Spouse of her soul, she made it her whole study to seek to please Him and to fulfill, with all possible perfection, the duties of her vocation. She possessed charity to an eminent degree; her tender and solid piety inspired in her the most ardent, the most effective love for God: the glory of God and the salvation of souls, these were the sole object of her thoughts, the only goal of her prayers, the great motive of her actions. This zeal animated her whole life, because of the countless crimes committed against the divine Majesty. Urged strongly by the movement of grace, she offered herself to God to satisfy His justice and to turn away its blows. The loss of souls made such a vivid impression on her that she could sometimes not contain her sorrow and would burst into sobs.

However, her heart expanded in the love of Our Lord; she honored his holy humanity in all the mysteries of his life; but those of his birth and his hidden life held for her incomprehensible charms. She attended the holy Sacrifice of the Mass with particular attention, and then appeared to be entirely absorbed in God: one often saw her during the holy oblation shed a torrent of tears. It was especially at Holy Communion that her devotion toward the divine Eucharist took on a marvelous extension; she prepared for it with most extraordinary care from the eve and the very night, using for this pious practices, such as adoring with fervent ejaculatory prayers the host she was to receive, and inviting the Blessed Virgin and the holy angels to prepare the dwelling of the heavenly Guest she awaited. Her ordinary retreat was in the Sacred Heart of Jesus; it is in this burning furnace that she drew so many favors and lights for herself and for others; it is there that she discovered treasures of grace and mercy; it is there also that she took refuge in all her sorrows, and it is to him that she resorted in all her needs. Her love for the Blessed Virgin increased significantly when she saw herself forever consecrated to her in her Order of Carmel; her fervor suggested to her pious industries to honor her; she spoke of her frequently and would have liked to extend her cult in all hearts. She received in return almost innumerable favors through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin, and abundant lights on the prerogatives of this holy Mother of God. Saint Joseph and Saint Teresa were also the object of her tender and affectionate devotion.

Sister Mary of St. Peter had reached a rare degree of humility. In the world, she had been strongly exercise d in this mother of virtue Sœur Marie de Saint-Pierre Carmelite of Tours, initiator of the devotion to the Holy Face. s, and her soul, nourished by the bread of humiliation, found more delights in it than worldly people taste in hearing themselves praised in the most flattering manner. Aided by grace, she arrived at being entirely exempt from those returns of self-love, from those interior searches that slip into our works and which are the object of such a cruel war for souls who devote themselves to the practice of humility. She sincerely believed herself to be the last, the most imperfect, the most incapable of all, and even if she received some praise, her heart never rose because of it.

Her obedience was entire and perfect; she submitted with the simplicity of a child to everything that could be desired of her; her thoughts, her will, the interior lights she received, everything disappeared as soon as she had the slightest knowledge of the intentions of her superiors. She acted toward them with such a great spirit of faith that she spoke to them as to God himself, and received their orders and advice as if they emanated from his mouth. To deep respect, she joined a boundless confidence, a love full of tenderness, a true gratitude, a blind submission; this obedience was so universal that she was able to bear this testimony to herself, saying during her last illness: "What constitutes my consolation at my death is to have always obeyed."

Her recollection was such that she seemed a stranger to everything around her; from this came her intimate and continuous union with God. She never lost sight of him, and, to use her expressions, "her soul, closely united to Our Lord, was happily bound to his feet." But this entirely heavenly life was not exempt from trials and sufferings.

She practiced mortification in a very perfect and very extensive manner, for she made it consist mainly in the cutting off of satisfactions that were not necessary and in the search for privations that she could impose upon herself without singularity. Thus she studied incessantly all the occasions for sacrifice, was skillful in discovering them, and even more prompt to take advantage of them to immolate herself entirely and reach that interior death which was her principal characteristic. Her fidelity was no less admirable; faithful to the movements of grace, faithful even in the smallest things, one could say that she made herself a slave to this virtue; but she knew by experience that this is the whole secret of happiness for a religious soul. It would have been almost impossible to find her at fault, so exact was she; one could look upon her as a living rule, and it would have been enough to follow her attentively to know and to love one's duties. As she possessed eminently the holy freedom of spirit that distinguishes a true Carmelite, she knew perfectly how to combine charity and cheerfulness with interior virtues. In recreation, she was gentle and amiable, and her companions loved to be near her, because they always drew some fruit from it. She knew equally well how to withdraw from creatures and converse with them according to circumstances, although she often had to do extreme violence to herself to interrupt her interior occupation with God. Her dominant attraction was for the hidden life, and her conduct was so simple, so hostile to singularity, even in good, that in her, virtue appeared easy to everyone.

In 1843, God favored her with intimate communications regarding France: He made it known to her that His anger was provoked by the sins of men, and that He would strike with all the more rigor for having waited longer. But at the same time, He inspired in her, as a powerful means to disarm His wrath, the institution of a reparatory work. She also saw in the Sacred Heart of Jesus the desire, even the need, He has to show mercy, setting as the only condition the reparation of the outrages committed against His divine Father. She received vivid lights on the adorable Fa ce of Our Lord, the sensible ob Face adorable de Notre-Seigneur Central object of the devotion and reparation requested by Christ. ject of reparation, just as the Sacred Heart of Jesus is the sensible object of His love for us. Furthermore, in one of her communications, Our Lord made this consoling promise to her: "Because you have honored my face covered with wounds by sinners, I will renew in you, at the hour of your death, the image of God, and all those who contemplate on earth the wounds of my face will see it one day radiant with glory in heaven."

Our Lord made it clearly known to her that as soon as the reparatory work was established, He would not leave her on earth for long. On several different occasions she had knowledge in this regard, and, on March 30, Our Lord said to her again: "Your pilgrimage is advancing! The end of the combat is approaching. You will soon see my face in heaven. I am going to purify you to make you worthy of it." At these words, she prostrated herself, saying: "Lord, I deserve only hell." On Good Friday, at three o'clock, as she was adoring the dying Jesus Christ, she felt the enormous weight of divine justice pressing down upon men; then she renewed the act of her dedication as a victim to satisfy it. Her offering was accepted: immediately she was struck.

is surrounded by tributes, veneration, and testimonies of trust. Several times a year, it is exposed to the devotion of the faithful. The Sovereign Pontiffs have granted numerous indulgences to those who visit this distinguished relic. Many Saints have distinguished themselves by their piety toward the divine Face and have reaped wonderful fruits of salvation from it. We cite in particular Saint Gertrude, Saint Mechtilde, and Sister Mary of St. Peter, a Carmelite who died in the odor of sanctity in Tours. Our Lord has deigned to make the most magnificent and consoling promises in favor of souls devoted to His adorable Face. For some years now, this devotion has been developing considerably. It is a breath of the Holy Spirit passing over the entire Catholic universe, a providential remedy destined to combat the ravages of impiety and to save the world. A happy experience has shown how pleasing to God and useful to Christians piety toward the Ho ly Face is. sainte Face Central object of the devotion and reparation requested by Christ. Many righteous people owe their perseverance to it; many sinners their conversion; many sick people their return to health. No one is unaware of the healings and other wonderful effects obtained by means of the oil that burns constantly in Tours before an image of the Holy Face, called the Veronica. We have seen the authentic attestations of a large number of people (at least six thousand certificates) healed of some illness by the virtue of the miraculous oil. Hence comes the very salutary custom of maintaining a lamp lit before an image of the Holy Face, which one places either in a church or in a private oratory. We know that in the diocese of Carcassonne in particular, this custom has spread to almost all parish es and that it is the diocèse de Carcassonne Episcopal see occupied by Saint Stapin. source of the greatest blessings. If the Church celebrates the glories of the divine Face of the Savior on the feast of the Transfiguration, no office or special solemnity has the goal of honoring its outrages and sorrows. Nevertheless, the feast of the Holy Face has an interest that completes the series of feasts in honor of the Passion. But on the other hand, Our Lord did not endure as many sufferings or as many ignominies as on His amiable face. No circumstance of the Passion was so clearly announced by the Prophets and minutely reported by the Evangelists. And it is not without a particular design of God that all these details, that all these circumstances of the outrages suffered by our Redeemer, were recorded in Scripture. Moreover, we are in a position to affirm that one of the oldest bishops in France intends to present a petition to the Holy See shortly to obtain the institution of a feast in honor of the Holy Face for his diocese. May the Lord deign to bless this pious design and make it succeed for His greater glory and for the happiness of the Church and of France!

Promises made by Our Lord Jesus Christ in favor of those devoted to His Holy Face:

1st I will grant them a contrition so perfect that their very sins will be changed before me into jewels of precious gold;

2nd None of these persons will ever be separated from me;

3rd By offering my Face to my Father, they will appease His anger, and will purchase, as if with a heavenly currency, the pardon of poor sinners;

4th I myself will open my mouth to plead before my Father all the causes they present to me;

5th I will enlighten them with my light; I will inflame them with my love; I will make them fruitful in good works;

6th They will wipe, like the pious Veronica, my adorable Face which sin outrages and disfigures; and, in return, I will engrave my divine features in their souls;

7th At their death, I will renew in them the image of God effaced by sin;

8th By the resemblance of my countenance, they will shine more than many others in eternal life, and the brightness of my Face will fill them with happiness.

These invaluable promises are extracted from the works of Saint Gertrude, Saint Mechtilde, and the writings of Sister Mary of St. Peter.

by a serious and cruel illness that soon reduced her to the extremity. Her patience and resignation were always equal, her union with God continual, her generosity, her spirit of sacrifice, without alteration. From the beginning of her illness, she was told: "Pray then to Our Lord that He may relieve you a little, if He does not wish to heal you." — "No," she replied, "in matters of suffering and sacrifice, I have never asked God for anything in particular, but neither have I ever refused Him anything." She was entirely penetrated by the thought of the judgment of God and saw herself as overwhelmed under the weight of His justice. Forgetting, so to speak, the favors with which she had been showered, she occupied herself only with her faults in order to weep for them and ask for pardon.

The thought of her approaching death made her tremble with joy: "My hour has come," she said, "soon all my bonds will be broken. When shall I contemplate you, O celestial abode? When, O my God, shall I see you face to face and without a veil?" If one spoke to her of heaven, her face took on an animated expression: "It is there that I aspire," she said with transport. When one reminded her of the child Jesus and the graces she had received through this mystery, she replied: "This divine Master was then teaching me the science of the crib, and now it is the science of the cross." In the first days of June, she found herself so ill that she herself asked for the last sacraments, which she received with great sentiments of piety. During the rest of her illness, she also received the holy Viaticum as often as her condition permitted. On Friday, June 26, she had a crisis so strong that it was thought necessary to say the prayers for the recommendation of the soul. While they were being recited, something extraordinary happened within her, the effects of which were perceptible; at first, she only united herself to the prayers by fervent elevations, being exhausted by suffering; but at these words: Maria, mater gratiæ, mater misericordiæ, she spontaneously stretched her arms toward heaven, like a child who rushes toward its mother as soon as it sees her, and she remained in this position for quite a long time, even though a few minutes earlier her arm had been so weak and stiff that she had not been able to make the sign of the cross. Then, on two different occasions, she placed her arms in the form of a cross to expire as a victim, and when they tried to prevent her, she said: "Leave me thus, it is a duty for me."

She took in her hands her crucifix and a small statue of the child Jesus that never left her, kissed them in turn, pressed them to her heart, then, holding the child Jesus raised as high as she could, she pronounced solemnly, but quite softly, these words: "Eternal Father, I offer you once again this adorable child, your divine Son, for the expiation of my sins and those of all men, for the needs of the holy Church, for France, for the Reparation (she spoke thu s of the work la Réparation Spiritual institution aimed at making reparation for blasphemies and profanations. of reparation for blasphemies and the profanation of Sunday). Divine Jesus, I remit, I abandon this work into your hands; it is for it that I have lived, it is for it that I die." After a long and terrible agony, she rendered her soul to God on July 8, 1848.

The metropolitan authority of Tours was so moved by the marvelous facts that occurred to Sister Marie de Saint-Pierre that it placed all her writings under seal.