Girard0048 - Revision history

Merv: /* Notes */

2014-02-16T05:02:51Z

Notes

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	===Notes===		===Notes===
	<references/>		<references/>




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			\|align=center \|[[Girard0047\|'''Previous Letter''']]\|\| align=center \| [[Contents#1840\|'''List of 1840 Letters''']] \|\| align=center \| [[Girard0049\|'''Next letter''']]
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Merv at 22:18, 11 December 2008

2008-12-11T22:18:29Z

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	:Very Reverend Father		:Very Reverend Father

	:I received with pleasure and gratitude the few words you were kind enough to write to me at the end of good Father Mayet’s letter. I learned with real joy that M. the Marquis of Arreat had asked you for Marist priests<ref>''prêtres de Marie''</ref> and that you had been able to respond to his praiseworthy intentions. I am thinking of writing to him at the first opportunity, and I hope that in his reply he will inform me of the steps he will have had to take in France to get priests for his unfortunate region.<ref>The Marquis was one of many in authority who sought priests for particular areas/works in the early years of the Society. I can not find anything more about him. - translator’s note</ref>		;[1]:I received with pleasure and gratitude the few words you were kind enough to write to me at the end of good Father Mayet’s letter. I learned with real joy that M. the Marquis of Arreat had asked you for Marist priests<ref>''prêtres de Marie''</ref> and that you had been able to respond to his praiseworthy intentions. I am thinking of writing to him at the first opportunity, and I hope that in his reply he will inform me of the steps he will have had to take in France to get priests for his unfortunate region.<ref>The Marquis was one of many in authority who sought priests for particular areas/works in the early years of the Society. I can not find anything more about him. - translator’s note</ref>

	:I think that three months from now you will receive the letter I wrote to you 15 August 1839, through M Baxter, captain of the ''Orion'' (a whaling ship from Nantes).		;[2]:I think that three months from now you will receive the letter I wrote to you 15 August 1839, through M Baxter, captain of the ''Orion'' (a whaling ship from Nantes).

	:It was a real delight for us to see our dear confrères arrive on 10 December, the octave day of St Francis Xavier. To really appreciate the situation, one would have to be on the spot where the urgent need of workers can be seen at first hand. From all sides people come asking His Lordship for priests, and most insistently. But how can one give what one does not have? So when will missionaries arrive in hundreds, knowing the language of the country, [''p''2] or almost? What gives some consolation is (the thought) that God knows the needs of the mission better than we do, that he loves our poor savages incomparably more that we can imagine, and that all means are available to Him. It is certain that He sends our poor people real ministers according to the desires he inspires in them. The growth already seen in the little Society of Mary <ref>''Haec minima congregatio'' – this least of congregations – is the opening phrase of the Marist Constitutions of 1872, but goes back to Father Colin’s early thought - translator’s note</ref> shows us already that God has great and merciful plans for the poor savages of Western Oceania which are entrusted to its care. We do not cease asking God and hoping in His infinite goodness that he will bless it<ref>the Society of Mary - translator’s note</ref> more and more so it may be able, if not to fill all the spaces [they are immense], at least to make Jesus and Mary known and loved by a multitude of peoples who do not know how to tell their right hand from their left.<ref>cf Jonah 4:11 - translator’s note</ref>		;[3]:It was a real delight for us to see our dear confrères arrive on 10 December, the octave day of St Francis Xavier. To really appreciate the situation, one would have to be on the spot where the urgent need of workers can be seen at first hand. From all sides people come asking His Lordship for priests, and most insistently. But how can one give what one does not have? So when will missionaries arrive in hundreds, knowing the language of the country, [''p''2] or almost? What gives some consolation is (the thought) that God knows the needs of the mission better than we do, that he loves our poor savages incomparably more that we can imagine, and that all means are available to Him. It is certain that He sends our poor people real ministers according to the desires he inspires in them. The growth already seen in the little Society of Mary <ref>''Haec minima congregatio'' – this least of congregations – is the opening phrase of the Marist Constitutions of 1872, but goes back to Father Colin’s early thought - translator’s note</ref> shows us already that God has great and merciful plans for the poor savages of Western Oceania which are entrusted to its care. We do not cease asking God and hoping in His infinite goodness that he will bless it<ref>the Society of Mary - translator’s note</ref> more and more so it may be able, if not to fill all the spaces [they are immense], at least to make Jesus and Mary known and loved by a multitude of peoples who do not know how to tell their right hand from their left.<ref>cf Jonah 4:11 - translator’s note</ref>

	:I told you, very Reverend Father, in my letter of 15 August, that I hoped to know the New Zealand language in a few weeks, and soon it will be 7 months since our arrival, and I do not yet know it well enough to be able to speak in public with some confidence. Up till now I have limited myself to reading instructions composed by His Lordship. Since we have arrived, I do not think I have, by and large, given a half day each week to studying the language, and I owe, in great part, what I know of it to its practice, which takes up the time I would like to give to its theory. I hope I will have more time for study at Kaipara where the Bishop is thinking of sending me soon for a month or six weeks. This tribe has already been visited a long time ago by His Lordship, [''p''3] who has put a Catholic Irishman there who acts as a catechist there until he can send some priests there. As almost everywhere else, there are heretics there<ref>heretics was how the early Marists generally referred to Protestants - translator’s note</ref>, there also, as everywhere else they resort to the most atrocious calumnies against the Bishop, his priests and Catholic teaching; they attribute to us things so hideous that one dares not repeat them and which, if they were true, would justly bring on our heads the condemnation of the entire universe; and the natives themselves who are as credulous as children, do not believe them, and there is every reason to hope that their calumnies will turn to their confusion and to the progress of the faith in this country.		;[4]:I told you, very Reverend Father, in my letter of 15 August, that I hoped to know the New Zealand language in a few weeks, and soon it will be 7 months since our arrival, and I do not yet know it well enough to be able to speak in public with some confidence. Up till now I have limited myself to reading instructions composed by His Lordship. Since we have arrived, I do not think I have, by and large, given a half day each week to studying the language, and I owe, in great part, what I know of it to its practice, which takes up the time I would like to give to its theory. I hope I will have more time for study at Kaipara where the Bishop is thinking of sending me soon for a month or six weeks. This tribe has already been visited a long time ago by His Lordship, [''p''3] who has put a Catholic Irishman there who acts as a catechist there until he can send some priests there. As almost everywhere else, there are heretics there<ref>heretics was how the early Marists generally referred to Protestants - translator’s note</ref>, there also, as everywhere else they resort to the most atrocious calumnies against the Bishop, his priests and Catholic teaching; they attribute to us things so hideous that one dares not repeat them and which, if they were true, would justly bring on our heads the condemnation of the entire universe; and the natives themselves who are as credulous as children, do not believe them, and there is every reason to hope that their calumnies will turn to their confusion and to the progress of the faith in this country.

	:I would have liked to speak to you at greater length but time is running short. His Lordship is going at this moment to take his letters to the ship which is about to set sail.		;[5]:I would have liked to speak to you at greater length but time is running short. His Lordship is going at this moment to take his letters to the ship which is about to set sail.

	:I recommend myself urgently to your good prayers, and beg you to accept this expression of my feelings of respect and gratitude for your kindnesses to me.		;[6]:I recommend myself urgently to your good prayers, and beg you to accept this expression of my feelings of respect and gratitude for your kindnesses to me.
	::I have the honour to be,		;[7]:I have the honour to be,
	:::Very Reverend Father,		:::Very Reverend Father,
	:::Your totally devoted servant in J(esus) C(hrist),		:::Your totally devoted servant in J(esus) C(hrist),

Merv at 21:44, 11 December 2008

2008-12-11T21:44:29Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 09:44, 12 December 2008
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	:It was a real delight for us to see our dear confrères arrive on 10 December, the octave day of St Francis Xavier. To really appreciate the situation, one would have to be on the spot where the urgent need of workers can be seen at first hand. From all sides people come asking His Lordship for priests, and most insistently. But how can one give what one does not have? So when will missionaries arrive in hundreds, knowing the language of the country, [''p''2] or almost? What gives some consolation is (the thought) that God knows the needs of the mission better than we do, that he loves our poor savages incomparably more that we can imagine, and that all means are available to Him. It is certain that He sends our poor people real ministers according to the desires he inspires in them. The growth already seen in the little Society of Mary <ref>''Haec minima congregatio'' – this least of congregations – is the opening phrase of the Marist Constitutions of 1872, but goes back to Father Colin’s early thought - translator’s note</ref> shows us already that God has great and merciful plans for the poor savages of Western Oceania which are entrusted to its care. We do not cease asking God and hoping in His infinite goodness that he will bless it<ref>the Society of Mary - translator’s note</ref> more and more so it may be able, if not to fill all the spaces [they are immense], at least to make Jesus and Mary known and loved by a multitude of peoples who do not know how to tell their right hand from their left.<ref>cf Jonah 4:11 - translator’s note</ref>		:It was a real delight for us to see our dear confrères arrive on 10 December, the octave day of St Francis Xavier. To really appreciate the situation, one would have to be on the spot where the urgent need of workers can be seen at first hand. From all sides people come asking His Lordship for priests, and most insistently. But how can one give what one does not have? So when will missionaries arrive in hundreds, knowing the language of the country, [''p''2] or almost? What gives some consolation is (the thought) that God knows the needs of the mission better than we do, that he loves our poor savages incomparably more that we can imagine, and that all means are available to Him. It is certain that He sends our poor people real ministers according to the desires he inspires in them. The growth already seen in the little Society of Mary <ref>''Haec minima congregatio'' – this least of congregations – is the opening phrase of the Marist Constitutions of 1872, but goes back to Father Colin’s early thought - translator’s note</ref> shows us already that God has great and merciful plans for the poor savages of Western Oceania which are entrusted to its care. We do not cease asking God and hoping in His infinite goodness that he will bless it<ref>the Society of Mary - translator’s note</ref> more and more so it may be able, if not to fill all the spaces [they are immense], at least to make Jesus and Mary known and loved by a multitude of peoples who do not know how to tell their right hand from their left.<ref>cf Jonah 4:11 - translator’s note</ref>

	:I told you, very Reverend Father, in my letter of 15 August, that I hoped to know the New Zealand language in a few weeks, and soon it will be 7 months since our arrival, and I do not yet know it well enough to be able to speak in public with some confidence. Up till now I have limited myself to reading instructions composed by His Lordship. Since we have arrived, I do not think I have, by and large, given a half day each week to studying the language, and I owe, in great part, what I know of it to its practice, which takes up the time I would like to give to its theory. I hope I will have more time for study at Kaipara where the Bishop is thinking of sending me soon for a month or six weeks. This tribe has already been visited a long time ago by His Lordship, [''p''3] who has put a Catholic Irishman there who acts as a catechist there until he can send some priests there. As almost everywhere else, there are heretics there<ref>heretics was how the early Marists generally referred to Protestants - translator’s note</ref>, there also, as everywhere else they resort to the most atrocious calumnies against the Bishop, his priests and Catholic teaching; they attribute to us things so hideous that one dares not repeat them and which, if they were true, would justly bring on our heads the condemnation of the entire universe; and the natives themselves who are as credulous as children, do not believe them, and there is every reason to hope that their calumnies will turn to their ~~<ref>authors’?</ref>~~ confusion and to the progress of the faith in this country.		:I told you, very Reverend Father, in my letter of 15 August, that I hoped to know the New Zealand language in a few weeks, and soon it will be 7 months since our arrival, and I do not yet know it well enough to be able to speak in public with some confidence. Up till now I have limited myself to reading instructions composed by His Lordship. Since we have arrived, I do not think I have, by and large, given a half day each week to studying the language, and I owe, in great part, what I know of it to its practice, which takes up the time I would like to give to its theory. I hope I will have more time for study at Kaipara where the Bishop is thinking of sending me soon for a month or six weeks. This tribe has already been visited a long time ago by His Lordship, [''p''3] who has put a Catholic Irishman there who acts as a catechist there until he can send some priests there. As almost everywhere else, there are heretics there<ref>heretics was how the early Marists generally referred to Protestants - translator’s note</ref>, there also, as everywhere else they resort to the most atrocious calumnies against the Bishop, his priests and Catholic teaching; they attribute to us things so hideous that one dares not repeat them and which, if they were true, would justly bring on our heads the condemnation of the entire universe; and the natives themselves who are as credulous as children, do not believe them, and there is every reason to hope that their calumnies will turn to their confusion and to the progress of the faith in this country.

	:I would have liked to speak to you at greater length but time is running short. His Lordship is going at this moment to take his letters to the ship which is about to set sail.		:I would have liked to speak to you at greater length but time is running short. His Lordship is going at this moment to take his letters to the ship which is about to set sail.

Merv at 21:42, 11 December 2008

2008-12-11T21:42:57Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 09:42, 12 December 2008
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	'''[[APM]] Z208 8 January 1840'''		'''[[APM]] Z208 8 January 1840'''

	Kororareka 8 January 1840		:Kororareka 8 January 1840


	To the Very Reverend Father Colin		:To the Very Reverend Father Colin

	Superior General of the Society of Mary in Lyons.		:Superior General of the Society of Mary in Lyons.

	Jesus, Mary and Joseph		:Jesus, Mary and Joseph

	Very Reverend Father		:Very Reverend Father

	I received with pleasure and gratitude the few words you were kind enough to write to me at the end of good Father Mayet’s letter. I learned with real joy that M. the Marquis of Arreat had asked you for Marist priests [''prêtres de Marie''] and that you had been able to respond to his praiseworthy intentions. I am thinking of writing to him at the first opportunity, and I hope that in his reply he will inform me of the steps he will have had to take in France to get priests for his unfortunate region.<ref>The Marquis was one of many in authority who sought priests for particular areas/works in the early years of the Society. I can not find anything more about him. - translator’s note</ref>		:I received with pleasure and gratitude the few words you were kind enough to write to me at the end of good Father Mayet’s letter. I learned with real joy that M. the Marquis of Arreat had asked you for Marist priests<ref>''prêtres de Marie''</ref> and that you had been able to respond to his praiseworthy intentions. I am thinking of writing to him at the first opportunity, and I hope that in his reply he will inform me of the steps he will have had to take in France to get priests for his unfortunate region.<ref>The Marquis was one of many in authority who sought priests for particular areas/works in the early years of the Society. I can not find anything more about him. - translator’s note</ref>

	I think that three months from now you will receive the letter I wrote to you 15 August 1839, through M Baxter, captain of the ''Orion'' (a whaling ship from Nantes).		:I think that three months from now you will receive the letter I wrote to you 15 August 1839, through M Baxter, captain of the ''Orion'' (a whaling ship from Nantes).

	It was a real delight for us to see our dear confrères arrive on 10 December, the octave day of St Francis Xavier. To really appreciate the situation, one would have to be on the spot where the urgent need of workers can be seen at first hand. From all sides people come asking His Lordship for priests, and most insistently. But how can one give what one does not have? So when will missionaries arrive in hundreds, knowing the language of the country, [''p''2] or almost? What gives some consolation is (the thought) that God knows the needs of the mission better than we do, that he loves our poor savages incomparably more that we can imagine, and that all means are available to Him. It is certain that He sends our poor people real ministers according to the desires he inspires in them. The growth already seen in the little Society of Mary <ref>''Haec minima congregatio'' – this least of congregations – is the opening phrase of the Marist Constitutions of 1872, but goes back to Father Colin’s early thought - translator’s note</ref> shows us already that God has great and merciful plans for the poor savages of Western Oceania which are entrusted to its care. We do not cease asking God and hoping in His infinite goodness that he will bless it<ref>the Society of Mary - translator’s note</ref> more and more so it may be able, if not to fill all the spaces [they are immense], at least to make Jesus and Mary known and loved by a multitude of peoples who do not know how to tell their right hand from their left.<ref>cf Jonah 4:11 - translator’s note</ref>		:It was a real delight for us to see our dear confrères arrive on 10 December, the octave day of St Francis Xavier. To really appreciate the situation, one would have to be on the spot where the urgent need of workers can be seen at first hand. From all sides people come asking His Lordship for priests, and most insistently. But how can one give what one does not have? So when will missionaries arrive in hundreds, knowing the language of the country, [''p''2] or almost? What gives some consolation is (the thought) that God knows the needs of the mission better than we do, that he loves our poor savages incomparably more that we can imagine, and that all means are available to Him. It is certain that He sends our poor people real ministers according to the desires he inspires in them. The growth already seen in the little Society of Mary <ref>''Haec minima congregatio'' – this least of congregations – is the opening phrase of the Marist Constitutions of 1872, but goes back to Father Colin’s early thought - translator’s note</ref> shows us already that God has great and merciful plans for the poor savages of Western Oceania which are entrusted to its care. We do not cease asking God and hoping in His infinite goodness that he will bless it<ref>the Society of Mary - translator’s note</ref> more and more so it may be able, if not to fill all the spaces [they are immense], at least to make Jesus and Mary known and loved by a multitude of peoples who do not know how to tell their right hand from their left.<ref>cf Jonah 4:11 - translator’s note</ref>

	I told you, very Reverend Father, in my letter of 15 August, that I hoped to know the New Zealand language in a few weeks, and soon it will be 7 months since our arrival, and I do not yet know it well enough to be able to speak in public with some confidence. Up till now I have limited myself to reading instructions composed by His Lordship. Since we have arrived, I do not think I have, by and large, given a half day each week to studying the language, and I owe, in great part, what I know of it to its practice, which takes up the time I would like to give to its theory. I hope I will have more time for study at Kaipara where the Bishop is thinking of sending me soon for a month or six weeks. This tribe has already been visited a long time ago by His Lordship, [''p''3] who has put a Catholic Irishman there who acts as a catechist there until he can send some priests there. As almost everywhere else, there are heretics there [heretics was how the early Marists generally referred to Protestants - translator’s note], there also, as everywhere else they resort to the most atrocious calumnies against the Bishop, his priests and Catholic teaching; they attribute to us things so hideous that one dares not repeat them and which, if they were true, would justly bring on our heads the condemnation of the entire universe; and the natives themselves who are as credulous as children, do not believe them, and there is every reason to hope that their calumnies will turn to their (authors’?) confusion and to the progress of the faith in this country.		:I told you, very Reverend Father, in my letter of 15 August, that I hoped to know the New Zealand language in a few weeks, and soon it will be 7 months since our arrival, and I do not yet know it well enough to be able to speak in public with some confidence. Up till now I have limited myself to reading instructions composed by His Lordship. Since we have arrived, I do not think I have, by and large, given a half day each week to studying the language, and I owe, in great part, what I know of it to its practice, which takes up the time I would like to give to its theory. I hope I will have more time for study at Kaipara where the Bishop is thinking of sending me soon for a month or six weeks. This tribe has already been visited a long time ago by His Lordship, [''p''3] who has put a Catholic Irishman there who acts as a catechist there until he can send some priests there. As almost everywhere else, there are heretics there<ref>heretics was how the early Marists generally referred to Protestants - translator’s note</ref>, there also, as everywhere else they resort to the most atrocious calumnies against the Bishop, his priests and Catholic teaching; they attribute to us things so hideous that one dares not repeat them and which, if they were true, would justly bring on our heads the condemnation of the entire universe; and the natives themselves who are as credulous as children, do not believe them, and there is every reason to hope that their calumnies will turn to their <ref>authors’?</ref> confusion and to the progress of the faith in this country.

	I would have liked to speak to you at greater length but time is running short. His Lordship is going at this moment to take his letters to the ship which is about to set sail.		:I would have liked to speak to you at greater length but time is running short. His Lordship is going at this moment to take his letters to the ship which is about to set sail.

	I recommend myself urgently to your good prayers, and beg you to accept this expression of my feelings of respect and gratitude for your kindnesses to me.		:I recommend myself urgently to your good prayers, and beg you to accept this expression of my feelings of respect and gratitude for your kindnesses to me.
	:I have the honour to be,		::I have the honour to be,
	::Very Reverend Father,		:::Very Reverend Father,
	::Your totally devoted servant in J(esus) C(hrist),		:::Your totally devoted servant in J(esus) C(hrist),
	::Maxime Petit, mis(sionary) ap(ostolic)		:::Maxime Petit, mis(sionary) ap(ostolic)
	::Bay of Islands, Kororareka, 8 January 1840		:::Bay of Islands, Kororareka, 8 January 1840

	===Notes===		===Notes===
	<references/>		<references/>

Tony at 05:03, 6 September 2008

2008-09-06T05:03:13Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:03, 6 September 2008
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	==Father Petit to Father Colin, Kororareka, 8 Jan ~~1848~~==		==Father Petit to Father Colin, Kororareka, 8 Jan 1840==

	''Translated by Fr Brian Quin SM, May 2005''		''Translated by Fr Brian Quin SM, May 2005''

Merv: /* Father Petit to Father Colin, Kororareka, 8 Jan 1848 */

2008-06-16T09:06:48Z

Father Petit to Father Colin, Kororareka, 8 Jan 1848

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:06, 16 June 2008
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	:I have the honour to be,		:I have the honour to be,
	::Very Reverend Father,		::Very Reverend Father,
	::Your totally devoted servant in J(esus) ~~C9hrist~~),		::Your totally devoted servant in J(esus) C(hrist),
	::Maxime Petit, mis(sionary) ap(ostolic)		::Maxime Petit, mis(sionary) ap(ostolic)
	::Bay of Islands, Kororareka, 8 January 1840		::Bay of Islands, Kororareka, 8 January 1840

Tony at 01:59, 24 September 2007

2007-09-24T01:59:12Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:59, 24 September 2007
Line 3:		Line 3:
	''Translated by Fr Brian Quin SM, May 2005''		''Translated by Fr Brian Quin SM, May 2005''

	'''APM Z208 8 January 1840'''		'''[[APM]] Z208 8 January 1840'''

	Kororareka 8 January 1840		Kororareka 8 January 1840
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	Very Reverend Father		Very Reverend Father

	I received with pleasure and gratitude the few words you were kind enough to write to me at the end of good Father Mayet’s letter. I learned with real joy that M. the Marquis of Arreat had asked you for Marist priests [''prêtres de Marie''] and that you had been able to respond to his praiseworthy intentions. I am thinking of writing to him at the first opportunity, and I hope that in his reply he will inform me of the steps he will have had to take in France to get priests for his unfortunate region. [The Marquis was one of many in authority who sought priests for particular areas/works in the early years of the Society. I can not find anything more about him. - translator’s note]		I received with pleasure and gratitude the few words you were kind enough to write to me at the end of good Father Mayet’s letter. I learned with real joy that M. the Marquis of Arreat had asked you for Marist priests [''prêtres de Marie''] and that you had been able to respond to his praiseworthy intentions. I am thinking of writing to him at the first opportunity, and I hope that in his reply he will inform me of the steps he will have had to take in France to get priests for his unfortunate region.<ref>The Marquis was one of many in authority who sought priests for particular areas/works in the early years of the Society. I can not find anything more about him. - translator’s note</ref>

	I think that three months from now you will receive the letter I wrote to you 15 August 1839, through M Baxter, captain of the ''Orion'' (a whaling ship from Nantes).		I think that three months from now you will receive the letter I wrote to you 15 August 1839, through M Baxter, captain of the ''Orion'' (a whaling ship from Nantes).

	It was a real delight for us to see our dear confrères arrive on 10 December, the octave day of St Francis Xavier. To really appreciate the situation, one would have to be on the spot where the urgent need of workers can be seen at first hand. From all sides people come asking His Lordship for priests, and most insistently. But how can one give what one does not have? So when will missionaries arrive in hundreds, knowing the language of the country, [''p''2] or almost? What gives some consolation is (the thought) that God knows the needs of the mission better than we do, that he loves our poor savages incomparably more that we can imagine, and that all means are available to Him. It is certain that He sends our poor people real ministers according to the desires he inspires in them. The growth already seen in the little Society of Mary [''Haec minima congregatio'' – this least of congregations – is the opening phrase of the Marist Constitutions of 1872, but goes back to Father Colin’s early thought - translator’s note] shows us already that God has great and merciful plans for the poor savages of Western Oceania which are entrusted to its care. We do not cease asking God and hoping in His infinite goodness that he will bless it [the Society of Mary - translator’s note] more and more so it may be able, if not to fill all the spaces [they are immense], at least to make Jesus and Mary known and loved by a multitude of peoples who do not know how to tell their right hand from their left [cf Jonah 4:11 - translator’s note].		It was a real delight for us to see our dear confrères arrive on 10 December, the octave day of St Francis Xavier. To really appreciate the situation, one would have to be on the spot where the urgent need of workers can be seen at first hand. From all sides people come asking His Lordship for priests, and most insistently. But how can one give what one does not have? So when will missionaries arrive in hundreds, knowing the language of the country, [''p''2] or almost? What gives some consolation is (the thought) that God knows the needs of the mission better than we do, that he loves our poor savages incomparably more that we can imagine, and that all means are available to Him. It is certain that He sends our poor people real ministers according to the desires he inspires in them. The growth already seen in the little Society of Mary <ref>''Haec minima congregatio'' – this least of congregations – is the opening phrase of the Marist Constitutions of 1872, but goes back to Father Colin’s early thought - translator’s note</ref> shows us already that God has great and merciful plans for the poor savages of Western Oceania which are entrusted to its care. We do not cease asking God and hoping in His infinite goodness that he will bless it<ref>the Society of Mary - translator’s note</ref> more and more so it may be able, if not to fill all the spaces [they are immense], at least to make Jesus and Mary known and loved by a multitude of peoples who do not know how to tell their right hand from their left.<ref>cf Jonah 4:11 - translator’s note</ref>

	I told you, very Reverend Father, in my letter of 15 August, that I hoped to know the New Zealand language in a few weeks, and soon it will be 7 months since our arrival, and I do not yet know it well enough to be able to speak in public with some confidence. Up till now I have limited myself to reading instructions composed by His Lordship. Since we have arrived, I do not think I have, by and large, given a half day each week to studying the language, and I owe, in great part, what I know of it to its practice, which takes up the time I would like to give to its theory. I hope I will have more time for study at Kaipara where the Bishop is thinking of sending me soon for a month or six weeks. This tribe has already been visited a long time ago by His Lordship, [''p''3] who has put a Catholic Irishman there who acts as a catechist there until he can send some priests there. As almost everywhere else, there are heretics there [heretics was how the early Marists generally referred to Protestants - translator’s note], there also, as everywhere else they resort to the most atrocious calumnies against the Bishop, his priests and Catholic teaching; they attribute to us things so hideous that one dares not repeat them and which, if they were true, would justly bring on our heads the condemnation of the entire universe; and the natives themselves who are as credulous as children, do not believe them, and there is every reason to hope that their calumnies will turn to their (authors’?) confusion and to the progress of the faith in this country.		I told you, very Reverend Father, in my letter of 15 August, that I hoped to know the New Zealand language in a few weeks, and soon it will be 7 months since our arrival, and I do not yet know it well enough to be able to speak in public with some confidence. Up till now I have limited myself to reading instructions composed by His Lordship. Since we have arrived, I do not think I have, by and large, given a half day each week to studying the language, and I owe, in great part, what I know of it to its practice, which takes up the time I would like to give to its theory. I hope I will have more time for study at Kaipara where the Bishop is thinking of sending me soon for a month or six weeks. This tribe has already been visited a long time ago by His Lordship, [''p''3] who has put a Catholic Irishman there who acts as a catechist there until he can send some priests there. As almost everywhere else, there are heretics there [heretics was how the early Marists generally referred to Protestants - translator’s note], there also, as everywhere else they resort to the most atrocious calumnies against the Bishop, his priests and Catholic teaching; they attribute to us things so hideous that one dares not repeat them and which, if they were true, would justly bring on our heads the condemnation of the entire universe; and the natives themselves who are as credulous as children, do not believe them, and there is every reason to hope that their calumnies will turn to their (authors’?) confusion and to the progress of the faith in this country.
Line 32:		Line 32:
	::Maxime Petit, mis(sionary) ap(ostolic)		::Maxime Petit, mis(sionary) ap(ostolic)
	::Bay of Islands, Kororareka, 8 January 1840		::Bay of Islands, Kororareka, 8 January 1840

			===Notes===
			<references/>

Merv: /* Father Petit to Father Colin, Kororareka, 8 Jan 1848 */

2007-09-17T08:35:31Z

Father Petit to Father Colin, Kororareka, 8 Jan 1848

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:35, 17 September 2007
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	I think that three months from now you will receive the letter I wrote to you 15 August 1839, through M Baxter, captain of the ''Orion'' (a whaling ship from Nantes).		I think that three months from now you will receive the letter I wrote to you 15 August 1839, through M Baxter, captain of the ''Orion'' (a whaling ship from Nantes).

	It was a real delight for us to see our dear confrères arrive on 10 December, the octave day of St Francis Xavier. To really appreciate the situation, one would have to be on the spot where the urgent need of workers can be seen at first hand. From all sides people come asking His Lordship for priests, and most insistently. But how can one give what one does not have? So when will missionaries arrive in hundreds, knowing the language of the country, [p2] or almost? What gives some consolation is (the thought) that God knows the needs of the mission better than we do, that he loves our poor savages incomparably more that we can imagine, and that all means are available to Him. It is certain that He sends our poor people real ministers according to the desires he inspires in them. The growth already seen in the little Society of Mary [''Haec minima congregatio'' – this least of congregations – is the opening phrase of the Marist Constitutions of 1872, but goes back to Father Colin’s early thought - translator’s note] shows us already that God has great and merciful plans for the poor savages of Western Oceania which are entrusted to its care. We do not cease asking God and hoping in His infinite goodness that he will bless it [the Society of Mary - translator’s note] more and more so it may be able, if not to fill all the spaces [they are immense], at least to make Jesus and Mary known and loved by a multitude of peoples who do not know how to tell their right hand from their left [cf Jonah 4:11 - translator’s note].		It was a real delight for us to see our dear confrères arrive on 10 December, the octave day of St Francis Xavier. To really appreciate the situation, one would have to be on the spot where the urgent need of workers can be seen at first hand. From all sides people come asking His Lordship for priests, and most insistently. But how can one give what one does not have? So when will missionaries arrive in hundreds, knowing the language of the country, [''p''2] or almost? What gives some consolation is (the thought) that God knows the needs of the mission better than we do, that he loves our poor savages incomparably more that we can imagine, and that all means are available to Him. It is certain that He sends our poor people real ministers according to the desires he inspires in them. The growth already seen in the little Society of Mary [''Haec minima congregatio'' – this least of congregations – is the opening phrase of the Marist Constitutions of 1872, but goes back to Father Colin’s early thought - translator’s note] shows us already that God has great and merciful plans for the poor savages of Western Oceania which are entrusted to its care. We do not cease asking God and hoping in His infinite goodness that he will bless it [the Society of Mary - translator’s note] more and more so it may be able, if not to fill all the spaces [they are immense], at least to make Jesus and Mary known and loved by a multitude of peoples who do not know how to tell their right hand from their left [cf Jonah 4:11 - translator’s note].

	I told you, very Reverend Father, in my letter of 15 August, that I hoped to know the New Zealand language in a few weeks, and soon it will be 7 months since our arrival, and I do not yet know it well enough to be able to speak in public with some confidence. Up till now I have limited myself to reading instructions composed by His Lordship. Since we have arrived, I do not think I have, by and large, given a half day each week to studying the language, and I owe, in great part, what I know of it to its practice, which takes up the time I would like to give to its theory. I hope I will have more time for study at Kaipara where the Bishop is thinking of sending me soon for a month or six weeks. This tribe has already been visited a long time ago by His Lordship, [''p''3] who has put a Catholic Irishman there who acts as a catechist there until he can send some priests there. As almost everywhere else, there are heretics there [heretics was how the early Marists generally referred to Protestants - translator’s note], there also, as everywhere else they resort to the most atrocious calumnies against the Bishop, his priests and Catholic teaching; they attribute to us things so hideous that one dares not repeat them and which, if they were true, would justly bring on our heads the condemnation of the entire universe; and the natives themselves who are as credulous as children, do not believe them, and there is every reason to hope that their calumnies will turn to their (authors’?) confusion and to the progress of the faith in this country.		I told you, very Reverend Father, in my letter of 15 August, that I hoped to know the New Zealand language in a few weeks, and soon it will be 7 months since our arrival, and I do not yet know it well enough to be able to speak in public with some confidence. Up till now I have limited myself to reading instructions composed by His Lordship. Since we have arrived, I do not think I have, by and large, given a half day each week to studying the language, and I owe, in great part, what I know of it to its practice, which takes up the time I would like to give to its theory. I hope I will have more time for study at Kaipara where the Bishop is thinking of sending me soon for a month or six weeks. This tribe has already been visited a long time ago by His Lordship, [''p''3] who has put a Catholic Irishman there who acts as a catechist there until he can send some priests there. As almost everywhere else, there are heretics there [heretics was how the early Marists generally referred to Protestants - translator’s note], there also, as everywhere else they resort to the most atrocious calumnies against the Bishop, his priests and Catholic teaching; they attribute to us things so hideous that one dares not repeat them and which, if they were true, would justly bring on our heads the condemnation of the entire universe; and the natives themselves who are as credulous as children, do not believe them, and there is every reason to hope that their calumnies will turn to their (authors’?) confusion and to the progress of the faith in this country.

Merv: Initial text

2007-09-17T08:34:41Z

Initial text

New page

==Father Petit to Father Colin, Kororareka, 8 Jan 1848==

''Translated by Fr Brian Quin SM, May 2005''

'''APM Z208 8 January 1840'''

Kororareka 8 January 1840

To the Very Reverend Father Colin

Superior General of the Society of Mary in Lyons.

Jesus, Mary and Joseph

Very Reverend Father

I received with pleasure and gratitude the few words you were kind enough to write to me at the end of good Father Mayet’s letter. I learned with real joy that M. the Marquis of Arreat had asked you for Marist priests [''prêtres de Marie''] and that you had been able to respond to his praiseworthy intentions. I am thinking of writing to him at the first opportunity, and I hope that in his reply he will inform me of the steps he will have had to take in France to get priests for his unfortunate region. [The Marquis was one of many in authority who sought priests for particular areas/works in the early years of the Society. I can not find anything more about him. - translator’s note]

I think that three months from now you will receive the letter I wrote to you 15 August 1839, through M Baxter, captain of the ''Orion'' (a whaling ship from Nantes).

It was a real delight for us to see our dear confrères arrive on 10 December, the octave day of St Francis Xavier. To really appreciate the situation, one would have to be on the spot where the urgent need of workers can be seen at first hand. From all sides people come asking His Lordship for priests, and most insistently. But how can one give what one does not have? So when will missionaries arrive in hundreds, knowing the language of the country, [p2] or almost? What gives some consolation is (the thought) that God knows the needs of the mission better than we do, that he loves our poor savages incomparably more that we can imagine, and that all means are available to Him. It is certain that He sends our poor people real ministers according to the desires he inspires in them. The growth already seen in the little Society of Mary [''Haec minima congregatio'' – this least of congregations – is the opening phrase of the Marist Constitutions of 1872, but goes back to Father Colin’s early thought - translator’s note] shows us already that God has great and merciful plans for the poor savages of Western Oceania which are entrusted to its care. We do not cease asking God and hoping in His infinite goodness that he will bless it [the Society of Mary - translator’s note] more and more so it may be able, if not to fill all the spaces [they are immense], at least to make Jesus and Mary known and loved by a multitude of peoples who do not know how to tell their right hand from their left [cf Jonah 4:11 - translator’s note].

I told you, very Reverend Father, in my letter of 15 August, that I hoped to know the New Zealand language in a few weeks, and soon it will be 7 months since our arrival, and I do not yet know it well enough to be able to speak in public with some confidence. Up till now I have limited myself to reading instructions composed by His Lordship. Since we have arrived, I do not think I have, by and large, given a half day each week to studying the language, and I owe, in great part, what I know of it to its practice, which takes up the time I would like to give to its theory. I hope I will have more time for study at Kaipara where the Bishop is thinking of sending me soon for a month or six weeks. This tribe has already been visited a long time ago by His Lordship, [''p''3] who has put a Catholic Irishman there who acts as a catechist there until he can send some priests there. As almost everywhere else, there are heretics there [heretics was how the early Marists generally referred to Protestants - translator’s note], there also, as everywhere else they resort to the most atrocious calumnies against the Bishop, his priests and Catholic teaching; they attribute to us things so hideous that one dares not repeat them and which, if they were true, would justly bring on our heads the condemnation of the entire universe; and the natives themselves who are as credulous as children, do not believe them, and there is every reason to hope that their calumnies will turn to their (authors’?) confusion and to the progress of the faith in this country.

I would have liked to speak to you at greater length but time is running short. His Lordship is going at this moment to take his letters to the ship which is about to set sail.

I recommend myself urgently to your good prayers, and beg you to accept this expression of my feelings of respect and gratitude for your kindnesses to me.
:I have the honour to be,
::Very Reverend Father,
::Your totally devoted servant in J(esus) C9hrist),
::Maxime Petit, mis(sionary) ap(ostolic)
::Bay of Islands, Kororareka, 8 January 1840