Keel011

Mary, the Support of the Church

Introduction

Jean-Claude Colin often spoke of Mary as the support of the Church at the beginning and at the end. This seems to be his way of referring to the inspiration Courveille experienced at Le Puy. Presented here is the dossier of texts gathered by J. Coste, S.M., in Acta Societatis Mariae, vol. 5, pp. 264-271. In several cases a wider context is offered than was needed for Coste’s purposes. These are marked with a (+) in the apparatus. At the end of the dossier is added a text of Fr. Peter Julian Eymard that also speaks of Mary as the support of the Church.

The support of the newborn Church and at the end of time

Text 11

September 14, 1848. Colin. In the refectory during the general retreat. [Coste text J (+) = Mayet 3, 271f = FS 160, 6f]:

Text

[6]

“No, I have no fear of exaggerating when I say that our age is worse than that of the apostles. Nowadays, just as much virtue, just as much holiness, just as much dedication and heroism is needed for the saving of souls. I repeat: never will any other means than those which Jesus Christ taught to his disciples succeed in changing the world. Meditate, therefore on these means during this precious retreat; do not emerge from this cenacle except as men dead to themselves, living the life of Jesus Christ, the life of the apostles, a life of renunciation, and of the cross. It was for this that you became missionaries. Ah, those of you who are to leave for Oceania, do not complain, then, if you lack something. A man who is upset at the first deprivation, just as soon as he realizes he has not got something he had expected, why did such a man want to become a missionary? He should have had no other intention but to suffer. Why, then, does suffering surprise him? Such a man is neither religious, nor priest, nor true Christian. Strip yourselves of this love of self, and put on the spirit of sacrifice. Put yourselves in the state you would wish to be in if you had to die. It is the best way to make yourselves ready and able to make a good start on all the works you will have to undertake.”

[7]

“Times are bad, but Mary who consoled, protected and saved the newborn Church will save it in the last times. I am not saying that the end of time has already arrived; it will soon arrive for us in any case. When you have meditated on these words: ‘Do you think that when the Son of Man comes, he will still find a little faith in the world?’ You cannot but be afraid, for there is so little of it to be seen these days. Mary will make use of us, her sons. Let us make ourselves worthy of that trust. Through us she will struggle with the devil and the world, and through us she will overcome it, if by the purity of our lives, and our innocence of heart, we put ourselves in the way of deserving her favor and graces.”