CHAPTER XXII
THE COMPANY IN ACTION; MISSIONS AND RETREATS.
THE COMPANY IN ACTION; MISSIONS AND RETREATS.
"Our main work is the instruction of poor country people."
Vincent and his collaborators were preoccupied with settling juridical structures but this in no way slowed down the day to day working of the Congregation. These were complementary tasks. Legislation was defining ever more clearly the nature of the company and the spirit in which its works were to be undertaken; while structures were influenced by the demands of work and of life style.
From the outset, the main work of the Congregation was to preach missions to poor peasants and this would always continue to have priority. There are very many statements in Vincent's writings to this effect. Let us be content with just one:
"Our main work is the instruction of poor country people." [1]
It is true that this sentence is quoted from a letter written in 1650 to the bishop of Périgueux, who wanted Vincent to send just two missionaries to take charge of his diocesan seminary so there would be no possibility of preaching missions. This was completely contrary to Vincent's practice of not sanctioning one work without the other. [2] An exception was made at Cahors only because of special circumstances. [3] The general tenor of Vincent's statement gives absolute and unconditional priority to this work. He was less categorical, however, with regard to the rule about not preaching in cities. For several years Vincent had interpreted this prohibition in the broad sense of taking it to refer simply to preaching, not to giving missions.
"When we decided, at the beginning of our foundation, that we would not work in towns that had a bishop, we meant that we would not preach or hear confessions because other orders were doing this in their religious houses or churches; we had no intention of abandoning our work of giving missions there." [4]
After 1651, when the rules were drawn up, this prohibition was adhered to more strictly and only two exceptions were allowed; missionaries would preach if ordered to do so by the bishops, [5] or when poor peasants came to take refuge in the towns because, in line with the laws on inheritance, it is lawful to take possession of one's goods wherever they are found. [6] In fact, Vincent preached several missions in Paris, including one in the church of St. Lazare itself, for the peasants who had fled to the capital during the Fronde. [7]
"Would that everyone would prophesy!"
The Congregation of the Mission was not the only religious community dedicated to the work of preaching missions. However original Vincent's ideas may have been, and whatever the priority he gave to using missions as a means of renewal for the ordinary people, his work must be judged within the context of a general movement for reform or renewal; a movement that had the backing of many famous names, St. Peter Fourier (1565 1640) in Lorraine, St. John Eudes (1601 1680) in Normandy; the Jesuit, St. John Francis Regis (1597 1640) in the regions of Vivarois and Velay, Christophe Autier de Sisgau (1608 1667) in Provence, Michel Le Nobletz (1577 1652) and Julien Maunoir (1606 1683) in Brittany, Jean Jacques Olier (1608 1657) in Paris; all these men were Vincent's contemporaries and shared his work of animating religious communities dedicated wholly, or in part, to preaching missions. Some of these communities, like those of Olier and St. John Eudes, also did similar work to that of the Congregation of the Mission in directing seminaries. It would be impossible to establish a league table of merit from among so many noble minds. But there is no doubt that Vincent was the first to start this work. When he conceived the idea of founding the Mission in 1617, John Eudes was still studying humanities with the Jesuits at Caen; Jean François Regis was a novice, and neither Olier nor Authier de Sisgau had reached the age of ten. As for Le Nobletz and Fourier, their work was confined to less developed regions and were not really part of the over all movement within the Church in France.
It became fashionable to preach missions and Vincent was aware of this. [8] A whole host of new foundations seemed to be stirring up the Church in France; Blessed Sacrament Missionaries in Marseilles, Missionaries of St. Joseph at Lyons, Missionaries of Forez, Missionaries to the Indies... Several bishops started up their own missionary endeavours, in more or less open imitation of M. Vincent's work and style. Vincent reacted in a completely disinterested way. He even went against some of his own confréres who were afraid of competition and he respected, and insisted that his Congregation respect, the works of other communities and the action of the Holy Spirit even if this was not to his advantage.
"It would be better to have a hundred mission projects even if these proved prejudicial to our Institute, than to hinder the working of even one of them on the pretext that we have to maintain our own works. [9] "We should want everyone to prophesy and the number of those who work to spread the gospel, to multiply. No matter how many labourers there are in God's Church we will never be without work if we keep faithful to him." [10]
The only area in which he defended the rights of the Congregation was the matter of its title, which he insisted was exclusive, because experience had taught him that where communities had the same name there could be disagreeable misunderstandings. [11] Otherwise, his relationships with other apostolic workers were very cordial. In 1635 his missionaries were working close to the region where St. Francis Régis was operating. Neither Congregation showed any sign of envy or jealousy. [12] On more than one occasion Vincent spoke highly of St. John Eudes [13] and in spite of some differences of opinion and differences in procedure, he did all in his power to help the holy founder from Normandy to have his communities approved (something that the Oratorians were opposing) and to establish in Paris the "Hospital of the Three Hundred" where he had been offered the chaplaincy. [14] There were several attempts to amalgamate the community of Authier de Sisgau with that of the Congregation of the Mission but nothing came of them. [15]
"I would be offending God if I did not do everything possible for the peasants."
The rural areas of France were sufficiently vast to provide work for as many people as seriously wanted to transform them spiritually. The work done by Vincent and his missionaries was on a colossal scale. The total number of missions preached in France by the Congregation of the Mission during the lifetime of its Founder is incalculable, since the information we have available is incomplete. The house of Saint Lazare, alone, gave more than 700 missions between 1632 and 1660, and when this is added to the 140 given at the Bons Enfants between 1625 and 1632, it brings the total to 840. [16] Most of these were preached in the diocese of Paris and its immediate surroundings. Vincent took an active part in most of them, especially during the early years. Then, as he had to take on more responsibilities and as his physical health began to fail, he had to withdraw, very unwillingly, from missionary work among the peasants. However, right to the end of his life, he ardently desired to have direct contact with, what for him, was his essential vocation, and he continued to work as long as he possibly could. [17] He worked in 1637 in the mission at Soigny. In 1647, when he was 66 years old, he preached a mission at Moüi, in the diocese of Beauvais, [18] and again in 1653 when he was 72, he took part in the missions given at Rueil and Sévran. [19] These are just random dates that tell us something about his activities. These must have been many, since the Duchess d'Aiguillon, who was always anxious about Vincent's health, took a hand in the affair. On 20th May, 1653, she wrote a strong letter of protest to Fr. Portail.
"I can't help being astonished that Fr. Portail and the other good priests of Saint Lazare should allow M. Vincent to go and work in country places in this heat, considering his age and the long hours he will have to spend out of doors in this great heat. I feel that his life is too precious and too valuable to the Church for him to squander it in this way." [20]
But Vincent regarded it as a serious obligation binding in conscience.
"I think that I would be offending God if I did not do everything possible for the peasants in this jubilee year." [21]
"The God of armies"
As it happened, the priests of Saint Lazare had to take part in another type of missions, something that hadn't been foreseen when any of the foundations were established.
For the third time in little more than a century, Paris was threatened, in 1636, by Spanish troops. Shortly after the French period of the Thirty Years War started, Cardinal prince Ferdinand of Austria, the soldier brother of Philip IV, launched a fierce attack on Northern France and routed the French army. He occupied Picardy and on August 5th took Corbie, about 60K. from the capital. It was too late for troops to be rushed to the Northern front from the other war zones of Savoy, Italy, Roussillon and the Basque country. The monarch, Louis XIII, and his minister, Richelieu, were jointly responsible for the action and they mustered up a new army on the outskirts of the capital. Vincent witnessed these events;
"Paris is expecting to be besieged by the Spaniards who have entered Picardy and are laying waste to the region with a vast army whose vanguard stretches ten or twelve leagues from here. The people from the plains are fleeing to Paris and the people of Paris are so terrified that many of them are fleeing to other cities. The King, however, is trying to raise another army to fight the Spaniards since his own troops are in action abroad or in the furthest corners of the realm. So it is here, in this very house, that soldiers are recruited and armed. Our cowshed, woodshed, all the halls and the cloister are full of weapons and the courtyards are packed with soldiers. Even today, the Feast of the Assumption, we have had no respite from this tumultuous din. The drum is beating again even though it's only seven o'clock in the morning and in just over a week 72 companies of soldiers have been organised. Well, in spite of all this, all the members of our Congregation continue to make their retreat except for three or four who are going off to work in distant places, so that if the siege should happen, most of them will avoid the dangers such circumstances usually bring with them." [22]
Vincent's contribution to the war effort was not confined to lending his premises. A few days after writing this letter he had an order from Chancellor Séguier to send twenty priest to give a mission to the army. At that time there were only fifteen priests available at Saint Lazare (there were only twenty nine altogether in the Company) and these were immediately dispatched and allocated to different regiments. Vincent went in person to Senlis where the King had set up his general headquarters, to offer the monarch the services of the Congregation and to leave Fr. du Coudray there as intermediary between the court and the missionaries. On the way there, he drew up for the missionaries a set of rules in which everything was provided for; the order of the day, community practices which were to keep as closely as possible to those of Saint Lazare, the ministry to soldiers and the spirit in which this was to be carried out. It is interesting to study the opening paragraphs of these rules which reflect the mixture of patriotism and religion which was prevalent at the time.
"The Priests of the Mission who are called to work with the army must remember that it is Our Lord who has called them to this holy work;
Firstly; to offer to God their prayers and sacrifices for the success of the King's good designs and the reservation of his army.
Secondly; To help those soldiers who are in a state of sin to be reconciled with God, and those who are in a state of grace to remain in this condition. And finally, to do everything possible to help the dying leave this world at peace with God.
With this in mind they shall have particular devotion to the name given to God in the Scriptures, "God of armies" and to the sentiments of Our Lord who declared, "I have not come to bring peace, but war" for the objective of war is to bring us peace". [23]
The mission to the army lasted for six weeks and it was a huge success. By September 20th more than 4,000 soldiers had gone to confession and this was in addition to all the people from the places the army passed through, who also went to confession and communion. Once the mission was over, most of the priests returned to Saint Lazare; only a few of them were kept back a bit longer to serve as chaplains. One of these was Robert de Sergis who was appointed to the Chancellor's personal retinue. For this reason, Vincent, remembering his days as chaplain to the de Gondis, sent him detailed instructions on how he was to fulfil his duties as chaplain to people of distinction. He warned de Sergis not to meddle in politics, or as it was then called, "affairs of State". [24] In November the campaign ended with the French recapturing Corbie and all the missionaries were allowed to return to Saint Lazare.
The other twenty five foundations emulated the house at Saint Lazare. Nearly a third of France was worked, inch by inch, by the Vincentian missionaries. The Ile de France, Champagne, Lorraine, Artois, Picardy, Normandy, Brittany and Savoy were the regions that profited most. There were other missions in regions like Poitou, Saintonge, Provence and Gascony. This great wave of missionary endeavour had an even more widespread effect because, as we have seen, much of the missionary zeal in the 17th century was sparked off by Vincent.
"To help the poor find God"
They kept to the same mission techniques as those used in the early days; preaching in the morning, junior catechism just after midday, senior catechism or catechism for adults in the evening. All these emphasised the need to make a general confession and gave great importance to the explanation of basic doctrines, especially the mystery of the Trinity and of the Incarnation. In keeping with the theological ideas of his day, Vincent believed that nobody could be saved without explicit knowledge of these truths, or that it would be highly dangerous, as the leading theologians taught, to be ignorant of them.
There were two types of missions preached in the 17th century; one was penitential in nature and the other was catechetical. Vincent's missions belonged to the second category and this was highlighted when he said,
"Everyone agrees that the success of a mission is due to the catechism classes." [26]
The ultimate aim was
"to help the poor to know God, to tell them about Jesus Christ, to say to them that the kingdom of God is at hand and that this kingdom is for the poor." [27]
Knowledge of the great truths learnt during catechesis should lead people to frequent the sacraments, particularly confession and communion. They should be led to make a general confession which would put right any possible defects
in previous confessions [28] and communions. Such were the most excellent means of honouring the central mysteries of the Trinity and the Incarnation. [29] The hope was that the mission would bring about the renewal of the whole parish and for that reason it went until everyone had fulfilled his duties. [30] In other words, they were not to leave any village until all the people had been instructed in the things necessary for salvation and until each one had made a general confession." [31]
"These fine discourses... don't convert anybody"
The missions were directed to the poor, to poor country folk. Now most of the peasant population in the 17th century were illiterate. Even if they weren't, they were not on the same cultural level as the middle class or the aristocracy. [32] They just didn't have the necessary education to cope with the high flown and subtle language used by the great preachers. At a time when the vogue was for a flowery, baroque style of oratory with its ponderous and affected phrases full of classical and literary allusions, Vincent advocated a simple and direct manner of speaking which the people would be able to understand. It was absolutely essential for Vincentian missionaries to have a simple style of preaching. Vincent castigated the empty grandiloquence of famous orators with as much, or with more vigour, than Molière ridiculed the affected language of "Les Précieuses Ridicules."
In this respect, too, Vincent belonged to a general movement in French culture which was to give rise to the classicism of the great century. We shouldn't forget that the Académie Française was founded in Vincent's life time and that among his contemporaries were Descartes (1596 1650), Corneille (1606 1684), Mansart (1598 1666), Poussin (1594 1665), Philippe de Champaigne (1602 1674), Le Nôtre (1613 1700), Le Vau (1612 1670) and Boileau (1636 1711).
So Vincent must be seen within the general context of a movement away from the Baroque; but in his own field, that of preaching, his style was original. His was a very individual style; so much so that we might almost think that this humble man was the one to change the French theatrical fashion of declaiming speeches, a phenomenon that came to the French stage following a new concept of drama and its presentation on stage:
"I've already said on other occasions, that Our Lord blesses those talks that are given in a simple, down to earth style since He, himself, taught and preached in this way. Besides, since this is the most natural way of speaking, it is also easier to use than the other style which is more laboured. The people prefer it and take more profit from it. Would you believe me, Father, if I told you that even actors in the theatre have come to realise this and have changed their way of speaking; they don't declaim their lines in a high voice as they used to do. Now they moderate their voices as though they were speaking familiarly to their listeners." [33]
Vincent's disapproval of affectation in preaching was deeply rooted in his vocation to be an apostle to the peasants. These peasants had been abandoned and left in a state of ignorance, not only because there was a lack of good pastors, but also because they were not being offered the bread of the Word in a way that they could understand. All Vincent's work would have been jeopardised if his missionaries had preached in the style that was then in fashion. In his eyes, this style was fundamentally flawed because it had no practical value whatsoever.
"It would be hard to find a single person who has been converted by many of these Advent and Lenten sermons. This is the case in Paris. What amendment of life has resulted from such eloquent preaching? Fathers, don't you see the great number of those who are converted? Oh, it would be very difficult to find even one! [34] All these polished discourses normally appeal only to our lower nature. They may frighten people if they are preached in heaven knows whatsort of voice, they might heat the blood or stir up desire but all this is in our lower nature; neither our reason nor our spirit is moved. And all responses of our lower nature are useless if our minds remain unconvinced; if there is no appeal to our reason then everything else will soon fade away and so that discourse will be useless". [35]
"The little method"
In contrast to this sterile eloquence Vincent introduced a form of preaching that was novel both in content and in style. He called it "la petite méthode" which translated literally means "the little method" though it really describes the humble but affectionate way Vincent speaks about all the things he has started. He dedicated several conferences and countless practical sessions to explaining the little method and giving his missionaries practice in it. [36] While not wanting to suggest too many parallels, the conference of 20th August, 1655 might be called "the discourse on Vincent de Paul's method"
The little method was, more than anything else, a way of arranging the subject matter of a sermon so that it was reasoned, ordered and efficacious.
"If you follow this method you will first of all point out the reasons and motives that can lead a soul to detest sin and vice and to strive for virtue. But it is not enough for me to recognise how much I need to acquire a particular virtue if I don't know the nature of that virtue. I can certainly see that I have great need of it, and that this virtue is very important but, Father, I don't know what it is or how to acquire it. Wretch that I am, I just don't know. How can I practise this virtue unless you have the goodness to show me and to teach me what it basically consists of, how to practise it and what the results will be.
And so to the second point which will achieve all these results because, according to our method, as well as knowing the motives which would attract our hearts to virtue, we have to then understand what the practice of this virtue entails. Lift the veil and you will reveal this virtue in all its beauty and splendour and then, in a simple and natural way, you will show the meaning of this virtue and the practical actions that must follow, you must always go into detail.
But "quite frankly" do you think it's enough to tell somebody about the reasons for practising virtue and showing him what that virtue is, if you leave it at that and don't give him further help? I don't know, but to my mind, more is needed. Also, if you leave things like that, and don't point out the means of putting into practice what you have taught, then I don't think you have achieved much". "This would be a sham and you mustn't act in this way. On the contrary, you should point out to this person the way he can practise the virtue. This is the third stage of our method. Show him the way he can practise this virtue and he will be happy". [37]
"To preach in the way that missionary do"
The little method was much more than just an outline which could vary according to the subject matter. It envolved both style and language. It meant a return to the gospel way of preaching, to the style that Jesus himself used. The preacher used comparisons that his listeners would be familiar with, and he spoke in a normal tone of voice; he would address himself directly to his hearers and use language they could easily understand. Learned quotations from secular authors were anathama unless these were introduced to add weight to something in the gospel. The preacher was to be sparing in the use of allusions and he was to show respect for heretics who were never to be attacked, though the catholic truths they denied were to be explained. The first concern of such teaching was that it should be of practical value, that is to say, it should be directed to the conversion of souls and completely devoid of vainglory. According to Vincent the little method could be summed up in a single phrase, simplicity in preaching.
"O simplicity, how persuasive you are! Simplicity can convert everybody. Hurrah for simplicity and for the "little method" which is, in fact, the most excellent method and one that brings more glory because it moves hearts more than all this speechifying which only irritates the listener". [38]
Vincent attached so much importance to using the little method that for three consecutive days he went down on his knees before a priest of the Mission whose style of preaching was very high flown, begging him to preach humbly and simply in accordance with the little method. He couldn't persuade him to do this and Vincent was relieved when the conceited individual left the Congregation.
"God's blessing was not with him; his preaching and his talks bore no fruit; all that mountain of words and sentences vanished like smoke."
Nicolas Sevin, the bishop of Sarlat, on the other hand, used to preach with admirable and moving simplicity, so much so that after one of his talks to the ordinands Vincent said to him:
"Your Grace, you converted me today."
"How is that, Father?"
"Well, everything you said was spoken so simply and plainly that I felt very moved and I could only praise God for it."
"Father, I could, of course, speak in a more elegant style about loftier matters but if I did that I would feel I was offending God." [39]
The new style of preaching gradually reached the pulpits, and the old style of fanciful rhetoric which was in such poor taste, eventually disappeared. We know that there was a general movement in this direction and that preachers from different orders and congregations contributed to it, but Vincent was one of the pioneers. Within a few decades the style of preaching in France was transformed and Vincent, himself, recognised the part he had played in effecting this happy change.
"Nowadays, if a man wants to be known as a good preacher in all the churches in Paris and at court, this is the way he must preach, without any trace of affectation. And people will say of such a preacher, "This man does wonders; he preaches just like a missionary, he preaches in the same way that a missionary does, like an apostle! Oh Saviour! And if the Lord had told me that eveyone would end up preaching like this. I am certain that to preach in any other way is just play acting; it is preaching oneself, not preaching Christ. To preach in the way that missionary do! O Saviour, it was you who gave this small and lowly company the grace of being inspired to use a method that everyone now wants to follow." [40]
The success of the Missions
At the close of every mission the priests would write a report which was read by Vincent and sometimes distributed to the members of the Company, to everyone's edification. Most of these reports are now lost but Abelly, who was able to read them, has kept a valuable anthology of the most edifying and noteworthy accounts of missions given. [41] But Abelly's account, which in common with many later versions that just repeated the story in different words, has the drawbacks common to many hagiographers; they lack a sense of history, give too much importance to what is edifying, and present facts out of context.
In spite of this, a careful study of the missionary chronicles helps us to understand the religious and moral state of the people as well as the theological and pastoral thinking of the missionaries.
With regard to the first point, the emphasis is on conversion of heretics and the correction of vices as a result of the mission. The main evils of the time, though not necessarily in order of importance, were blasphemy, hatred and enmity, drunkenness, prostitution, concubinage and other sexual disorders, scandalous fashions and illicit pastimes. We may be somewhat susprised at the severity with which missionaries condemned pastimes which, to our way of thinking, would appear quite innocent. On the other hand, there is rarely any mention of Sunday not being observed, or the breaking of other commandmen ts of the Church. At this time society was officially Christian, so everyone practised his religion, though on more than one occasion this gave rise to serious abuses and to sacriligious reception of the sacraments.
The missionaries had two basic criteria for judging the success of a mission; the number of people who attended, and the number of general confessions heard. Other factors which were less easy to assess would be the people's devotion, as shown by the warm way they welcomed the missionaries and bade them farewell, and in the spectacular demonstration, that sometime occured.
It would be a waste of time to search the reports for the root causes of these prevailing vices, for instance the question of marriage dowries which in many cases led to concubinage; the inadequate and irregular administration of justice which might explain the common occurrence of personal vengeance and the frequency of lawsuits; or the low level of culture which meant that drink was the only way of relieving long periods of boredom. In the missionaries' eyes, everything boiled down to an attraction towards sin or the life of grace, and basically, to religious ignorance which was why the main emphasis of a mission was on catechising.
At any rate it is instructive and entertaining to read the accounts that Abelly has preserved. All of them repeat cases of heretics returning to the bosom of the Church, of hardened sinners renouncing their evil ways, of restitution of ill gotten goods, of the appeasement of hatred and enmity, of public scandals being ended and places of sin closed down, of reconciliations between married couples and concubinage being abandoned.
The people of the villages would come in a body to the mission services, dragging with them the people who lived close by. In the diocese of Toul there was a huge attendance in spite of there being two feet of snow. In a small town in Brittany the number of general confessions was more than three thousand. In another place, more than 500 penitents waited 10 days for their turn to go to confession and the bishop had to administer confirmation in the cemetery because the church was full of people going to communion. In the diocese of Sens, Monsieur de Saint Cyr saw the transformation in his vassals after the mission, and thought that God had sent a new colony to people his village. It sometimes happened, at Joigny, that preaching began at two o'clock in the morning and yet the church was full. In Usseau, in Saintogne, it was the custom to organise a public dance on Pentecost evening; more than once this ended up with girls being raped and there were even cases of murder. The missionaries preached very strongly against these abuses but to no avail; the dance went ahead as usual. When he got to know this, the director of the mission went to the place with some of his priests. The dancers fled when they saw them. In the church, next day, the missionary went into the pulpit and thundered against the scandal given. To make his point more strongly he brandished the fiddle which the musician had been playing at the dance and had left behind at the scene of the crime. A few minutes later he smashed it to pieces against the rail of the pulpit. This gesture made such a deep impression that men and women who had been at the dance
confessed their fault in public and went on their knees to ask pardon of the missionary father.
In Mauron, Brittany, all the taverns were closed as a result of the mission. The preachers had said that it was very difficult for innkeepers to be saved because, as was the custom in that region, they gave the parishioners too much to drink.
Farewells provided a moving spectacle everywhere; the faithful shed bitter tears and cried out to the missionaries, begging them not to leave.
"They cannot bear the light"
Even during Vincent de Paul's lifetime, mission work was not all glory. Some censorious persons voiced criticism which had some basis of fact. Jean de Gaufretau, the author of a chronicle in Bordeaux, dismissed the mission preached in that diocese by Frs. de la Salle and Brunet as "just a fire made from straw that burns brightly but lasts no time." [42]
The most fierce attack came from the Abbot of Saint Cyran and the Jansenists in general. During his trial, Saint Cyran admitted that he had objected to the excessive detail in which Vincent's missionaries explained the sixth commandment, and their readiness to judge that ignorant peasants had made a good confession if they confessed their sins by answering the priest's questions, without enough attention being paid to their interior dispositions. [43] This clearly indicates the harshness of Jansenist teaching although the wording is somewhat toned down owing to the difficult circunstances Saint Cyran found himself in. The main point of contention was whether absolution should be given before the penance was performed, and also, though this was not explicity stated, whether it was sufficient to have attrition for the valid reception of the sacrament of penance.
Saint Cyran's followers went even further. In 1660 the famous Arnauld replied to a question put by an Oratian, Father Le Jeune, and stated categorically that the fruits of the mission were very short lived. He dismissed them as "passing emotion" and very imperfect and "sketchy conversion", not well evaluated by imprudent confessors, so that confession degenerated into a situation where absolution was given without any change in the penitent's life style and this was followed by unworthy communions. He attributed all this to certain impressionable people being affected by the extraordinary event of a mission even though this was nothing more than "seeing new people who seemed to be very zealous." [44] In brief, a summer shower that was all show.
These criticisms, or at least some of them, reached Vincent's ears. Contrary to his usual practice, he defended his way of acting and, in particular, the writing of mission reports. Those who were opposed to this were
"discontented spirits who are not usually inclined to do good; they make such little effort themselves that they dismiss as exaggerated the recognition of other people's hard work. This manner of thinking leads them to complain because they are embarrassed by the situation. Their eyes are so blinded that they cannot bear to look at the light." [45]
Also, the work of reforming the clergy was justified by the need to keep alive the good effects of the missions. [46] Missionaries should act like conquerors who leave garrisons in the territories they have occupied so as to ensure the peace and security of these possessions.
Even in the worst cases, reflected Collet, such criticism couldn't be directed against the missionaries but rather against some lax people who made bad use of the missions; and, in short, would it not have been worse to leave these souls in the state they were in then, than to awaken in them, albeit for just a short time, the desire and hope of goodness? [47]
If we leave aside mere anecdotes, and consider missionary endeavous in general during the 17th century, we find that these produced far more lasting effects than their critics would have us believe. A very considerable proportion of rural districts in France were profoundly changed. The missionaries succeeded in changing local customs, removing abuses, planting the faith deeply in souls, imparting a truer understanding of religion and educating the people. [48]
According to a contemporary historian, "Sociological studies carried out in our times have shown that the areas of France which remain Christian in the 20th century were precisely those where missionries laboured most zealously 300 years ago, while those areas that the missionaries didn't go to are sadly and noticeably different, and are marked in red by Canon Boulard on his famous map showing the practice of religion in France today. No greater homage could be paid to the missionaries of the 17th century and to the sound intuition of the men who directed them. [49]
One of these man, the most famous of them all, was Vincent de Paul.
"The word 'retreat' "
Vincent de Paul had less spectacular but perhaps more deeply rooted results from the work that went hand in hand with giving missions, namely retreats. From early years in the history of the Company, retreats had been given in Saint Lazare and the practice later spread to other houses of the Congregation.
Even before 1635, they had begun to admit into the old priory, devout people who wanted to make a spiritual retreat. The first person to avail of this opportunity was an old friend of Vincent's from the far distant days of the first mission at Villepreux; Jean Coqueret, a man who belonged to the same circle as Duval and who was a theologian from the College of Navarre. We have alreaady mentioned this man as one of those who advised Vincent on the question of the vows and later on he would work with him during the controversy with the Jansenists. After Coqueret had made the retreat he sent his students to do the same. [50] One retreatant drew another and the work, like so many of Vincent's understakings, seemed to grow of its own accord. The founder took this to be a sign that the work came from God.
When Vincent de Paul started the retreats he was continuing something that was already a well established tradition in the Church. St. Ignatius of Loyola had produced the definitve formula for retreats a century earlier. Vincent was happy to drink from this spiritual source, particularly as these retreats were approved by the highest authority in the Church. A brief note in Vincent's own handwriting gives us his definition of a retreat and Abelly has copied this out. It reads as follows:
"We understand the term "spiritual retreat" or "spiritual exercises" to mean the leaving aside all worldly occupations and business with the object of seriously applying oneself to becoming deeply aware of one's spiritual state, examining one's conscience, meditating, contemplating and praying, and thus preparing the soul to purify itself of all its sins, evil inclinations and bad habits, and to be filled with the desire of acquiring virtues; of seeking and finding the divine will, and once this is known, of submitting to it, moulding oneself to it, and in this way to tend towards, to advance in, and finally, to achieve one's own perfection." [51]
You only need to compare the work of the two men to realise just how much Vincent was indebted to St. Ignatius for his Spiritual Exercises. [52] As did St. Ignatius, Vincent considered the main objective of a retreat was to discover one's personal vocation and make a commitment to it.
"To be a perfect Christian and attain perfection in one's state in life; to be a perfect student if one is a student,a perfect soldier if one is a soldier, a perfect judge if one belongs to the judiciary, a perfect ecclesiastic like St.Charles Borromes if one is a priest." In a word, "to become perfect in one's vocation or to decide the way of life to which one is being called." [53]
"Noah's Ark"
Vincent's originality and his claim to distinction lay in the fact that he made retreats a common practice and something that was accessible to all sorts of people. Saint Lazare, and in so far as they could, the other houses of the Company, opened their doors to as many people who wished to withdraw there to make a retreat. "Within a few months," says Collet, "the house at Saint Lazare received more visitors than it had previously done in a century". Vincent himself compared it to Noah's Ark which welcomed all sorts of creatures, great and small." [54] In the former monastery's old refectory you could meet people of every type and condition; "rich and poor, young and old, theologians, priests, clerics with benefices, prelates, noblemen, Counts, Marquises, procurators, lawyers, Councillors, Presidents, officials from the Parlement or the justiciary, merchants, artisans, soldiers, pages and lackeys." [55] It has been calculated that seven or eight hundred people a year passed through the former leprosarium, so that between 1635 and 1660 very nearly 20,000 retreatants went to Saint Lazare. [56]
"They are seeking salvation"
One of the reasons why the retreats proved so seccessful was that they were given absolutely free.Some people of quality might give a small alms before they left but this was a rare occurrence because there was a widespread belief that the expenses of the retreats were covered by the original foundation contracts. This was not so. The whole financial burden fell on Saint Lazare. This meant that periodically the house would fall into debt and this provoked more or less covert protests from some of the missionaries.
In this matter Vincent showed a holy disinterestedness. When one brother in the Congregation complained about the excessive number of retreatants and the exorbitant cost of looking after them, Vincent gave the laconic reply, "Brother, they are seeking salvation." And some days later he developed this thought during a community meeting called to discuss this question.
"If welcoming those who come here for retreats meant that we could only continue for 15 instead of for 30 years, we shouldn't let that consideration prevent us from accepting these people. It is true that this makes for considerable expense but the money could not be spent in any better way, and if the house gets into difficulties God will find means of helping us; we can expect this from his providence and infinite goodness." [57]
The objection was raised, too, that some of the retreatants came, not to profit spiritually from the experience, but to enjoy a few days' free board and lodging. Vincent's reply was both supernatural and resourceful.
"Well, it will always be almsgiving that pleases God. On the other hand, if you are reluctant to admit them, it could happen that you might be refusing somebody that Our Lord wishes to convert during this retreat and so your excessive zeal in questioning people's intentions could make some of them lose the desire they now have of devoting their lives to God." [58]
However, Vincent must have been somewhat influenced by his brothers' objections. So as to lessen the number of retreatants and the expenses of the house, he undertook to personally enquire into all those who asked to come. As a result numbers increased rather than diminished, and sometimes he had to say to those responsible for the domestic arrangements,
"If all the rooms are full, then give them mine." [59]
Spiritual disinterestedness was matched by a lack of concern regarding the cost of the work. In a conference wholly dedicated to the ways of looking after retreatants, he declared that the success of the work depended on this very question and he emphasised the point saying:
"Let us never say anything to them that might indicate that we would be pleased to have them in our Congregation or even that we desire this, 'Non concupisces.' You should know, Gentlemen, that if God has been pleased to grant any graces to this little Company it is because of the complete lack of self interest that we have always shown." [60]
This thought is repeated in nearly all the talks he gave on the subject. [61] As we have seen, Vincent made it an inviolable rule never to put pressure on anyone to join his Company.
"We have to mix three colours; modesty, joy and meekness"
These spiritual exercises differed from retreats for ordinands in that they were not given to groups. Each retreatant came when it suited him and made the retreat privately, with the help and guidance of a director who, in line with Vincent's regulations, (it was always a case of regulations!) was to take an interest twice a day in how the retreatant was getting on, show him the subjects for meditation, indicate the books he should read, and answer his questions. All the priest in the community, and sometimes the theology students, too, would be occupied in looking after one or more retreatants. Vincent was afraid that the missionaries might get tired of such continuous effort and one word render the Congregation unworthy of receving from God the grace of this saving ministry [62] which he regarded as a gift from heaven that had transformed the old leprosarium where nobody was healed, into a spiritual pest house where all found wholeness. [63]
To guide them in their meditation Vincent suggested they read a recently published manual entitled. "Euchyridion piarum meditationum" or "Manual of pious meditations." It was written by the Dutch Jesuit, Jan Bluys, and Vincent had the work translated so that seculars could use it more easily." [64] It was a serious work which appealed more to the mind than to the heart, and it left little scope for the imagination. It dealt with classic themes from the Ignatian exercises and was written in a dry, arid style but the author's solid arguments were irresistible. Vincent arranged for this to be studied after St. Francis de Sales' method of making mental prayer but he always instructed the directors to recommend, also, the Ignatian practice of using the three faculties of the soul when reading the Manual. [65]
"Especially M. Vincent"
The dryness of the text was lightened by Vincent's own spirituality and when a distinguished retreatant, Louis Machon, canon of Toul, had finished his ten days retreat, he wrote:
"In your person, virtue is so attractive that it seems you have been chosen to be the one to reveal it to our bodily eyes; when we look at you we can't help being attracted by what makes you such a lovable person and so praiseworthy."
[66]
This testimony was repeated by other people. Vincent's demeanour, his very presence and his personality proved to be the most compelling aspect of those retreats. Just to have him there was enough to give the retreatants a happy sense of supernatural joy. His presence created an atmosphere of peace and trust. This is what a priest from Languedoc wrote, in 1640, to a colleague who had directed him to Saint Lazare:
"While I was in that house I was so well treated and shown such kindness by everyone I spoke to, that I was overcome. M. Vincent, especially, welcomed me with such affection that I am still overcome at the thought of it. I can't find words to express what I feel in my heart. What I can say is, that while I was making that retreat I felt I was in heaven and now that I've come away from it, Paris seems like a prison." [67]
The results of the retreats were just as encouraging as those of the missions. Vincent was continually receiving grateful tributes from priests and laymen who had enjoyed his hospitality. Occasionally he would quote their words to the community so as to encourage the missionaries to remain faithful to this retreat work.
"The last time I travelled to Brittany", he once related, "I had only just arrived when a very distinguished person came to thank me for the favour which he said we had granted him by allowing him to make a retreat here. 'Father', he said, 'if it hadn't been for that retreat I would have perished; I owe everything to you; it was that retreat which brought me peace and made me embrace the way of life which, by the grace of God, I am still following and it makes me very happy. Father, I am so grateful to you, that I tell all my companions that I would have been damned if I hadn't, thaks to your goodness, made that retreat at Saint Lazare. How grateful I am to you, Father." "This," said Vincent in conclusion, "left me deeply moved." [68]
Thanks to the missions and the retreats, the former being directed to the masses, and the latter to more selective minority groups, the Vincentian dream of transforming the fossilised christianity of French country folk into a living, informed and dynamic prctice of religion was gradually becoming a reality. As we know, Vincent was not the only worker in this field but his initiatives, which were imitated and continued by other people, and his impetus, which was not so easy to emulate but was so very contagious and stimulating, marked him out as the undisputed leader of the great reform movement.
Vincent and his collaborators were preoccupied with settling juridical structures but this in no way slowed down the day to day working of the Congregation. These were complementary tasks. Legislation was defining ever more clearly the nature of the company and the spirit in which its works were to be undertaken; while structures were influenced by the demands of work and of life style.
From the outset, the main work of the Congregation was to preach missions to poor peasants and this would always continue to have priority. There are very many statements in Vincent's writings to this effect. Let us be content with just one:
"Our main work is the instruction of poor country people." [1]
It is true that this sentence is quoted from a letter written in 1650 to the bishop of Périgueux, who wanted Vincent to send just two missionaries to take charge of his diocesan seminary so there would be no possibility of preaching missions. This was completely contrary to Vincent's practice of not sanctioning one work without the other. [2] An exception was made at Cahors only because of special circumstances. [3] The general tenor of Vincent's statement gives absolute and unconditional priority to this work. He was less categorical, however, with regard to the rule about not preaching in cities. For several years Vincent had interpreted this prohibition in the broad sense of taking it to refer simply to preaching, not to giving missions.
"When we decided, at the beginning of our foundation, that we would not work in towns that had a bishop, we meant that we would not preach or hear confessions because other orders were doing this in their religious houses or churches; we had no intention of abandoning our work of giving missions there." [4]
After 1651, when the rules were drawn up, this prohibition was adhered to more strictly and only two exceptions were allowed; missionaries would preach if ordered to do so by the bishops, [5] or when poor peasants came to take refuge in the towns because, in line with the laws on inheritance, it is lawful to take possession of one's goods wherever they are found. [6] In fact, Vincent preached several missions in Paris, including one in the church of St. Lazare itself, for the peasants who had fled to the capital during the Fronde. [7]
"Would that everyone would prophesy!"
The Congregation of the Mission was not the only religious community dedicated to the work of preaching missions. However original Vincent's ideas may have been, and whatever the priority he gave to using missions as a means of renewal for the ordinary people, his work must be judged within the context of a general movement for reform or renewal; a movement that had the backing of many famous names, St. Peter Fourier (1565 1640) in Lorraine, St. John Eudes (1601 1680) in Normandy; the Jesuit, St. John Francis Regis (1597 1640) in the regions of Vivarois and Velay, Christophe Autier de Sisgau (1608 1667) in Provence, Michel Le Nobletz (1577 1652) and Julien Maunoir (1606 1683) in Brittany, Jean Jacques Olier (1608 1657) in Paris; all these men were Vincent's contemporaries and shared his work of animating religious communities dedicated wholly, or in part, to preaching missions. Some of these communities, like those of Olier and St. John Eudes, also did similar work to that of the Congregation of the Mission in directing seminaries. It would be impossible to establish a league table of merit from among so many noble minds. But there is no doubt that Vincent was the first to start this work. When he conceived the idea of founding the Mission in 1617, John Eudes was still studying humanities with the Jesuits at Caen; Jean François Regis was a novice, and neither Olier nor Authier de Sisgau had reached the age of ten. As for Le Nobletz and Fourier, their work was confined to less developed regions and were not really part of the over all movement within the Church in France.
It became fashionable to preach missions and Vincent was aware of this. [8] A whole host of new foundations seemed to be stirring up the Church in France; Blessed Sacrament Missionaries in Marseilles, Missionaries of St. Joseph at Lyons, Missionaries of Forez, Missionaries to the Indies... Several bishops started up their own missionary endeavours, in more or less open imitation of M. Vincent's work and style. Vincent reacted in a completely disinterested way. He even went against some of his own confréres who were afraid of competition and he respected, and insisted that his Congregation respect, the works of other communities and the action of the Holy Spirit even if this was not to his advantage.
"It would be better to have a hundred mission projects even if these proved prejudicial to our Institute, than to hinder the working of even one of them on the pretext that we have to maintain our own works. [9] "We should want everyone to prophesy and the number of those who work to spread the gospel, to multiply. No matter how many labourers there are in God's Church we will never be without work if we keep faithful to him." [10]
The only area in which he defended the rights of the Congregation was the matter of its title, which he insisted was exclusive, because experience had taught him that where communities had the same name there could be disagreeable misunderstandings. [11] Otherwise, his relationships with other apostolic workers were very cordial. In 1635 his missionaries were working close to the region where St. Francis Régis was operating. Neither Congregation showed any sign of envy or jealousy. [12] On more than one occasion Vincent spoke highly of St. John Eudes [13] and in spite of some differences of opinion and differences in procedure, he did all in his power to help the holy founder from Normandy to have his communities approved (something that the Oratorians were opposing) and to establish in Paris the "Hospital of the Three Hundred" where he had been offered the chaplaincy. [14] There were several attempts to amalgamate the community of Authier de Sisgau with that of the Congregation of the Mission but nothing came of them. [15]
"I would be offending God if I did not do everything possible for the peasants."
The rural areas of France were sufficiently vast to provide work for as many people as seriously wanted to transform them spiritually. The work done by Vincent and his missionaries was on a colossal scale. The total number of missions preached in France by the Congregation of the Mission during the lifetime of its Founder is incalculable, since the information we have available is incomplete. The house of Saint Lazare, alone, gave more than 700 missions between 1632 and 1660, and when this is added to the 140 given at the Bons Enfants between 1625 and 1632, it brings the total to 840. [16] Most of these were preached in the diocese of Paris and its immediate surroundings. Vincent took an active part in most of them, especially during the early years. Then, as he had to take on more responsibilities and as his physical health began to fail, he had to withdraw, very unwillingly, from missionary work among the peasants. However, right to the end of his life, he ardently desired to have direct contact with, what for him, was his essential vocation, and he continued to work as long as he possibly could. [17] He worked in 1637 in the mission at Soigny. In 1647, when he was 66 years old, he preached a mission at Moüi, in the diocese of Beauvais, [18] and again in 1653 when he was 72, he took part in the missions given at Rueil and Sévran. [19] These are just random dates that tell us something about his activities. These must have been many, since the Duchess d'Aiguillon, who was always anxious about Vincent's health, took a hand in the affair. On 20th May, 1653, she wrote a strong letter of protest to Fr. Portail.
"I can't help being astonished that Fr. Portail and the other good priests of Saint Lazare should allow M. Vincent to go and work in country places in this heat, considering his age and the long hours he will have to spend out of doors in this great heat. I feel that his life is too precious and too valuable to the Church for him to squander it in this way." [20]
But Vincent regarded it as a serious obligation binding in conscience.
"I think that I would be offending God if I did not do everything possible for the peasants in this jubilee year." [21]
"The God of armies"
As it happened, the priests of Saint Lazare had to take part in another type of missions, something that hadn't been foreseen when any of the foundations were established.
For the third time in little more than a century, Paris was threatened, in 1636, by Spanish troops. Shortly after the French period of the Thirty Years War started, Cardinal prince Ferdinand of Austria, the soldier brother of Philip IV, launched a fierce attack on Northern France and routed the French army. He occupied Picardy and on August 5th took Corbie, about 60K. from the capital. It was too late for troops to be rushed to the Northern front from the other war zones of Savoy, Italy, Roussillon and the Basque country. The monarch, Louis XIII, and his minister, Richelieu, were jointly responsible for the action and they mustered up a new army on the outskirts of the capital. Vincent witnessed these events;
"Paris is expecting to be besieged by the Spaniards who have entered Picardy and are laying waste to the region with a vast army whose vanguard stretches ten or twelve leagues from here. The people from the plains are fleeing to Paris and the people of Paris are so terrified that many of them are fleeing to other cities. The King, however, is trying to raise another army to fight the Spaniards since his own troops are in action abroad or in the furthest corners of the realm. So it is here, in this very house, that soldiers are recruited and armed. Our cowshed, woodshed, all the halls and the cloister are full of weapons and the courtyards are packed with soldiers. Even today, the Feast of the Assumption, we have had no respite from this tumultuous din. The drum is beating again even though it's only seven o'clock in the morning and in just over a week 72 companies of soldiers have been organised. Well, in spite of all this, all the members of our Congregation continue to make their retreat except for three or four who are going off to work in distant places, so that if the siege should happen, most of them will avoid the dangers such circumstances usually bring with them." [22]
Vincent's contribution to the war effort was not confined to lending his premises. A few days after writing this letter he had an order from Chancellor Séguier to send twenty priest to give a mission to the army. At that time there were only fifteen priests available at Saint Lazare (there were only twenty nine altogether in the Company) and these were immediately dispatched and allocated to different regiments. Vincent went in person to Senlis where the King had set up his general headquarters, to offer the monarch the services of the Congregation and to leave Fr. du Coudray there as intermediary between the court and the missionaries. On the way there, he drew up for the missionaries a set of rules in which everything was provided for; the order of the day, community practices which were to keep as closely as possible to those of Saint Lazare, the ministry to soldiers and the spirit in which this was to be carried out. It is interesting to study the opening paragraphs of these rules which reflect the mixture of patriotism and religion which was prevalent at the time.
"The Priests of the Mission who are called to work with the army must remember that it is Our Lord who has called them to this holy work;
Firstly; to offer to God their prayers and sacrifices for the success of the King's good designs and the reservation of his army.
Secondly; To help those soldiers who are in a state of sin to be reconciled with God, and those who are in a state of grace to remain in this condition. And finally, to do everything possible to help the dying leave this world at peace with God.
With this in mind they shall have particular devotion to the name given to God in the Scriptures, "God of armies" and to the sentiments of Our Lord who declared, "I have not come to bring peace, but war" for the objective of war is to bring us peace". [23]
The mission to the army lasted for six weeks and it was a huge success. By September 20th more than 4,000 soldiers had gone to confession and this was in addition to all the people from the places the army passed through, who also went to confession and communion. Once the mission was over, most of the priests returned to Saint Lazare; only a few of them were kept back a bit longer to serve as chaplains. One of these was Robert de Sergis who was appointed to the Chancellor's personal retinue. For this reason, Vincent, remembering his days as chaplain to the de Gondis, sent him detailed instructions on how he was to fulfil his duties as chaplain to people of distinction. He warned de Sergis not to meddle in politics, or as it was then called, "affairs of State". [24] In November the campaign ended with the French recapturing Corbie and all the missionaries were allowed to return to Saint Lazare.
The other twenty five foundations emulated the house at Saint Lazare. Nearly a third of France was worked, inch by inch, by the Vincentian missionaries. The Ile de France, Champagne, Lorraine, Artois, Picardy, Normandy, Brittany and Savoy were the regions that profited most. There were other missions in regions like Poitou, Saintonge, Provence and Gascony. This great wave of missionary endeavour had an even more widespread effect because, as we have seen, much of the missionary zeal in the 17th century was sparked off by Vincent.
"To help the poor find God"
They kept to the same mission techniques as those used in the early days; preaching in the morning, junior catechism just after midday, senior catechism or catechism for adults in the evening. All these emphasised the need to make a general confession and gave great importance to the explanation of basic doctrines, especially the mystery of the Trinity and of the Incarnation. In keeping with the theological ideas of his day, Vincent believed that nobody could be saved without explicit knowledge of these truths, or that it would be highly dangerous, as the leading theologians taught, to be ignorant of them.
There were two types of missions preached in the 17th century; one was penitential in nature and the other was catechetical. Vincent's missions belonged to the second category and this was highlighted when he said,
"Everyone agrees that the success of a mission is due to the catechism classes." [26]
The ultimate aim was
"to help the poor to know God, to tell them about Jesus Christ, to say to them that the kingdom of God is at hand and that this kingdom is for the poor." [27]
Knowledge of the great truths learnt during catechesis should lead people to frequent the sacraments, particularly confession and communion. They should be led to make a general confession which would put right any possible defects
in previous confessions [28] and communions. Such were the most excellent means of honouring the central mysteries of the Trinity and the Incarnation. [29] The hope was that the mission would bring about the renewal of the whole parish and for that reason it went until everyone had fulfilled his duties. [30] In other words, they were not to leave any village until all the people had been instructed in the things necessary for salvation and until each one had made a general confession." [31]
"These fine discourses... don't convert anybody"
The missions were directed to the poor, to poor country folk. Now most of the peasant population in the 17th century were illiterate. Even if they weren't, they were not on the same cultural level as the middle class or the aristocracy. [32] They just didn't have the necessary education to cope with the high flown and subtle language used by the great preachers. At a time when the vogue was for a flowery, baroque style of oratory with its ponderous and affected phrases full of classical and literary allusions, Vincent advocated a simple and direct manner of speaking which the people would be able to understand. It was absolutely essential for Vincentian missionaries to have a simple style of preaching. Vincent castigated the empty grandiloquence of famous orators with as much, or with more vigour, than Molière ridiculed the affected language of "Les Précieuses Ridicules."
In this respect, too, Vincent belonged to a general movement in French culture which was to give rise to the classicism of the great century. We shouldn't forget that the Académie Française was founded in Vincent's life time and that among his contemporaries were Descartes (1596 1650), Corneille (1606 1684), Mansart (1598 1666), Poussin (1594 1665), Philippe de Champaigne (1602 1674), Le Nôtre (1613 1700), Le Vau (1612 1670) and Boileau (1636 1711).
So Vincent must be seen within the general context of a movement away from the Baroque; but in his own field, that of preaching, his style was original. His was a very individual style; so much so that we might almost think that this humble man was the one to change the French theatrical fashion of declaiming speeches, a phenomenon that came to the French stage following a new concept of drama and its presentation on stage:
"I've already said on other occasions, that Our Lord blesses those talks that are given in a simple, down to earth style since He, himself, taught and preached in this way. Besides, since this is the most natural way of speaking, it is also easier to use than the other style which is more laboured. The people prefer it and take more profit from it. Would you believe me, Father, if I told you that even actors in the theatre have come to realise this and have changed their way of speaking; they don't declaim their lines in a high voice as they used to do. Now they moderate their voices as though they were speaking familiarly to their listeners." [33]
Vincent's disapproval of affectation in preaching was deeply rooted in his vocation to be an apostle to the peasants. These peasants had been abandoned and left in a state of ignorance, not only because there was a lack of good pastors, but also because they were not being offered the bread of the Word in a way that they could understand. All Vincent's work would have been jeopardised if his missionaries had preached in the style that was then in fashion. In his eyes, this style was fundamentally flawed because it had no practical value whatsoever.
"It would be hard to find a single person who has been converted by many of these Advent and Lenten sermons. This is the case in Paris. What amendment of life has resulted from such eloquent preaching? Fathers, don't you see the great number of those who are converted? Oh, it would be very difficult to find even one! [34] All these polished discourses normally appeal only to our lower nature. They may frighten people if they are preached in heaven knows whatsort of voice, they might heat the blood or stir up desire but all this is in our lower nature; neither our reason nor our spirit is moved. And all responses of our lower nature are useless if our minds remain unconvinced; if there is no appeal to our reason then everything else will soon fade away and so that discourse will be useless". [35]
"The little method"
In contrast to this sterile eloquence Vincent introduced a form of preaching that was novel both in content and in style. He called it "la petite méthode" which translated literally means "the little method" though it really describes the humble but affectionate way Vincent speaks about all the things he has started. He dedicated several conferences and countless practical sessions to explaining the little method and giving his missionaries practice in it. [36] While not wanting to suggest too many parallels, the conference of 20th August, 1655 might be called "the discourse on Vincent de Paul's method"
The little method was, more than anything else, a way of arranging the subject matter of a sermon so that it was reasoned, ordered and efficacious.
"If you follow this method you will first of all point out the reasons and motives that can lead a soul to detest sin and vice and to strive for virtue. But it is not enough for me to recognise how much I need to acquire a particular virtue if I don't know the nature of that virtue. I can certainly see that I have great need of it, and that this virtue is very important but, Father, I don't know what it is or how to acquire it. Wretch that I am, I just don't know. How can I practise this virtue unless you have the goodness to show me and to teach me what it basically consists of, how to practise it and what the results will be.
And so to the second point which will achieve all these results because, according to our method, as well as knowing the motives which would attract our hearts to virtue, we have to then understand what the practice of this virtue entails. Lift the veil and you will reveal this virtue in all its beauty and splendour and then, in a simple and natural way, you will show the meaning of this virtue and the practical actions that must follow, you must always go into detail.
But "quite frankly" do you think it's enough to tell somebody about the reasons for practising virtue and showing him what that virtue is, if you leave it at that and don't give him further help? I don't know, but to my mind, more is needed. Also, if you leave things like that, and don't point out the means of putting into practice what you have taught, then I don't think you have achieved much". "This would be a sham and you mustn't act in this way. On the contrary, you should point out to this person the way he can practise the virtue. This is the third stage of our method. Show him the way he can practise this virtue and he will be happy". [37]
"To preach in the way that missionary do"
The little method was much more than just an outline which could vary according to the subject matter. It envolved both style and language. It meant a return to the gospel way of preaching, to the style that Jesus himself used. The preacher used comparisons that his listeners would be familiar with, and he spoke in a normal tone of voice; he would address himself directly to his hearers and use language they could easily understand. Learned quotations from secular authors were anathama unless these were introduced to add weight to something in the gospel. The preacher was to be sparing in the use of allusions and he was to show respect for heretics who were never to be attacked, though the catholic truths they denied were to be explained. The first concern of such teaching was that it should be of practical value, that is to say, it should be directed to the conversion of souls and completely devoid of vainglory. According to Vincent the little method could be summed up in a single phrase, simplicity in preaching.
"O simplicity, how persuasive you are! Simplicity can convert everybody. Hurrah for simplicity and for the "little method" which is, in fact, the most excellent method and one that brings more glory because it moves hearts more than all this speechifying which only irritates the listener". [38]
Vincent attached so much importance to using the little method that for three consecutive days he went down on his knees before a priest of the Mission whose style of preaching was very high flown, begging him to preach humbly and simply in accordance with the little method. He couldn't persuade him to do this and Vincent was relieved when the conceited individual left the Congregation.
"God's blessing was not with him; his preaching and his talks bore no fruit; all that mountain of words and sentences vanished like smoke."
Nicolas Sevin, the bishop of Sarlat, on the other hand, used to preach with admirable and moving simplicity, so much so that after one of his talks to the ordinands Vincent said to him:
"Your Grace, you converted me today."
"How is that, Father?"
"Well, everything you said was spoken so simply and plainly that I felt very moved and I could only praise God for it."
"Father, I could, of course, speak in a more elegant style about loftier matters but if I did that I would feel I was offending God." [39]
The new style of preaching gradually reached the pulpits, and the old style of fanciful rhetoric which was in such poor taste, eventually disappeared. We know that there was a general movement in this direction and that preachers from different orders and congregations contributed to it, but Vincent was one of the pioneers. Within a few decades the style of preaching in France was transformed and Vincent, himself, recognised the part he had played in effecting this happy change.
"Nowadays, if a man wants to be known as a good preacher in all the churches in Paris and at court, this is the way he must preach, without any trace of affectation. And people will say of such a preacher, "This man does wonders; he preaches just like a missionary, he preaches in the same way that a missionary does, like an apostle! Oh Saviour! And if the Lord had told me that eveyone would end up preaching like this. I am certain that to preach in any other way is just play acting; it is preaching oneself, not preaching Christ. To preach in the way that missionary do! O Saviour, it was you who gave this small and lowly company the grace of being inspired to use a method that everyone now wants to follow." [40]
The success of the Missions
At the close of every mission the priests would write a report which was read by Vincent and sometimes distributed to the members of the Company, to everyone's edification. Most of these reports are now lost but Abelly, who was able to read them, has kept a valuable anthology of the most edifying and noteworthy accounts of missions given. [41] But Abelly's account, which in common with many later versions that just repeated the story in different words, has the drawbacks common to many hagiographers; they lack a sense of history, give too much importance to what is edifying, and present facts out of context.
In spite of this, a careful study of the missionary chronicles helps us to understand the religious and moral state of the people as well as the theological and pastoral thinking of the missionaries.
With regard to the first point, the emphasis is on conversion of heretics and the correction of vices as a result of the mission. The main evils of the time, though not necessarily in order of importance, were blasphemy, hatred and enmity, drunkenness, prostitution, concubinage and other sexual disorders, scandalous fashions and illicit pastimes. We may be somewhat susprised at the severity with which missionaries condemned pastimes which, to our way of thinking, would appear quite innocent. On the other hand, there is rarely any mention of Sunday not being observed, or the breaking of other commandmen ts of the Church. At this time society was officially Christian, so everyone practised his religion, though on more than one occasion this gave rise to serious abuses and to sacriligious reception of the sacraments.
The missionaries had two basic criteria for judging the success of a mission; the number of people who attended, and the number of general confessions heard. Other factors which were less easy to assess would be the people's devotion, as shown by the warm way they welcomed the missionaries and bade them farewell, and in the spectacular demonstration, that sometime occured.
It would be a waste of time to search the reports for the root causes of these prevailing vices, for instance the question of marriage dowries which in many cases led to concubinage; the inadequate and irregular administration of justice which might explain the common occurrence of personal vengeance and the frequency of lawsuits; or the low level of culture which meant that drink was the only way of relieving long periods of boredom. In the missionaries' eyes, everything boiled down to an attraction towards sin or the life of grace, and basically, to religious ignorance which was why the main emphasis of a mission was on catechising.
At any rate it is instructive and entertaining to read the accounts that Abelly has preserved. All of them repeat cases of heretics returning to the bosom of the Church, of hardened sinners renouncing their evil ways, of restitution of ill gotten goods, of the appeasement of hatred and enmity, of public scandals being ended and places of sin closed down, of reconciliations between married couples and concubinage being abandoned.
The people of the villages would come in a body to the mission services, dragging with them the people who lived close by. In the diocese of Toul there was a huge attendance in spite of there being two feet of snow. In a small town in Brittany the number of general confessions was more than three thousand. In another place, more than 500 penitents waited 10 days for their turn to go to confession and the bishop had to administer confirmation in the cemetery because the church was full of people going to communion. In the diocese of Sens, Monsieur de Saint Cyr saw the transformation in his vassals after the mission, and thought that God had sent a new colony to people his village. It sometimes happened, at Joigny, that preaching began at two o'clock in the morning and yet the church was full. In Usseau, in Saintogne, it was the custom to organise a public dance on Pentecost evening; more than once this ended up with girls being raped and there were even cases of murder. The missionaries preached very strongly against these abuses but to no avail; the dance went ahead as usual. When he got to know this, the director of the mission went to the place with some of his priests. The dancers fled when they saw them. In the church, next day, the missionary went into the pulpit and thundered against the scandal given. To make his point more strongly he brandished the fiddle which the musician had been playing at the dance and had left behind at the scene of the crime. A few minutes later he smashed it to pieces against the rail of the pulpit. This gesture made such a deep impression that men and women who had been at the dance
confessed their fault in public and went on their knees to ask pardon of the missionary father.
In Mauron, Brittany, all the taverns were closed as a result of the mission. The preachers had said that it was very difficult for innkeepers to be saved because, as was the custom in that region, they gave the parishioners too much to drink.
Farewells provided a moving spectacle everywhere; the faithful shed bitter tears and cried out to the missionaries, begging them not to leave.
"They cannot bear the light"
Even during Vincent de Paul's lifetime, mission work was not all glory. Some censorious persons voiced criticism which had some basis of fact. Jean de Gaufretau, the author of a chronicle in Bordeaux, dismissed the mission preached in that diocese by Frs. de la Salle and Brunet as "just a fire made from straw that burns brightly but lasts no time." [42]
The most fierce attack came from the Abbot of Saint Cyran and the Jansenists in general. During his trial, Saint Cyran admitted that he had objected to the excessive detail in which Vincent's missionaries explained the sixth commandment, and their readiness to judge that ignorant peasants had made a good confession if they confessed their sins by answering the priest's questions, without enough attention being paid to their interior dispositions. [43] This clearly indicates the harshness of Jansenist teaching although the wording is somewhat toned down owing to the difficult circunstances Saint Cyran found himself in. The main point of contention was whether absolution should be given before the penance was performed, and also, though this was not explicity stated, whether it was sufficient to have attrition for the valid reception of the sacrament of penance.
Saint Cyran's followers went even further. In 1660 the famous Arnauld replied to a question put by an Oratian, Father Le Jeune, and stated categorically that the fruits of the mission were very short lived. He dismissed them as "passing emotion" and very imperfect and "sketchy conversion", not well evaluated by imprudent confessors, so that confession degenerated into a situation where absolution was given without any change in the penitent's life style and this was followed by unworthy communions. He attributed all this to certain impressionable people being affected by the extraordinary event of a mission even though this was nothing more than "seeing new people who seemed to be very zealous." [44] In brief, a summer shower that was all show.
These criticisms, or at least some of them, reached Vincent's ears. Contrary to his usual practice, he defended his way of acting and, in particular, the writing of mission reports. Those who were opposed to this were
"discontented spirits who are not usually inclined to do good; they make such little effort themselves that they dismiss as exaggerated the recognition of other people's hard work. This manner of thinking leads them to complain because they are embarrassed by the situation. Their eyes are so blinded that they cannot bear to look at the light." [45]
Also, the work of reforming the clergy was justified by the need to keep alive the good effects of the missions. [46] Missionaries should act like conquerors who leave garrisons in the territories they have occupied so as to ensure the peace and security of these possessions.
Even in the worst cases, reflected Collet, such criticism couldn't be directed against the missionaries but rather against some lax people who made bad use of the missions; and, in short, would it not have been worse to leave these souls in the state they were in then, than to awaken in them, albeit for just a short time, the desire and hope of goodness? [47]
If we leave aside mere anecdotes, and consider missionary endeavous in general during the 17th century, we find that these produced far more lasting effects than their critics would have us believe. A very considerable proportion of rural districts in France were profoundly changed. The missionaries succeeded in changing local customs, removing abuses, planting the faith deeply in souls, imparting a truer understanding of religion and educating the people. [48]
According to a contemporary historian, "Sociological studies carried out in our times have shown that the areas of France which remain Christian in the 20th century were precisely those where missionries laboured most zealously 300 years ago, while those areas that the missionaries didn't go to are sadly and noticeably different, and are marked in red by Canon Boulard on his famous map showing the practice of religion in France today. No greater homage could be paid to the missionaries of the 17th century and to the sound intuition of the men who directed them. [49]
One of these man, the most famous of them all, was Vincent de Paul.
"The word 'retreat' "
Vincent de Paul had less spectacular but perhaps more deeply rooted results from the work that went hand in hand with giving missions, namely retreats. From early years in the history of the Company, retreats had been given in Saint Lazare and the practice later spread to other houses of the Congregation.
Even before 1635, they had begun to admit into the old priory, devout people who wanted to make a spiritual retreat. The first person to avail of this opportunity was an old friend of Vincent's from the far distant days of the first mission at Villepreux; Jean Coqueret, a man who belonged to the same circle as Duval and who was a theologian from the College of Navarre. We have alreaady mentioned this man as one of those who advised Vincent on the question of the vows and later on he would work with him during the controversy with the Jansenists. After Coqueret had made the retreat he sent his students to do the same. [50] One retreatant drew another and the work, like so many of Vincent's understakings, seemed to grow of its own accord. The founder took this to be a sign that the work came from God.
When Vincent de Paul started the retreats he was continuing something that was already a well established tradition in the Church. St. Ignatius of Loyola had produced the definitve formula for retreats a century earlier. Vincent was happy to drink from this spiritual source, particularly as these retreats were approved by the highest authority in the Church. A brief note in Vincent's own handwriting gives us his definition of a retreat and Abelly has copied this out. It reads as follows:
"We understand the term "spiritual retreat" or "spiritual exercises" to mean the leaving aside all worldly occupations and business with the object of seriously applying oneself to becoming deeply aware of one's spiritual state, examining one's conscience, meditating, contemplating and praying, and thus preparing the soul to purify itself of all its sins, evil inclinations and bad habits, and to be filled with the desire of acquiring virtues; of seeking and finding the divine will, and once this is known, of submitting to it, moulding oneself to it, and in this way to tend towards, to advance in, and finally, to achieve one's own perfection." [51]
You only need to compare the work of the two men to realise just how much Vincent was indebted to St. Ignatius for his Spiritual Exercises. [52] As did St. Ignatius, Vincent considered the main objective of a retreat was to discover one's personal vocation and make a commitment to it.
"To be a perfect Christian and attain perfection in one's state in life; to be a perfect student if one is a student,a perfect soldier if one is a soldier, a perfect judge if one belongs to the judiciary, a perfect ecclesiastic like St.Charles Borromes if one is a priest." In a word, "to become perfect in one's vocation or to decide the way of life to which one is being called." [53]
"Noah's Ark"
Vincent's originality and his claim to distinction lay in the fact that he made retreats a common practice and something that was accessible to all sorts of people. Saint Lazare, and in so far as they could, the other houses of the Company, opened their doors to as many people who wished to withdraw there to make a retreat. "Within a few months," says Collet, "the house at Saint Lazare received more visitors than it had previously done in a century". Vincent himself compared it to Noah's Ark which welcomed all sorts of creatures, great and small." [54] In the former monastery's old refectory you could meet people of every type and condition; "rich and poor, young and old, theologians, priests, clerics with benefices, prelates, noblemen, Counts, Marquises, procurators, lawyers, Councillors, Presidents, officials from the Parlement or the justiciary, merchants, artisans, soldiers, pages and lackeys." [55] It has been calculated that seven or eight hundred people a year passed through the former leprosarium, so that between 1635 and 1660 very nearly 20,000 retreatants went to Saint Lazare. [56]
"They are seeking salvation"
One of the reasons why the retreats proved so seccessful was that they were given absolutely free.Some people of quality might give a small alms before they left but this was a rare occurrence because there was a widespread belief that the expenses of the retreats were covered by the original foundation contracts. This was not so. The whole financial burden fell on Saint Lazare. This meant that periodically the house would fall into debt and this provoked more or less covert protests from some of the missionaries.
In this matter Vincent showed a holy disinterestedness. When one brother in the Congregation complained about the excessive number of retreatants and the exorbitant cost of looking after them, Vincent gave the laconic reply, "Brother, they are seeking salvation." And some days later he developed this thought during a community meeting called to discuss this question.
"If welcoming those who come here for retreats meant that we could only continue for 15 instead of for 30 years, we shouldn't let that consideration prevent us from accepting these people. It is true that this makes for considerable expense but the money could not be spent in any better way, and if the house gets into difficulties God will find means of helping us; we can expect this from his providence and infinite goodness." [57]
The objection was raised, too, that some of the retreatants came, not to profit spiritually from the experience, but to enjoy a few days' free board and lodging. Vincent's reply was both supernatural and resourceful.
"Well, it will always be almsgiving that pleases God. On the other hand, if you are reluctant to admit them, it could happen that you might be refusing somebody that Our Lord wishes to convert during this retreat and so your excessive zeal in questioning people's intentions could make some of them lose the desire they now have of devoting their lives to God." [58]
However, Vincent must have been somewhat influenced by his brothers' objections. So as to lessen the number of retreatants and the expenses of the house, he undertook to personally enquire into all those who asked to come. As a result numbers increased rather than diminished, and sometimes he had to say to those responsible for the domestic arrangements,
"If all the rooms are full, then give them mine." [59]
Spiritual disinterestedness was matched by a lack of concern regarding the cost of the work. In a conference wholly dedicated to the ways of looking after retreatants, he declared that the success of the work depended on this very question and he emphasised the point saying:
"Let us never say anything to them that might indicate that we would be pleased to have them in our Congregation or even that we desire this, 'Non concupisces.' You should know, Gentlemen, that if God has been pleased to grant any graces to this little Company it is because of the complete lack of self interest that we have always shown." [60]
This thought is repeated in nearly all the talks he gave on the subject. [61] As we have seen, Vincent made it an inviolable rule never to put pressure on anyone to join his Company.
"We have to mix three colours; modesty, joy and meekness"
These spiritual exercises differed from retreats for ordinands in that they were not given to groups. Each retreatant came when it suited him and made the retreat privately, with the help and guidance of a director who, in line with Vincent's regulations, (it was always a case of regulations!) was to take an interest twice a day in how the retreatant was getting on, show him the subjects for meditation, indicate the books he should read, and answer his questions. All the priest in the community, and sometimes the theology students, too, would be occupied in looking after one or more retreatants. Vincent was afraid that the missionaries might get tired of such continuous effort and one word render the Congregation unworthy of receving from God the grace of this saving ministry [62] which he regarded as a gift from heaven that had transformed the old leprosarium where nobody was healed, into a spiritual pest house where all found wholeness. [63]
To guide them in their meditation Vincent suggested they read a recently published manual entitled. "Euchyridion piarum meditationum" or "Manual of pious meditations." It was written by the Dutch Jesuit, Jan Bluys, and Vincent had the work translated so that seculars could use it more easily." [64] It was a serious work which appealed more to the mind than to the heart, and it left little scope for the imagination. It dealt with classic themes from the Ignatian exercises and was written in a dry, arid style but the author's solid arguments were irresistible. Vincent arranged for this to be studied after St. Francis de Sales' method of making mental prayer but he always instructed the directors to recommend, also, the Ignatian practice of using the three faculties of the soul when reading the Manual. [65]
"Especially M. Vincent"
The dryness of the text was lightened by Vincent's own spirituality and when a distinguished retreatant, Louis Machon, canon of Toul, had finished his ten days retreat, he wrote:
"In your person, virtue is so attractive that it seems you have been chosen to be the one to reveal it to our bodily eyes; when we look at you we can't help being attracted by what makes you such a lovable person and so praiseworthy."
[66]
This testimony was repeated by other people. Vincent's demeanour, his very presence and his personality proved to be the most compelling aspect of those retreats. Just to have him there was enough to give the retreatants a happy sense of supernatural joy. His presence created an atmosphere of peace and trust. This is what a priest from Languedoc wrote, in 1640, to a colleague who had directed him to Saint Lazare:
"While I was in that house I was so well treated and shown such kindness by everyone I spoke to, that I was overcome. M. Vincent, especially, welcomed me with such affection that I am still overcome at the thought of it. I can't find words to express what I feel in my heart. What I can say is, that while I was making that retreat I felt I was in heaven and now that I've come away from it, Paris seems like a prison." [67]
The results of the retreats were just as encouraging as those of the missions. Vincent was continually receiving grateful tributes from priests and laymen who had enjoyed his hospitality. Occasionally he would quote their words to the community so as to encourage the missionaries to remain faithful to this retreat work.
"The last time I travelled to Brittany", he once related, "I had only just arrived when a very distinguished person came to thank me for the favour which he said we had granted him by allowing him to make a retreat here. 'Father', he said, 'if it hadn't been for that retreat I would have perished; I owe everything to you; it was that retreat which brought me peace and made me embrace the way of life which, by the grace of God, I am still following and it makes me very happy. Father, I am so grateful to you, that I tell all my companions that I would have been damned if I hadn't, thaks to your goodness, made that retreat at Saint Lazare. How grateful I am to you, Father." "This," said Vincent in conclusion, "left me deeply moved." [68]
Thanks to the missions and the retreats, the former being directed to the masses, and the latter to more selective minority groups, the Vincentian dream of transforming the fossilised christianity of French country folk into a living, informed and dynamic prctice of religion was gradually becoming a reality. As we know, Vincent was not the only worker in this field but his initiatives, which were imitated and continued by other people, and his impetus, which was not so easy to emulate but was so very contagious and stimulating, marked him out as the undisputed leader of the great reform movement.
