Jane de Chantal as Spiritual Director
Group 1 – Seung Yong Yi, Joseph Pampackal and Jim Heuser
December 15, 2009
(1) What strikes us from the reading?
A general comment: Jane, through her letters, shows great skill at spiritual direction. She manifests her love, humility and motherly concern as well as her effectiveness with soft and gentle persuasion. The Salesian spirit is clearly the guiding motive force in her approach. Like Francis de Sales, she promotes a spirituality that is not stressful, rigorous, impetuous and overeager. These themes recur time and again in her letters to diverse correspondents.
In the Advice to the Countess de Toulonjon, Jane advises her daughter to do some spiritual reading every day for 15 to 30 minutes, to pray with aspirations throughout the day, and to close each day with an examen of conscience and prayer to God (pp. 218 – 219). The emphasis seems to be on simplicity in prayer, yet daily faithfulness. This strikes us as very akin to the advice of Don Bosco.
(2) How does this reading present something new?
It is remarkable to see the manner in which Jane dealt with Madame du Terte (Marie-Aimée de Morville), who troubled her and a Visitandine convent for 13 years. Her letters (pp. 221 – 228) begin with the endearing address, “My very dear daughter.” She displays her great fund of patience and her talent of persuasion in steering the woman round until she is converted and chose to be faithful to her Visitandine life. It is truly remarkable patience with a Sister who appears to have been a veritable affliction for Jane and a convent.
Not having much acquaintance with the Visitation, some of the practical aspects of their structure were new for us. For example, the welcoming of widows and/or women retreatants for a temporary time (p. 234) and the acceptance into the community of women with physical infirmities “unless they had a contagious disease” (p. 252).
(3) What was confirming for us in the reading?
While on the one hand there appears to be openness to receiving into the Visitation a wide array of women, on the other hand Jane is clear that good discernment, selection and testing of vocations is needed. The letter to Mother Paule-Jéronyme de Monthoux p. 243 – 245) has some clear advice: “… let us learn from experience that we must test and know the vocation of young women before receiving them;” “Before receiving young women, I would like you to have them examined by some good religious …;” “Before receiving a young women, you should discern if she has a firm, constant desire for the vocation;” “… do what I have suggested before allowing them to enter the novitiate or giving them the habit or professing them;” “… make good choices of candidates and do not hesitate in the least to send them away if they are not suitable.” We find this wisdom very similar to that found in Don Bosco’s Dream of the Ten Diamonds.
In a letter entitled “To a Superior” Jane writes, “I do not choose the most capable or most virtuous Sisters to be superiors, but rather those who I see have the God-given talent of governing well” (p. 252). She goes on to indicate that neither the intelligent nor attractive in the eyes of the world, neither the devout nor genuinely holy, are successful as superiors unless they really know how to govern. She identifies the virtues of humility, prudence and sincerity as key to the good practice of authority. Hers is quite a practical insight into leadership … and culled, clearly, from her own experience. We think it holds true today as well.
A general comment: Her letters to diverse superiors are filled with much practical wisdom as regards how to deal with the members of the community in an effective manner. There is a definite stress on patience; on never correcting publicly; on remaining at peace when leadership is resisted; on not taking anything personally; on not striving to control; on governing with expansiveness of heart and absolute liberty of spirit. As the foundress, along with Francis, Jane grasped best the Salesian spirit. Yet it would take time and patient effort to have that spirit imbibed and absorbed by the others.
Submitted by Jim Heuser
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