CHAPTER I

CHARI.ES DE CONDRSN.

A TIME of great darkness is generally also a time in which some great and dazzling light is seen ; the stars never shine so brightly as in the darkest sky; and when the heaviest douds of négligence or profligacy hâve lowered with the most seemingly hopelesa density over God's Church, He has cver vouchsafed to cause His rainbow to appear, telling those whose hearts are well nigh failing for fear '^ that there is light in Heaven." So it was in the particular period of French Church History hère touched upon. The sky was dark with clouds of unbelief, ignorance, neglect, sensuality, and avarice, enough to scare the bravest heart; and yet through it ail there bursts upon our sîght a galaxy of light whicb casts its brightness over the Church to this day, and will cast it so long as history endures.

PRJESTLYUFE IN FRANCE.

Some names, known and loved wherever trae hearta beat with love of Christ and His Churchy will readily occur to every one's mind in thinking of that period, but amid the ^'bright particular stars" which shine forth so gloriously in the Church of the latter part of the sixteenth and earlier part of the seventeenth centuries, the name of Charles de Condren is probably unknown to many who are familiar with those household objects of love and vénération, S. Francis de Sales, S. Vincent de Paul, or even with the scarcely less revered names of Cardinal du Perron, Cardinal de Bérulle, and M. Olier. This is as he hîmself, the Père de Condren, would hâve wished; for the one most striking characteristic of his singularly holy life was. its intense humility — ^the reàl désire to " efface" himself— to penetrate his whole existence with the spirit of S. Paul's words, " Not I, but Christ in me,"

" Would hâve wished " may be said advisedly; for who can for a moment doubt that when the mortal puts on immortality, when the flesh ceases to cumber the spirit with its weakness, when every motion of sin, of pride, or self-consciousness has fallen before that Light in which the fireed soûl sees lîght for ever, there can be but one désire even in the humblest heart, Le. that God may be glorified ; and if His Glory can be promoted by setting forth how His upholding Grâce was vouchsafed to any of His children hère on eartli^

CHARLES DE CONDREN.

soastobringthemnearer thanis common to our Dear Lord's Likeness, would they not now joyfuUy assent to any such manifestation, re-echoing the oy, "Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but to Thy Name give the glory!"

Lowly as he was, marvellous in his gift of humility, and veritably counting himself ail unworthy of any place among those who hâve done good service tothe ChuTch, Père de Condren can scarcely be overlooked by those who study the history of the Church in the sixteenth century. Foremost themselves in the revival of a higher tone among the clergy of France, the Oratoiians were so distinctly the progenîtors of those great works which — as so often occurs in the order of God's Providence — subsequently overshadowed their source, that, while acknowledging the services of the Lazarists and Saint Sulpiciens, thèse latter must be traced backward to the Oratory; and, though not the founder of that Congrégation, few members had so important a share in shaping and directing its course as de Condren. The Director of Cardinal de BéruUc and of Jean Jacques Olier — ^whose great work as founder of the Seminary of Saint Sulpice was mainly de Condren's doing — left no slight stamp on his times, to say nothing of his influence upon the King of France (Louis XIII.) and his unruly brother Gaston d'Orléans, or wbat he did as Superior of the Oratory.

Yet ail the while, as die image of Chaiks de CcxidreD rises before one, it is still more as die samtfy Pries!, whose whole life was spent in seelnng to imitate tbe Example (A our Blessed Lord, Uian as the àble ecdesiastic, or wise director, or active superior. There is % singnlar sensé of repose as we dwell upon his histoiy; the tormoil of Church politics^-^certainly not Icsi stinring then than now— die manifdd engrossments and occupations of his office, Hteraiy, spiritual and administrative, never seem to disturb the cahn steadfast bent of his soûl, or that clear cuirent of his Ufe whîch swept onward like a deep river towards the sea, straight for Paradise. There is none of that resdess huny and scattering of power to be traced in de Condren's life, which led one of his noblest descendants— the modem restorer of the Oratory, Père Gratry— to write: "The wwld moves on with everincreasing rapidity, movement becomes intensifîed m every shape, moral, intellectual, and phjsical; and beneath this surface movement I fear one discoven that there is a slackening of central impetus — we whirl ab<»it more, but we advance less. . . . It is a universal blot, every living thing finds the difficulty of se^ recollection, of gatherîng itself together, and abidmg steadfast at the heart's core. . . . It is the éUgenerart tamm di Virgil ; it is that which S. Bernard has calkd *' evkceratio mentis," the disembowelHng of the sooL

CHARLES DR CONDRRN.

• • . Life humes on, spreadi itself fiur and wide, bat the source of life dries up. . . . In days of old diere were men whose whole life was absorbed in their great Centre — God; and who found peace> light and hiq)piness therein. To them it fumished die motive power, the life <^ aU things. But in thèse days where shall we find such cahn, deep minds, dwelling in the Invisible, and rapt in heavenly things, ever facing eastwards amid the whirl of life? ... Ail our strength [as priests] lies in prayer and &ith, nouri^ed in our soûls by recollection and retirement, by the habit of that interior life which alone fosters holiness, light and love. We shall never become useful ministers of the Gospel by multîplying our sur&ce efforts^ or by accumulating good woiks; that can only be done tiirough die mighty power of a humble heart which leans on God, of a thoughtful soûl which drinks deep ofHim."'

Père Gratry might well hâve had hîs predecessor's life in mind as he wrote thèse words,— for if ever a man's good service sprang firom that mighty pbwer, "a humble heart which leans onGkxi, and athoughtftd soûl which drinks deep of Him," it was his of whom it has been written, — "He was a very marvel in his detachment fiom créatures and his union with God. His great freedom from créature engrossments * life of H. Peneyve, p. 173.

left a dear space for the workings of Divine Light, and he was filled to overflowing with its brightness."*

Charles de Condren was bom December 15, 15889 «t the Chftteau de Vauxbuin^ near Soissons. His father — * soldier — hdd a good position at the Court of Henri IV., and the test and standard of merit in his eyes was militaiy capadty^ physical courage and endurance. Apparently Madame de Condren's horizon was less limited ; for before her child's birth, and on his first entrance into the world, she ofiered him spedally to God — an oflfering upon which the future Oratorian looked back gratefiilly as having influenced his future career in no small degree.

" I had the blessing," he wrote, "of being dedicated from my birth to God, like the first-bom of the Children of Israël, but I had an advantage over them in that the law of substitution has ceased to be, and I am not exempt from myself fulfiUing the conditions of my dedication. ... I thank God for this, — I do not covet a dispensation — I am only too happy to serve perpetually in the Temple of God." But the soldierfather had no intention of making a Lévite of his boy ; and, lest nurseiy caresses and influences should enervate his first formed character, the baby was taken from women's care for ail save that which rougheor handlmg scarce could aflbrd; and, while stiU » fioadoQ.

CHARLES DE CONDREN.

in annsy he was canied about by one of his fitther^s soldierSy who amused Charles with warlike play, made militaiy songs his lullaby, and taugfat him to look upon drums and tmmpets, swords and harquebusses, as natoral toys. As soon as the boy could walk he was dressed in miniature uniform, and supplied with tiny weapons of war. No wonder that the military tendency thus early developed clung to de Condren through life, so that to the end, through ail his years of self-devotion in a very diiSérent service, it was still hot within him ; and he would smile sometimes at his own soldîer-like nature. One or two childish feats of courage and prowess, still recorded, gave intense delight to his father; ail the more that one in which, by a deftly dealt blow, Charles parried the onslaught of a buffalo in the Parc de Monceau, was witnessed by Henri IV., and the King was not chaiy of his notice and praise.

However, M. de Condren had the wisdom not to confine his son's éducation to strictly military matters ; and the natural gifl of a remarkably powerfiil memory, so thathe could repeat even difficult things by heart after once reading them — and alluding to which he once said that he '^ thought he had never foigotten anything since he was eighteen months old " — ^made his prpgress rapid and easy. Only one thing — more necessary perhaps for a gentleman's complète

s PRIBSTL Y UFE IN FRANCE.

éducation then tfaan now — ^young de Coiufrea coold DOt leam — the art of dancing. He was always takea ill when this process was attempted ! and later od, when coQStrained by his father to take part in Comt entertainments, the same resuit invariably occmred. The future asceticwas also foretold in his diildish displeasure with a very pretty portrait ^rfiich had been taken of him. Conscious of the danger of vanity, he assaulted the picture privately with a big stick, but unfortunately found it altogether beyond the reach of his small arm; whereupon, true to his military training, Charles watched his opportunity, and contriving to shut himself into the room where the offending picture hung, with some arrows he shot at the impromptu target till it was satisfactorily defaced ! Besides thèse traits littie conceming de Condren's childhood is on record, save his strict truthfulness and accuracy. His tutor, M. le Masson, a Canon of Soissons, bears testimony to the purity <â his childish life, and adds that his ability and orderiy ways made it pleasant to teach him.

It was an understood thing in the Êimily that Charles was to be a soldier, and when at about the âge of twelve he began to feel a powerfiil drawing to a dififerent career, he foresaw that any change of vocation would be unacceptable to his fether. Neverthdess a stronger power than the boy could resist led

CHARLES DR CONDRRH.

him OUI — tfaeLoveof God grew wann inhis heait, •ad widi tfaat the spiiit of sacrifice, whtch beiicefoiwaid colonred his whole fife so dèqityy look possettion of hkn. Âlready he grasped die great doctriae <tf our Dear Lord's One Peifect Sacrifice ; and oat of tiut grew an intense désire to unité himadf to It in djing daily ; and this he OHKeiTed he oonld best do as a priest, although his high estimate of the d^ity of diat calling and his own unworthiness âiereof became continually more maiked. According to his own account, a clear voice lesottnded widnn him, ^* I will that thou be a Priest to serve Me and My Church ;** and he then and there prostrating himself, (^ered his future life to God, and never henceforward felt the slightest doubt as to the course which lay before him. Consequently hraceforthy mdiile studying diligently» he looked upon ail his iecnlar studies as only so many means of preparing hîmsdf to serve God better, and the talents, which he ooold not but recognise in himself, as gifts to be used Cmt His Gloiy. M. de Condren removed his son after a time fit>m school, wishing him to study at home, and then die ease and rapidity with which he leamt (he is said to hâve mastered the science df mathematics in the most wonderful Êishion) enabled him •eciedy to dévote his leisure to theological studies. Sometimes he went out professedly shooting, but as

soon as he was well away in the woods, and some pre* sentable bag made to avoid exdting suspicion, the young sportsman laid aside his gun, and a volume of the Fathers (S. Augustine was his Êtvourite author) or the Summa of S. Thomas Aquinas was drawn forth, and the rest of his day was spent in study. He had another ingenîous device to the same end. With the connivance of his own personal attendant, a Gennan valet, who would do anything his master wished, and who undertook never to let any one save himself make Charles's bed, young de Condren eut away a hollow place in his mattress, and kept his theological books, the sight of which would hâve given sore ofFence to his father, therein, gladly cutting short his hours of sleep on behalf of this chosen study. It must hâve been rather difficult to work hard and pray much in that bustling cheerful familyhouse, always ftill of Company, and with constant interruptions from Court gaieties and the like. But from the time that Charles left school he made recollection and advance in the spiritual life his great aim, and while so doing he leamt to offer the very interruptions which otherwise would hâve fretted him to God, and thus by patience tumed them to his souFs profit instead of hindrance. His sister accidentally took up a sheet of paper some time later, which contained his genend confession for the two years and a half elapsed since

CHARLES DE CONDREN. Il

he came home from school, and though on seeing what it contained she immediately put it down; her passing glance shewed her that the first point of her brother's self-examination was recollection of the Présence of God, and that he must hâve been able to préserve this in a very marked and unusual manner.

But this sort of thing was not at ail what M. de Condren desired. His ambition that his son might win militaiy renown had by no means decreased, and as soon as Charles's studies were considered to be finished, the old soldier prepared to send him to join the army either at Calais, where Devic was in commande under whom Henri IV. had expressed a wish that his yoimg prot^é should serve ; or in HoUand, which was supposed just then to be the best school of military discipline. It was a time of sore struggle to the young man, for notwithstanding his strong drawings to the priesthood, and his firm belief that it was his vocation, he had no slight inclination for the army; and his own natural tastes, developed as they had been by early training, quite fell in with the course which respect for his father's wishes prompted him to take.

It was a question only to be solved by much prayer, and in that, accompanied by fasting, de Condren sought for light as to his real and highest duty. His father saw that there were breakers a-head.

la PRIESTLY LIFE IN FRANCE.

«Ad with kindly considération he called in the i of a rdadon, M. de BriqueviUe, Chevalier de Malte, wfaoae Personal piety gave him a certain weig^ inûi Charles. This gentleman did not fail to luge apon his young cousin the paramount duty of obédience to his father, as well as the probal^e displeasure of the KLing if his wishes were lightly set aside. De Condren assented to ail this, and moreover he fiankly admitted that he had a passionate delight in the calling now urged upon him. He did not refuse active service, only asking that he might be sent to Hungary to fight against the Turks, rather than to Holland or Calais, and adding, " Nevertheless, if I had my choice, I would do neither, for my one sole ambition is to serve God in His Churdi."

M. de Condren was greatly irritated when de Briqueville reported his son's views, and for a time he even refiised to see Charles, accusing him of cowardice and bigotry. Those were tiying da3rs, and the issue seemed doubtfiil, when an unexpected solution to the difficulty was sent, in the order of God's Providence, in the shape of a severe illness, which ran its course so fieicely that before long the doctors pronounced the case hopeless. Charles had aheady thoroughly grasped the spirit of sacrifice, whidi was later on so marked a feature of his character; and seen firom that point of view, he was ready to accept life or death, a»

CHARLES DE CONDEEN. 13

k plessed fais Master to 93pçowX. Bot «ben be hmd Us Êtthor's bitter lamèiitatioii^ and fais dspçetl to €ioâ lo spaxe fais childy there came iip<m him a ttiong ii»polse^ wliichhe obeyed, beseeching M. de CondieB to makeawillmgsaaiûcey and adding that possibly, tf he wcfe to ofier bis son willingly to the prie^hood, God Bt^bt yet see fit to raîse bim tip to bealtb.

Gready toucbed at tbis, wbidi to ail appeacance wat a dying reqaest, tbe old man ont of tbe abondance of bis beart oflfered bis cbild freely, adding, '' Since tbe veiy tbongbt (rf our eartbly court kills bim, perbaps tbe promise câ tbe Heavenly Courts may revive bim;" and fr(»n that moment be became as fbll oS bope as he bad been of despair.

Tbe iatber's bopes were ftilfilled, and Cbarles recovered ; but for fear bis cbanged prospects sbould be foigotten witb bis cbanged c<Adition, be insisted on putting on a cassock tbe first time be left bis bed, and bencefortb tbere was no fiirther question as to bis destination in life. Having once conceded tbe point» M. de Condren was anxious to promote bis son's views heartily, and made no difficulty about sending bim ta study at the Sorbonne, where Charles was the pupil of Philippe de Gamache and Duval» under wbctm he speedily distingtdshed himsel£

Hîs natural abiUty made bis wcHrk comparatively casy, and mucb time waa spent by tbe young stuctesl

in prayer, so that he was looked upon with great respect, and some lîttle awe, by his companions, who notwithstanding found plenty to admire in his intellectual and physical çapabilities. Always subject to severe iUness, de Condren was again attacked by a one-and-twenty day fever while studying at the Sorbonne^ a.d. 1609, and when the crisis came he was so reduced that the last Sacraments were administered to him by the Abbé Hébert, afterwards Archbishop of Bourges. He was supposed to be in the last agony, when de Gamache, meeting his class as usual, felt so absorbed in the condition of his favourite pupil, that instead of the intended lecture, he could only speak of the dying youth, on whose eamest life and stedfast préparation for death he dwelt lovingly; and as he himself and his listeners waxed warmer and more fiill of regrets, he entreated ail to lift up their hearts to God, if it might be that He would yet restore de Condren. Together with their professor the whole class knelt in prayer — ^and it was granted — ^the longedfor tum in the malady came, and once more de Condren tumed back to life firom the very edgeofthe grave.

According to the rule of the Sorbonne, when de Condren had completed his course of theology, at the âge of twenty-three, he was sent as professor of philosophy tothe University of Paris, and he applied ail his énergies

CHARLES DE CONDREN, 15

to fulfilling the task welL He began by carefuUy writing ail his lectures, but the ill health whidi became increasingly his lot, hindered this greatly, and he was obliged to give up the habit and often to trust to his memory as sole préparation ; but notwithstanding he continued to distinguish himself by the ability with which he lectured.'

A prayer was found which he had written for himself to be used habitually before entering his dassroom, in which he asks light and knowledge of God, to enable him to impart them to others, ending with thèse words, " Shed out Thy Light upon Thy children through me, but may they never impute to me the light, the truth, or any other gifts which are solely Thine ; may they ever keep Thee in Sight as the One

^ Habitually de Condren looked to God for the words he should say or write for the benefit of others. Thus we find him writing to a certain M. de Silleri, who had asked him for spiritual instructions : "I hâve set myself to write several times. I hâve offered your intention to God, and told £Qm how bound I fed to help you, and hâve besought grâce to do so, very eamestly for several days, but so far He has not been pleased to vouchsafe me an3rthing to say to you. ' We had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead' (2 Cor. i. 9). I may well apply the Apostle's words to m3rself, for I hâve found nought in my own mind save a great void, and the sentence of death. . . I need not marvel that I can do nothing without Christ, since it is my duty to désire nothing save His Will, but I must humble m3r8elf because I cannot always find that strength I need in Him." — Letters, No. Ixxiv. p. 273, edit. Pin.

i6 PRIESTLY UFS ÏH FRANCE.

Only Pnndple of ail trath, and help me alvqrt lo aoknowledgeThy Light^andmjrownprofoimd daikness.^ There were certain rôles which de Condren made for himself in tiiis new phase of Ufe, one of whick was to watch carefuUy over his eyes^ and not kt them habitnalljr wander, and so fimn an luureoo^ lected habit of mind. On arriving at the door of Us lectore-room, he nsed to pause an instant in ejacalatory prayer, and then making the ngn of the Cross, he b^;an his work as in God's Sight He was on the watch for passing movements of self-satis&ctiony vanity or spéculative tendency as he taug^t, diligaitfy checking them ; and one spécial point in his selfexamination had référence to the inner spirit as weU as the outer way in which his lecture had been delivered Aheady de Condren had subjected his daily life to a carefully studied rule, in which the examination of conscience filled an important place. Takîng our Savioui's words — ^*'Without Me jre can do nothing" — as a guide, he examined himself as to whedier he had striven to fulfil every duty in Christ's Strength ; how far he had given good heed to the whispered inspirations of the Holy Spirit ; whether he had given way to his natural impulses, or if self-love had in anysthing prevailed over the Love dL God; whether friendship or complaisance had induced him to lose sight of his first duty to God ; whether he had zesisted God's

CHARLES DE GONDREN.

Holy W3I9 or been relazed and cold in devodon% or m his bighest aûn after a holy life ? AU thèse points were duly weighed» hk omissions confessed with co»tntion, and a ûresh dedication of his whole beûig lioade to. God He was wont, later on, to recommead tbose who aie striving aâer the hidden life to make a brief self^xamination three times a day, najnely, in the moming — ^looking forward to the duties of the coming houns, and back upon the iaults of the day past, so as to guaid against their renewal, and specially conseciating ail the little détails of life to God: — ^and at noon and evening reviewing the past in the same spirit with which Bishop Andrewes saysy " Evening is corne ; the evening of life is old âge."

He sought to lie down to sleep, makii^; an act of dying to the thîags of this life, and suirendering his body^ soûl and spirit to God during the season of helplessnessy uniting his own natural rest in intention vitb the Rest of God and His Sunts. His first waking act was tq be one of self-oblation ; — ^himself, ev^ £unilty aad action, offered absolutely in union with God's WilL Ail through life de Coadren looked upon tjie first thoughts in waking as a most important point oC self^vatchfuhiess.

^^Membeis of the Incarnate Word," (he wrote to a pri83t under bis guidance») '' and pledged to live in

i8 PRIES TL Y LIFE IN FRANCE.

Him Alone, we should begin that life daily, as we begin our material life anew each day on wàking. It is of His Grâce that we shake oflf the bonds of sleep, which is a kind of deathlike void, and begin to serve Him afresh ; and I believe that moment of waking to be a very important one, which gives the tone to our whole day. Beware of letting the natural indolence of your first awakening master you, or indeed any other temptation or passion : — ^we should cultivate the habit of waking up zealous for God's service, striving to fill our hearts with His Présence by the help of some holy thought, so that there may be no room for the world or the devil to enter in, or for our own evil propensities to coil around and hinder our work. While asking God to keep us in His Holy Hands at the beginning of the day, it is well to dedicate our waking to the Unchanging Watchfulness of God. * He that keepeth Israël shall neither slumber nor deep/ (Ps. cxxi.) Even as God has given us rest as an image of His Ëtemal Rest, so our wakefiil hours are an emblem of His Vigilance, and we should honour Him in both alike. . . . It is well too, on first waking, to worship the Word, Who accepted human life in the Incarnation. We should make an act of selfrenunciation, and oflfer ourselves to Him to whatever purpose He will use us ; putting aside ail that enslaves 118 to self or the créature, and seeking to enter into

CHARLES DE CONDREN. 19

His Blinda forsaking ail which He rejected, and striving to drink as deeply of His Spirit as we can."'

And again: ^'The soûl should wake to God as promptly as the body wakes to life — ^as soon as tfae material light gladdens our eyes, the Sun of Righteousness should enlighten our hearts. Sleep calms the mind, and prépares it for new b^^innings, but directly that sleep has passed away we are specially alive to ail manner of impressions, be they for good or evil. A holy thought faithfiilly grasped then will abide with us through the day's distractions ; but if we yield to evil thoughts in our first waking moments, the devil and self-love wiU conspire to disturb our dévotions and hinder us ail day long."

So carefuUy was de Condren's rule of life framed, that it prescribed that he should dress quickly, ûxing his thoughts the while on that fall of man which first led to the need of garments to cover him ; and bearing in mind that his cassock was the livery of God, an emblem of the " Coat without seam ; ^ a waming to enfold his soûl as closely in Christ as his body was enfolded by its vesture.

In like manner de Condren's devotional exercises

were minutely arranged. Long since he had made

it a rule to himself never to begin to pray, or

corné into God's Présence, without an act of con

' Lettres, boviiL

ab PRIESTL y LIFE m FRANCE.

trition. 0^ coorse, he went dafly to' Ma8% and as it bas been said, tiiat was his life, hk Heaven^ his AIL' He never wearied of repeating diat a good Communion implies the reign of God within ^ soiil; aad in later years, wben he had to teach his SfHii- Mial children how best to use this great aad predous Gifl, he always loved to dwell upon the désire our Dear Lord has that we should corne to Him in His own Blessed Sacramenti in order that we may be cme with Him — ^that we may dwell in Him, as well as He m iB ; — urging that men should commimicate, not for Aeir own souFs beneût alone, but for His Gloiy, and to satisfy His exceeding longing after us.' In tiie same way he was always anxious to prevent pécule testmg the fruitfiilness of their communions by their conscious delight or consolation therein, or even by more apparently substantial results. Such eamest désire for warmth of feding and tangible efifects has meure of self-love in it than the love <^ God, he used to say.

De Condren's rule was that when the bell rang for any meal, he made an act of self-oblation, asking that the food he todc might be taken for God's Gloiy, and thanking Him for it — so that the natural satisfaction of eating and drinking might be secondaiy to his Mastei's service. In society and seascms of récréation

■ Vie^ Abbé Pin, p. 71. ' Lettres, bxvi bouc. &c.

XmARLES DE COITDltSN.

one of hk strictest iules was never to qpeak Sl-of anj one, and as âur as might be to icnen ihe :£u(âts of others. Ânother mie guaided Um against too free intercotirse with the world and its foolîÀ tittle 'tattle, -4)Ut meanwhîle ail this secret vigilance did not make him stiff or constrained. His manners were open and attractive, so his contemporaiy biogiapher (the Père Amelote) says; his conversation was espedally bright and varied, as might be expected of one gifted with such a power of memoiy ; he was always cheerful» and the centre of dieerfulness to others, and his gentleness and considération won the hearts of aU who knew him.

When the appointed year of his Professorship ended, de Condren determined on spending that whîoh mzs to foUow in the strictest retirement and préparation for his ordination; and as a preliminaiy measure he renounced his position as eldest son (his brother was a soldier, as we find by an allusion in one of his letters),' signing a formai légal act to that effect, and only consenting to receive a small yearly allô wance from his father, a practical form of self-renunciation which touched the elder de Condren's heart deeply, and seemed to make him realise the intensity of his son's vocation more than he had yet donc. If he might not giveCharles money, at least he might give him 'Na boomiL

23 PRIESTL Y UFE IN FRANCS.

the books which, though not equally attractive to the old soldier, he knew to be his son's delight ; bat after a time even the costly library thus formed frequently underwent losses, and the books he loved de Condien often sold to relieve the poor. ^' It is better to let my intellectual craving fast than that the poor should lack bread," he would say.

The proposed year of solitude and préparation — a prolonged Retreat virtually — ^was spent in the country, and at length, September 17, 1614, the great désire of his Hfe was fulfilled, and de Condren received Priesf s Orders. This was immediately followed by a retreat of three weeks, with a spécial vîew to his First Célébration. Probably its results may be held as expressed in a letter wiitten some time later to a priest under similar circumstances.

"Take counsel with those about you," he says; "they will, I imagine, find more need to restrain and simplify your mind than to pour in anything fresh. God will fill it the more abundantly in proportion to the simple content with which you accept whatever it pleases Him to give you. Always begin your préparation by an act of purification as in the Présence of Jésus Christ (the One Sovereign Priest, and the Fountain Head of ail priestly intentions) firom sin, from self, and firom the world — the three things which are liable to usurp His place in oor

CHARLES DE CQNDREN. 23

heartSy and fiU them by excluding Him. After an act of humiliation, of contrition^ and of abnégation with respect to thèse three hindrances^ pray that He would Himself cleanse you. It was before the First Célébration that He washed His disciples' feet, and He told S. Peter that except He should wash him he would hâve no part in Him. We cannot be worthilj prepared for this Great Sacrifice unless He wash us in His Precious Blood, unless we spiritually cleanse ourselves therein. Then give yourself wholly to BBm, to offer up the Sacrifice with His Mind and Intention, in His Name and as His représentative. We should seek utterly to efi^e ourselves in this great act — to be merely members of Jésus Christ, ofiering what He offerSy and doing what He does, as though we ourselves were nothing. We can never sufficiently ignore ourselves in this Sacred Office, or say simply enough with Jésus, 'This is My Body.' Next, oflfer Jésus to God's Divine Majesty, as a sin-ofiering in honour of His Greatness; as a thanksgiving for ail His Blessings vouchsafed to His Chiu-ch and to ail création; as a satisfaction for ail ofifences against that Majesty; as an acknowledgment of the worship due to that Infinité Perfection, to the boimdless Love of God, and as an act of réparation for ail the insults men heap upon Him.

^Further, offer the Lord's Body as comprising the

Church's whole voice in piayer together with yow own : — J^sas stims up în Himsdf and is ail that we caa possibly désire or ask of Crod, and the best and ftdlest prayer that we can ofiGsr is tfaat Jésus ms^y be perfected in us and in others. In Him is ail our grâce, and in Him it will be fiilfilled withihe greatest perfection that we can ask or seeL In Him ail the holiest intentions both of the ereatore and the Creator are combined.

'' Bear in mind too that the Sacrifice which ycm offer is not merely the Sacrifice of the Son of God — it is aJso the Sacrifice of the Head and the Members, that is to say of the Perfect Redeemer, of Jésus Christ in His Church, which is His fiilness; for our Divine Head communicates His Priesthood to HisChurch, oflfering Himself with her, teaching her to oflfer heiself with Him. 'We in Him and He in us.' At the Altar you are a partaker, a member with Him and with the Blessed Virgin, with ail the Saints in Paradise, and ail the faithful yet militant on earth. Hence it beseems you to forget yourself in them, and to offer the Holy Sacrifice in, for, and with them." '

Prescribed routine required de Condren next 'to

retum to the Sorbonne, to take his Doctor's degree,

and during this sojoum in Paris he made himself

remarkable by his eamest preaching — taking (under

' Letters, No. Ixxîy.

CHARLES DE CONDREN.

obédience» for he alwajrs ahiank from cotniog fbiwaid ¥olimtarily) an Advent course or ^* Station " at Saint Nicholas du Chardonneret, the Lent Station at Saint Honoré, and the Octave of Corpus Christi at Saint Médard, and filling up his time — ^though indeed one would not imagine there could hâve been much to spare^— by going forth to evangelise and teach among the poor population of the suburbs.

When the Collegiate forms were ail fulûUed, de Condien, who had but one aim — the total dedication of his Uife to his Mastefs service — ^hastened to présent faimself before Monseigneur Hennequin, Bishop of Soissons, placing himself at his absolute disposition, and asking only to be employed in the humblest offices of the Church, wheresoever he could be of use. So little was this the usual tone of the young cleigy of those days, among whom too frequently prefennent and profitable office was the great object, that the Bishop received de Condren's déclarations as merdy a courteous way of asking for a bénéfice, and while giving him the réception due to his worldly position, expressed his regret that no cure of soûls suitable to the young priest's connexions and expectations was at his disposai Much distressed at being so misundecstood, de Condren endeavoured to explain that nothing was further fix>m his wishes than to hold any bénéfice whatever, and that ail he asked was to be usefiillybut

humbly employed. The good bishop was not a veiy enthusiastic person probably, and he conld not wake up to a perception of the young man's real meaning^ so the interview ended by de Condren's taking leave of Monseigneur Hennequin, considembly disappointed, but trusting his future to God's Providence, prepared to do whatever His Will might indicate. To his old tutor, M. le Masson, de Condren remarked that he had hoped to be allotted the post of curate in some countiy parish, where he would hâve worked heart and soûl, but he supposed he was unworthy of such a post — ^unfit as yet to do any real good to the soûls of other men; and he then adopted as his rule, and followed to the end of his life the conviction, " when there seems no opening for any new undertaking which one desires, one should remain quietly where one is, seeking to glorify God to the utmost in the position He assigns one for the time beîng, until it shall please Him to call one to some fresh work."

The resuit of this check to de Condren's ardour was that he spent another year at the Sorbonne, during which, in spite of almost continued ill-health, attended with much real suffering, he worked indefatigably both among the poor and in hospital and prison visiting, so that some of his friends said that practically he was the curate of several parishes instead of one only ! But while resolutely persevering in ail this extemal

CHARLES DE CONDREN.

woïky a conviction was day by day deq)ening in de Condren's heart, that his true vocation was an interior one^ and that it was in the Religions life that God meant to claim his service. While refusing no toil which was allotted to him, he treasured times of private study and méditation increasingly, and drank more and more deeply of Patristic theology and Holy Writ, which last he habitoally studied on his knees. Naturally too, he firequented religions houses, pondering within himself as to what Order God would hâve him join. His love of poverty made him seriously think of joining the Franciscans, while the life of prayer and silence led by the Carthusians attracted his fervent spirît with powerful influence. He was in the habit of frequenting their house in Paris, and at times his désire to enter that community became veiy urgent, and many a day he kndt before the Blessed Sacrament oflering himself to God as a follower of S. Bruno if such was His Holy Will. But somehow the answer to his fervent prayers did not lead liim on în this direction — and a strong conviction was impressed on de Condren's mind that it was not in either of thèse Orders that God required His service. With chaiacteristic humility, he believed this to be because he was unworthy of them, and while giving up any choice in the matter, he continued to ofler himself before God for any community He might assign.

PRIESTLT LIPE JN I^AiœE.

'^Theie axe four conditions on which onè's mental atlitiide must be shaped with référence 'to the woïk^tf one's Kfe," he used to «7: — i. To do ail thingB idiatsoever for the love Of God ; 2. To be content 'to do nothing at ail, if it is His Will ; 3. To bear eveiy^ thing for Him ; 4. To be content to hâve nothing to bear if He is pleased to withhold the Cross for a time."

No wonder if those who watched him took a difiEu*ent view from his own of de Condren's worth and powers. An officiai personage came to ask the vénérable Head of the Sorbonne, André Dttval, to send de Condren as confessor to a certain convent, impljring that it was not nec^saiy to sélect any one very spécial for a parcel of women — ^if a priest could hear thdr confessions and give them absolution, no more was needed ! ' But the old Doctor tumed sharply upon his visitor, and assured him that M. de Condren was worthy of a cardinales hat, and that no ministry could be found in the Church for which his mental capacity and Personal holiness would not amply fit him. Nor was this estimate of the young priesfs worth confined to those who immediately surrounded him. While he was thus labouring and praying, believing in >his

< Eten tiiis was not necessarily what ereiy priest eooki do 4X that period ; a French Bidiop a few years laîer dedared sonrow^ fally that the greater number of priests in his diocèse did not even know the formula of absolution 1

eSAXLBS DE CONBRBN.

bmnility that it was because of his own unwortMness that as yet he could not see plainly whither God would hâve him go, his vocation was being made out ixa him elsewhere. Père de Bérulle, Founder of the Omtory ia Fiance, had heard of de Condren, had watched him, and was deeply impressed by him, and believing that such a man would do infinité service for God in the Community he was founding, was not only praying himself, but had asked the prayers of a gireat number of pious people, both Religions and in the world, on behalf of his désire, Le that if it was indeed, as he believed, God's Will, de Condren might be led to the Oratory. For three years Père de Bérulle had been praying thus, when, as though in answer to his prayers, de Condren being pressed within himself by an urgent désire to corne to some definite knowledge as to his vocation, it came into his mind that he would go into retreat at the Oratory, and if possible obtain the privilège of the Père de BéruUe's hdp during it as his spiritual guide.

No need to say that this was thankfully afibrded, and during the retreat the Father's impressions were daily deepened. It was a season of severe trial at first to de Condren. Dr3mess and darkness, weariness, interior désolation, a seeming impossibility of seeing his Dear Lord — ail thèse and other searching spiritual trials, such as it pleases God sometimes to lay upon

His chosen servants, came upon the young priest He found a tender and experienced dîrector in de Bérulle, and was able himself to say at the most trying moment of the storm : " It îs well — ^I need not to wake my Saviour — enough that I know. Him to be with us in the ship — I know that He shares eveiy péril — and after ail, while He seems to sleep, I know that His Loving Heart wakes for me."

At the end of a week the darkness passed away. Charles de Condren knelt peaceful, satisfied, in fîill feith before the altar, his prayers answered, his vocation decided. God had spoken within His servant's heart, and he had no longer any doubt as to whither he was called.

" Be it unto me according to Thy Word," was his answer, and on June 17, 161 7, de Condren entered upon his noviciate, taking the habit of the Congrégation of the Oratory on the 2Sth November following.'

' ^jrbiveft. xk de TOratoire, m. 626^

s. PHIUP NERI AND DE BÊRULLE. 31