The Life of the Venerable Mother Mary of the IncarnationAnonymous
Religion
The Life of the Venerable Mother Mary of the Incarnation
Anonymous
Canada -- History -- To 1763 (New France); Indians of North America; Marie de l'Incarnation, mère, 1599-1672
hearing the great summons to eternity, she felt inspired to vow that if
her life were spared, she would build a church in Canada in honour of St.
Joseph, and devote herself and her wealth, under his patronage, to the
service of young Indian females. No sooner had she made the promise than
she fell into a sweet refreshing sleep, from which she awoke in restored
health. The amazement of the physicians was something wonderful. "What
has become of your illness, Madam?" they asked. "It seems to have gone to
Canada." Greatly surprised at the remark, she smilingly answered, "Yes,
sir, as you say, it is gone to Canada."
Thus miraculously snatched from the arms of death, she thought only of
fulfilling her vow as quickly as possible, but nearly four years were to
pass before she could realize her pious wishes. As might have been
expected, the enemy of all good set every engine at work to frustrate the
design. Her father insisted that she should marry again, and after
exhausting arguments and entreaties, he had recourse to threats,
declaring that he would disinherit her if she persevered in opposing his
washes, and that if she persisted in going to Canada, it would cost him
his life. As time passed, obstacles seemed only to multiply, and her
perplexity in consequence to increase, but before matters had finally
come to a crisis, it pleased God to call her father out of life after a
severe but short illness. This event, in removing one difficulty, created
another. Some of her relatives who had long had designs on her property,
eagerly seized the opportunity of securing the prize. With this object,
they declared her incompetent to manage her own affairs, in consequence
of her extravagance, as they termed her liberality to the poor and to the
Church. They had recourse to law proceedings to prove the statement, and
actually managed to procure a verdict in their favour. Just when her case
seemed hopeless, she was extricated from the difficulty by following the
advice of a kind friend, Monsieur de Bernières. At his suggestion she
appealed to the Parliament of Rouen, and obtained a reversal of the first
decision, with a full recognition of her rights. This great victory she
attributed to the intercession of St. Joseph, in whose hands she had
placed her cause, at the same time renewing her vow to build a church in
Canada under his invocation, and devote her remaining life to the service
of the Indians.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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