Si sollicitus est ad opus Dei, ad oboedientiam, ad opprobria (LVIII:1)
CHAPTER LVIII. Of the Discipline of receiving Brethren into Religion Continued from 11 Apr. Let a senior, one who is skilled in gaining souls, be...
A Torch Lifted High
A Translation and a Commentary In July 2011 I translated this extraordinary page from the writings of Catherine de Bar, Mother Mectilde du Saint-Sacrement (1614-1698),...
Obœdiens usque ad mortem (VII:7)
31 Jan. 1 June. 1 Oct. The third degree of humility is, that a man for the love of God submit himself to his superior...
Scrutans corda et renes Deus (VII:2)
27 Jan. 28 May. 27 Sept. Let him consider that he is always beheld from heaven by God, and that his actions are everywhere seen...
The grace of the mystery is not past
Mother Mectilde de Bar (1614-1698) gave this Chapter conference on 17 December 1671. I share it for those who may be looking for a text...
One must burn with love
In her conference for the Vigil of Christmas 1694, Mother Mectilde de Bar emphasizes that the Incarnation is God’s gratuitous expression of love for each...
Of the Appointment of the Abbot (III)
22 Dec. Let him keep his own frailty ever before his eyes, and remember that the bruised reed must not be broken. And by this...
Of the Discipline of Receiving Brethren into Religion (LVIII:1)
CHAPTER LVIII. Of the Discipline of receiving Brethren into Religion 11 Apr. 11 Aug. 11 Dec. To him that newly cometh to change his life,...
The third degree of humility
31 Jan. 1 June. 1 Oct. The third degree of humility is, that a man for the love of God submit himself to his superior...
The first degree of humility (IV)
29 Jan. 30 May. 29 Sept. Let us be on our guard, then, against evil desires, since death hath its seat close to the entrance...
The first degree of humility (VII:2)
27 Jan. 28 May. 27 Sept. Let him consider that he is always beheld from heaven by God, and that his actions are everywhere seen...
In the School of the Host
Let all the hard and rugged paths by which we walk towards God be set before him. (Rule of Saint Benedict, Chapter LVIII. Of the...
Love and Confidence in the Heart of Mary
For today’s feast of the Most Pure Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary, I offer this translation of a text of Mother Mectilde de Bar....
Trials, Humiliation, and Reparation
Humiliation Mother Mectilde de Bar was fond of repeating to her daughters that, “a victim of the Holy Sacrament [that is, one entirely offered and...
The secret and admirable way of silence
In this passage from a letter of 1678 addressed to a Religious of the Monastery of Toul, Mother Mectilde shows herself a teacher of interior...
Fear nothing
Mother Mectilde de Bar to the Community of Toul, 1678 (Part II) If you have something hidden deep down inside you, God knows it, and...
Cum transieris per aquas, tecum ero
When Thou Passest through the Waters Saint Maurus, together with Saint Placid, is honoured as one of the first disciples of our father Saint Benedict....
Accedite ad eum et illuminamini
Several years ago I translated this splendid text of Mother Mectilde de Bar entitled “On the Solemnity of Thursday.” In it, Mother Mectilde pours out...
Tunc dixit: Ecce venio
CHAPTER XXXIII. Whether Monks Ought to Have Anything of Their Own 11 Mar. 11 July. 10 Nov. The vice of private ownership is above all...
Abandonment and the Grace of Pentecost
In this conference, Mother Mectilde instructs us on the feast and grace of Pentecost. I first translated this text in 2011. God’s Gift to Us...