Part seven', Chapter 1I: Ecclesiastical Approbations

Ecclesiastical Approbations

THE Holy Ghost has inspired and approved this devotion by specific ecclesiastical approbations. Pope Julius I1,(1) memorable for his particular devotion to Our Lady of Loretto, promulgated three invocations to be recited at the sound of the Angelus-bell, the second being in honor of the bent of Mary.

"0 most glorious Queen of Mercy, I salute thy virginal Heart, whose most perfect purity was never stained by sin." Pope Clement X (2) solemnly authorized devotion to the admirable Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary in six formal bulls granted to the Congregation of Jesus and Mary in 1674. The Pontiff dedicated every church and chapel of the Congregation to the Holy Heart of Jesus and Mary and also gave permission to institute Confraternities or Societies under the same name with special indulgences for the members.

Cardinal Louis de Vendôme, (3) legate of His Holiness Clement IX in Paris gave his approbation to the devotion to the Holy Heart on two separate occasions. Both acts of the Legate were confirmed by the Apostolic See and by Pope Clement IX.

Cardinal Peter de Bérulle,(4) Founder of the French Oratorians, has left us a wonderful treatise, Grandeurs of Christ, in which I have found deeply inspired passages in praise of the admirable Heart of the Mother of our Saviour. In one paragraph the saintly Cardinal speaks thus:

" . . . The state of the Mother of God gives Mary by nature and by (1). Julius11 was supreme pontiff from 1503-13. (2). Clément X, elected pope at the age of 80, sat on the pontifical throne from 1670 to 1676. (3). Cardinal Louis de Vendôme (1612-69) was appointed legate a latere to France by Clément IX. He died at Aix-la- ChapelIe in 1669. (4). Cardinal Peter de Bérulle (1575-1629) founded the Oratory of Jesus in 1611. The French Congregation of the Oratory was modeled on the one formed a few years before by St. Philip Néri at Rome. St. John Eudes was a member of the French Oratory from 1623 to 1643 when he left to found the Congregation of Jesus and Mary.

grace the privilege to possess Jesus within herself and to possess the noblest part of Christ's being; to possess the spirit, the heart and the life of Christ so intimately that He is the spirit of her spirit , the heart of her heart, and the life of her life. 0 excess! 0 abyss! 0 excess of grandeurs! 0 abyss of marvels! 0 Mary, thou dost give life to Jesus Christ, and thou dost receive the life of Jesus Christ. Thou dost give life to Jesus, animating the heart and spirit of Jesus by thy heart and spirit. Thou dost receive from the heart and the body of Jesus living and dwelling in thee, life in thy heart and body and spirit together:' Another of Cardinal de Bérulle's books entitled Oeuvres de Dévotion contains these very significant words on the mystery of the Incarnation.

« ... It is the mystery of the two noblest and most closely united Hearts that ever existed i n heaven and on earth. When Jesus Christ dwelt in Mary and was part of her being, the Heart of Jesus was very close to the Heart of Mary. When Mary was living in union with Jesus, He was her all, and the Heart of Mary is very near the Heart of Jesus and influenced her life. At that moment Jesus and Mary were but one living person. The Heart of the one did not live nor beat but by the Heart of the other. . . »

"0 Heart of Jesus living in Mary and by Mary! 0 Heart of Mary living in Jesus and for Jesus! 0 sweet union of these two Hearts! Blessed be the God of love Who united them together! May He unite our hearts to these two Hearts, and may He make these Hearts live in unity in the honor of the sacred unity which exists in the three divine Persons." Here are other words from this holy Cardinal on the same subject:

"We should always seek the Son of God, and we should always find Him; for he who seeks Christ will find Christ: Qui quaeret invenit. There are three dwelling-places in which to seek Him. First i s the bosom of the Eternal Father! Oh! what an august abode! Oh! what a celestial repose! The second dwelling is His sacred humanity. The third is the Heart and the chaste womb of the Blessed Virgin." In addition to the foregoing, no less than fifteen archbishops and bishops have authorized the devotion, the office and the celebration of the special feast in honor of the Most Admirable Heart of the Mother of God.

These granting formal approbation are: Archbishop Peter d'Hardivilliers of Bourges, Archbishop Francis Harlay de Champvalon of Rouen, Bishop Claude de la Madeleine de Ragny of Amon, Bishop Simon Le Gras(5) of Soissons, Bishop Henry de Baradat of Noyon, Bishop Leonor (5). Bishop Le Gras was a relative of Mademoiselle Le Gras, foundress of the Daughters of Charity.

Goyon de Matignon of Coutances, Bishop James du Perron of Évreux, Bishop Henry de Maupas of Puy, who endorsed the devotion in his dual capacity of Bishop and Doctor of Theology, Bishop Andrew du Saussay of Tool, also Prince of the Holy Roman Empire and Royal Councillor Bishop Francis de la Pallu of Heliopolis and Bishop Ignatius Cotolendi of Metellopolis, both Vicars Apostolic of China and Indo-China, where Bishop Cotolendi died in 1662, Bishop Francis de Nesmond of Bayeux and finally Bishop Francis de Montmorency-Laval, Bishop of Petraea and Vicar Apostolic of the whole of Canada, known as New France.

Bishop Laval's approbation reads as follows:

"Francis, by the grace of God and of the Apostolic See, Bishop of Petraca, Vicar Apostolic of the whole of Canada, called New France. The Holy Ghost has taught by Sacred Scripture and by the mouth of the Fathers the excellence of the Holy Heart of His worthy Spouse, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and has by the same means exhorted all the faithful to have a particular devotion and veneration for her Heart. This book,(6) written to enkindle in the hearts of its readers the devotion to the admirable Heart and the Holy Name of Mary, has no need of our approbation, since it is in perfect conformity with the designs and intentions of the Holy Ghost. Hence it is not our will to grant approval when writing this, but rather to give public testimony of the particular esteem we feel after having read i t carefully and to express the desire that this devotion be profoundly engraved within the hearts of all Christians. May the most lovable Heart of the Mother of God, which is all aflame with love for His Divine Majesty, and with charity towards mankind, together with her most august Name, be praised and honored by all men. May the Feasts, with the Offices and Masses contained in this book, be celebrated with fitting solemnity and devotion. This is the opinion that we hold of die book which we deem most worthy of being published. In witness thereof we have this testimony written by our own hand and sealed with our coat of arms:' Paris, this 23rd day of December 1662.

Francis, Bishop of Petraea Furthermore, seven esteemed Doctors of the Sorbonne have granted theological approbation to the devotion to the Admirable Heart of Mary in a joint submission.

"All the true children of the most holy Mother of God should be con (6). This book is Dévotion au très saint Coeur de la bienheureuse Vierge Marie written and published by St. John Eudes in 1648. The Saint had given a complimentary copy to his personal friend, Bishop Laval.

vinced that her most holy Heart was never stained with any kind of sin; that it was always full of divine grace and animated, possessed and guided by the Holy Ghost; that it never existed for a moment without loving God; that its love for the Almighty exceeded that of all the hearts of men and angels; that the Heart of Mary was perpetually filled with charity, zeal and vigilance for our salvation as well as with mercy and compassion for our miseries; that it was inebriated a hundred-fold with the gall and myrrh and transpierced with a thousand arrows of sorrow because of us. We have been most willingly led to grant our approbation to this book entitled Dévotion am très saint Coeur de la bienheureuse Vierge Marie containing a proper Office and Mass in honor of her Heart, and the other prayers and exercises of devotion on the subject, which we the undersigned, Doctors of the Faculty of Sacred Theology in Paris, have read and in which we have found nothing that is not in conformity with Holy Scripture, the teaching of the Church and of the Fathers, and consider it capable of exciting those who read it to honor and imitate the most holy and most worthy Heart of Mary.

Given at Paris, this 31st day of January 1661. M. Grandin

C. Gobinet Anthony Raguier de Pousse J. Desgardiers de Parlages Saussoy Blouet de Than L’Amy 206-