The adventures of Saint Isaac JoguesThe Feast of the North American Martyrs is September 26. This column has already made mention of the upcoming pilgrimage in honor of these saints, but what of their lives?
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
By Brother Andre Marie
The Feast of the North American Martyrs is September 26. This column has already made mention of the upcoming pilgrimage in honor of these saints, but what of their lives? The following is a brief tribute to two of the martyrs, written in gratitude to the heroic men who offered the Most Holy Trinity “the first fruits of the Faith in the vast regions of North America” (Oration from the Roman Missal).
The North American Martyrs are collectively referred to as “Saint Isaac Jogues and Companions.” Of the eight, Saints Isaac Jogues, René Goupil, and John de LaLande were martyred on what is now the U.S. side of the Canadian border. Their bloody witness was given in New York, at a place called Auriesville, but known then as the village of Ossernenon. The rest of the martyrs suffered north of the border in Canada, where they are all collectively known — even those who died in New York — as the “Canadian Martyrs.” (The Canadians honor their patrons at “the Martyrs Shrine” in Midland, Ontario.)
For their efforts to convert America, the members of this martyr-band perfectly embody the virtue of zeal, “charity in action,” as that virtue is often called. All those currently interested in the conversion of America, who wish the Redemption of Christ’s Blood efficaciously applied to their fellow Americans, can take them as a model. The conviction that the Redemption won by Christ must be accepted in Faith is what brought Saint Isaac and his companions from Old France to the harshness of New France to evangelize the savages. (Sorry, that un-PC word is what the Jesuits used!)
Saint René Goupil
A companion of the intrepid Father Jogues, René Goupil, was the first of the eight to be martyred — and that, for tracing the Sign of the Cross on an Iroquois child’s forehead. A tomahawk to his head, the missionary went to Our Lord on the Feast of Saint Michael, September 29, 1642. Though not a religious, René Goupil had the privilege of being a donné, a lay helper who worked in the Jesuits missions. Earlier in his life, he tried to be a Jesuit religious, but had to leave the novitiate for health reasons. And now, as a donné, the call of a religious vocation was rekindled in him; he wanted to be a professed Jesuit Brother. As a Superior in the missions, Saint Isaac Jogues had the faculty to receive the vows of someone entering the Jesuit Order. So, while the two were in a canoe, captives of the Iroquois and bound for what they believed to be certain death, Saint Isaac Jogues heard the vows of René Goupil. The latter had the Jesuit formula for profession of vows completely memorized, so no book was necessary.
Having professed his vows, Saint René was no longer a donné when he was martyred, but a Religious Brother of the Society of Jesus.
The Feast of the North American Martyrs is September 26. This column has already made mention of the upcoming pilgrimage in honor of these saints, but what of their lives? The following is a brief tribute to two of the martyrs, written in gratitude to the heroic men who offered the Most Holy Trinity “the first fruits of the Faith in the vast regions of North America” (Oration from the Roman Missal).
The North American Martyrs are collectively referred to as “Saint Isaac Jogues and Companions.” Of the eight, Saints Isaac Jogues, René Goupil, and John de LaLande were martyred on what is now the U.S. side of the Canadian border. Their bloody witness was given in New York, at a place called Auriesville, but known then as the village of Ossernenon. The rest of the martyrs suffered north of the border in Canada, where they are all collectively known — even those who died in New York — as the “Canadian Martyrs.” (The Canadians honor their patrons at “the Martyrs Shrine” in Midland, Ontario.)
For their efforts to convert America, the members of this martyr-band perfectly embody the virtue of zeal, “charity in action,” as that virtue is often called. All those currently interested in the conversion of America, who wish the Redemption of Christ’s Blood efficaciously applied to their fellow Americans, can take them as a model. The conviction that the Redemption won by Christ must be accepted in Faith is what brought Saint Isaac and his companions from Old France to the harshness of New France to evangelize the savages. (Sorry, that un-PC word is what the Jesuits used!)
Saint René Goupil
A companion of the intrepid Father Jogues, René Goupil, was the first of the eight to be martyred — and that, for tracing the Sign of the Cross on an Iroquois child’s forehead. A tomahawk to his head, the missionary went to Our Lord on the Feast of Saint Michael, September 29, 1642. Though not a religious, René Goupil had the privilege of being a donné, a lay helper who worked in the Jesuits missions. Earlier in his life, he tried to be a Jesuit religious, but had to leave the novitiate for health reasons. And now, as a donné, the call of a religious vocation was rekindled in him; he wanted to be a professed Jesuit Brother. As a Superior in the missions, Saint Isaac Jogues had the faculty to receive the vows of someone entering the Jesuit Order. So, while the two were in a canoe, captives of the Iroquois and bound for what they believed to be certain death, Saint Isaac Jogues heard the vows of René Goupil. The latter had the Jesuit formula for profession of vows completely memorized, so no book was necessary.
Having professed his vows, Saint René was no longer a donné when he was martyred, but a Religious Brother of the Society of Jesus.
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1 comment:
I suppose one and all should browse on it.
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