On the Few Lovers of the Cross of Jesus: [I]

[Weedy]

On the Few Lovers of the Cross of Jesus: [I]

Jesus has many who love His Kingdom in Heaven, but few who bear
His Cross (Luke 14:27). He has many who desire comfort, but few who
desire suffering. He finds many to share His feast, but few His
fasting. All desire to rejoice with Him, but few are willing to suffer
for His sake. Many follow Jesus to the Breaking of Bread, but few to
the drinking of the Cup of His Passion. Many admire His miracles, but
few follow Him in the humiliation of His Cross. Many love Jesus as
long as no hardship touches them. Many praise and bless Him, as long
as they are receiving any comfort from Him. But if Jesus withdraw
Himself, they fall to complaining and utter dejection.
--Thomas à Kempis --Imitation of Christ Bk 2 Ch 11

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9 September – Blessed Pierre Bonhomme

Priest and Founder of the Sisters of Our Lady of Calvary of Gramat,
Apostle of the poor and the handicapped, Preacher, Evangelizer,
Diocesan Missionary. Born on 4 July 1803 in Gramat, Lot, France and
died on 9 September 1861 at Gramat, Lot, France, aged 58. Patronages –
Sisters of Our Lady of Calvary of Gramat, Preachers.

Pierre Bonhomme (1803-1861), Founder of the Congregation of the
Sisters of Our Lady of Calvary. He was born on 4 July 1803 in Gramat,
France. As a child, Pierre showed an inclination for study, a deep
piety and generosity to his parents and sister. He felt called to be a
priest from an early age and was attracted to a life of simplicity and
poverty.

He completed his studies at the Royal College and entered the major
seminary of Cahors in November 1818. On 23 December 1827 he was
Ordained a Priest. From that time, he demonstrated an extraordinary
ability to help others, both spiritually and materially. While still a
Deacon, he opened an elementary and middle school for boys. In 1831 he
opened a school to prepare students for the major seminary. He also
founded the spiritual group “Children of Mary” for young girls in
Gramat, convinced of the need to give youth both human and spiritual
guidance when there was nothing else of the kind for them in the area.

Shortly after his appointment as Parish Priest of Gramat, Fr Bonhomme
came into contact with the wretchedness and neglect suffered by so
many of the poor, elderly and sick. He longed to help them and was
undaunted by the scarcity of the available means. He urged “his young
people” to visit them, bringing material aid and spiritual comfort. A
little later, Fr Bonhomme received permission to establish a home for
the needy. He understood that to run this charitable institution, a
religious congregation was indispensable and that its members must be
women who would give all of themselves for the good of the poor and
the suffering. He believed that the young members of the “Daughters of
Mary,” so generous in the gift of themselves and in love for God,
might have this vocation. It was this that inspired Fr Bonhomme to
found the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Calvary in
Gramat. They were dedicated to educating children and to providing
assistance to the poor, sick, elderly, deaf-mutes and the seriously
mentally and physically disabled.

Hortense and Adèle Pradel and Cora and Mathilde Roussot, all of whom
lived in Gramat, became the first members. They felt called to be
consecrated to God in His service and began their formation under Fr
Bonhomme and at several religious institutes in Cahors.

Fr Bonhomme continued his parish activity and was known for the many
missions he preached in nearby Lot and Tarn-et-Garonne. He acquired a
reputation as a gifted preacher, converting many and attracting other
young women to his newly-founded congregation. Scorching heat and
bitter cold, did not deter him from preaching with the same zeal to
save souls. He had a special devotion to Our Lady of Rocamadour, in
Gramat and through her, sought the strength and inspiration he needed.
On one occasion, while preaching a retreat, he completely lost his
voice. It was through prayer to Our Lady of Rocamadour that he
received a miraculous cure, recovered his voice and was able to go on
speaking.

In 1836, Fr Bonhomme made a brief retreat in the Trappist monastery of
Mortagne, feeling the need to discern God’s will for him in deeper
prayer and reflection. He felt a growing desire to become a Carmelite
and to found a Carmelite community in Gramat. However, the Bishop of
Cahors did not accept this proposal and encouraged him to continue his
missionary activities and to collaborate with the group of
newly-established Diocesan Missionaries in Rocamadour. Fr Bonhomme
obeyed and threw himself into this new project with all his energy and
enthusiasm.

In 1848, during a mission in Lot, Fr Bonhomme was once again unable to
speak but this time, he was obliged to give up preaching and a disease
of the larynx was diagnosed. The Priest did not despair; he trusted in
God’s providence and believed that this would afford him the
opportunity to dedicate himself to the flourishing congregation he had
founded; it already had 61 religious members in various communities in
the rural parishes who were dedicated to educating children and caring
for the sick. In 1844, Fr Bonhomme sent a community to serve a
psychiatric hospital in Leyme and paid frequent visits to “his
daughters” there to encourage them in their difficult mission. In
1856, he opened another community in Paris, dedicated to serving
“mentally ill, convalescent poor” persons.

His own disability, due to the disease that deprived him of his voice,
made him particularly sensitive to the disabled, especially
deaf-mutes. In 1854 he opened a school for deaf-mute children in
Mayrinhac-Lentour, Lot and in 1856 he sent sisters to Paris to found a
home for deaf-mutes.

https://anastpaul.com/2020/09/09/


“We must speak to them
with our hands, by giving,
before we try to speak to them
with our lips.”

“To love God as He ought to be loved,
we must be detached from all temporal love.
We must love nothing but Him,
or if we love anything else,
we must love it, only for His sake.”

“To do the will of God,
man must despise his own;
the more he dies to himself,
the more he will live to God.”
--St Peter Claver (1581-1654) “Slave of the slaves”


Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be
heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him….James
2:5

REFLECTION – “This was how we spoke to them, not with words but with
our hands and our actions. And in fact, convinced as they were that
they had been brought here to be eaten, any other language would have
proved utterly useless. Then we sat, or rather knelt, beside them and
bathed their faces and bodies.”…St Peter Claver SJ (1581-1654) “Slave
of the Slaves”

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We must always pray, and not faint.--Luke 18:1

14. The whole aim of whoever intends to give himself to prayer ought
to be to labor, to resolve, to dispose himself, with all possible
diligence, to conform his will to that of God. For in this consists
all the highest perfection that can be acquired in the spiritual way.
--St. Teresa

It was the principal object of all the prayers of this Saint, to
conform herself in everything to the Divine Will. This also was the
end that St. Bernard fixed for himself at the beginning of his prayer,
when he encouraged himself to make it, as we read in his Life, by the
hope of knowing and doing the will of God. The same thing is related
of St. Vincent de Paul, and of many other servants of God.

( "A Year with the Saints". September: Prayer)