Marie de l'Incarnation: Life, Quotes, Prayers

Marie de l'Incarnation, considered to be "the mother of the Canadian Church", is a French Catholic mystic of the 17th century. She was also a missionary as she founded the Ursuline convent of New France and the first convent dedicated to female education in North America. Marie de l'Incarnation was canonized by Pope Francis on April 3, 2014.

Biography of Marie Guyart

Marie de l'Incarnation, born Marie Guyart, was born on October 28, 1599, in Tours. She came from a family of eight children, where the Catholic faith held a great place. She received her first mystical grace at the age of seven. She had a vision which she recounted in 1653: "In my sleep, it seemed to me that I was in the courtyard of a rural school, with one of my companions... Having my eyes raised towards heaven, I saw it open and Our Lord... come out from it and through the air come to me who, seeing Him, cried out to my companion: 'Ah! There is Our Lord! He is coming to me!' [...] My heart felt all ablaze with His love. I began to extend my arms to embrace Him. Then, He, the fairest of all the children of men, with a face full of a sweetness and an indescribable attractiveness, embracing me and kissing me lovingly, said to me: 'Do you want to be mine?' I answered Him: 'Yes' — Then, having heard my consent, we saw Him ascend back to heaven*".

It was from that day that she decided to consecrate her life to the Lord, in one way or another. At fourteen, she asked her parents to enter the convent of the Benedictines of Beaumont. Indeed, she felt drawn to the cloistered life and wished to spend her life in prayer.

Unfortunately, her parents did not grant this request and encouraged her to marry. At the age of seventeen, Marie married the master silk worker, Claude Martin. The latter died just six months after the birth of their first child and two years after their marriage, leaving her a widow and responsible for a small workshop, on the brink of bankruptcy. Marie found herself with assets to liquidate, debts to handle, and an infant, named Claude, to raise. She returned to her parents who told her to remarry in order to solve her material problems. This time, she did not listen to them, the call of the Lord was stronger: she wanted to withdraw into the solitude and prayer of a convent.

On March 24, 1620, Marie Guyart lived a mystical experience, her "conversion", this means that Christ appeared to her and showed her her sins so that she might repent of them. The Savior entered her heart never to leave again. She then ran to confess and felt transformed. She was determined to live a life as a recluse.

It was then that her sister Claude, married to Paul Buisson, a merchant, invited her in 1621 to come live with them, with her son. Not being able to abandon her child so young, she accepted their offer, while deciding to lead a life of abnegation and servitude. She helped her brother-in-law greatly in managing his business. She even ended up becoming its director in 1625. That same year, Marie Guyart was touched again by a mystical grace by uniting with Jesus-Christ. Although she still could not enter religious life, she took vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience.

Finally, the day she had dreamed of for several years arrived: on January 25, 1631, Marie Guyart left her family, entrusted her son to her sister Claude, and entered the convent of the Ursulines of Tours. She then became Marie de l'Incarnation from 1633 after having pronounced her vows.

One night, she saw an unknown country in a dream. She became interested in it and undertook to read the Relations of the Jesuits. She then discovered a country: Canada. Marie de l'Incarnation then dreamed of becoming a missionary in this distant country. One day she met a rich, very pious woman, Marie-Madeleine de Chauvigny de La Petrie, and everything accelerated. The latter granted the religious sister the necessary funds to found a monastery in Canada. Marie de l'Incarnation left France in 1639 with Mother Marie Savonnières de Saint-Joseph and Mother Cécile de Sainte-Croix, Madame de La Peltrie, Charlotte Barré, and a servant, in order to found a monastery in Quebec. They arrived on August 1, at the same time as hospital sisters who had come to found a Hôtel-Dieu.

The Ursulines settled near the public square in the lower town of Quebec. They attempted to evangelize and assimilate young indigenous girls but had no success. They then took care of the instruction of the young French girls of the colony.

On November 21, 1642, the Ursulines moved to a monastery in the upper town. Unfortunately, it was destroyed in a fire on December 30, 1650. Fortunately, the religious sisters managed to take refuge in time at the home of Madame de La Petrie, who lived nearby. Marie de l'Incarnation and her community then worked on the reconstruction and development of the monastery. The Ursulines had the joy of welcoming the first Canadian woman to the monastery in 1660: Anne Bourdon who pronounced her vows.

Marie de l'Incarnation, although cloistered in her convent, worked extensively for the colony. She faithfully recounted everything that happened there in her many letters sent to her son. She indeed wrote a lot during her life and especially during her mission: letters, relations and spiritual notes, three indigenous dictionaries (French-Algonquin, Algonquin-French, and Iroquois) and an Iroquois catechism. It was her son who published her writings in 1677, Life and in 1681, Collection of Letters.

Marie de l'Incarnation passed away on April 30, 1672, at the age of 72, in Quebec. She was buried in the monastery of the Ursulines of Quebec. Mother Marie de l'Incarnation was declared Venerable on July 19, 1911 by [Pope Pius X], then beatified on June 20, 1980 by Pope Saint John Paul II and finally canonized by Pope Francis on April 3, 2014. **She is celebrated by the Church on April 30.

Three Quotes from Saint Marie de l'Incarnation

"God never abandons those who treat Him as a friend and prefer Him to all things and to themselves."

"May the Life and Love of Jesus always be your strength and your all."

"Retreat is sweet and one never treats with God better than in silence."

Two Beautiful Prayers from Saint Marie de l'Incarnation

Prayer to Renew One's Trust in God

"Lord, you who know us, you have placed us on a road where nothing is required except the decision to walk. Through your Love we burn with the desire to enter into the perpetual movement of offering of God Himself. You are our confidence which, even in our weaknesses, is sure of the welcome in the Father's house. You are our faith which recognizes the Father as author of our life, the Son as savior of our life, the Spirit as breath of our life. You, who are all gentleness, you are continually the visible sign of the love of God. We believe that our death will be a passage towards true life. So be it."

Prayer of Abandonment to Jesus by Mother Marie de l'Incarnation

"My sweet Love, my adorable delights, do you take pleasure in my languor? Do you not know that my desire is genuine? Yes, you know it, for my heart is laid bare in your presence near the altar of your Sacred Heart. May I therefore be entirely yours as you are entirely mine. Sacred altar, may the sacrifice be made upon you! O adorable blazing fire, make her burn who wants to live only in your flames! Would it be possible to see myself so close to you and to be so applied upon an altar of fire, without being consumed by love! O my sweet Love, I am united to you and to your enflamed heart! I live and I die all together: I live because one cannot be united to you without living your life: O admirable life! And I die, because this union is also a death which ends all that is not you; thus living and dying, I am not my own, but yours, O my dear all, O my Love, the unique desire of my soul! So be it."

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