By / par Christian Tessier
| In her article on the Canonization of Brother André – Loss of its meaning, Josée Boileau describes André Bessette’s accession to religious life in the following fashion: “His life as an uneducated orphan, who had to fend early for himself in order to survive, going from the fiber mills of New-England to a refuge in a religious congregation”. The use of the word «refuge» is controversial: was religious life a true vocation for André Bessette or was he motivated only by the will to survive? | Dans son article sur la Canonisation du Frère André – Perte de Sens, Josée Boileau présente l’engagement religieux d’André Bessette de la façon suivante: «Sa vie d’orphelin sans instruction, qui eut tôt à se débrouiller pour survivre, passant des filatures de la Nouvelle-Angleterre au refuge dans une congrégation religieuse». L’emploi du mot «refuge» donne lieu à une controverse: André Bessette est-il devenu religieux par vocation ou poussé par la nécessité de survivre? |
| The Merriam Webster dictionary defines “refuge” as follows: shelter or protection from danger. From which danger did André Bessette need protection? Surely the status of «refugee» in a religious congregation casts a doubt as to the strength of his vocation. Religious congregations have encountered «false vocations». For example, during the two world wars, candidates embraced religious life to avoid mandatory Conscription. | Le Petit Robert 2008 définit «refuge» comme suit: lieu où on se retire pour échapper à un danger ou à un désagrément, pour se mettre en sûreté. À quel danger imminent André Bessette voulait-il échapper? Lui attribuer le statut de «réfugié» dans une congrégation religieuse sème le doute quant à la solidité de sa vocation. Il y a eu, en effet, un certain nombre de «fausses vocations». Par exemple, pendant les deux grandes guerres, certains candidats étaient motivés par le désir d’échapper à la conscription obligatoire. |
| But André Bessette entered a religious order well before the first world war. So, avoidance of Conscription as a motive obviously vanishes. Josée Boileau suggests that his vocation might have been an attempt to avoid life’s miseries. One needs to determine whether the desire for a better life was amongst the dominant factors that drove André Bessette’s choice of religious life. | L’«entrée en religion» d’André Bessette étant bien antérieure à la première guerre mondiale, le motif d’échapper à la conscription tombe de soi. Madame Boileau suggère que sa vocation était plutôt motivée par le désir d’échapper à la misère. Ce désir était-il le facteur dominant dans le cheminement qui a conduit à son engagement? |
| In fact there were early signs of a religious vocation for young André Bessette, and physical hardship did not intimidate him. | En fait, il semble que des signes de sa vocation soient apparus très tôt et que les misères physiques n’effrayaient pas le jeune Bessette: |
| oFather André Provençal, his parish pastor, attests that, on the day of his first communion André Bessette decided to imitate Saint Joseph for the rest of his life. | oLe curé André Provençal témoigne que, dès le jour de sa première communion, le jeune André Bessette a décidé d’imiter Joseph pour le restant de sa vie; |
| oIn spite of his young age and his poor health, he never hesitated to do penance, like to sleep on the floor. | oMalgré sa jeunesse et sa faible santé, il n’hésitait pas à «faire pénitence», comme de dormir à même le plancher; |
| oAs a child, he would save his free time for personal devotions, and developed the habit of conversing with Saint Joseph. | oEnfant, il se plaisait à occuper ses temps libres par des «exercices de dévotion» et il a développé l’habitude de converser avec Joseph; |
| oUpon his return from the United States, in 1867, at the age of 22, Father Provençal puts André Bessette in touch with the Holy Cross religious order, because he was convinced André Bessette was called to religious life. But in spite of his desire to embrace religious life, André Bessette hesitated for two years before applying for admission because he was conscious of his modest education and his poor health. | oDès son retour des États-Unis, en 1867, à l’âge de 22 ans, c’est l’abbé Provençal qui le met en contact avec les Frères de Sainte-Croix, parce qu’il était convaincu de sa vocation. Malgré son désir d’entrer dans une communauté qui honorait Joseph, André Bessette lui-même hésita pendant deux ans à demander son admission, parce qu’il était conscient de sa modeste éducation et de sa piètre santé; |
| oWhen he entered the Noviciate in 1870, it was by way of a letter from Father Provençal. The letter was merely stating: « I am sending you a saint. » | oQuand il fit son entrée au noviciat en 1870, ce fut grâce à une lettre du curé Provençal qui le présentait en disant: «Je vous envoie un saint»; |
| oAt the end of his Noviciate, as his superiors were ready to ask him to leave before his final vows André Bessette took the initiative to plead his own case to Mgr Bourget, in order to be allowed to take his final vows. He won his point. | oEnfin, au moment où ses supérieurs pensaient refuser son admission à la profession religieuse, André Bessette prit l’initiative d’aller trouver l’évêque Ignace Bourget pour plaider en faveur de son admission définitive. Il eut gain de cause. |
| Based on all the elements presented above, is it still appropriate to think that André Bessette sought refuge behind the “cloth” to avoid a life of misery? Wasn’t his vocation genuine, and confirmed by third party (his pastor father Provençal and Mgr Ignace Bourget, the bishop of Montréal)? | Considérant ces éléments, peut-on persister à croire qu’André Bessette se soit «réfugié» derrière l’habit religieux pour sortir d’une vie de misère? Sa vocation n’était-elle pas authentique et confirmée par des tiers (le curé André Provençal et Ignace Bourget, l’évêque de Montréal)? |
I agree with you, since you want to blog about the facts. If we want to be objective, it is hard to claim that Brother André sought a ‘refuge in a religious congregation’. He didn’t exaclty live a lavish life, he worked long hours, slept in basic conditions and ate little.
@ Theresa
First I want to thank you for sending in a comment. This tells me that you read my blog, and you cared enough to let me know, and to let me know that you are in agreement with the substance of that blog. An individual who seeks refuge from a threatening situation may end-up in a place where he/she will have to endure some other form of hardship, but is ready to do so to avoid facing the greater evil. This is almost always the case for political prisoners, fleeing their country and ending-up in a refugee camp. They are willing to accept food rationing, lack of privacy, poor hygiene, absence of bare necessities to avoid death!!! Ms Boileau, in her article, chose words that may lead to believe that André Bessette was willing to accept a life that was not lavish, where he had to work long hours, where he slept under harsh conditions, did eat only a little, not because he truly embraced religious life, a life of sacrifice, but in order to seek refuge from poverty, from low income jobs he was getting because of his poor education, and jobs he was not able to keep because of his poor health. The two situations are world apart in terms of nourishing a vocation in a religious congregation. For André Bessette, all the hardship he endured as a Brother in the Holy Cross congregation was part of the gift of his own life for those he truly loved. I can guarantee you, there were no hard feelings.
Oh Lord, are they shallow sometimes… The perspective you point here is in a way comparable to the one that lead to the incredibly perverse « re-imagining » of the different prayers to St-Joseph that one of your colleague just partly published on her blog, based on socialistic, almost classical, outdated ideology. Is there anybody out there who can do something about it?
@Josh Petersen
First, thank you for your comment, and for keeping this forum of discussion alive. But unfortunately your comment is either too concise, or too vague, and may lead to drastically different interpretations.
“Lord, are they shallow sometimes”. First of all, who is “they”: are you referring to me, or Theresa, or Louise Bolduc or André Bessette’s biographers, or journalists writing about the canonization of André Bessette ….or maybe a combination thereof? You are accusing someone, or a group of persons, of being “shallow”, which is not very nice. I am not going to elaborate further on the meaning of “shallow” in the present context: it may have gone beyond what you intended to say…Maybe not!.
“The perspective you point here”. Is this sentence referring to the content of my blog, or does it refer to the comment just made to Theresa? Let me try this, to see if I understood your comment correctly: By comparison, you are qualifying of “socialistic, almost classical, outdated ideology” the approach taken by Josée Bolduc to cast a doubt on André Bessette’s true vocation by suggesting he joined the Holy Cross congrégation to take refuge from a life of hardship, since he was of poor health, he was poor, had a mediocre éducation, and could not keep a job because of his illnesses. If I have read your mind correctly, then I fully agree with you. But does that mean I have a solution to offer, a way of stopping people from making those kinds of remarks, well I don’t. My only hope is based on good will of people like you who totally disagree with this biased journalistic style, and who are willing to express their opinion, to voice their concerns, and publish at large what they think is the right and trtue interpretation. Let’s continue to be truth seekers.
I am sorry Christian. Concision is a factor of time.
“The perspective you point here” refers to the very beginning of your text: « In her article on the Canonization of Brother André – Loss of its meaning, Josée Boileau… » Honestly I thought I was clear about who I consider shallow when I referred also to the other blog. Have you read Colombe’s blog about the new prayers at St-Joseph? Many so-called modern re-interpretation of religious history or content is done in a… let’s call it, say, disrespectful, well, shal… perspective. I did not intend to be nice with all parties representing this trend and I assume my qualifying of « not deep » and I mean, not deep at all.
As for my last question » Is there anybody out there who can do something about it? » It was, in a way, an affirmation. I believe your colleagues and you ARE doing something about it in voicing new considerations and perspectives. What about a new trend?
@ Josh Petersen
First I must apologize for misinterpreting the gist of your initial comment. I was caught «off guard» by the use of «shallow», and took it too personally. To answer your question about my colleague’s blog on the substitution of the old prayers to Saint Joseph, by re-interpreted ones, the answer is «yes» and I am very glad she has decided to voice her opinion on something that serious, as you alluded to in your comment. The new versions have lost so much of their character in the process. Now, as for the last portion of your comment, I cannot speak on behalf of my colleagues, but Blogues@rebours has been so far an extremely enriching experience, not to say experiment. As for beyond October 17th, whether this kind of commitment will become a « new trend », it is too early to tell. We will have to regroup, and reassess, and who knows? Thank you, though, for showing an interest. And “what if” it becomes a new trend, would you be interested in becoming a contributor in some capacity?
jeudi 7 octobre 2010 – 21:24