An episode in the history of France never ceases to raise a certain unknown: that of the revelations of St. Margaret Mary of Alacoque, a Visitation nun who lived in the convent of Paray-le-Monial at the time of the Sun-King, (Louis XIV, also known as Louis the Great or the Sun King) and who received singular mystical graces, especially with regard to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Newsroom (11/23/2021 09:00 AM, Gaudium Press) Mysteriously, the directions and destinies of a people’s history are often decided by attitudes – sometimes even very simple ones – of the one or of those in whom special predilection and trust is given by God: “It is in the secret regions of the conscience that the destiny of the world is worked out, and the new forces that make empires collapse are the same ones that every man faces in the darkness of his complicit heart.”
One episode in French history does not fail to arouse a certain incomprehensible: that of the revelations of St. Margaret Mary of Alacoque, a Visitation nun who lived in the convent of Paray-le-Monial in the times of the Sun-King, and who received singular mystical graces, especially with regard to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
A letter from the Saint to Mother Marie de Saumaise, her superior, dates from 17 June, 1689, in which Jesus’ wishes regarding the then reign of Louis XIV are expressed: “It seems to me, then,” writes St. Margaret, “that He desires to enter with pomp and magnificence into the houses of princes and kings, to be as honored there as He was outraged, despised and humiliated in His Passion; to receive as much contentment in seeing the great ones of the earth downcast and humiliated before Him, as was the bitterness He felt in seeing Himself bound at their feet. And I here state the words I heard concerning our King (Louis XIV):
‘Make known to the greater son of My Sacred Heart, that just as he obtained his temporal birth by devotion to the merits of my Sacred Childhood, so he will attain his birth to grace and eternal glory by the consecration he makes of his person to My Adorable Heart, which wants to achieve victory in his and, through him, over that of the great ones of the earth. He wants to reign in his palace, to be painted on his banners and engraved on his arms so that they may be triumphant over all his enemies, bringing to his feet these proud and haughty heads, so that he may be victorious over all the enemies of the Church.'”[2]
What would have become of the Firstborn Daughter of the Church (France) if Our Lord’s paternal wishes and recommendations had been observed? Indeed, such never occurred; we do not know even whether the divine appeal was made known to the King….
The year in which the letter was written – 1689 – does not fail to bring to mind another: 1789! Exactly one hundred years before the French Revolution, a moving message from Jesus Christ to the great Louis XIV had arrived from Heaven. The coincidence is, at the very least, remarkable.
And this leads us to a reflection: how often has God’s call to men been met with only silence as an answer! It would not be surprising if such omissions were at the root of so many political and social convulsions that afflict humanity even in our days.
By João Paulo Bueno
[1] DANIEL-ROPS, Henri. History of the Church of Christ. A Igreja da Renascença e da Reforma. São Paulo: Quadrante, 1996, v.1, p. 106.
[2] TEJADA, José M. Sáenz de. Vida y obras completas de Santa Margarita María de Alacoque. Miami: Fiat Voluntas Tua Inc/ Quito: Jesús de la Misericordia. 1958, p. 377 (personal translation).
Compiled by Sandra Chisholm
