The historic church
of the Augustine nuns
of the Mercy of Jesus

Excerpt from: Latourelle, René. “First Mystic of New France”
in Jean de Brébeuf. Montreal: Bellarmin, 1993. pp. 270–274.

Three witnesses to Brébeuf’s mystical life.

• Father Ragueneau,
• Marie de l’Incarnation
• Catherine de Saint-Augustin.

The principal witness to this life is undoubtedly Father Ragueneau, who affirms that he “knew him very intimately, as much as one could know a man of the world” (JR 34:192, cited from Thwaites, R.G., ed. The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents, 73 vols., Cleveland, 1896–1901). He writes that Brébeuf’s life was “full of lights, which were immense in the ways of holiness and of God’s extraordinary favors upon him” (JR 34:190). He adds: “What appeared on the outside was nothing compared to the treasures of grace with which God enriched him daily and the favors He granted him” (JR 34:160). In Chapter VII of the life of Catherine de Saint-Augustin, Ragueneau is even more explicit: “He was always united with God, who favored him,” he says, “with a very sublime gift of prayer and many gratuitous graces admired in great saints.” And, “despite this ease in conversing with God,” he says, “he prepared for prayer as meticulously as a novice at the very beginning of their spiritual journey” (JR 34:172).

God’s action in Brébeuf’s life was accompanied by extraordinary phenomena, such as ecstasy and rapture. “At times,” writes Ragueneau, who merely transcribed Brébeuf’s journal, “I find that God, in prayer, detached him from all his senses and united him to Himself with vehement surges of love […] at other times, he says his entire heart was carried to God in ecstatic surges of love” (JR 34:172). Brébeuf spoke to no one about these favors. “He kept these favors so secret and hidden, except from those to whom he could not, in good conscience, conceal anything, that he never spoke of them, nor gave the slightest hint to anyone. And the conclusion he drew each time was to humble himself further, to mistrust himself, to consider himself the least in the house, and to fear that the devil might deceive him. Finally, he never guided himself by these visions […] but relied solely on the principles of faith, the movements of obedience, and the lights of reason” (JR 34:174–176).

The principles of faith, obedience, and the lights of reason were the criteria Brébeuf employed to test the authenticity of his experiences. Practiced in the discernment of spirits following the method of St. Ignatius, Brébeuf quickly recognized authentic graces from the dazzling but dubious fruits presented by the prince of darkness. Constantly, in his writings, as in most mystics, expressions recur such as: “I thought I saw,” “it seemed to me I saw,” “I thought I heard.” He paid attention first to the spiritual fruit of his visions: a renewal in humility and inner peace. Above all, he let himself be guided by obedience: “I can say,” Ragueneau affirms, “that this virtue was perfect in him: seeing only God in the person of his superior. He revealed his heart with a childlike simplicity, fully docile to the responses given to him, acquiescing without resistance to everything he was told, even when contrary to his natural inclinations, not only outwardly in the eyes of men, but deep within his heart, where he knew that God sought true obedience. He used to say that he was suited only for obedience” (JR 34:176).

A second witness to the depth of Brébeuf’s spiritual life is Marie de l’Incarnation. In a frequently cited text, she states that “the spirit of the sacred Incarnate Word” was given sublimely “to our martyrs,” especially to Father Brébeuf. In expressing this, Marie de l’Incarnation does not claim to equate Brébeuf’s spiritual journey with her own. She merely intends to convey that Brébeuf and his companions demonstrated a zeal and attachment to Christ that reveal a peak of holiness. Drawing from her own experience, she describes an experience analogous to hers. Brébeuf’s mystical experience, however, was distinctively his own, more centered than Marie de l’Incarnation’s on love for the Crucified and a vocation to martyrdom. Instead of focusing on the Incarnate Word, Brébeuf speaks of “Jesus Christ crucified” and “Jesus Christ nailed to the cross.” On this point, however, Marie de l’Incarnation and Brébeuf converge: both pronounced the vow of the most perfect, where for all mystics, union with God becomes a total gift of love to Infinite Love.

Finally, we invoke a third witness of a very particular kind: Catherine de Saint-Augustin. We know from Catherine herself and from her biographer, Father Ragueneau, that Brébeuf, for many years, was in a sense her heavenly spiritual director, guiding her in the ways of the highest prayer, assisting her in her battles against hell, and strengthening her in her role as a willing victim. It was in 1658, during her annual retreat, that Catherine de Saint-Augustin received from God her vocation to suffering, in the example of Rose of Lima, Marguerite-Marie, and Catherine of Siena. She was chosen by God to atone for the sins of New France. For nearly eight years, she endured the worst diabolical temptations. This state of extraordinary suffering called for no less extraordinary help. It was first to help her overcome these assaults of hell that Brébeuf’s assistance was given. To understand how deep the intimacy of these two souls was, one need only hear Catherine de Saint-Augustin speak of one of Brébeuf’s early interventions in her life. She writes: “I always felt Father Brébeuf, but in such an intimate way that it seemed to me I could neither say, think, nor do anything except depending on his will.” As her infernal vexations increased, her heavenly communications with Brébeuf became more frequent. Gradually, he led her to embrace her vocation as a victim for the grave crimes afflicting New France at the time. Her inner pains became true agonies. The forces of hell surrounded her, whispering impious words. She was tempted by hatred, blasphemy, despair, and vengeance. In her crises, Brébeuf reassured her, had her pray, and suggested to her word for word what she should say during Mass and in prayer. Following Brébeuf’s example, she pronounced the vow of the most perfect.

Considering Brébeuf’s personal notes and other writings, and the testimonies of Ragueneau, Marie de l’Incarnation, and Catherine de Saint-Augustin, we are justified in maintaining the judgment formulated at the beginning of the chapter: Brébeuf is the first mystic of New France. He, Marie de l’Incarnation, and Catherine de Saint-Augustin pronounced the vow of the most perfect. The mystical experience of each, however, represents a specific model: apostolic mysticism in Brébeuf; contemplative mysticism in Marie de l’Incarnation; reparative mysticism in Catherine de Saint-Augustin.