Undusted Texts

There are many holy names connected to Bérulle's Oratory of Jesus : St. Vincent de Paul; St. Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort; St. John Eudes; Charles de Condren; Jean-Jacques Olier; Jean-Baptiste Massillon; in recent times, Louis Bouyer.  Only some of these were Oratorians proper, yet they all had some connection to Bérulle and his spirituality. But, as is ever the case with institutions of men, there were bad apples in the Oratory as well.  (Bérulle's own history reveals a bad apple among the Carmelites: Francisco de la Madre de Dios, superior general of the Carmelites from 1600 to 1607, who had a vendetta against Bérulle, and continually sought to strip him of his authority over the Carmelites in France.)  Here, I want to point out two of these Oratorian bad apples. Richard Simon (1638-1712) Despite his English-sounding name, Simon was a Frenchman and an Oratorian.  He early took an interest in Hebrew and other Eastern languages, which was not out of the ordinary ...

Along with the announcement of my new book translation, Pierre de Bérulle's Life of Jesus , I'm also proud to announce a new article publication (also Bérullean): "The Feast of Beholding Jesus," published last month at the Homiletic & Pastoral Review .  This article discusses an interesting feast found amidst the liturgical celebrations proper to the Oratory of Jesus, founded by Bérulle.  Though the text of the office may not have been prepared by Bérulle himself, it is certainly an authentic example of his spirituality. (Though I'm not opposed to them, please note that I have no hand in choosing the artwork that accompanies my Homiletic & Pastoral Review articles.)

  Introduction As with any religious order or congregation, Pierre de Bérulle had to submit his Oratory of Jesus—begrudgingly headed by himself, rather than St. Francis de Sales, Henri de Gondi (the Bishop of Paris), or one of St. Philip Neri's Oratorians—to Rome for approval.  The petition, technically sent by Queen Marie de' Medici and Henri de Gondi, was approved by Pope Paul V (1550-1621, r. 1605-1621) in the bull Sacrosanctæ Romanæ Ecclesiæ , promulgated May 8, 1613.   The Papal verbiage of the time was long-winded and convoluted, so, instead of providing a full translation of a difficult-to-follow document, I have instead provided simply a summary, with occasional exact quotes. The main source for older papal documents is Bullarum Diplomatum et Privilegiorum Sanctorum Romanorum Pontificum, Tauriensis Editio (Turin: A. Vecco et Sociis, 1857-1872).  This collection—often abbreviated simply as Bullariuim Romanum —was issued by order of Pope Bl. Pius IX.  The...

  Introduction The Oratory of Jesus was founded by Cardinal Pierre de Bérulle (1575-1629). Famous members include St. John Eudes (1601-1680)--before forming his own congregation--and Jean-Jacques Olier (1608-1657). The French school of spirituality, founded by Bérulle and perpetuated by the Oratory, was a major force in the spiritual formation of St. Louis Marie de Montfort (1673-1716). The Oratory is a society of priests, not a traditional religious order, and their emphasis is on Jesus and His humility in the Incarnation.  Their liturgical calendar has a few peculiar feasts, most notably the Solemnity of Jesus (January 28), as well as a special commemoration of the Incarnation on the 25th of every month.  However, the hymn transcribed here is simply a special sequence for the Feast of the Annunciation, taken from a book of hymns for the use of the Oratory. I posted a translation of this sequence to my old website, "Undusted Texts," back in 2017.  What I've done he...

  Introduction The odd litany translated below is found in a collection of chants, songs, and hymns used by the Oratory of Jesus, founded by Cardinal Pierre de Bérulle (1575-1629).  This litany is provided in an appendix, and it is said to be the work of Charles de Condren (1588-1641), the second Superior General of the Oratory, following Bérulle's death.  He was also the confessor of Jean-Jacques Olier (1608-1657), founder of the Sulpicians (Society of the Priests of Saint-Sulpice).  The petitions in this litany are quite unwieldy, being mostly passages from St. Paul--predominantly the Letter to the Hebrews--awkwardly stuffed into the format of a litany.  The theme of the litany is still an interesting one, though, so I have translated it here.      Litany in Honor of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Priest and Victim   (Extracted from the Epistles of St. Paul by Charles de Condren)   Kyrie eleison. Christ eleison.  Kyrie eleison. Jesus, Pri...