Undusted Texts

 Pope Leo XIV's recent encyclical  Magnifica Humanitas  builds on the Social Doctrine of the Church, of which Pope Leo XIII is generally considered the father (though, of course, he built on principles found in the Church Fathers and other theologians).  Due to that, almost all of the quotations and citations in the document are from the pontificates of Leo XIII and later, with the vast majority being from Vatican II and thereafter.   There are only a handful of quotations from non-papal authors; most-reported in the press is the quotation from Gandalf in Tolkien's  Lord of the Rings  (MH 213); another is from Viktor Frankl (MH 121).   But the one that most caught my eye is from one of my favorites, Cardinal Pierre de Bérulle . Pope Leo quotes from Bérulle's masterwork, the  Discourses on the States and on the Grandeurs of Jesus : “According to the teaching of our faith, we have and adore, in our mysteries, a God who is born in a ma...

 Introduction Though St. Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690) is often considered the founder of devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, she was not the first to praise the Heart (though she fought to gain the Heart a feast).  Hints of this devotion can be found in earlier writers, such as St. Gertrude (1256-1302), but the best formulator of the devotion was St. John Eudes (1601-1680).  (St. John also wrote the texts of the Offices of the Sacred and Immaculate Hearts, which were celebrated in a few areas; it was St. Margaret Mary's demand that the Feast of the Sacred Heart be a universal feast, set on the first Friday after the Octave of Corpus Christi, as was eventually done.)  Hints of devotion to the Sacred Heart were already arising in France, such as in the writings of Jean de Bernières-Louvigny , but it was St. John who theologically fleshed out the devotion and its rationale.  Among earlier writers he points to is Cardinal Pierre de Bérulle (1575-1629), wit...

  On the Passion of Christ Selected Texts and Excerpts from Cardinal Pierre de Bérulle Buy the Kindle Edition Here    Just in time for Holy Week, I have released a selection of writings from Cardinal Pierre de Bérulle (1575-1629) on the Passion of Christ.  This collection includes selections from his Works of Piety ( one of the included texts can be found here ), as well as two excepts from his Discourses on the State and on the Grandeurs of Jesus . To celebrate the release, I have also temporarily lowered the eBook price for my other translations from Bérulle: Life of Jesus and Elevation to Jesus Christ Regarding Saint Mary Magdalene .  Both these longer texts are currently only $1.99 for the Kindle version, instead of the usual $2.99 price; "On the Passion of Christ" is $0.99, just like my other short eBook-only releases.  As with my other eBooks, it can be read for free by subscribers to Kindle Unlimited.

  I have written much about and translated much from Cardinal Pierre de Bérulle (1575-1629).  The text below is one of his Works of Piety ; it is fitting for Lazarus Saturday and the preamble to Holy Week.  It is part of a series of texts by Bérulle on the Passion, which I hope to publish as an ebook in the next few days. EDIT: This ebook, "On the Passion of Christ," has been released , and is available here . OP LXII The Death and Resurrection of Lazarus Are the Occasion of the Death of Jesus Cardinal Pierre de Bérulle If life must die, it ought to be as an effect of life.  Jesus, then, leaves the desert of Ephraim, comes to Judea, seeks out the dead Lazarus, in order that life might battle death on a closed field, as it were, and wages, in Bethany and at the gates of Jerusalem, a particular combat, which vividly represents that grand combat that would took place a few days later, on the mount of Calvary, between life and universal death; in which the death, not of...

Cardinal Pierre de Bérulle (1575-1629) wrote many little passages for various occasions: sermons, retreats, reflections, circular letters, etc.  After his death, these varied works were collated into a collection known as the Diverse Little Works of Piety , or Works of Piety for short (in French, Œuvres de pieté , hence the abbreviation OP).  One of my long-term goals is a publication of all of these; for now, I am translating them piecemeal as the need or inspiration arises. Below is an index of all of my OP translations and where to find them; I will add to them as more are translated, and I may also fill in all the titles in the future.    The Works of Piety of Cardinal Pierre de Bérulle  OP I: God is the Principle and the End of the Creature OP II: Eternal Life Is to Know God and Jesus Christ, His Son Whom He Has Sent OP III: God and Jesus Christ Are Distinct Objects of the Devotion of Christians OP IV: United to God and to Jesus Christ  OP V: Our Dut...

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.)

  Life of Jesus Pierre de Bérulle Purchase the Paperback on Amazon Purchase the eBook on Amazon As a companion to my recent publication of Bérulle's Elevation to Jesus Christ Regarding Saint Mary Magdalene , I am proud to announce the release of a new Bérullean translation, the Life of Jesus . The Life of Jesus is an unfinished work, intended to be the "Second Part" of Bérulle's chief-work, the Discourses on the State and on the Grandeurs of Jesus .  Due to Bérulle's death, the Life only covers the Annunciation and the Incarnation; it stops just before Bérulle would have treated the Visitation.  Thus, despite the title of the book, the work is heavily Marian: a more accurate title for the work as we have it might be Life of Jesus Living in Mary . Along with the Life itself, this book includes an introduction on the work, Bérulle's life, and his other writings.  In addition, it includes two appendices: one is the infamous Vows , because of which Bérulle was...

  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...

         After a thirty-three year trip, with a detour to Hell, the truly prodigal Son now returns to the Father.  (For “prodigal” does not mean “wicked’ or “wandering,” but “lavish in spending,” and Jesus was truly lavish in grace.)  He Who departed from the heavenly courts in order to become man has now ascended back to His home. This is a simple way to describe today, but too simple, and so simple as to be wrong.  “Does He abandon the cherubic throne if He receives worldly birth?” 1   No, He does not: in His fleshy birth, He is still with His Father, and even “when Your body was in the tomb and Your soul in Hades, when You were in paradise with the thief, You were also seated upon the throne with the Father and the Holy Spirit.” 2   (How does that ever-presence in heaven mesh with His declaration of abandonment by the Father on the Cross?  A harder question, one that we won’t tackle now.) Not only did He not fully depart—for ...

 As a spur to check out my recent publication of a translated book by Bérulle (the Elevation Regarding Mary Magdalene ), I decided to post a few more translated snippets of Bérulle. Bérulle's Works of Piety (in its full title, Diverse Little Works of Piety ) is an enormous hodgepodge of various writings, some sermons, some letters, some spiritual exercises, some little scribbles on assorted topics.  Two of them are included as appendices in my recent book, and I've translated a few others in the past ( #6 , #21 , and #38 ).  Portions of two more are published here, as both relate to today's reading, the Samaritan woman at the well, St. Photini (Jn 4).   The first excerpt comes from Works of Piety XII, which appears to originally be a letter to a Carmelite monastery in Salims.  The first section deals with the Samaritan woman; the later sections tackle a different topic, that of the dwellings of Jesus, since the Carmelites asked Bérulle for advice about de...

  Elevation to Jesus Christ Regarding Saint Mary Magdalene Pierre de Bérulle Purchase the Paperback on Amazon Purchase the Kindle Edition on Amazon Preorder on Kobo (Available July 21, 2025)    I am excited to announce the release of my first book of translations: Cardinal Pierre de Bérulle's Elevation to Jesus Christ Regarding Saint Mary Magdalene .   Bérulle (1575-1629) was a French priest, cardinal, and royal advisor.  After helping his cousin, Bl. Marie of the Incarnation (1566-1618), bring St. Teresa of Ávila's reform of the Carmelites to France, he went on to form a society for priests, the Oratory of Jesus, inspired by St. Philip Neri's Oratory.  Bérulle was a friend of St. Francis de Sales and St. Vincent de Paul, and he is considered the founder of the French School of Spirituality, whose members include, beside de Paul, St. John Eudes, Jean-Jacques Olier (founder of the Sulpicians), and St. Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort.   Bérull...

Introduction Cardinal Pierre de Bérulle was born in 1575 near Champagne. Educated by Jesuits, he attended the Sorbonne in Paris and was ordained in 1599. With the help of his cousin, Bl. Marie of the Incarnation, he introduced the Discalced Carmelites into France, following the reform of St. Teresa de Ávila. He became spiritual director of St. Vincent de Paul and friends with St. Francis de Sales. In 1611, he founded the Oratory of Jesus (see "Humani generis / Cessent suspiria" ). Along with his religious work, he was also a statesman, assisting King Henry IV and King Louis XIII. He became a cardinal in 1627, but died in 1629 before receiving the red hat. The below text is from his collection Works of Piety , #6.   God, Jesus, and Mary are Life and Source of Life The life of God in Himself must be considered each day, esteemed, adored, loved, and imitated in our life, life of the spirit and source of all life, and especially of the life of the Spirit: for G...

  Introduction Cardinal Pierre de Bérulle was born in 1575 near Champagne. Educated by Jesuits, he attended the Sorbonne in Paris and was ordained in 1599. With the help of his cousin, Bl. Marie of the Incarnation, he introduced the Discalced Carmelites into France, following the reform of St. Teresa de Ávila. He became spiritual director of St. Vincent de Paul and friends with St. Francis de Sales. In 1611, he founded the Oratory of Jesus (see "Humani generis / Cessent suspiria" ). Along with his religious work, he was also a statesman, assisting King Henry IV and King Louis XIII. He became a cardinal in 1627, but died in 1629 before receiving the red hat. The below text is from his collection Works of Piety , #38.   On the Nativity of Jesus He Who has made times and Who is the king of the ages, has willed to render Himself subject to time, and to guide the course of His life by the law of time. And this is the first law, subjection, and servitude to whic...