Desiree Toutain 1817-1892
Peace and salvation in Our Lord Jesus Christ.
A third sacrifice is asked of us!... The always adorable will of the Good Master never ceases to overwhelm us!...
Our good Mother sub-prioress in beer, this divine will takes away from our maternal affection our beloved Sr Marie-Victoire-Désirée MADELEINE du SAINT-SACREMENT, oldest of our dear Sisters of the white veil, aged 74 years 8 months and 10 days, of religion 49 years.
Soul of faith and devotion We stop, my Reverend Mother We are so broken that it would be impossible for us to write the tireless devotion of this heart, as great as it was generous in the service of God and of his mothers and sisters.
Our beloved daughter asks to have a circular only to claim the suffrages of our Holy Order. Here is a paper found with his vows which will tell you a little about his humility and his charity.
“I beg our Reverend Mother, who will be in charge when I die, to send me a circular only to ask for the suffrages of our Holy Order, having nothing good to say about me; I desire that all prayers and suffrages be applied to souls in purgatory in general, according to the desire of the Most Blessed Virgin to whom I have given everything, abandoning myself entirely to the mercy of the Good God and counting on the charity of my mothers and sisters.
In the impossibility where I may find myself to speak at the time of death, I beg my beloved mothers and sisters, to please forgive me all the causes of pain that I have given them by my bad character, my pride, by my lack of gentleness, charity, regularity and silence. I beg you to pray for me, and I promise you, if the good God has mercy on me as I hope, to pray for you, and I will compensate you in heaven for all the trouble I have caused you. »
Our revered Mother Geneviève seems to have wanted to call the three oldest of her daughters with her! If there is rejoicing in Heaven, there is sadness in Carmel!...
What a tear for our hearts to see this morning coming out of our dear enclosure, these two coffins that we ourselves could not surround, held in the infirmary.
Please, my worthy Reverend Mother, enter into the intentions of our dear daughter and apply the suffrages of the Order according to her wishes. By grace a communion of your fervent Community a day of good works, the indulgences of six fathers and Way of the Groix, invocations to Mary Immaculate, to Saint Madeleine, to Saint Philomena, the object of her tender devotion, she will be very grateful to you as well as to us. who have the honor to tell us in the garden of agony Your respectful Sister and servant,
Sister Marie de Gonzague
ROI
From our Monastery of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and the Immaculate Conception, Carmelites of Lisieux,
the January 2 1892.
*
Excerpt from Fondations III on Sister Marie‑Victoire, Madeleine du Saint Sacrement
(following the copy of its circular)
"My Sister Madeleine was from a very honorable and highly esteemed family of Beuvilliers, near Lisieux. Her mother, during the revolution, saved the life of a priest, it is a grace for a family when one can say that one never did not fail in her faith, especially in times of persecution, and my sister Madeleine could say it very loudly of her family. away from the paternal house. Her brothers established in Paris called her near them, making her hope to place her suitably. There, she ran the greatest dangers, but God preserved her in a very particular and admirable way. Having returned to her parents, she addressed herself to Father Sauvage, our worthy Founder, who seeing in his penitent all the marks of a good vocation, was happy to give this young plant to his nascent Carmel. in our Monastery, my Sister Madeleine with her ca a rather lively character, redeemed this little defect with a heart of gold and deep humility. She was so charitable, so kind to the sick, not sparing herself when it was necessary to spend the nights near them, her excellent judgment even led her Mother Prioresses to ask her for certain advice and often made her the guardian of their sorrows. We can understand by this small glimpse the sadness of our hearts, seeing her leave without being able to surround her with our prayers, since all our Sisters were bedridden; our good Mother could not believe this new mourning, our good sister Madeleine was so dear to her! ... and not being able to assist him at the last moment, what heartbreak! what a sacrifice!
