Worth Revisiting - A Glimpse of St. Louis Bertrand

Another Wednesday and another opportunity to thank Allison Gingras and Elizabeth Riordan for their weekly invitation to re-post our favorite articles on Worth Revisiting.

Go there now (and every Wednesday) and let an interesting group of Catholic bloggers nourish you in your Faith journey.

Visit Allison at  Reconciled To You and Elizabeth at Theology Is A Verb during the rest of each week.  They have much to offer.

Here is my contribution:

A Glimpse of St. Louis Bertrand

(Originally published October 9, 2012)

[This year we did not celebrate the memorial of St. Louis Bertrand, the patron saint of my Lay Dominican Chapter, since it fell on a Sunday. We should not pass this saint by. How about if we take a look at him today?]

St. Louis Bertrand, O.P. (1526-1581)

            His early years – On January 1, 1526, one hundred and seven years after the death of St. Vincent Ferrer, another Dominican saint was born in Valencia – St. Louis Bertrand.  He was actually baptized in the same Church and font in which St. Vincent had been baptized. Louis’s father, John, was related to and had an ardent devotion to Saint Vincent. He passed that devotion to his son – one which Louis treasured throughout his life.

            Louis has been described as “a fretful child and nothing seemed to comfort him except the sight of the holy images in the churches”. (Wilberforce 15)  However, at an early age, he dedicated himself to the service of God and his studies. He learned to read and recite the Office of Our Lady before he was eight years old. As he grew older, he seldom spoke “unless the conversation turned upon spiritual matters”. (Wilberforce 17)

            His entry into the Dominican Order – Louis was certain he would save his soul as a Dominican, but his father objected to his joining the Order, believing he was better suited for the Carthusians. His father acquiesced only after Louis told him he would rather die than leave the Order.  He made his Dominican profession on August 27, 1545.

            Prayer and fasting for Louis, as it must be for all Dominicans, was an essential part of his life.  He devoted two hours every morning and two hours every evening to mental prayer.  After dinner he spent a half hour with the Blessed Mother.  He especially loved the Eucharist and often remained prostrate before the Blessed Sacrament for extended periods of time.  He “languished with weakness whenever he was prevented from celebrating the holy sacrifice.” (Wilberforce 91)

            When not actually praying in these ways, Louis was always conscious of the Divine Presence.  He frequently meditated on our Lord’s Passion. The crucifix was his constant companion. In it our Saint insisted “you will find whatever you need”. (Wilberforce 73)

            He also loved the Rosary, constantly reciting its mysteries.  He taught it to his converts and depended on the intercession of Our Lady of the Rosary for the success of his preaching. “Many miraculous favors,” we are told, “were granted to those who devoutly used rosaries that had been blessed” by Louis. (Wilberforce 173)

            Novice Master – At the age of twenty-six and after having only been a priest for four years, Louis was appointed Master of Novices, serving with distinction in that capacity at six different times in his life and for a total of thirty years. He frequently referred to St. Vincent’s Treatise on the Spiritual Life, challenging his novices to see “which one of us shall be the imitator of this great man, whose equal is not to be found in this world”. (Pradel 184)