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131.1
First Point
Saint
Germain was saved from death in his childhood, and even before his birth,
by very special acts of the Providence of God, who had destined him to
labor much for the good of his Church. Providence gave him the advantage
of living with one of his uncles, a man of great piety, who took a very
great care of his education. He himself instructed him and formed him in
the knowledge and practices of solid virtue; as a result Germain achieved
a great degree of holiness.
Adore God's fatherly Providence in your regard. He withdrew you
from the world in order to prepare you to acquire the virtues you need to
do your work well and to educate a great number of children in the spirit
of Christianity. Do you correspond with God's designs on you? Do you
strive in your state to achieve such a level of holiness that you can make
holy those for whose guidance you are responsible?
131.2
Second Point
This
saint was ordained a priest, although still very young, and displayed such
great wisdom in his conduct and led such a holy life that not long
afterwards he was chosen to be the abbot of a great number of religious in
the monastery which today bears his name. There he guided his brothers
with an untiring zeal and fervor that made him their model in all the
practices of rule; his nights of prayer, his other prayers, and his
mortifications were continual.
Are you completely regular in your community? This is the sure way
to draw down on yourselves the graces of God you need to fulfill the
duties of your state and the ministry to which God has called you. The
more exact you are in regularity, the more you will be able to lead
children to God and to procure for them a true and solid piety. Since this
is the purpose of your state, take the means that are most appropriate for
you, and which God himself requires of you in order to succeed.
131.3 Third Point
When
Saint Germain's great holiness and the great number of miracles he
performed led to his being chosen Bishop of Paris, he omitted none of his
exercises of prayer and mortification. He spent entire nights praying to
God in various churches. He wore the same clothes winter and summer, and
his biographer says that, since there was no one to make him suffer
martyrdom, he practiced such great mortifications that he martyred
himself.
All these practices of piety that he performed gave his
instructions a special power to convert people. It was said of him that he
was like the apostles not only because of the great number of miracles he
performed, but also because of the amazing effects of his instructions.
You have a work which may appear of little consequence but it has
the same purpose as that of this saint. Imitate him by taking the same
means he used to be successful; if they are the same means, they will be
as effective for you as they were for him.
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