"In
the person of St Louis IX were the qualities which form a great king, a hero of
romance, and a saint! With his death, the century of knights ended. One day a
messenger, breathless with haste, burst in upon the king with surprising and
exciting news. "Your
majesty," he
cried, "hasten
to the Church! A great miracle is occurring there. A priest is saying holy
Mass, and after the consecration, instead of the host there is visible on the
altar Jesus Himself in His human figure. Everybody is marveling at it. Hurry
before it disappears."
To
the astonishment of the messenger, the saintly monarch calmly
replied:
Let
them go to see the miracle who have any doubt regarding the Real Presence of our
Lord in the Holy Sacrament. As for me, even if I saw Jesus on the altar in His
visible form, and touched Him with my hand, and heard His voice, I should not be
more convinced than I now am, that He is present in the consecrated Host. The
word of Christ is sufficient for me. I need no
miracle."
Excerpt
from
Hidden Treasure, the Riches of the Eucharist
Louis
Kaczmarek
King St Louis
IX
France ~
1214-1270
Good and generous king, model
father
Father of eleven
children
FEAST DAY - August 25
King Saint Louis IX
Last
Instructions to his Eldest Son, Philip III
1. To his dear
first-born son, Philip, greeting, and his father's love.
2. Dear son,
since I desire with all my heart that you be well "instructed in all things, it
is in my thought to give you some advice this writing. For I have heard you say,
several times, that you remember my words better than those of any one else.
3. Therefore, dear son, the first thing I advise is that you fix your
whole heart upon God, and love Him with all your strength, for without this no
one can be saved or be of any worth.
4. You should, with all your
strength, shun everything which you believe to be displeasing to Him. And you
ought especially to be resolved not to commit mortal sin, no matter what may
happen and should permit all your limbs to be hewn off, and suffer every manner
of torment, rather than fall knowingly into mortal sin.
5. If our Lord
send you any adversity, whether illness or other in good patience, and thank Him
for it, thing, you should receive it in good patience and be thankful for it,
for you ought to believe that He will cause everything to turn out for your
good; and likewise you should think that you have well merited it, and more
also, should He will it, because you have loved Him but little, and served Him
but little, and have done many things contrary to His will.
6. If our
Lord send you any prosperity, either health of body or other thing you ought to
thank Him humbly for it, and you ought to be careful that you are not the worse
for it, either through pride or anything else, for it is a very great sin to
fight against our Lord with His gifts.
7. Dear son, I advise you that
you accustom yourself to frequent confession, and that you choose always, as
your confessors, men who are upright and sufficiently learned, and who can teach
you what you should do and what you should avoid. You should so carry yourself
that your confessors and other friends may dare confidently to reprove you and
show you your faults.
8. Dear son, I advise you that you listen
willingly and devoutly the services of Holy Church, and, when you are in church,
avoid to frivolity and trifling, and do not look here and there; but pray to God
with lips and heart alike, while entertaining sweet thoughts about Him, and
especially at the mass, when the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ are
consecrated, and for a little time before.
9. Dear son, have a tender
pitiful heart for the poor, and for all those whom you believe to be in misery
of heart or body, and, according to your ability, comfort and aid them with some
alms.
10. Maintain the good customs of your realm, and put down the bad
ones. Do not oppress your people and do not burden them with tolls or tailles,
except under very great necessity.
11. If you have any unrest of heart,
of such a nature that it may be told, tell it to your confessor, or to some
upright man who can keep your secret; you will be able to carry more easily the
thought of your heart.
12. See to it that those of your household are
upright and loyal, and remember the Scripture, which says: "Elige viros timentes
Deum in quibus sit justicia et qui oderint avariciam"; that is to say, "Love
those who serve God and who render strict justice and hate covetousness"; and
you will profit, and will govern your kingdom well.
13. Dear son, see to
it that all your associates are upright, whether clerics or laymen, and have
frequent good converse with them; and flee the society of the bad. And listen
willingly to the word of God, both in open and in secret; and purchase freely
prayers and pardons.
14. Love all good, and hate all evil, in whomsoever
it may be.
15. Let no one be so bold as to say, in your presence, words
which attract and lead to sin, and do not permit words of detraction to be
spoken of another behind his back.
!6. Suffer it not that any ill be
spoken of God or His saints in your presence, without taking prompt vengeance.
But if the offender be a clerk or so great a person that you ought not to try
him, report the matter to him who is entitled to judge it.
17. Dear son,
give thanks to God often for all the good things He has done for you, so that
you may be worthy to receive more, in such a manner that if it please the Lord
that you come to the burden and honor of governing the kingdom, you may be
worthy to receive the sacred unction wherewith the kings of France are
consecrated.
18. Dear son, if you come to the throne, strive to have
that which befits a king, that is to say, that in justice and rectitude you hold
yourself steadfast and loyal toward your subjects and your vassals, without
turning either to the right or to the left, but always straight, whatever may
happen. And if a poor man have a quarrel with a rich man, sustain the poor
rather than the rich, until the truth is made clear, and when you know the
truth, do justice to them.
19. If any one have entered into a suit
against you (for any injury or wrong which he may believe that you have done to
him), be always for him and against yourself in the presence of your council,
without showing that you think much of your case (until the truth be made known
concerning it); for those of your council might be backward in speaking against
you, and this you should not wish; and command your judges that you be not in
any way upheld more than any others, for thus will your councilors judge more
boldly according to right and truth.
20. If you have anything belonging
to another, either of yourself or through your predecessors, if the matter is
certain, give it up without delay, however great it may be, either in land or
money or otherwise. If the matter is doubtful, have it inquired into by wise
men, promptly and diligently. And if the affair is so obscure that you cannot
know the truth, make such a settlement, by the counsel of s of upright men, that
your soul, and the soul your predecessors, may be wholly freed from the affair.
And even if you hear some one say that your predecessors made restitution, make
diligent inquiry to learn if anything remains to be restored; and if you find
that such is the case, cause it to be delivered over at once, for the liberation
of your soul and the souls of your predecessors.
21. You should seek
earnestly how your vassals and your subjects may live in peace and rectitude
beneath your sway; likewise, the good towns and the good cities of your kingdom.
And preserve them in the estate and the liberty in which your predecessors kept
them, redress it, and if there be anything to amend, amend and preserve their
favor and their love. For it is by the strength and the riches of your good
cities and your good towns that the native and the foreigner, especially your
peers and your barons, are deterred from doing ill to you. I will remember that
Paris and the good towns of my kingdom aided me against the barons, when I was
newly crowned.
22. Honor and love all the people of Holy Church, and be careful that no violence be
done to them, and that their gifts and alms, which your predecessors have
bestowed upon them, be not taken away or diminished. And I wish here to tell you
what is related concerning King Philip, my ancestor, as one of his council, who
said he heard it, told it to me. The king, one day, was with his privy council,
and he was there who told me these words. And one of the king's councilors said
to him how much wrong and loss he suffered from those of Holy Church, in that they took away his rights
and lessened the jurisdiction of his court; and they marveled greatly how he
endured it. And the good king answered: "I am quite certain that they do me much
wrong, but when I consider the goodness and kindnesses which God has done me, I
had rather that my rights should go, than have a contention or awaken a quarrel
with Holy
Church." And this I tell to
you that you may not lightly believe anything against the people of Holy Church; so love them and honor them and
watch over them that they may in peace do the service of our Lord.
23.
Moreover, I advise you to love dearly the clergy, and, so far as you are able,
do good to them in their necessities, and likewise love those by whom God is
most honored and served, and by whom the Faith is preached and exalted.
24. Dear son, I advise that you love and reverence your father and your
mother, willingly remember and keep their commandments, and be inclined to
believe their good counsels.
25. Love your brothers, and always wish
their well-being and their good advancement, and also be to them in the place of
a father, to instruct them in all good. But be watchful lest, for the love which
you bear to one, you turn aside from right doing, and do to the others that
which is not meet.
26. Dear son, I advise you to bestow the benefices of
Holy
Church which you have to
give, upon good persons, of good and clean life, and that you bestow them with
the high counsel of upright men. And I am of the opinion that it is preferable
to give them to those who hold nothing of Holy Church, rather than to others. For, if you
inquire diligently, you will find enough of those who have nothing who will use
wisely that entrusted to them.
27. Dear son, I advise you that you try
with all your strength to avoid warring against any Christian man, unless he
have done you too much ill. And if wrong be done you, try several ways to see if
you can find how you can secure your rights, before you make war; and act thus
in order to avoid the sins which are committed in warfare.
28. And if it
fall out that it is needful that you should make war (either because some one of
your vassals has failed to plead his case in your court, or because he has done
wrong to some church or to some poor person, or to any other person whatsoever,
and is unwilling to make amends out of regard for you, or for any other
reasonable cause), whatever the reason for which it is necessary for you to make
war, give diligent command that the poor folk who have done no wrong or crime be
protected from damage to their vines, either through fire or otherwise, for it
were more fitting that you should constrain the wrongdoer by taking his own
property (either towns or castles, by force of siege), than that you should
devastate the property of poor people. And be careful not to start the war
before you have good counsel that the cause is most reasonable, and before you
have summoned the offender to make amends, and have waited as long as you
should. And if he ask mercy, you ought to pardon him, and accept his amends, so
that God may be pleased with you.
29. Dear son, I advise you to appease
wars and contentions, whether they be yours or those of your subjects, just as
quickly as may be, for it is a thing most pleasing to our Lord. And Monsignor
Martin gave us a very great example of this. For, one time, when our Lord made
it known to him that he was about to die, he set out to make peace between
certain clerks of his archbishopric, and he was of the opinion that in so doing
he was giving a good end to life.
30. Seek diligently, most sweet son,
to have good bailiffs and good provosts in your land, and inquire frequently
concerning their doings, and how they conduct themselves, and if they administer
justice well, and do no wrong to any one, nor anything which they ought not do.
Inquire more often concerning those of your household if they be too covetous or
too arrogant; for it is natural that the members should seek to imitate their
chief; that is, when the master is wise and well-behaved, all those of his
household follow his example and prefer it. For however much you ought to hate
evil in others, you should have more hatred for the evil which comes from those
who derive their power from you, than you bear to the evil of others; and the
more ought you to be on your guard and prevent this from happening.
3!.
Dear son, I advise you always to be devoted to the Church of Rome, and to the
sovereign pontiff, our father, and to bear him the reverence and honor which you
owe to your spiritual father.
32. Dear son, freely give power to persons
of good character, who know how to use it well, and strive to have wickedness
expelled from your land, that is to say, nasty oaths, and everything said or
done against God or our Lady or the saints. In a wise and proper manner put a
stop, in your land, to bodily sins, dicing, taverns, and other sins. Put down
heresy so far as you can, and hold in especial abhorrence Jews, and all sorts of
people who are hostile to the Faith, so that your land may be well purged of
them, in such manner as, by the sage counsel of good people, may appear to you
advisable.
33. Further the right with all your strength. Moreover I
admonish you that you strive most earnestly to show your gratitude for the
benefits which our Lord has bestowed upon you, and that you may know how to give
Him thanks therefore
34. Dear son, take care that the expenses of your
household are reasonable and moderate, and that its moneys are justly obtained.
And there is one opinion that I deeply wish you to entertain, that is to say,
that you keep yourself free from foolish expenses and evil exactions, and that
your money should be well expended and well acquired. And this opinion, together
with other opinions which are suitable and profitable, I pray that our Lord may
teach you.
35. Finally, most sweet son, I conjure and require you that,
if it please our Lord that I should die before you, you have my soul succored
with masses and orisons, and that you send through the congregations of the
kingdom of France, and demand their prayers for my soul, and that you grant me a
special and full part in all the good deeds which you perform.
36. In
conclusion, dear son, I give you all the blessings which a good and tender
father can give to a son, and I pray our Lord Jesus Christ, by His mercy, by the
prayers and merits of His blessed Mother, the Virgin Mary, and of angels and
archangels and of all the saints, to guard and protect you from doing anything
contrary to His will, and to give you grace to do it always, so that He may be
honored and served by you. And this may He do to me as to you, by His great
bounty, so that after this mortal life we may be able to be together with Him in
the eternal life, and see Him, love Him, and praise Him without end. Amen. And
glory, honor, and praise be to Him who is one God with the Father and the Holy
Spirit; without beginning and without end. Amen.
Incl YouTube
King St Louis
XI, ora pro nobis!
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