Our Lady Star of the Sea, Cape May, NJ
After a packed Mass last Sunday at Our Lady Star of the Sea and before stepping into the bright sunlight of the Washington Street Mall in Cape May, I looked up. Above the doors of my vacation home parish are written the words from Hebrew Scripture: “Be kind and just and walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8).
My students at Mount Saint Joseph Academy (Philadelphia) know this is one of my favorite scripture passages, as it is displayed prominently in my theology classroom. I often cite St. Joseph as the example of how to “walk humbly with our God.” This week, when leaving Mass at this parish administered by the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales, another saint came to mind: Jane de Chantal.
As a wife and mother, I look to St. Jane de Chantal for inspiration and example. Many of us are familiar with her story: 17th-century French baroness, wife, mother, widow. With her spiritual director, St. Francis de Sales, she founded the Order of Visitation of Holy Mary. Yet, this story is far from simple, and Jane was far from plain. August 12, the Feast Day of St. Jane de Chantal, offers the opportunity to reflect on how this extraordinary woman walked humbly with God.
For Jane, walking with God meant “humble obedience,” as she writes:
"We want to glorify God in all things and to love our Beloved with a humble obedience and gentleness of heart. We will acquire this spirit by calmness in our actions and speech. Repetition of such acts will develop in us the habit of gentleness of heart."
The words “humble obedience” sound annoyingly anachronistic to my 21st-century North American feminist ears. Yet, this is exactly what sacred scripture teaches and what great saints like St. Joseph and St. Jane lived. Humble obedience does not mean blindly submitting to the whims of another, but rather, actively, lovingly, and freely choosing to walk with God.
Jane walked with God by graciously accepting her familial responsibilities. As 17th-century woman living in a time of turmoil in France, Jane was defined by her traditional role in family life. Yet, it was precisely the traditional familial roles of wife, mother, and daughter-in-law that helped prepare her for her future ministry in the Order of Visitation of Holy Mary. In her essay, Jane de Chantal and Léonie Aviat: Women of Gentle Strength, Sister Susan Louise Eder OSFS writes that Jane’s “maternal heart was ready to expand and to welcome many more daughters. Jane could balance these two characteristics of a loving heart and prudent judgment to steer this new community in the right direction. What a gift to the church!”
I recognize that Jane collaborated with God in every phase of her life, requiring not only trust but patience. I imagine she could not foresee that the habitual “gentleness of heart” that she practiced as a mother would serve her later as a foundress. As Sister Susan Louise writes, Jane was “an extraordinary person, exceptionally intelligent and possessing unusual gifts of leadership and organization. She was destined to be a foundress and an innovator, and she embraced this destiny which she never would have chosen for herself.”
How are we called to walk humbly with God? Are we struggling with a difficult diagnosis? Are we caring for a sick spouse? Are we parenting a troubled teen? Are we saddled with a difficult work assignment? Do we feel underappreciated in our current religious ministry? Perhaps these experiences are opportunities to practice patience, trust, and a gentleness of heart.
I will continue to ponder how I am called to walk with God in and through my ordinary responsibilities as a wife, mother, daughter, sister, daughter-in-law, friend, and high-school teacher. Salesian Spirituality recognizes that the path to holiness lies in the quotidian of life. Thank you, St. Jane, for showing us how to live the words of Micah: “Be kind and just and walk humbly with your God;” simply, to live Jesus!
St. Jane de Chantal, pray for us.
Learn more about St. Jane here.
