| Editor: Brother Bruno Bonnet-Eymard | N° 90– March 2010 |
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THE FATHER OF OUR SOULS
On 15 February, the day of our Father’s death, an e-mail from Brother Bruno appeared on your computer screens:
« Dear friends,
« It has pleased our most dear Heavenly Father to call to Himself our beloved earthly Father, Brother Georges of Jesus-Mary, fortified with the rites of the Church, this morning at 6:25. He entered into his agony yesterday, on Sunday morning. The Community had surrounded him for the prayers of commendation of the soul and, that night, to accompany his last breath. He passed away peacefully, in a final movement of his chin towards the statue of Our Lady of Fatima that accompanied him throughout his way of the cross.
« It was not in vain that he wrote:
« “I will see Her at last, my most beloved Mother, the Queen of the Saints and the Angels; I will have an open path in the midst of Her noble court. I will enjoy Her sweet caresses and Her embraces as though I were Her only child! I will raise my eyes and contemplate the beauty of this virginal face for which I have lost all my goods.” (Mystical Page CRC n° 50, p. 16, November 1971)
« He will not forget us, his “dear ones,” for all that. I can still hear his brother, Bruno de Nantes, say to me: “It is only in Heaven that one can do something for one’s children.” Heaven took him at his word. Now Georges and Bruno are together to watch over us… and over the whole Church, which is in such a pitiful state. May their intercession answer our prayer for the repose of their souls.
Thus, it has pleased our most dear Heavenly Father to call to Himself, and to Her, the one that His Blessed Mother « was eager to clasp to Her Heart » as Brother Gabriel Mossier used to say.
though dead, he still speaks (Epistle to the Hebrews 11:4).
It occurred after a glance towards Our Lady of Fatima, and like a candle that goes out. In the eyes of the doctor, however, this death holds a mystery.
At the end of his Medical Report on the last days of our Father, Doctor Le Moulec concluded:
« THE REFLECTIONS OF A DOCTOR AT FATHER’S BEDSIDE. »
« It must be emphasised that the most important treatment administered to our Father was the companionship, the filial devotion of his community and the care that was given to him daily.
« It is difficult to envisage such survival without the presence of devoted brothers; it is one of the current answers to all the laws that strive to regulate palliative care and support of the dying.
« The devotion of dear ones and neighbourly love surpass all therapy, and of course Christian death with its prayers for the dying, is the admirable response to palliative care regulations. During the numerous hours that I was in Father’s cell, there existed a constant contrast between the clinical worsening of neurological and respiratory functions and Father’s serenity; it is difficult to explain that he should be in this state of serenity with such major episodes of low blood oxygen.
« Medical examination did not at any moment show the reflection of any suffering.
« Yet death by asphyxia is the most dreadful of deaths; it occurs in a state of agitation that makes it necessary in all cases to start treatments designed to relieve the dying patient by putting him to sleep.
« The death of our Father in this paroxysm of suffering contrasts with the calm and the spirit of abandon that he showed, surrounded by the prayers of the Community. » He died of asphyxia like Jesus on the Cross.
THURSDAY, 18 FEBRUARY
The day of the funeral was « worthy of the name of your Father », a good neighbour told us, and certainly it was as he wanted it, as he had prepared it. His entire life was occupied with this « unum necessarium » that he used to express in a short sentence: « To make our death the greatest act of love of our life. » His first Mystical Page is an ecstasy of love, and his last is a prayer to depart from his own, from us, his poor children, only « while longing, together with the most admirable little Thérèse, to be for them in this way of more sure and more excellent service, assured that they will gain from it when I also will have gained from it ».
Our Father was laid in state on the day of his death in the chancel of our chapel and we never left him alone, taking over from the brothers who devoted themselves to him with such love during the six years that the Good God allowed us still to keep him, and who did so without counting their fatigue.
The procedures required by the funeral allowed us to appreciate the truly cordial sympathy of the inhabitants of the village as well as the craftsmen who regularly play a part in our work. In fact, the first approach was to be made to the parish priest of our “sector”. He was absent for three weeks. At the bishopric, a priest told us that the bishop was in Haiti. We were already aware that his missionary zeal usually took him to Colombia, but we see in this that he is tireless when it comes to afflicted populations. In fact, the bishopric had already referred the question to the nunciature and they were waiting for the reply… from the Vatican undoubtedly! It arrived an hour later:
« The nunciature refuses to let the village church be used for the funeral of the Abbé de Nantes. »
This petty and base villainy even unto death gave rise to the reactions of each according to his temperament and his grace. Brother Bruno replied to the questions of journalists:
« As the bishopric has forbidden the funeral of the Abbé de Nantes to be celebrated in the church of Saint-Parres, I do not wish to comment on the event in order not to cause this scandal to rebound on the Holy Church that we love and defend. »
He was nonetheless happy to have begun by addressing himself to the ecclesiastical authority in an act of faith. Since it refused, however, we were free to celebrate the funeral of our Father in our chapel, all the more so because the priest who was on duty at the bishopric added: « I advise you to have the funeral in a municipal hall or quite simply in your chapel. » This is what was done.
Our mayor was dumbfounded. He “discovered” postconciliar “charity”, and when he learned that even tolling the death-knell had been refused, he was left speechless. When Fr. Zambelli learned about it he was filled with indignation. Not only did he agree to celebrate the funeral, but he insisted on pronouncing the funeral oration: « And you will publish it under my name. »
Yet what a joy it was to see five priests join us, including one who admitted: « I was not supposed to, I couldn’t come, but I couldn’t help it », as was the case for Bernadette who did not have permission to return to Massabielle and who felt “pressed” to go…
The carpenter who acts as undertaker did not want to have any assistants other than the brothers and he willingly went along with all our holy desires, and above all to leave the coffin open during the entire Mass. Our Father was majestic, and thanks to retransmission on screens, everyone was able to see him closely. Moreover, people did not merely look at him, they embraced him, and little children were not at all frightened: « Little Father is sleeping! » After having distributed Communion to the faithful – there were eight hundred Communions – Brother Bruno placed the ciborium in the hands of our Father, “concelebrating”, so true is it, according to his own expression, that « death is the first Mass of the Christian and the last Mass of the priest ». Sacerdos in æternum.
During these three days, Brother Bruno gave us the consolation of a spiritual conference at 6:30 pm and a holy hour at 8 pm. He read to us and commented on our Father’s writings on the sacrament of the sick, Extreme Unction, and on death. In the evening he read to us one of those marvellous Mystical Pages which are truly Father’s testament. On the very day of the funeral, Thursday 18 February, when he saw that the chapel was never empty, he spent the morning alternating Rosaries, hymns, and Mystical Pages.
At 1:30 pm, an hour before the ceremony, all the places were already filled, and the uninterrupted procession to embrace Father continued. The final preparations allowed us not to think too much about our grief.
Then Mass began. One had only to let oneself be guided by the marvellous ancient liturgy. The sermon was much anticipated. It was given by a priest, a friend, an orator, a cultivated man, a pedagogue. Everyone was spellbound. You have read it; he related very well the stages of this beautiful priestly friendship that grew until the day when he himself received us so cordially at Lourdes two years ago. He evoked the cell of our Father, about which he could have said along with the people of Aljustrel who entered into that of Francisco of Fatima: « One has the impression of entering a church. »
Finally, the coffin had to be closed, but it will be opened one day that is perhaps not far off and we will find this cherished face, admirable and admired. Now, however, we have only one will: to show ourselves worthy of him, to pursue his work.
The cross, the brothers, the coffin, the sisters, the faithful formed a procession, which was honoured by a beautiful rainbow. The Rosary and the hymns of hope resounded in the village better than the banned bells and, without needing stewards, the congregation took their places quite naturally, familiarly, like children, around the grave. The neighbours could not get over seeing so many children and young people.
After the blessing of the gravesite, everyone could once again bless the coffin and leave his offering for Masses, although everyone thinks more of praying to him, this Father of our souls who amply performed his Purgatory on earth. The most beautiful hymns from our repertory then rose towards Heaven, until the Magnificat. Finally, four brothers lowered the coffin to the bottom of the grave, in the bare earth, according to our Rule. It was cold, but throughout the afternoon a beautiful ray of sunlight accompanied the ceremony and our tears were « of tenderness and not of sadness », as St. Francis de Sales used to say.
Brother Bruno was admirable in courage. His address of vindication and avengement gives you a taste of our resolution to defend more than ever the honour of our true Father, who passed his life defending the honour of the Church against « the pride of the reformers ».
Today newspaper articles are arriving, insignificant with the exception of that of Frédéric Pons, which saves the honour of the media, in Valeurs actuelles of 18 February:
« THE COMBATS OF THE ABBÉ DE NANTES. »
« A rebellious and controversial personality, the Abbé Georges de Nantes was one of the most brilliant intellects of the Catholic Church. He died this 15 February at the age of 85. This son of a naval officer, ordained priest on 27 March 1948, had sacrificed his ecclesiastical career to his refusal of the Second Vatican Council (October 1962). Appointed parish priest of Villemaur (Aube) in 1958, he was turned out in 1963 because of his commitment in favour of French Algeria, then declared “suspens a divinis” (forbidden to celebrate Mass in his own diocese of Troyes). The Church also sanctioned his two assistant “brothers” – Bruno Bonnet-Eymard and Gérard Cousin – refusing to ordain them priests.
« A prolific author, the Abbé de Nantes was supported in his action by an ardent community of the faithful, the Catholic Counter-Reformation (CCR), founded at Saint-Parres-lès-Vaudes, and by rigorous study. In 1973, he wrote a Book of Accusation, against Pope Paul VI, which was the foundation stone of his resistance to Modernism. This challenge earned him a solid reputation for pride. He demanded that the whole of his writings be submitted to the judgement of the Holy Office: although no doctrinal error was found, he was asked to sign an unconditional submission. He refused. For want of a canonical sentence, the trial has never been closed. “They are mocking us, but God is not mocked” he said.
« Confronted with the accusation of being a “sect” (which an Appeals Court judged unfounded in April 2005), Georges de Nantes wanted on the contrary to remain faithful to the Roman Catholic Church in order to spare the CCR any schismatic drift. To the end, he affirmed his faith in a certain renaissance of the Church, in accordance with the promises made by Our Lady of Fatima. » F. P.
Since Monday, however, hundreds of e-mails and letters have accumulated, telling us the place that our Father held in each of these families, in each of these souls. Mr. Roland Broquet, who was his parishioner from his childhood, wrote a very beautiful letter to our bishop Mgr Stenger, showing how at each stage of his life Father was there to keep him on the straight and narrow. Many friends from whom we have had no news for years came to the funeral or wrote their testimony of fidelity and gratitude. It is a revelation of hearts and characters.
After having closed the church and banned the knell, Mgr. Stenger wrote to us from Haiti:
« To Brother Bruno,
« To the Brothers and Sisters of Maison Saint-Joseph,
« While in Haiti for a mission, I learned of the death of the Abbé Georges de Nantes. Whatever the past may have been and whatever it has provoked, it is a brother priest who leaves us and I implore the God of mercy for him that He may welcome him into His peace.
« I will celebrate the Eucharist for his intention this Thursday, 18 February, the day of his funeral, and I will go to pray at his grave on the occasion of my next passage at Saint-Parres-lès-Vaudes.
« Union of prayers. »
Bishop of Troyes »
The Holy Sacrifice offered for the repose of the soul of our venerated Father by a successor of the Apostles is the prayer of the Church herself; it is a grace that is priceless. Thank you Monseigneur.
As for the Internet discussion forum, they are full of spitefulness against us and ignoble innuendo. The most erudite of these contributions denounce our Father’s three heresies:
1° Concerning the Virgin Mary, « about whom he claims that beneath God a more perfect creature cannot be found and – what extravagance! – that no thought other than the very thought of God is capable of measuring the greatness ». Yet this is a quotation from Blessed Pope Pius IX!
2° Concerning the Eucharist, unbearable sensualism! He says that we « eat the Body of Christ » and goes so far as to compare Communion to conjugal union: « They will be two in one flesh », he wrote. Yet, this is a quotation from St. John Chrysostom!
3° His temporalism, which wants « to restore all things in Christ » – in the twenty-first century! Yet, this is all St. Paul, and the quotation is from the Apostle before becoming the motto of St. Pius X!
For your consolation, however, the admirable letters that have been received since 15 February will soon fill our pages. They are our honour, our pride, the reward of all our Father’s work. Thank you!
Snow is falling today in big flakes. It is the smile of the Blessed Virgin on the feast of Francisco and Jacinta, and that makes us forget everything of the malice of men. At the foot of the grave, I seem to hear our dear Father say to me while pointing to the statue of Our Lady of Fatima: Ecce Mater tua. This is really true joy.