Little King of Grace
This devotion centers around the life of venerable Margaret of the Blessed Sacrament from Beaune, France. Margaret Parigot was born in France on February 6, 1619. From her earliest years, Margaret was an extraordinarily spiritually gifted child. At the age of 5 or 6 she began to care for the sick in the "Hotel Dieu" ("Hotel of God"). I n caring for the sick, she would have to overcome the feeling of nausea and fear she experienced when entering the crowded, foul-smelling sick halls. This was a very heroic deed for someone so young. At the age of seven, she would spend entire nights in prayer, even during winter. She felt drawn to empathize and care for the sick and poor. Margaret's parents both died while she was very young and at the age of eleven, she asked to be admitted as a Discalced Carmelite in her native city of Beaune (1630). Despite her young age, her request was granted. As a young postulant, Margaret was immersed in the most authentic devotions of Carmel, including devotion to the Child Jesus. The monastery's devotions to the Child Jesus originated from various sources including the teachings of the Founder, Cardinal de Berulle.
Cardinal Peter de Berulle made a trip to Spain in 1604 to study the introduction of the Teresian Carmel into France. On this trip, he had the opportunity to meet with the lay brother, Francis of the Child Jesus, at Alcala de Henares. Francis of the Child Jesus was a great devotee of the Infancy of Our Lord. From that encounter, Cardinal Berulle's discourses would center on the Infancy of the Incarnate Word. He would often speak of the privations of the Incarnate Word in His being subject to the conditions of nature and His Infancy. He continued to search other aspects of the Infancy of Jesus: His dependence on His Mother, the absence of communication with others, the graces of extreme humility, purity and docility. He promoted devotions to the Child Jesus by emphasizing the fact that it was not enough to adore he Child Jesus, we had to implore him to grant us the graces of His state of Infancy.
Margaret was frequently consoled by illuminations on the state of the Holy Child in Bethlehem. She was known to carry within herself "the impression of His holy and divine infancy". She also manifested exteriorly a "participation in the state of the Child Jesus in the crib" . She would remain "lying on the floor without being able to rise, and from time to time emitting a little infant's cry. Her appearance and all the movements of her face were changed and became altogether like those of a new-born child.." In this state, she would receive in-depth knowledge of the Child Jesus in the manger, especially His littleness, His weaknesses and His abasement ( taken from a text cited by Deberre, Histoire de la Venerable Marguerite).
Margaret's divine favors were well kept within the community of Beaune until 1638. At that point, the Child Jesus inspired to work more actively for the salvation of souls. The Lord revealed to her that through the merits of His Holy Infancy, she would find the ways of obtaining the Father's mercy. He also taught her that He wished to have His Holy Infancy honored from His birth to His twelfth year of age. The Child Jesus wanted this devotion to have the title: "the family of the Child Jesus". Under His directions, Margaret started the association of the Child Jesus and to celebrate the twenty-fifth of every month in honor of the Annunciation and the Nativity and every day the chaplet of the Child Jesus was recited. In doing so, she was to meditate on "all the actions, words and mysteries" of the Child Jesus. The fundamental obligation of all members of this association was to practice a "most perfect simplicity, kindness, pleasantness and deep humility". (Manual of the Archconfraternity of the Holy Infancy of Jesus established in the Carmelite Monastery at Beaune).
The devotion spread outside the walls of the convent. France was undergoing political turmoil. The Queen, Anne of Austria, wife of King Louis XIII, had been praying for an heir for almost twenty years without success. The whole of France called upon Heaven. Margaret raised her prayers to the Child Jesus and a revelation was made to her confirming the Queen would have a son and the date of the future king was predicted with great detail. Peace followed and the devotion promoted by Margaret became renowned. A certain Norman lord, the Baron Gaston de Renty, visited her to see for himself the depths of her spirituality. She helped him develop a devotion to the Infant Jesus, which prompted him to conclude with this definition: "the spirit of childhood is a state where it is necessary to live from day to day, in perfect mortification of oneself; in total abandonment to the will of the Father." Upon returning home, the Baron sent Margaret a statue of the "Small king of Glory". The statue was carved out of wood with very detailed features. It can be dressed with exquisite clothing and jewels and crowns.
To honor it, Margaret obtained permission from her superiors to have a small chapel built adjacent to the church. This in effect marked the beginning of a national pilgrimage to the Child Jesus of Beaune which continued each year until the start of the French Revolution.
By the time Margaret died on May 26, 1648, devotion to the Child Jesus was at its peak: associations were being formed in many places. The success of the devotion was particularly due to Margaret’s exceptional virtues. Her personal virtues were exemplified in her first biography by Amelotte. He cited these as innocence, purity, simplicity and most of all self-renunciation. Pilgrimages to her tomb continued up to the French revolution. The cause for her beatification was started immediately after her death. Many came forward to bring their testimony, especially Anne of Austria. The process underway and the canonical inquiry was almost completed when the Bishop of Autun, who had been entrusted with presenting the documentation to Rome suddenly died. Upon his death, he entrusted the documents to the Minims of Beaune, along with his entire library. The Carmelite sisters tried to retrieve the documentation unsuccessfully. At that point, the French revolution broke out and the documents appeared to be lost.
They were found again in 1865 and the canonical inquiry was re-opened. Several more significant steps took place after this towards advancing her cause towards sainthood. On December 10, 1905, a decree was issued certifying the heroic virtues of Margaret but after that, the cause has not progressed.
Margaret showed the world that holiness is at everyone’s reach if they imitate the Infancy of Jesus.
Below is a prayer for Sister Margaret’s intercessions:
O Divine Jesus, You deigned to manifest to Venerable Margaret of the Blessed Sacrament the Mysteries of Your Holy Childhood.
You revealed to her Who You are, and relived in her the phases of Your life. You filled her with the most previous graces.
We beg You, for the Glory of Your Name and the extension of Your Reign in souls, to hasten the day of her Beatification, so that we may give fitting praise for her merits and virtues, according to the designs of Your Wisdom and the accomplishment of Your Adorable Will.
We therefore humbly ask You.................. Amen..
Also, we would like to promote Margaret’s cause for canonization. If you receive favors or a miracle through her intercessions, please report this to Rome at:
Rev. Fr. Ildefonsa Moriones, O.C.D.
Postulator General
Casa Generalizia Dei Scalzi
Carmeletiani Scalzi
Corso D’Italia 38
00198
Roma Italia
Margaret’s canonization would glorify the Child Jesus as it was His request that this devotion be known and promoted.
For more information on the Child Jesus of Beaune, please contat:
Carmel COMPIEGNE
38 Rue VARANVAL
60680 COMPIEGNE (FRANCE)
Sources for this article:
1. Biography by Raymond Darricau
2. "Triumph of the Heart" magazine, December 1996 Issue.
3. Book: "The Life of Sister Margaret" (A Gem from the Diamond Mine)
