Saint Claude La Colombière, the third child of Bertrand La Colombière and Margaret Coindat, was born on 2nd February 1641. In 1658, at the age of seventeen, Colombière entered the novitiate of the Society of Jesus at Avignon. Claude showed remarkable preaching skills long before his ordination in 1675. He was made superior of a small Jesuit residence in Burgundy. During this period, he met Margaret Mary Alacoque, to whom the Lord was revealing the treasures of His Heart. She was waiting for the Lord to fulfill his promise and send her "my faithful servant and perfect friend" to help her realize the mission he had destined her: to reveal to the world the unfathomable riches of His love.
Margaret Mary opened her spirit to him and told him of the many communications she believed she had received from the Lord. He assured her that he accepted their authenticity and urged her to put in writing everything in this regard and did all he could to orient and support her in carrying out the mission received. From Claude's spiritual notes, it is also clear that, even before he became Margaret Mary's confessor, his fidelity to the directives of St. Ignatius in the Exercises had brought him to the contemplation of the Heart of Christ as a symbol of his love.
In 1676, Father La Colombière left for London. He had been appointed preacher to the Duchess of York - a very difficult assignment because of the conditions prevailing in England at the time. Claude used his time to help those who wanted to reconnect with the Church they had left. He held sermons in the palace chapel and provided spiritual guidance, both in person and in writing. He also gave clear lessons to anyone seeking reconciliation.
The intense pace of his work and the poor climate combined to undermine his health, and evidence of a serious pulmonary disease began to appear. Suddenly, at the end of 1678, he was calumniously accused and arrested in connection with the Titus Oates "papist plot ."After two days, he was transferred to the severe King's Bench Prison, where he remained in extremely poor conditions for three weeks until his expulsion from England by royal decree. This suffering further weakened Claude's health. On 15th February 1682, the first Sunday of Lent, Claude suffered a severe hemorrhage that ended his life. Pope John Paul II canonized him on May 31, 1992. According to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, St. Claude La Colombière's charism was bringing souls to God along the gospel path of love and mercy that Christ revealed to us.
Saint Claude La Colombière, obtain for us the grace to spread devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Prepared and updated by:
Jonathan Fabian Ginunggil,
Penampang, Sabah Malaysia.
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