xt7q5717mm89 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7q5717mm89/data/mets.xml David, John Baptist Mary, 1761-1841. 1864  books b92-262-31849941 English Webb and Levering, : Louisville : Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. Retreats. Meditations.Spalding, M.J. (Martin John), 1810-1872. Spiritual retreat of eight days  / by the Right Rev. John M. David ; edited, with additions and an introduction by M.J. Spalding. text Spiritual retreat of eight days  / by the Right Rev. John M. David ; edited, with additions and an introduction by M.J. Spalding. 1864 2002 true xt7q5717mm89 section xt7q5717mm89 







SPIRITUAL RETREAT


               OF


     EIGHT DAYS.



BY THE RIGHT REV. JOHN M. DAVID, D. D.
    FIRST COADJUTOR OF BISHOP FLAGET.


  EDITED, WITH ADDITIONS, AND AN INTRlODUCTION,

       BY M. J. SPALDING, D. D.,
          BISHOP OF LOUISVILLE.






          LOUISVILLE:
    WEBB AND LEVERIiNG.
            MDCCCLXIV.

 





























    Entered according to the Act of Congress, by

            WEBB AND LEVERING,

in the United States Court, for the District of Kentucky,

           in the year of our Lord, 1863.



Stereotyped by Hills, O'Driscoll & Co.
   No. 141 Main St., Cincinnati.

 PREFACE.



TWENTY ONE years have elapsed since the
pious death of the saintly BisIIop DAVID, the
founder of the ecclesiastical Seminary, and of
the Sisterhood of Nazareth, in the Diocese of
Louisville. Besides these living monuments
of his devotion and successful zeal, he left
behind him a considerable amount of writings,
chiefly on spiritual and ascetic subjects. The
most important of these, besides his Prayer
Book, entitled True Piety, and his Cate-
chism, which have been already published, are
his Eight Days' Retreat, and his Manual
for the Sisters of Nazareth.  TEhe latter was
never completed, death having, it would appear,
surprised him in the midst of this, his last
                                  (iii )

 i  PREFACE.



labor of love. Of the Four Parts of which
it was to be composed, only the First and
a small portion of the Second were written.
As the First Part, however, is complete in
itself, and contains much useful instruction
on the religious life, which may be profit-
able to other religious communities, whether
of males or females, besides that of Naza-
reth, I here publish it in an Appendix.
    Of the twenty four Meditations which were
to be embraced in the Eight Days' Retreat,
three are wanting, all belonging to the last
Week. These I have supplied from "AlaJn-
resa, or the Spiritual Exercises of' St. Ignatius
for general use," a valuable London publica-
tion. From the same source I have freely
borrowed whatever seemed to be necessary
for rendering the present little work a more
complete and practical Manlual for the per-
formance of the Spiritual Exercises; such as
the practical advices, or Additions, of St. Igna-
tius to those who wish to make a Retreat



iv

 

with fruit, his methods of Prayer, and of
Examination of Conscience, both general and
particular, and Considerations for eachl day
of the Retreat. I have also thought it well
to prefix to the publication a brief biographi-
cal sketch of the saintly BisiioP DAVID, to-
gether with his short but admirable Method
of Mental Prayer.
    I could have wished that some one more
skilled in the science of the spiritual life had
undertaken to edit this work.   But having
failed in my efforts to induce some member
of the Society of Jesus to perform the task,
I decided to do the best I could myself under
the circumstances; and for this purpose I drew
on my notes of Retreats which vwere preached
to the Students of the Propaganda College
in Rome, about thirty years ago, by some of
the most eminent disciples of St. Ignatius,
including the late General of the Order. This
I have attempted to do in the Introduction,
in the preliminary remarks at the beginning



PREFACE.



v

 
vi                 PREFACE.

of each Week, and in the general ordering
of the Exercises.
    Many pious persons, both in Kentucky
and elsewhere, have already used the Medita-
tions of the good BISHoP DAVID with much
relish and fruit. In publishing them for gen-
eral use, I have merely endeavored to furnish
a not wholly unsuitable frame for a picture of
great and solid merit. All that I ask of those
who will use this little work is, that they will
strive to profit by its contents, and will have
the charity to breathe forth occasionally a
short prayer for the unworthy Editor.

 

                   CONTENTS.




                                                        PAUK.
Preface.-iii
Biographieal Notice of Bishop David.  
INTRODUCTION..                                           35
    I. The Nature and Objects of the Spiritual Exercises ----  36
    II. How are we to Perform the Exercises with Fruit---- -- 47

               METHOD OF MENTAL PRAYER.
Chapter  I.-Of Mental Prayer in General .53
Chapter I.-Of the Preparation                            53
Chapter 11.-Of the Meditation                            56
Chapter IV.-On the Conclusion                            59
Chapter V.-Of some Advices Concerning Mental Prayer-----      60
Chapter VI.-Of the Impediments to Mental Prayer          61
Ten Additional Recommendations                           63
CONTEMPLATION, or Manner of Meditating on Sensible Objects .  65
    I. Before the Contemplation .66
    II. During the Contemplation .66
    III. After the Contemplation-                        66

               OF DIVERS MANNERS OF PRAYING.
First Manner                                             67
Second Manner .68
Third Manner..                                           69
Method of Particular Examination                         70
Observations.. ---.----- -----------                     71
Method of the General Examination, to be made Every Day  - -- 72
Prayer of St. Ignatius " Anima Christi,". - - - - - - . -  - - - - - - - 72
Prayer of Oblation and Divine Love, By St. Ignatius ..........   73
                                            ( vii )

 

viii



CONTENTS.



The Memorare, By St. Bernard .74
Praver of Union with Jesus in all our Actions            74
Union with Jcsus and Mary -.-                             75

                  PREPARATORY EXERCISES.
Meditation on Retreat.-                                 76
    What God has Prepared for you in Retreat . - . - - - . - - . - - - - . 76
    What God asks of you in this Retreat                 79




          EIGHT DAYS' RETREAT.


                      FIRST WEEK.

VIA PrRGATIVA. THE WAY OF PURIFICATION                   83

                        FIRST DAY.
First Meditation. On the End of Alan-                    86
Consideration. The Principle of the Exercises.--.--.....--.--.90
Second Meditation. On the End of Creatures - -- -- 100
Third Meditation. On the difference between attaching ourselves
       to God, and attaching ourselves to Creatures  . -   -  105

                       SECOND DAY.
First Meditation.  On the Enormity of Mortal Sin from the
       Punishment thereof -                            111
Consideration. The effects of Mortal Sin in the soul of the
       sinner.--                   -                   116
Second Meditation. On our own Sins .125
Third Meditation. On Hell .129

                       THIRD DAY.
First Meditation. On Death .135
Consideration. On the Punishment of the Damned.-- -- -- -- -- 139
Second Meditation. On the Particular Judgment           148
Third Meditation. O th Prodigal                         152

 

CONTENTS.



                       SECOND WEEK.

VIA ILLUMINATIVA. Ti1E WAY OF ENLIGHTENMENT T       .     158

                        FOURTH DAY.

First Meditation. Oll tle Following of Christ.--.-..-..-.- 160
Consideration. Oi the ieLlblic Lifc of Jesus Christ..........- 165
Second Meditation. On the Incarnation                     172
Third Meditation, On thc Nativity of our Lord             177

                         FIFTH DAY.

First Mceditation. On the Circumcision of Jesus Christ.----- IS2
Consideration. On Venial Sin.- 7-                         I S
Second Meditation. Onl the 1Presentation of our Lord in the
      Temple                                              191
Third Meditation. On the Private Life of Jesus CGrist ....... 190

                         SIX'rH DAY.

F irst Meditation. Onl the two Standards                  201
Consideration. Onl the Discourse of our Lord aFter the Last
        Supper.-              --                          205
Second Meditation. Of the three Classes.-  - -    -  - -214
Third lMeditation. On the three Degrees of flumilitv- ---- ---- 218


                       TIIIRD WVEEK.

VIA CONFIRMiTIVA. THE WAY OF STRENGTHI--.- -- ---- -      223

                       SEVENTH DAY.

First Meditation. On our Saviour's Passion.               225
Consideration. On Marv our Mother 2- - ---- ---- ---- -- -  - 231
Second Mleditation. Oil the ilssion of Jesus Christ: from the
       Garden of Olives to His Condemination. - - -      2 - - - - - - - - 237
Third Meditation. On our Saviour's Crucifixion.----- -- ---  242



ix

 

I                      CONTENTS.


                      FOURTH    WEEK.

VIA UNITIVA. THE WAY OF UNION BY LOvE           . --------.- 248

                        EIGHTH DAY.
First Meditation. On the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.---   250
Consideration. On I)evotion to the Blessed Virgin Mlary, Mother
        of Gold.------------------------------------------ 258
-Second Meditation. On the Blessed Life of Jesus Christ in
       Heaven.-                   -                    264
Third Meditation. On the Love of God.272
Appendix.-Bishop David's Manual of the Religious Life - -- -- 281

 
          BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE

                        OF THE

RIGHT REV. JOHN B. DAVID,


           BISHOP OF MAURICASTR1JM.





JOHN BAPTIST M. DAVID was born in 1761, in a little
town on the river Loire, in France, between the cities of
Nantes and Angers. His parents were pious, exemplary,
and ardently attached to the faith of their fathers. Though
not wealthy, they were yet blessed with a competence for
their own support, and for the instruction of their offspring.
Sensible of the weighty responsibility which rests on Chris-
tian parents, they determined to spare no pains or expense,
that might be necessary for the Christian education of their
children.
   Young John Baptist gave early evidences of deep piety,
of solid talents, and of an ardent thirst for lcarning. At the
age of seven, he was placed under the care of an uncle, a
pious priest. who willingly took charge of his early educa-
tion. By this good priest he was taught the elements of the
French and Latin languagcs, and also those of music, for
which he manifested great taste. He was enrolled in the
                                        ( 9 )

 

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF



number of ecfants de c7heezr, or of the boys who served at
the altar and sang in the choir.
   At the age of fourteen, he was sent by his parents to a
neighboring college, conducted by the Oratorian priests.
Here he distinguished himself for regularity, close applica-
tion to his studies, solid talents, and, above all, for a sincere
piety, which soon won him the esteem and love of both
professors and fellow-students.  But what all admired in
him  most, was that sincerity and candor of soul, which
tormed, throughout his long life, the distinctive trait in his
character.
   From his earliest childhood, the young John Baptist had
manifested an ardent desire to embrace the ecclesiastical
state, that he might thus devote his whole life to the service
of God and of his neighbor, in the exercise of the holy
ministry. His parents were delighted with these dispositions
of their son; and to second his purposes, they sent him to
the diocesan seminary of Nantes. Here he entered with
ardor en his sacred studies, in which he made solid profi-
ciency. In the year 1778, the eighteenth of his age, he
received the tonsure, and, two years later, the minor orders,
from the hands of the Bishop of Angers.
   In the Theological Seminary he remained for about four
years, during which he completed his course of studies, and
took with honor the degrees of Bachelor and Master of Arts.
In the twenty-second year of his age he bound himself
irrevocably to the sacred ministry, by receiving the holy
order of sub-deaconship.
   M. David was ordained deacon in the year 1783; and,
hbrving shortly afterwards determined to join the pious
congregation of Sulpicians, he went to Paris, and remained
for two years in the solitude of Issy, to complete his
theological studies, and to prepare himself by retirement



so

 

JUrGOT REV. JOHN P. DAVID.   1



and prayer, for the awful dignity of the priesthood, to which
hti was raised onl the 2tth of September, 1785.
    Earl       y in the yer following his superiors sent him to the
Theological Seminary of Angers, then unc-er the direction
of the Sulpicians. Here lie remained for about four years,
discharging, with industry and ability, the duties of Professor
of Philosophy, Theology, and the Holy Scriptures-always
enforcing his lessons by his good example. At length the
storm of the FrenchP Revolution broke over Angers; and,
late in the year 1790, the seminary was seized on by the:
revolutionary troops, and converted into an arsenal. The
professors and students were compelled to fly for their lives
and AI. David took shelter in a private family. In this
retreat he spent his time in study, and in constant prayer to
God, for light to guide him in this emergency, and for his
powerful aid and protection, to abridge the horrors of a
revolution which was every where sacrificing the lives of the
ministers of God, and threatening the very existence of the
Catholic Church in France.
   After nearly two years of retirement, he determined, with
the advice of his superiors, to sail for America, and to
devote the remainder of his life to its infant and struggling
missions. Ie embarked for America in 1792, in the company
of 2.1IM. Flaget, Chicoisneau, and Badin. On the voyage,
he applied himself with such assiduity to the study of the
English language, as to have already mastered its principal
difficulties ere he set foot on American soil.
   Very soon after his arrival in the United States, Bishop
Carroll ascertained that he knew enough of, English to be
of service on the missions; and he accordingly sent him to
attend to some Catholic congregations in the lower part of
Maryland. M. David had been but four months in America,
when he preached his first sermon in English; and lie had



1,1

 

:lO()GltA1II[(JM, NOTICE OF'



the consolation to find that he was not only well understoodl,
but that his discourse made a deep impression on his
hearers. For twelve years he labored with indefatigable
zeal on this mission, in which he attended to the spiritual
wvants of three numerous congregations. Ile was cheered
by the abundant fruits with which God everywhere blessed
his labors.
    Feeling that mere transient preaching is generally of but
little permanent utility, he resolved to commence regular
courses of instruction in the form of Retreats;  and so great
was his zeal and industry, that he gave four Retreats every
year to each of his congregations. The first was for the
benefit of the married men; the second, for that of the
married women; the third and fourth, for that of the boys
and girls. To each of these classes he gave separate sets
of instructions, adapted to their respective capacities and
wants.
    His discourses were plain in their manner, and solid and
thorough in their matter. He seldom began to treat, without
exhausting a subject. At first, but few attended his Retreats;
but gradually the number increased, so as to embrace
almost all the members of his congregations.      But he
appeared to preach with as much zeal mnd earnestness to
the few, as to the many. He was often heard to say, that
the conversion or spiritual profit of even one soul, was
sufficient to enlist all the zeal, and to call forth all the
energies of the preacher.
   Great were the effects and most abundant the fruits, of
M. David's labors, in the missions of Maryland. On his

   As far as our information extends, he seems to have been the
first clergyman in the United States who adopted a practice which
has since proved so beneficial to religion.



12S

 

              1R I(tIIT REV. JOHN  B. DAVNID.

arrival among them, he found his congregations cold and
neglectful of their Christian duties ; he left them  fervent
and cxemplary.    Piety everywhere revived; the children
and servants made their first communion; the older mem-
bers of the congregations became regular communicants.
Few that were instructed by him could ever forget their
duty, so great was the impression he left, and so thorough
was the course of instructions he gave. To the portion of
Maryland in which he thus signalized his zeal, he bequeathed
a rich and abundant legacy of spiritual blessings, which was
destined to descend from generation to generation: and the
good people of those parts still exhibit traces of his zeal, and
still pronounce his name with reverence and gratitude. In
the year 1801, Bishop Carroll found it necessary to recall
M. David from the missions, in order to send him to
Georgetown College, which was then greatly inr need of his
services. The good missionary promptly obeyed the call,
and for two years discharged in that institution the duties
of professor, with his accustomed fidelity and ability.
   In 1806, the Sulpicians of Baltimore expressed a wish to
enlist his services in the Theological Seminary and the
College of St. Marys, under their direction in that city.
M. David belonged to that body, and he promptly repaired to
the assistance of his brethren. He remained in Baltimore
for nearly five years, discharging various offices in the
institutions just named, and devoted all his leisure time to
the duties of the sacred ministry. He labored with so great
zeal and constancy, that his constitution, naturally robust,
became much impaired. Still he was not discouraged, nor
did he give himself any rest or relaxation. A pure intention
of promoting the honor and glory of God, and a constant
spirit of prayer, sustained him, and hallowed his every
action.

 

14            IiIO( ifAI'lPI(CAL NOTICE OF'

    In the year 1808, the new Diocese of Bardstowvn weas
 formled, emblriacing within its limits tile States of Kentucky
 and 'lennessec, although the delegakted( jurisdiction of the
 Bishop was to extend over the whole Northwest, as far as
 the Mississippi river. IRumor had fixed the appointment to
 the burdensome office of bishop for the "'-Far West," on
 Fatther David; but the choice of the Holy See fell on his
 intimate friend, Al. Flaget.  Surprised at the news of
 this unexpected elevation, Al. Flaget hastened to Baltimore,
 to hear thc sad intelligence either contradicted, or, if it
 proved to be true, to use every possible effort to shake off
 a responsibility which lie believed to be entirely above his
 strength. 'T'lxe first personl he met on the steps of the
 Seminary, was M. 1)avid, who, embracing him, confirmed
 the news, and, with tears in his eyes, added  " They told
 inC that I was to he the Bishop of Bardstown; I did not
 believe it. But I determnined, that, should this happen, I
 would invite you to accompany me. But the case being
 happily reversed, I tender you my services without reserve."
   Owing to the long persevering unwillingness of M. Flaget
to assume the heavy, burden of the episcopal office, he was
not consecrated till the 4th of November, 1810, and it was
only in the month of May following, that he was enabled to
set out from Baltimore lor the new field of his apostolical
labors. On the 22d of May they embarked from Pittsburg
in a flat-boat, chartered especially for the purpose.  It
contained, beside the Bishop and Father David, Mr. Fen-
wick, M. Savine, a Canadian priest, a sub-deacon-MI. Cha-
brat, and a student. Father David had previously been
appointed Superior of the Seminary; and though I; his
health was in as bad a condition as the Bishop's purse," yet
he presided over all the spiritual exercises which were
carried on as in a regularly organized seminary. " The boat

 

15



on which we descendled thc (hio"-hc subsequently wrote
to a friend-" lbecirn  thc cradle of our seminary and of
the Ch(iur' in Kentubcky. (ur cabin was, at the same time,
chapel, dormitory, stiudfy-roorn, and refectory.  An altar
was erected on the boxes, so far a.s circumstances would
allow.  'lThe bishop prescribed a regulation, which fixed all
the exercises, and in which each had its proper time. On
Sunday, after prayer, every one went to confession; then
thc priests said M1ass, and the others went to communion.
After an agreeable navigation of thirteen days, we arrived
at Louisville, next at Bardstown, and finally at the residence
of the vicar-ceneral."
   'Ilhis residence wlas an old log, house, now converted into
the " EJpiscopal Palace;  W whilst arothier cabmn harbored the
seminarians, and Father David oeccupied a smnall addition
to the principal buildiiig.  'lhere the seminary was con-
d(iited b! hirn for five months, when in November, 1811, it
was removed to the present farm of St. ThomLas, which
a piOIs Catholic, Thomas    Iloward, had  bequeathedi to
the Church. Five vears later the present neat church of
St. Tholas was erecteld, and a, brick building, iintended for a
Seminary, put up. The life of a Seminarian, in those days,
was rather fuller of hardships and privations, than it is at
present. It is well described in a letter of Father Badin.
   " The seminarians made bricks, prepared the mortar, cut
wood, etc., to build the church of St. Thomas, the seminary,
and the convent of Nazaretlh. The poverty of our infant
eistablishments compelled them to spend their recreations in
labor. Everv day thev devoted three liours to labor in the
garden, in the fields, or in the woods. Nothing could be
more frugal than their table, which is also that of the two
bishops, and in which water is their ordinary drinkl; nothing,
at the same time, could be more simple than their dress."
           2



RIGHJIT RJEV. JOH1N    BS. DAVID1.

 

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF



    The young seminarians, indeed, corresponded well with
the parental solicitude of their good superior. They caught
his spirit, and entered heartily into all his plans for their
spiritual welfare. They united manual labor with study.
They cheerfully submitted to lead a painful and laborious
life, in order to fit themselves for the ministry, and to
prepare themselves for the privations they were destined to
endure on the missions.
    As superior of the seminary, Father David was a rigid
disciplinarian. Both by word and by example he enforced
exact regularity in all the exercises of the house.  He was
himself always amongst the first at every duty. Particularly
was he indefatigable in discharging the duty of instructing
the young candidates for the ministry in the sublime maxims
of Christian perfection. He seemed never to grow weary
of this occupation. A thorough master of the interior life
himself, it was his greatest delight to conduct others into
the same path of holiness. Ile was not satisfied with laying
down general principles; he entered into the most minute
details, with a zeal equaled only by his patience.
   He sought to inspire the young seminarians with an
ardent desire of .aspiring to perfection, and of doing all
their actions for the honor and glory of God. To arouse
and stimulate their zeal, he often dwelt on the sublime
grandeur of the ministry, which he delighted to paint as.
a cooperation with Christ for the salvation of souls. A
favorite passage of the Holy Scripture with him, was that
containing the words of our blessed Lord to his apostles:
"I have placed you, that you may go and bring forth fruit,
and that your fruit may remain;"  as also this other decla-



 St. Jobnxv. 16.



16

 

RIGHT REV. JOHN B. DAVID.



ration of the Saviour: "I have come to cast fire upon the
earth, and what will I but that it be kindled  " 
    The first fruits of his seminary he reaped on the 10th of
May, 1818, when two of his pupils, natives of Kentucky,
who had gone through the whole course of their studies
under his direction, were raised to the dignity of the
priesthood; although others, who came from Europe, had
previously been ordained at St. Thomas's-among them
several Lazarists, belonging to the Diocese of New Orleans,
who stayed nearly two years in the seminary of M. David,
whomn, on that account, we may justly style the Futher of
the Clergy of the West.
   Though he sometimes rebuked faults with some severity,
yet he had a tender and parental heart, which showed itself
on all occasions. For all the seminarians he cherished
feelings of paternal affection. It was his greatest happiness
to see them advance in learning and improve in virtue.
He rejoiced with those who rejoiced, and wept with those
who wept. No one ever went to him for advice and con-
solation in vain. As a confessor, few could surpass him in
zeal, in patience, in tenderness. But what most won him
the esteem, confidence and love of all under his charge, was
his great sincerity and candor in every thing.  All who
were acquainted with him not only believed, but felt, that
he was wholly incapable of deceiving them in the least
thing.
   Ile was always even better than his word: lie was sparing
of promises, and lavish in his efforts to redeem them when
made. If he rebuked the faults of others, he was free to
avow his own; and more than once have we heard him
publicly acknowledging his imperfections, and with tears



 St. Luke xii. 49.



17

 

1I8           BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF

imploring pardon of those under his control for whatever
pain he might unnecessarily have caused them. Ile was
in the constant habit of speaking whatever he thought,
without human respect or fear of censure -from others.
This frankness harmonized well with the open character of
the Kentuckians, and secured for him, in their bosoms, an
unbounded confidence and esteem.
    Those under his direction could not fail to profit by all
this earnest zeal and devotedness to their welfare. They
made rapid advances in the path of perfection, in which
they were blessed with so able and laborious a guide. Even
when he was snatched from their midst, they could not soon
forget his lessons, nor lose sight of his example.
    We may say of him what lie so ardently wished should
be verified in others: that he " has brought forth fruit," and
that " his fruit has remained." He has enkindled a fire in
our midst. which the coldness and neglect of generations to
come will not be able to quench. He has impressed his own
earnest spirit on the missions served by those whom his
laborious zeal has reared. Such are some of the fruits pro-
duced by this truly good man, with whose invaluable services
God has pleased to bless our infant diocese.
   But these were not all, nor even one-half, of the fruits
which he brought forth, and cultivated till they were ripe
for Heaven. His zeal was not confined to the seminary, the
labor of superintending which would have sufficed for any
one man. He devoted all his moments of leisure to the
exercise of the holy ministry among the Catholics living in
the neighborhood of St. Thomas. He was for several years
the pastor of this congregation; and, besides the church, he.
attended to several neighboring stations, on Tbhurs(days,
when his duties did not require his presence at the seminary.
Ile also visited the congregation at Bardstown once a

 

RTGIIT REV. JOHN B. DAVID.



month. Constant labor was the atmosphere he breathed,
and the very element in which he lived. l-ie was most
happy, when most occupied.    During his long life, he,
perhaps, spent as few idle hours as any other man that ever
lived.
    Besides attending to the seminary and to the missions,
Father David set about laying the foundation of another
institution which was afterwards to become the ornament
and pride of the diocese, and which wvas admirable even in
its rude beginnings. We allude to the establishment of the
Sisters of Charity in Kentucky, who justly look up to him
as their father and founder.
    The foundation of the Sisters of Charity in Kentucky
dlates back to the year 1812; one year and a half after the
arrival of Bishop Flaget in his new diocese, and about
twelve months after the Theological Seminary, under charge
of Fathier David, had been removed from St. Stephen's to
the farm of St. Thomas. At this time, the excellent supe-
rior of the seminary, with the advice and consent of Bishop
Flaget, conceived the idea of founding a community of
religious females, who, secluded rirom the world, might
devote themselves wvholly to the service of God and the good
of their neighbors.
   So soon as the intentions of the bishop were known in
the congregations of his diocese, there were found several
ladies who professed a willingness to enter the establishment
and to devote their lives to the objects which its projectors
proposed. In November, 1812, two pious ladies of mature
age, Sister Teresa Carico and Mliss Elizabeth Wells took
possession of a small log house, contiguous to the church
of St. Thomas.   Their house consisted of but one room
below and one above, and a cabin adjoining which served
as a kitchen. They commenced their work of charity by



19

 

2BIOGRAPHTICAL NOTICE OF



manufacturing clothing for those belonging to the seminary
of St. Thomas, then in its infancy.
    On the 21st of January following 1813, another member
was added to the community, in the person of Sister Catha-
rine Spalding.  On the same day, the superior, Father
David, presented to them the provisional rules which he
had already drawn up, unfolding the nature, objects, and
duties of the new society. On the same occasion, he also
read, and fully explained to those presept, an order of the
day, which he had written out, for the regulation of the
exercises of the community; and this was still further
organized by the temporary appointment of the oldest mem-
ber as superior, until the society should be sufficiently
numerous to proceed to a regular election, according to the
provisions of the rule.
   In June of the same year, the sisters, being then six in
number, made a spiritual retreat of seven days, under the
direction of Father David ; and at the close of it, proceeded
to the election of a superior, and of officers, of their own
body.   Sister Catharine Spalding was chosen the first
Mother Superior, Sister Harriet Gardiner, Mother's Assistant,
and Sister Betsey Wells, Procuratrix. At this first election
ever held in the society, there were present, Bishop Flaget,
Father David, and Rev. G. I. Chabrat. On that occasion the
bishop made the sisters a very moving exhortation on the
nature of the duties they were undertaking to perform, and
on the obligations they contracted in embracing the religious
life. The ceremony was closed with the episcopal benedic-
tion.
   For two years the sisters continued to observe their
provisional rule, patiently awaiting the decision of their
bishop, and of their reverend founder, as to what order or
society they would associate themselves.



20

 

              RIGHT REV. .JOHIN B. DAVID.               21

    At length it was determined that they should embrace
the rules of the Sister.s of (Gharitv, founded in France nearly
two centuries before, by St. Vincent of Paul. A copy of
these rules had been brought over to the United States.
from France, by Bishop Flaget, at the request of Archbishol
Carroll ; and they had been already adopted, with some
modifications to suit the country, by the religious society
of Sisters of Charity, then lately established at Emmittsburg,
Maryland. Upon    nature reflection, it was decided that
the regulations of this excellent institute were more con-
formable than any other to the views and intentions Of the
bishop and of Father David, as well as to the wvi.hes and
objects contemplated by the members of the new society.
   Father David continued to be the superior of the society
for twenty years, when age and infirmity compelled him to
retire from its management.  He had watched over the
infancy, and he lived to be cheered by the rapid growth and
extended usefulness of the sisterhood.
   Bishop Flaget cultivated so intimate a friendship with
Father David, and found his services so indispensable for
the welfare of his diocese, that he suffered the greatest
anguish of soul whenever he had reason to fear tha