Crusade Magazine 2004

In temptations against chastity, the spiritual masters advise us not  
so much to contend with the bad thought,  
as to turn the mind to some spiritual, or, at least, indifferent object.  
It is useful to combat other bad thoughts face to face,  
but not thoughts of impurity. 

St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori

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Colette Broyet lived during the great Church schism when there were two men claiming to be Pope: one in Rome and one in Avignon.

Her father worked as a carpenter for the Benedictine Abbey of Corbie in French Picardy. Both parents were older and prayed earnestly to St. Nicholas of Myra to conceive. On the birth of a daughter, they named her Nicolette. Left an orphan at seventeen, Colette distributed what little she had to the poor, and with the help of her guardian, the Abbot of Corbie, moved into a small hermitage and joined the Third Order of Saint Francis.

In her cell, Colette lived a life of austerity and prayer becoming known for her holiness. In a vision, St. Francis asked her to reform his order. Heartsick at the prospect, the twenty-five year old girl hesitated, only to become blind for three days, and then deaf for another three. Taking this as a sign that she must take up her mission, in 1406 she left her seclusion and under the direction of her confessor, Fr. Henry de Baume, set about to try to explain her mandate only to realize that, if she was to succeed, she must be invested with the proper authority.

She visited Peter de Luna, who under the name of Benedict XIII was then considered the true Pope by the French, though illegitimate according to Church history.  Luna was so impressed with Colette that he professed her in the rule of St. Clare and invested her with the necessary authority for her mission.

With these credentials Colette visited convents in France, Savoy and Flanders inviting these to return to the original rule of St. Clare. Still, at first she met with violent opposition. Bearing all with joy she persevered and, after a while, began to make a difference as convents accepted her revised rule. In all, she founded seventeen new convents, and several houses of Franciscan friars also accepted her reform.

An energetic reformer, mystic and miracle worker, Collette died in Flanders at age of sixty-seven after foretelling her own death. She was canonized in 1807.

Photo by: DirkVE

At Anna’s mother’s funeral a man came up to her and after offering his deepest sympathy, took the grieving daughter aside, “I must tell you a story about your good mother and something she did for me…”

He proceeded to recount how, many years before he was involved in an extra-marital affair. One day, when dining with the woman in a restaurant, Anna’s parents had come in and pretended they had not seen them.

But next day he picked up the phone to hear Anna’s mother inviting him over for a piece of pie.

“You know how good your mother’s pie was…But there was also a tone of urgent authority in her voice, so I went.”

After enjoying his piece of pie, Anna’s mother revealed that she had, indeed, seen him and his girl-friend the night before.

“Though I vehemently denied it, your mother would not relent...She proceeded to remind me of the time when I was out of work and she had cooked for my family day in and day out.”

“Now, I want payback,” she demanded.

“I reached for my wallet, but she said,”

“Not that way.”

Handing him a Rosary she asked him to go to Mass for a week. She instructed him to say the Hail Mary and Our Father assigned to each bead while thinking of something good about his wife, his children and their family life.

“If at the end of this week you still think this woman is better for you, just mail me back the Rosary, and I will never say a word about this again.”

At this point, the man telling the story reached into his pocket. Pulling out a worn Rosary, he said,

“This is the Rosary your mother gave me all those years ago. My wife and I have said it together every day since.”

 Based on a story from 101 Inspirational Stories of the Rosary by Sister Patricia Proctor, OSC