The Little Gospel

“When Jesus received His Name, Satan was vanquished and disarmed.” (Words of the Sister.)

Sr Mary of St Peter, portress for the interior, was perpetually besieged by visitors who were desirous of receiving consolation or advice. She would fain have excused herself from these pious importunities, in order to preserve the spirit of recollection.

“These good people,” said she, “felt that the little Breton nun, simple as they themselves, understood and sympathised with them in all their troubles and afflictions, seeking to encourage them to resignation by the solacing words of religion; they returned to their homes happy and contented, but soon came back to the convent with their neighbours. Notwithstanding the charity I felt for them, I nevertheless excused myself as much as possible from receiving them, in order not to fail in the spirit of silence, so necessary for a Carmelite. Our Lord, beholding my desire, gave me the means of gratifying these people and also of comforting them in their maladies, by inspiring me with the pious practice of wearing the ‘Gospel of the Circumcision.’ Behold in what manner I arranged this practice in conformity with what had been communicated to me on the subject.

“The devil uses every means in his power to snatch from Our Lord the inheritance won by His Holy cross; and he is incessantly seeking to rob this Good Shepherd of the sheep purchased at so great a price. To prevent this ravenous wolf from approaching the sheepfold, Jesus desired, as He made me understand, that I should proclaim to all, that His sheep were marked with His Holy Name, and carried about them the Gospel announcing to all nations that the Word Incarnate was named Jesus. My amiable Saviour made me understand the depth of virtue contained in that sacred name, the very mention of which puts the devil to flight—Those who will have recourse to this act of piety will receive great graces—He told me, also, to place below this Gospel, the words recalling the victory which He had gained over Satan in assuming, through love for us, the name of Jesus. This little devotion was, first of all, approved of by my superiors; their charity permitting the Gospel of the Circumcision to be printed, and a picture of the Infant Jesus to be engraved on the same leaf, with the initials of Hisadorablename.Theleafwasthenfoldedandenclosedinasmall covering of woollen material on which was embroidered a cross with the Sacred Heart; it was to be worn as a medal around the neck. It also received the approbation of the Vicar General, as being in conformity with the spirit of the Church; for we see from history that the first Christians had the habit of wearing the holy Gospels.

“Our Lord told me that these pious little objects of devotion should not be sold, but that they should be distributed in His Name, in order that every one might be able to procure one easily. That He asked this alms from the community for His glory, for which He would richly compensate us, and that He, Himself, would transact the business of the house. Our worthy superiors gave me permission to comply with the desire of the Divine Infant; soon a countless multitude were enrolled. They wore the Gospel with great devotion, and the Infant Jesus was not slow in granting them many special graces.

“I was continually occupied in distributing these little gospels, but although I was very assiduous in the work, I could not meet the demand of all who desired them. Our good sisters then kindly offered to help me. I was charmed with this new commerce which redounded to the glory of the Holy Infant. I made a very pretty little Gospel for Him, which I placed round the neck of His little statue. As I have said, He told me that these little objects of devotion were not to be sold, but as many wealthy persons wished to purchase them, I placed a small purse in the hand of my little king with the following inscription thereon:

If you wish, give to Jesus; it will enable us to purchase infantile clothing for Him.

“The Divine Child rewarded the good people a hundredfold for their alms, with the graces which He granted them. Quite a considerable amount was thus amassed in His little purse, with which our Reverend Mother purchased clothing for Jesus—by this I wish it to be understood, corporals are linens used in the service of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. The sisters of the community, by the direction of our Reverend Mother, prepared these corporals, which were presented to the Holy Infant with grand ceremony on the feast of Corpus Christi, and afterward distributed among the poor parishes of the diocese. We also made a trousseau for a poor infant, in whom we pictured the poverty of the Infant Jesus at His birth.”

The good sister informs us, furthermore, that Our Lord asked as an alms that these prayers be distributed as soon as possible. At the end of the prayers, He desired should be written, “When Jesus received His name, Satan was vanquished and disarmed. He permitted me to behold the amount of glory which accrued to Him by celebrating His victory in these words, which make the demons gnash their teeth with rage. He promised that He would bless all who would wear this Gospel, and would defend them against the attacks of the devil.”

The Lord afterward informed her, that as this grace had been drawn from His Heart, that the engraving of the Sacred Heart, together with the instruments of His Passion, should be stamped on the little covering containing this Gospel, which would answer the same purpose as a seal on a reliquary, which guarantees the authenticity of the relic. In honour of the five letters which form the name of Jesus, and in virtue of His five wounds, He promised to grant five special graces to all who would practise this devotion.

• 1st—To preserve them from death by lightning.
• 2nd—To protect them against the snares and the malice of the devil.
• 3rd—To deliver them from a sudden and unprovided death.
• 4th—To assist them to advance with facility in the path of virtue.
• 5th—That He would give them the grace of final perseverance.”

As this last favour appeared excessive to the pious Carmelite, the following words of Holy Scripture occurred to her mind, and reassured her, “Whoever will invoke the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Rom. X. 13.)

These little gospels required no other blessing than that given to the palms used on Palm Sunday, in commemoration of the triumphant entry of Our Lord into the city of Jerusalem.

… to be continued…

Excerpt taken from: The Holy Face and the Work of Reparation, by Sr Marie de St Pierre, & Abbè P. Janvier (ed.), (1884), reprinted in 2026 by A.D. Press.