BRO. MARCEL VAN: SIMPLICITY 1
The ideas presented here come from the dialogues
Bro Marcel
Van had with the Lord Jesus, with the Blessed Mother, and with St Therese of
the Child Jesus (it is indicated who is speaking or sending the message) with
whom he enjoyed spiritual conversations. Brother Marcel’s holy life did not
rest on these conversations but rather on his deep love for God, his obedience
to his will, and his commitment and service to others. He died as a “confessor
of the faith” – one who lived his faith heroically in the midst of trials – in
a North Vietnamese Communist prison where he strived to bring joy and faith to
his companions, Catholic or not.
a. Simplicity
in prayer
Jesus: There are many who do not know how to listen to what
I say, without daring to converse simply with me as children, under the pretext
that it does not suit ... Tell them that I very much listen to ordinary
conversations, and that I take pleasure in hearing them. This is all I expect
from souls who love me ... Continue to write my words and call them "Love
of Jesus"; as for the words that you address to me, you will call them
"Love of Marcel" ... I do not seek, like the people of the world, the
elegant remarks; only the childish words coming out of a loving heart have the
gift to charm my ear. And you, my child, always act like that, for I find much
charm in the words you speak to me here; I never get tired of listening to them
...
Jesus: O my second little Therese, listen to me: every time
I speak to you, I only recommend the same thing to you: prayer. Prayer of the
will, prayer of works, prayer of feeling. Do not forget that there are many
ways that can help you pray without you having to tire yourself. One must not
be afraid of prayer. The first Therese of the Child Jesus taught you the
easiest method of prayer that requires no words; since you are very small,
continue to follow this method that was taught you.
Marcel: O Mother Mary, last night, during the meditation,
little Jesus only looked at me without saying anything, except for the few
words that follow: "Now, Marcel, I'm going to teach you simply to look at
me, so that when I do not speak to you, you just look at me. I will get used to
this attitude so that later you can faithfully put it into practice. So little
Jesus just exhorted me to look up at the tabernacle. And thus fixing the
tabernacle, I felt as much consolation as if Jesus had spoken to me. This
morning, the little Jesus resumed the same exercise, but I could not apply it
because I only slumbered. I asked Jesus if he was happy about that. He answered
that yes, provided that I never get upset at the sight of my weaknesses. He
told me that I was very weak, that I possessed nothing, except my weaknesses,
that he received from me nothing but weaknesses, because everything in me was
only weakness.
Marcel: I remember one day when I had absolutely nothing to
say to the child Jesus, I kept looking at him, filled with disgust, but not
knowing how to go about it. Seeing me in this state, little Jesus called me to
teach me a way to entertain myself with him. He told me first to look at the
bench and he added: "Little brother, say: 'Jesus, I love you in the bench'.
He then told me to look at everything in the oratory and to repeat for
everything: 'Jesus, I love you in ... the dust, the fly, the glass, the foot of
the bench, in the flower, in the plant, in the flowerpot, in the earth
contained in the pot, in the shelf where it is placed, in the brick, in the
column; I love you in the bird, in the song of the bird, in the frog, in the
white tree frog, in the cry of the tree frog, in the plane, in the car ...
'"While the little Jesus taught me this lesson, I wanted to laugh and I
was very distracted. Then I had the following distraction: I told myself that
if it were given me to teach the children, I will do such and such thing to
pamper them. Then little Jesus, once more, invited me to say, "Little
Jesus, I love you in my little brothers who are having fun. "
Finally, the little Jesus said to me, "Little brother,
you can always use this method, and so you can, while resting, make continual
prayer. Moreover, this method will help you never to commit a fault in your
distractions; where the spirit leads you, there too your love leads you, so
that I am loved by you everywhere ... "
Since then, when I have nothing to say, I use this method,
but I want to laugh. Once I said, "Little Jesus, I love you in the
fly". And he, to say to me laughing: "This fly feels very bad, it is
very dirty and yet you still love me in it really. So consoling me in the most
ordinary things, you oblige me to follow you step by step to give you my kisses
... "
Jesus: On this day of April 28, 1946, oh! Marcel! how many
ordinary things that people do not think about and that they could offer me to
please me. Regarding Love, these little things, far from ordinary, are very
precious
Mary: My child, do as follows: when you start a decade (of
the Rosary), tell me: "O Mother, I offer you this Our Father, and again
this first Hail Mary, this second Hail Mary, this third I Hail Mary "and
so on, until the end of the decade. Then you start again as above. The first
ten finished, offer me the second, saying again: "O Mother ... etc. And
then continue always so. So you do not need to know how to meditate this or
that mystery. The method which is most agreeable to me and which I wish to see
employed by men in preference to all others, is that which consists for
everyone of offering me his prayers and his thoughts during the recitation of
the rosary.
Marcel: I adored the Blessed Sacrament for half an hour only
and found it extremely long; I had only one desire: to return as soon as
possible. I do not understand why. In contrast, when coming back, I regretted
not to have behaved well with you. [...]
Jesus: Little brother, why trouble yourself? Do you think I
do not understand you anymore? You had to make an effort to stay with me; it is
a greater sacrifice than if you were kneeling all day in my presence. [...]
Marcel: Little Jesus, I'm so sad that I do not know what to
tell you anymore.
Jesus: You can at least breathe and look; then, take your
breaths and your looks to give them to me: is not that to speak to me?
Marcel: Mary knew how to foresee and, above all, she trusted
in her true Heavenly Father. With me, she behaved like a mother, but with God
the Father, she acted with all the candor of a child. If she missed something,
if she had any need, however small, she could only lift her eyes to heaven and
ask God the Father, in all simplicity and sincerity. And since her trust and
simplicity were so pleasing to God, Mary got all she asked for, as she told you
before. For example, when she lacked flour to make bread, she was content to
tell her true Father: "O Father, today, 'your little one' [Jesus] and your
children are in need." Then she detailed: "They have no more flour,
no more salt ... etc. ". After which she remained in peace as usual. The
true heavenly Father was very eager to answer his prayers, but he did so in a
very natural way, without resorting to dazzling miracles ...
Marcel: Prayer is a conversation with God, in the manner of
the child who speaks to his father, two lovers who call themselves sweet words,
the friend who talks intimately with his friend. In this prayer, the lips are
motionless, silence reigns in the soul, words are formed only in thought, the
soul perceives them and God hears them. Hence, for every soul who loves God
with all his heart, it does not happen for a moment without it being united to
God and conversing with Him.
