{"id":1742,"date":"2011-10-21T17:02:59","date_gmt":"2011-10-21T17:02:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.library.depaul.press\/full-text\/?p=1742"},"modified":"2016-01-13T22:20:48","modified_gmt":"2016-01-13T22:20:48","slug":"st-vincents-reading-list-xxii-gods-will-the-influence-of-benoit-de-canfield","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.library.depaul.press\/full-text\/2011\/10\/21\/st-vincents-reading-list-xxii-gods-will-the-influence-of-benoit-de-canfield\/","title":{"rendered":"St. Vincent’s Reading List XXII: God’s Will: The influence of Beno\u00eet de Canfield"},"content":{"rendered":"

Benoit de Canfield. Reigle de Perfection, contenant un abrege de toute la vie spirituelle, reduite a ce seul poinct de la volonte de Dieu…<\/em>Paris: Chez Charles Chastelain, 1648.
\nCall Number: SpC. 248.842 B473r 1648<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

William Fitch (1562-1611) was an English convert to Catholicism. He entered the Capuchin order in France and received the name Benoit de Canfield. He returned as a missionary priest to England and was imprisoned by Elizabeth I. Released near the end of the reign, at the request of Henri IV, Canfield returned to Paris where he died in 1611.<\/p>\n

\"ReigleCanfield was among the spiritual luminaries who contributed to the development of the famous “l’age d’or” of French spirituality at the dawn of the seventeenth century. The central thesis of his work is that the spiritual life reduced to its essence consists of discerning and doing God’s will. The first edition of Canfield’s Reig<\/em>le de Perfection<\/em> (1609) received the endorsement Andre du Val.<\/p>\n

It is believed that Vincent de Paul came into contact with Canfield’s work soon after its publication. The period between 1609 (Vincent’s arrival in Paris) and 1617 (the year of the Folleville and Chatillon experiences) is a transformative one for Monsieur Vincent. During this time he came to spiritual maturity (through expanding and deepening the content of his faith) and ministerial maturity (expressing this faith through the evangelization of the poor country folk) all in response to God’s discerned will in his experiences.<\/p>\n

The pre-occupation with discerning and doing God’s will is central to Vincent’s spirituality and is found throughout his letters, and conferences. It also stands at the heart of the Common Rules of the Congregation of the Mission and the Company of the Daughters of Charity. Even though in Vincent’s extant writings there is no specific reference to Canfield the influence is manifest: “Perfection doesn’t consist in ecstasies but in doing the Will of God. What is perfection?… Perfection consists in so uniting our will to God’s that his will and ours, properly speaking, form only one will and non-will.”1<\/sup> The most substantive of Vincent’s reflections on doing God’s will is found in the conference of 7 March 1659.2<\/sup><\/p>\n

1<\/sup>Coste, CCD<\/em>, 11:284-285.
\n2<\/sup>Ibid., 12:126-137.<\/p>\n

__________<\/p>\n

St. Vincent’s Reading List is recurring blog series exploring texts known to have been read and recommended by St. Vincent de Paul, those which can be presumed to have been read by him, and important works published during his lifetime (1581-1660). All materials discussed are held by DePaul’s Special Collections and Archives<\/a>. <\/em>The entire series may be viewed here<\/em>.<\/em>\u200b<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Benoit de Canfield. Reigle de Perfection, contenant un abrege de toute la vie spirituelle, reduite a ce seul poinct de la volonte de Dieu…Paris: Chez Charles Chastelain, 1648. Call Number: SpC. 248.842 B473r 1648   William Fitch (1562-1611) was an English convert to Catholicism. He entered the Capuchin order in France and received the name <\/p>\n

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