User:Raeevans1519/Marie of the Incarnation (Ursuline)

Mary of the Incarnation (28 October 1599 – 30 April 1672), also known in French as Marie de l'Incarnation, was an Ursuline nun of the French order. As part of a group of nuns sent to New France to establish the Ursuline Order, Marie was crucial in the spread of Catholicism in New France. Moreover, she has been credited with founding the first girls’ school in the New World. Due to her involvement in the conversion of the Native Canadians, the Catholic Church declared her a saint, and the Anglican Church of Canada celebrates her with a feast day.

Religious beginnings
Free to pursue her religious inclinations after her husband's death, Guyart took a vow of chastity, obedience and poverty. On 24 March 1620, she reported a religious vision that set her on a new path of devotional intensity. Marie describes the event in Relation by saying that, "In a flash the eyes of my mind were opened and all faults, sins, imperfections I had ever committed were represented both in general and in particular, with a distinction and clarity more certain than any certitude that human effort could produce. At the same moment I saw myself completely immersed in blood, and I was convinced that . . . this precious blood had been shed for my salvation." For Marie, this vision marked a new, more intense period of her spirituality and a more intense longing for the religious life.

In 1627 Guyart read Vida, the autobiography of the Spanish mystic Teresa of Ávila. Marie found many spiritual connections with Teresa, and was heavily influenced by her work. After reading Vida, Guyart long aspired to the same goal of her Spanish role model of travelling to the New World and becoming a martyr there. Fueled by Jesuit propaganda and her own visions, Guyart became more and more encouraged to travel to New France. So much so, she recorded a 1634 vision that would inspire her voyage to the New World and in Relation of 1654 she wrote, "I saw at some distance to my left a little church of white marble...the Blessed Virgin was seated. She was holding the Child Jesus on her lap. This place was elevated, and below it lay a majestic and vast country, full of mountains, of valleys, of thick mists which permeated everything except the church...The Blessed Virgin, Mother of God, looked down on this country, as pitiable as it was amazing...it seamed to me that she spoke about this country and about myself and that she had in mind some plan which involved me." With the assistance of her spiritual director, Guyart identified the country to be Canada and further incentivized her departure to New France. Despite never achieving martyrdom, Guyart would spend many years in the New World aspiring towards it, working diligently in the meantime. After her death, the two names would often be connected, and Marie would occasionally be referred to as the Teresa of Canada.

In 1631, after working with a spiritual director for many years, Guyart decided to enter the Ursuline monastery in Tours to try her religious vocation, at which time she received the religious name by which she is now known. Joining the monastery required her to leave her young son, and he expressed much difficulty with the separation. Claude tried to storm the monastery with a band of school friends, and could repeatedly be found crying at the gates, trying to enter. She left him in the care of the Buisson family, but the emotional pain of the separation would remain with them both. Though Marie was pained by the separation, she justified the act by saying it was God's will to set aside her worldly attachments in order to live the contemplative life. Marie wrote about her son's protests: "The devil pushed me hard on this point, trying to persuade me that I was wanting in judgment in having neglected my own inter ests by doing nothing either for myself or for my son, and that to leave him now in this condition would be to ruin him and also seriously stain my conscience." Later, when her son had become a Benedictine monk, they corresponded candidly about their spiritual and emotional trials.

Thirteen "states of prayer"
Guyart's Relation of 1654 is subdivided into chapters outlining what she calls her états d'oraison, or "states of prayer". These states of prayer describe the stages of her conversion and transition towards a state of complete unity with God. Guyart does not clearly identify each state or the transitions between them, nor does she follow the typical three stages outlined in other mystical conversion stories.

Guyart's first state of prayer consists of the initial vision of Christ Guyart experienced at age seven. Through her other states, Guyart describes the process of "spiritual purification" she underwent. In her chapter on her fifth state, Guyart described the worldly oppositions to her religious calling she faced. The sixth, seventh, and eighth states include the occasions on which Guyart had true nature of the Trinity revealed to her during mystic visions, though she never specified what that true nature was. The ninth state includes the vision that inspired Guyart's expedition to New France, and the twelfth covers her and her companions arrival in Canada as well as their initial interactions with the Natives. Finally, in the thirteenth state, Guyart writes about "an influx of peace" upon finally achieving "true and substantial spiritual poverty."

Pre-departure
Personal and financial obstacles delayed her departure by four years. Over this time, she maintained a continuous correspondence with Jesuits [My added link.] in Quebec who were supportive of a female religious presence, which might facilitate the Christianization of Huron women. Guyart's Mother Superior in Tours, and her pre-Ursuline religious director Dom Raymond de Saint Bernard were largely unsupportive, the latter suggesting that it was too lofty for a lowly laywoman. Dom Raymond went so far as to enlist a friend of his to dissuade Marie from going to Quebec. Marie describes how this friend came to her repeatedly and verbally berated her. In Relation, she writes, "He was so indignant that quite often he made use of abusive language and invectives and even sent me sheets of paper filled with them." Guyart was met with similar resistance from her family. Her brother, Claude Guyart attempted to persuade her into abandoning her mission by accusing her of parental neglect, and by revoking an inheritance designated for her son; these measures did not deter her.

Early interactions with the native populations
Guyart early interactions with Native populations were largely shaped by the constraints created by differing lifestyles, illnesses, and alliances. Indigenous divisions of manual and domestic labour by gender and age diverged significantly from European conceptions of masculine and feminine spheres of work. This made it difficult for Marie and the other Ursulines to educate young girls with methods developed in Europe.

A strong, universalizing impulse underscored Guyart's interactions, and activities in New France. Her perceptions of similarities between European Christians, and the potential converts in the New World were the upshots of a cloistered convent life, and largely non-existent experiences with other cultures; such seclusion allowed for an over-simplification of her ambition to spread God's word transnationally. According to Natalie Zemon Davis, the integrative approach towards Native interactions that developed from this mindset was dissimilar to the Jesuit's methods of establishing relationships in New France. Jesuits, adopted Native roles in the presence of First Nations peoples, but were quick to shed these association when outside the confines of their settlements; this double life made any fully integrative experience, or universal mindset impossible.

However, there were some problems with the education system during the 17th century. Some students did not stay at the school long enough to receive a complete education. The Ursuline nuns did not have the authority to keep them if the girls want to leave. Another problem was limited economic resources. The school could only accept a limited number of students because of a lack of funds.

Education
In the 17th century, a key pillar of education was religious education. Marie followed a strict orthodox teaching method she learnt during her time with the Ursulines in Tours. The system was based on basics of faith, French and Latin literature and civility. The basics of faith included catechism, prayers and hymns. The main objective of the Ursuline school was to educate young French girls and Natives to become good Christians. The young French girls paid one hundred and twenty livres to cover both their education and pension fees. At the time, the young Native girls did not have to pay for their education. The Ursuline's encouraged the young Montagnais, Hurons and Algonquins to use the seminary as a resource. These girls were taught French mannerisms and were taught how to dress based on French culture. After their education, the young aboriginal students were encouraged to go back to their homes and share their teachings. By educating young girls from different tribes, francization was transmitted from daughter to mother. In her writings, Guyart emphasized the fact that the Aboriginal students were treated the same way as the French students at the school. They allowed the girls to sing hymns in both French and their native languages. Many of the nuns created mother-like bonds with the First Nation students. However, there were some problems with the education system during the 17th century. Some students did not stay at the school long enough to receive a complete education. The Ursuline nuns did not have the authority to keep them if the girls wanted to leave. The hunting patterns of the Native peoples meant that the girls would be away for Catholic influence for long periods of time. Another problem hindering the Catholics from fully converting the Natives was limited economic resources. The school could only accept a limited number of students because of a lack of funds. By the time of Marie's death in 1599, no more Native girls were receiving an Ursuline education.

Works
In addition to her religious duties, Guyart composed multiple works that reflected her experiences and observations during her time in the New World and the spiritual calling that led her there. In relation to her work with the indigenous population, Guyart learned Montagnais, Algonquin, Huron, and Iroquois, writing dictionaries and catechisms in each (none of which survived to today), as well as in her native French. Marie also wrote two autobiographies, though her second Relation was destroyed in a fire at the convent while still in manuscript. The surviving autobiography, Guyart claimed, was commissioned by Father Jérôme Lalemant, the Jesuit leader in New France. These writings were also meant as an explanation to her son Claude of what motivated her to abandon him to join the convent all those years ago.

Her most significant writings, however, were the 8,000-20,000 letters she wrote to various acquaintances, the majority of which went to her son Claude. Despite being personal correspondence, some of her letters were circulated throughout France and appeared in The Jesuit Relation in love while she was still alive. After Guyart's death, her son published 221 of these letters in Écrits spirituels et historiques, although these letters were edited by Claude for supposed clarity and modernization. Eighty-one of Marie's original letters still exist today, though none of her son's responses to her remain. These letters constitute one of the sources for the history of the French colony from 1639 to 1671. Guyart's writings also contain the first documented French-language use of the term "French-Canadian". Her collection of works discuss political, commercial, religious and interpersonal aspects of the colony and are helpful in the reconstruction and understanding of New France in the seventeenth century.