St. John Eudes: Doctor of the Church?

What does it mean to be a Doctor of the Church?

The Church has always canonized saints to provide us examples as a guide in following Christ, and as teachers to deepen our understanding of the faith. Over twenty centuries the Church has granted the unique title of “Doctor of the Church” to only 36 saints: 32 men and 4 women. Three have been named in the past five years. Despite great variety in their background, they all shared two things in common: 1) a depth of insight into doctrine which offers –still today– a unique richness for all baptized Christians and 2) a holiness of life which is exemplary even among saints.

In 1991, the Conference of French Bishops voted to support the cause to declare St. Therese of Lisieux a Doctor of the Church. Pope St. John Paul II proclaimed her Doctor of the Church in 1997. During the last meeting of the French Bishops (in November 2014), they voted the same support for St. John Eudes. This was soon echoed by six other episcopal conferences in Africa as well as Central and South America. In December 2016, Pope Francis met with the Eudist team coordinating the Doctorate cause and assigned three theologians to work with the Vatican on advancing the process.

Works of St. John Eudes

The third important criteria for a Doctor of the Church is the body of teaching which they left for us in print. The collected writings of St. John Eudes (books and correspondence) fill 13 volumes. The highlights are as follows:

His greatest work, The Admirable Heart of Mary was completed just a month before his death (1680). It is a treatise on the Immaculate Heart of Mary (indeed, the first major theological work on the topic), and devotes its entire last section to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

His best-seller, though, was The Life and Kingdom of Jesus in Christian Souls (1637). It went out of print almost 20 times during his lifetime. It provides concrete, practical ways to commune with Jesus in our everyday actions. His central theme for this book is that Christian life is a continuation of the life of Christ. We are the hands, feet, eyes, and heart of His mystical body.

To provide even more help to the faithful, Father Eudes produced several other short manuals: Exercises of Piety (1636), A Catechism of the Missions (1642), Humanity’s Contract with God in Holy Baptism (1654), as well as three works designed to help priests in their pursuit of sanctity: The Good Confessor (1666), A Memorial of Priestly Life (1681), and The Apostolic Preacher (1685). Some were published posthumously.

Some academics have criticized his style as an author (Bremond), preferring that of St. Francis de Sales or Bishop Jacques Bossuet. However, among the great masters of the French School of Spirituality he is undeniably the most readable, and the most accessible for the everyday Christian. His doctrine is solid and practical. He is a saint who speaks of holiness because he has lived it as a member of the Catholic rank and file!

A doctrine for all: renewing baptismal life

As a pastor and missionary, John Eudes heard the confessions of thousands of people: workers, mothers, farmers… This provided him insight to help deepen the spiritual life of all of those he met. His primary invitation to them is to become aware of the value and dignity of their baptism. In an original and emphatic way, he asserts that through baptism we have become the Body of Christ and cannot separate ourselves from communion with the Father, through the Son, in the Holy Spirit.

By Baptism we have become the very children of this Father and siblings of His Son through an indelible mark of the Spirit. Father Eudes emphasizes:

“Whoever among you who has entered this covenant as one of the members of Christ’s body, the Son will always look upon you, encourage you, and treat you as a part of Himself: bone of His bone, flesh of His flesh, spirit of His spirit. You are permanently one with Him.”

Thus, baptism is the starting point and the source of union with Christ. Every baptized person is called to “accept Jesus and be like Him.” These views were then emphasized decisively in the Second Vatican Council. The Church once again shone the light on baptism as the sign of a universal call to holiness, and on the power of the common priesthood of all the baptized.

The way of the Heart as the means of union with Christ

One of the most significant developments in the spirituality of St. John Eudes was his insight concerning the heart. Even before the revelations to St. Margaret-Mary Alacoque brought to the fore the Sacred Heart of Jesus, John Eudes presented the Heart as a focus for the journey of spiritual life. In setting the Heart of God as his metaphysical basis, St. John Eudes calls people’s attention to love as the essential and primary reason for all God’s action. The love of God is the source of all reality. We exist in the love of God, and our lives provide us with the opportunity to respond in love to Him and all His creatures.

In choosing the “heart,” St. John Eudes uses a term embedded deep in Scripture and Tradition. It is universally familiar even in a secular context and can bring us directly into contemplation of the love of Jesus: His Heart overflowing with love like an everlasting fountain. John Eudes then moves naturally from the Heart of God to the indwelling of Jesus in Mary’s heart. This Marian devotion was informed by the theology of Cardinal Pierre de Bèrulle, St. John Eudes’ spiritual director. Jesus was, himself, the life of Mary: He filled her being and reigned in her heart. Thus, the Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary are, in fact, inseparable; not two hearts, but one. John Eudes was the first to bring this powerful devotion to the Christian people in the form of liturgy. He composed and celebrated, with episcopal approval, the first public masses for the feast of the Heart of Mary (1648), then of the Heart of Jesus (1672).

The spiritual heritage of St. John Eudes

For centuries after his death the apostolic and spiritual fruitfulness of St. John Eudes has been a dynamic inspiration to the Church, not only in France but around the world.

Five continents have witnessed the testimony of religious institutes from this family tree. Heirs of Eudist spirituality include great founders like St. Mary Euphrasia (Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd), St. Jeanne Jugan (Little Sisters of the Poor), Venerable Amelie Fristel (Sisters of the Holy Heart of Jesus and Mary), and many others. They all have been nourished by the spiritual stream flowing from St. John Eudes’ teaching. His focus on the love and mercy of God continually inspires them toward a preferential option for the poor and those most in need.

Blessed Maria Droste zu Vischering (a Good Shepherd Sister) is also scheduled to be canonized soon. It was she who asked Pope Leo XIII to consecrate the world to the Sacred Heart (which he did in 1899). This provides still more evidence of the influence of St. John Eudes throughout history, and the relevance of the project to declare him a Doctor of the Church.

In conclusion:
a life which was both missionary and mystical

These directions from Pope Francis summarize the life and teaching of St. John Eudes: in an inseparable way, he lived out the Gospel in his mission of mercy animated entirely by the spirituality of Jesus’ heart.

In John Eudes, we find a master of Christian Life. He provides spiritual nourishment for all the Baptized to fully live their vocation as Missionary Disciples of Christ and witnesses of mercy. Slowly but surely this simple missionary priest is growing in the esteem of the Church. Could he become one of the Doctors of the New Evangelization?

Translated by L. C. Rochereau / Steve Marshall