I. Charism - La Salle.org

IV. DISCOVERING, LIVING, SHARING THE GIFT OF GOD 133
failures. Above all, the communion with many Brothers who were
important to John Baptist de La Salle, appeared broken. With
whom was he living in Society now What was the significance of
the Vow of 1691 Of that of 1694
He also fully realised that making a new beginning, “restarting his
life” would not make sense. Faith in himself, faith in others, in his
Brothers, faith in the Other, had been badly affected. In other
words, spirituality, which gives meaning and coherence to life, was
seriously affected.
God was no longer speaking to him.
In this existential distress, “God was no longer speaking to him” 112 .
This expression may be understood in two ways: God no longer
speaks to him and he no longer has any taste for being with God.
John Baptist de la Salle was driven back to pure faith, to absolute
confidence. But was it possible to hold on in this way when God
remained silent He chooses to distance himself, thinking that his
physical presence was basically the cause of the difficulties encountered
in Marseille. He went to the convent of Saint-Maximin (a
Dominican convent), near Sainte-Baume, a hermitage and famous
place of pilgrimage which may have served as a refuge for Mary
Magdalen.
De La Salle withdrew to a hermitage some ten or twelve leagues form
the city. There, elevated above himself and all the world, he found
himself like a traveler on some lofty peak where winds and storms no
longer swirl. There, he discovered a deep repose and sweet tranquillity.
Occupied with God alone, he forgot everything else. If his thoughts
some times turned to his Brothers or his persecutors, it was to pray
God for them and to implore the Divine Majesty to uphold the former
and to convert the latter. The injures and outrages offered him
had left in his soul no other traces but those that perfect charity
112
Blain, op. cit., Book Three, p. 624. (CL 8, p. 96).