The Faith of a Saint, St. Julie Billiart, Co-Founder, Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur

By Stacy Lynne

Julie Billiart lived during the time of the French Revolution, when it was unlawful for Catholics to openly practice their faith. Undeterred by paralysis, loss of sight, loss of speech, becoming hunted prey and having to escape to avoid being burned alive, Julie continued worshiping, praising, and teaching others about The Good God. After she established a new religious order, the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, her work on behalf of The Good God extended throughout the world.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Stacy Lynne
• Release date: May 17, 2016
• ISBN: 9781310260537

Stacy Lynne

**REACH ME HERE**: [e-mail] PUBLISHER, Cross-genre AUTHOR, EDITOR, PROOFREADER, SPEED TYPIST, CRITIC, REVIEWER, and TRANSCRIBER including Gregg Shorthand.WINNER: Grand Prize, 2016 Campbell Library Poetry SubmissionsWINNER: Ones Upon a Day contest, 2011, Sponsored by Ron GordonFINALIST: 100 Words or Less Stories, 2016 Sunnyvale Library SubmissionsAUTHOR: THE FAITH OF A SAINT, ST. JULIE BILLIART, CO-FOUNDER, SISTERS OF NOTRE DAME DE NAMURAUTHOR: THE ROSARY, A Prayer for ALL PeoplePUBLISHER and EDITOR: SHOWTIME 4:20 Author, Pink RabbitPUBLISHER: YOUR CHILD'S FIRST INTRODUCTION TO CHARLES DICKENS' CHRISTMAS CAROL, by Stacy LynneSOLE DISTRIBUTOR AND PUBLISHER: A CHRISTMAS CAROL IN PROSE: BEING A GHOST STORY OF CHRISTMAS, BY CHARLES DICKENS, THE RAW EDITION. For editor wannabes. Dickens made only one draft of his story. I typed the complete text from electronic copies of Dickens' original manuscript (handwritten with a quill pen dipped in ink) and left intact the errors and inconsistencies he didn't have time to correct (which publishers have handled in different ways over the years). There are plenty of editing, proofreading, spelling, capitalization, punctuation, grammar, fact-checking, and creative writing challenges within the pages of this adored Christmas classic written by a literary master over 150 years ago. Contact me at EM listed above for purchase inquiries.EDITOR: THE INFAMOUS ALTAMONT SPEEDWAY (Hardcover San Francisco Bay Area auto racing history books sold here: http://www.historysanjoseautoracing.com/ )EDITOR: BAYLANDS RACEWAY PARK / FREMONT DRAG STRIP (Hardcover San Francisco Bay Area auto racing history books sold here: http://www.historysanjoseautoracing.com/ )EDITOR: HISTORY OF WATSONVILLE AND SALINAS AUTO RACINGAUTHOR of Epilogue to "Chapter 6: Salinas Road Race"(Hardcover San Francisco Bay Area auto racing history books sold here: http://www.historysanjoseautoracing.com/ )EDITOR: HISTORY OF SAN FRANCISCO AUTO RACING (Hardcover San Francisco Bay Area auto racing history books sold here: http://www.historysanjoseautoracing.com/ )EDITOR: HISTORY OF SAN JOSE AUTO RACING, 1903-2007, which earned Author Dennis Mattish the 2010 JOHN RYAN ACHIEVEMENT AWARD. (Hardcover San Francisco Bay Area auto racing history books sold here: http://www.historysanjoseautoracing.com/ )EDITOR: HISTORY OF SAN JOSE RACING PART 2 -- a photographic addendum to History of San Jose Auto Racing, 1903-2007. (Hardcover San Francisco Bay Area auto racing history books sold here: http://www.historysanjoseautoracing.com/ )

Book preview

First in the HEAVENLY HOST Series

THE FAITH OF A SAINT

ST. JULIE BILLIART

CO-FOUNDER, SISTERS OF NOTRE DAME DE NAMUR

By Stacy Lynne

Cover Design by Laura Shinn Designs

The author would like to properly credit the unknown artist of the portrait of Julie Billiart that was used for this e-book’s cover. If you know who created the portrait, please contact Stacy.

Copyright 2015 Stacy Lynne

Revised 1 Jan 2022 ** Happy New Year! **

Smashwords Edition

ISBN: 9781310260537 E-Pub Format Only

* * * * *

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Foreword

Introduction

There’s Something About Julie

Reputation of a Saint

Trials and Tribulations

On the Lam

Miracles and a Vision

Tests of Obedience

Soaring to New Heights

No Cakewalk

The Saint Is Dead!

Epilogue

Appendices

About St. Julie Billiart Chapel

SNDdeN Around the World

Our Good God

How You Can Help

Bibliography

Connect With Stacy Lynne

Other Books By Stacy Lynne

About Stacy Lynne

* * * * *

Foreword

When I was younger, I took it for granted that the life of a saint must be easier than the lives of the rest of us. I thought that having God’s stamp of approval must surely wipe away obstacles, cares, or hardships. I thought joyful bliss was a given for a saint, but I’m older now, and I know better--that the lives of saints are not at all easy. Most of them are tested again and again, as Julie Billiart was.

I learned about St. Julie Billiart after I became a parishioner of a church that had a chapel named after her. A portrait of St. Julie (the same portrait that was used for the cover of this e-book) hung on one of the walls of the chapel, and I saw such peace and contentment emanating from her face that I wanted to know what her life was like that she should reflect such satisfaction with her lot. I searched the chapel bookcase and the parish library but there was no information on Julie there, so I widened my search to the local libraries.

Printed biographies on St. Julie were hard (though not impossible) to come by and difficult to understand. Facts were discrepant from the get-go, beginning with the fact of Julie’s birth order within her family.

The more I researched Julie’s life, the more determined I became to make a printed source available to others who might look at Julie’s portrait hanging in the chapel and, like me, wonder who she was. After writing a manuscript and placing it on the bookcase shelf in the chapel, I decided to expand the manuscript and digitally publish.

Unfortunately, not all the material available (whether printed or online) is reliable. The website of Catholic Online was inaccurate in Julie’s birth order in her family. Additionally, one of the books I had used for my research at the outset (As Gold In the Furnace) was written as a romanticized biography (the author’s term). I realized this fact after I had already digitally published The Faith of a Saint.

In Gold, conversations that had not actually taken place had been constructed because the author had felt such conversations would have naturally been the result of the events described. However, even the events as described were not all actual events. Some were added because the author felt readability or artistic effect demanded details. (These statements by the author can be found in the Foreword, after the statement that