Avoir le cuer debonnere

The Ministry of a Kind Heart

A call to practice active compassion and generous support for those suffering in body or spirit.

Dear daughter, keep a kind heart toward those you learn are in distress of heart or body, and help them gladly—whether with comfort or with alms—as best you can, and in a good way.¹²

Read the original Latin

Chiere fille, ayez le cuer debonnere vers les genz que vos entendez qui sont a mesese de cuer et de cors, et les secourez volentiers ou de confort, ou daumone, selon ce que vos porrez en bonne manière.

Notes

1 ↩OF debonnere (debonnaire) means kindly, gentle, and well-disposed; rendered as “kind heart” to match the chapter title’s interior moral sense without archaism.
2 ↩entendez can mean hear of, understand, or come to know; rendered as “you learn” to cover ordinary knowledge by report or observation.

Teachings to His Daughter Isabelle companion

Rule yourself daily, not just on retreat

Chosen Portion turns the mirror into a daily practice — a short reading and examining question each morning before you lead anyone.

Chosen Portion makes the mirror daily: the ruler-formation questions this collection preserves become a two-minute morning examination in the app.

A daily formation reading drawn from centuries of counsel to those in authority
One pointed examination question a day — two minutes, before the meetings start
Track your practice over weeks and watch the examined life become a habit

Chosen Portion — Daily Prayer (free iOS app) →