Benet Canfield facts for kids
Benet Canfield (1562–1610) was an English mystic and a Recusant. This means he was a Catholic who refused to follow the official Church of England during a time when it was against the law. He was also known as Father Benet or Benoit of Canfield. His book, Rule of Perfection, was like a guide for many spiritual people for a long time. He was so important that he was called the "Master of masters" because he influenced many famous spiritual leaders like Madame Acarie and Vincent de Paul.
Life Story of Benet Canfield
Benet Canfield was born William Fitch in 1562, in a place called Little Canfield in England. He was the third of four sons. Around 1579, he started studying law in London. During his studies, he had a discussion with someone who disagreed with the Church of England. This made William think that all the new ideas from the Protestant Reformation were wrong, even those of his own Anglican Church.
William then read a book by Robert Persons called The first booke of the Christian exercise. This book helped him decide to become a Catholic. At that time, being Catholic was against the law in England. So, William went to study at an English Catholic college in Douai, Belgium. This college was a main place for English Catholics who had to leave their home country. In 1587, he joined the Capuchin order as a Friar. He was given the religious name Benoît de Canfeld, which he used as Benet in English.
After finishing his studies in Italy, Benet came back to Britain around 1599. He was immediately put in prison. While in prison, he wrote a spiritual story called Le chevalier Chrestien. In 1603, the King of France, Henry IV of France, helped him get out of prison. Benet was then sent to France. In 1608, he became a teacher for new members of his order in Rouen. He was well-known in the French royal court. Benet taught many people who were interested in spiritual growth in France, including Pierre de Bérulle, who started the French school of spirituality. Benet died in Paris on November 21, 1610.
Benet Canfield's Writings
In 1609, near the end of his life, Benet published his most important work, Règle de perfection réduite au seul point de la volonté divine. This book is known in English as Rule of Perfection. However, the Church did not fully approve of this book in the early 1600s. Because of this, it is not as famous as Holy Wisdom by his friend Augustine Baker. Both authors wrote about contemplative prayer, which is a very deep form of prayer often practiced in monasteries. Benet was probably influenced by a Flemish mystic named Jan Ruusbroec.
Benet's Way of Perfection was copied by hand and spread widely. It was also printed without his permission. A letter at the beginning of The Rule of Perfection showed that many important scholars from the Sorbonne University approved of it. One of these scholars, André Duval, introduced the book to Vincent de Paul. In fact, a famous saying by Vincent de Paul, "Do not tread on the heels of Providence," comes from Benet Canfield's teachings. This important writing about "The Will of God" was even translated into Latin in 1625.
Benet published the first two parts of his work officially. But he did not publish the third part because he felt that some Church leaders might criticize his bold ideas about higher levels of prayer. So, this third part is only known through its French and Italian translations. In these translations, Benet added more traditional religious ideas to make it more acceptable. But even with these changes, the book was still placed on the Index (a list of forbidden books) by the Catholic Church in 1689. This happened because his ideas were seen as too similar to those of the Quietists, who were causing a big debate at the time. However, his work was not considered to be completely against Church teachings.
