Gabrielle Bossis "He and I"

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I have that book; it was given to me by a friend as a “welcome home” gift when I came back to the Church about 20 years ago. It’s very sweet and at the time I took it seriously. Now I’m sceptical about it. There were all kinds of books coming out about direct communication with Jesus or God back then (maybe there still are) and most weren’t even Christian. The website devoted to her is in French; I couldn’t find much info just now in English. I hope you get some good responses to your post; I’m interested in what other readers have to say. For me, personally, I don’t read those kinds of books anymore and steer clear of private revelation.
 
I’ve read parts of it and liked it 🙂

The question for me is… is this book accepted by the Church? (such as the local bishop, or at least the author’s spiritual director if she had one)

does it have the imprimatur and/or nihil obstat?

if so, I’d have no problem with reading it…

we don’t HAVE to believe in private revelation, but I’ve found some of it very edifying, and I love books like “Divine Mercy in My Soul”…

God bless
 
joseph_joseph1 said:
Here is an interesting article about a French Catholic laywoman named Gabrielle Bossis who received interior locutions from our Lord, and wrote them down in a “diary”, which was later published after her death into numerous languages under the title “He and I”.
I was wondering what others think about this book. I notice it has many positive reviews in Amazon.com

God bless-
Joseph
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As far as I can tell her “messages” are not Church approved but if you can point to Church documentation showing they are approved I will stand corrected.
 
thistle said:
As far as I can tell her “messages” are not Church approved but if you can point to Church documentation showing they are approved I will stand corrected.
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I looked it up, and every source seems to be saying that it was approved by her bishop… and apparently, some (newer?) versions of the book have the imprimatur and nihil obstat.
 
Monica4316 said:
I looked it up, and every source seems to be saying that it was approved by her bishop… and apparently, some (newer?) versions of the book have the imprimatur and nihil obstat.
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Imprimatur and Nihil Obstat do not mean that the messages are approved by the Church. It simply means the local Bishop has allowed a book to be published and that there appears to be nothing contrary to Church doctrine. That does not mean the “messages” are supernatural.
 
Was loaned a copy of “He and I”. To be honest, I am also skeptical about the book.

The translator wrote a terrible introduction that just reeks of New Age-ism. Footnotes try to tie her thoughts back to Catholicism, but it doesn’t feel right to me. “Christ Consciousness” for one, quoting the Upanishads (Hindu), other weird names for GOD, like “Father-Mother God”.

As for Bossis’ locutions - hit or miss. Some are very inspiring. Others sound like they did not come from Jesus, but from her own thoughts. Not sure how to take “Be your own Christ”. And Jesus also says that even if she doesn’t believe that it’s really Him, she should act like it.
 
I’ve read the book, and re-read parts of it. It’s not even really private revelation. It’s sort of a diary of the thoughts that came into her mind from Jesus. These thoughts were meant for her personally and don’t speak to everyone’s personal situation.

I think that God uses our consciences and imaginations to speak to our hearts at certain times in our lives and what Gabrielle experienced isn’t unusual. When/if we have a similar experience, we need to discern if the ideas are coming from God, ourselves, or the evil one. It’s helpful (maybe even necessary) to have a spiritual director for this.

A useful way to read this book is to imagine that Gabrielle is a friend who is sharing with you how God has acted in her own life. If your personality is similar to hers in some ways, the insights that were given to her may be quite helpful to you. At least, they will give you ideas to talk over with the Lord.

Gabrielle was Catholic. I didn’t notice that anything she wrote was contrary to the faith, at least in the translation I’ve read. Her understanding of what she ‘heard’ would have been a Catholic understanding, even if the writer of the introduction would try to imply otherwise. Nobody reading this book should consider it to be ‘revelation’.
 
The book "He and I" by Gabrielle Bossis has an Imprimatur by his Excellency Jean-Marie Fortier, Archbishop, Sherbrooke, Quebec.

God Bless,
-Joseph
 
I have read the book and found it delightful. It’s good to know that Jesus also “talks” to those who are not monks, nuns or priests. It was and still is a great help to me. I particularly like the passage where she is lamenting about the dust, which has resettled on the furniture and she has to start dusting all over again. The “Voice” as she calls it says that it’s just the same with souls; A continuous cleansing.
I just so like how the “Voice” explains how important the littlest things are in every day life, like an ordinary smile. Just try doing that, giving someone a big smile and really you will see the difference it makes to that person and then just say "thank you " to God who inspired you to smile.
I can’t see what’s “new age” about the book.I think it’s got lots of practical ideas, which I now try to put into practice 🙂 Жanna
 
Oh, thank you all for your comments here. Someone who’s battling cancer gave me this book and said it had given him comfort. When I found out this was someone’s locutions, I was a bit leery. The copy I have is a 1985 copy and has an imprimatur, but what does it mean, really, when it comes to the whole content of a book, including the translator’s/editor’s notes etc.? Just like thistle said above, it simply indicates permission to publish, in this book’s case, by the archbishop. Then I read the Preface by the translator and was alarmed by what I read, just like Mom2Bruno wrote in one of her comments above. It “reeks of New Age-ism” (I should know, I dabbled in it). I had only begun reading this book, but decided that I should check on this forum first before I continued. It seems harmless for me to continue, but I will keep your comments in mind as I read this book. So thank you all :tiphat:. Pax Christi. --t.
 
My edition is from the 80’s too. It’s packed away and I haven’t read it since it was given to me as a gift years ago. I don’t know that there’s anything overtly harmful in what it says. I remember one episode only; the person who is supposedly Jesus tells her she doesn’t need to be wearing nail polish. However, I didn’t like the fact that she referred to “The Voice.” I also dabbled in New Age stuff back then and there’s a very destructive spiritual discipline that also refers to the “Voice”. My personal thought is that just because it seems innocuous enough and doesn’t say anything contrary to Catholicism doesn’t mean it came from a harmless source. If I heard a ‘Voice’ saying anything I wouldn’t trust it so why risk giving trust to a Voice that somebody else hears?
 
:harp:I have read Joyce Meyers books and have just recently started doing Bible Study Lessons…I am very eager to learn…
 
I picked up He and I from my local Parish when I was in college back in 1982. I’ve just recently updated my old copy (this year) because it was literally falling apart from constant use! I’ve found He and I both inspirational and refreshing. I don’t read it daily, but I refer to it in times of frustration, dryness, when anxious or in pain, and also when I’m happy and celebrating. I find that reading a line or two often uplifts me - and at times I read a passage that says exactly what I needed to hear at the moment. It’s not a very good book to read straight through as it is almost poetic - very deep. You need to take your time and reflect over what you read. Because it is written from the perspective of a woman, I think it’s more likely to be appealing to women, although I suppose many men may find it charming too. Even though I have read many of the passages repeatedly, they seem to hit me in a different way each time I re-read them. I have never seen anything that refers to specific things (such as the nail polish entry referred to by Ficklefreckled). Regarding new age - Gabrielle existed before New Age! Her supernatural experience is far less alarming than that of Teresa of Avila who is considered a Doctor of the Church. I really don’t think this book is going to do anyone any harm who reads it. I’m a cradle Catholic, and I’ve been reading it for the last 27 years of my life. Still Catholic, still attending church every Sunday, still reading He and I! I can’t wait to meet Gabrielle when it’s my time to go…and thank her for her willingness to be used as a tool for Jesus:thumbsup:
 
I love the book! I’m only 3/4 the way through, but i can’t put it down. A saintly priest told me not to read the introduction, some ‘new age’ person wrote it, which is such a shame, also what’s written on the back cover. I ripped the introduction out. I’ll make a further comment when I’m finished the book.
 
I was hesitant to read the book after seeing the New Age comments posted here; however, I just purchased a new copy of the book from Amazon.com. On page 12 of the Preface it reads, “This paragraph and the one following it could lead to confusion in the reader’s mind, the rainbow being the symbol used by the New Age movement. Evelyn Brown, the translator of He and I, wrote this preface in 1968, at a time when the New Age was not as widespread as it is today. Besides, she was not familiar with the movement and has always been a fervent and orthodox Catholic…”

I’ve just started to read the book and the words are reminiscent of messages our Lord has communicated to others such as Sr. Josefa, Sr. Mary of the Holy Trinity, and Sr. Consolata Betrone as found in the books such as Words of Love and The Way of Divine Love, etc.
 
Just yesterday, March 16th, 2012, after attending morning Mass at a parish I’m not a parishioner, I stooped the priest outside and asked him if he might have an interest and the time to offer me spiritual direction. I sensed that as an older priest who reverently prayed the Mass and who exudes peacefulness and the joy of Wisdom, he might be the spiritual directer I am in search of. Turns out he was visiting Arizona from N. Dakota and was to leave in a week. He offered me a number of suggestions and said he would talk with a priest friend of his who was moving to our diocese to retire full time. I gave him all of my contact information and he said he’d call me after speaking to the retired Monsignor from N.D.

It turns out that the retired priest is 84 years old, hard of hearing and did not feel that he was in a good position to direct. So after a somewhat lengthy conversation he said he’d mail me a book titled He and I and asked if I’d heard of it and when I looked at my small collection of books, it was smack dab in the middle of the top row. This priest then went on to tell me that he prays from the Breviary and this book daily, and in his opinion, was an extremely helpful spiritual guide.

He went on to suggest that I not try and read it from front to back but to evoke the Holy Spirit in prayer and then randomly stop at any page I might fell prompted to stop at. Once there,
read to a point that grabbed my full attention or I felt God wanted me to contemplate and then spend as long as it took to feel satisfied that I got the message. Lectio Divina type of prayer.

I wasn’t sure where the book came from originally as I know I didn’t buy it and then I spoke with my sister who is fairly certain it came from our father who was very orthodox when living in this world. She seems to recall being offered the book and then not feeling right about something or other and then having never read it. She is looking into the book as I am and that is how I ended up here.

While these comments are helpful, I was hoping for something a bit more definitive as far as the teaching authority of the Church is concerned. I’ve read some books such as the " I Am Your Jesus of Mercy" collection only to find out that they were considered false by the Church so I’m always on my guard in this regard. As someone already mentioned, knowing the true source is critical and the workings of the evil one are always wrapped in sweet sounding words that are like honey to the mind so discernment is both critical and difficult.

Not sure what I will do with this book but am possibly inclined to set it aside for now until more of those I trust feel it’s beneficial to my journey to and with God.
 
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