César De Bus, starting from his experience, finds five pillars on which to build his relationship with the Lord: love for the Sacred Scripture, Eucharistic Adoration, devotion to Mary, the invocation of the Angels and Saints and spiritual accompaniment.
The Holy Scripture
César was nourished by Sacred Scripture, he made it the object of his meditation and contemplation. In all the works attributed to him we find many biblical citations. For him, “listening to the Word” means understanding it, loving it, believing in what it announces and putting it into practice; in it one finds the strength and courage to live the earthly pilgrimage. The Word of God questions first the one who proclaims it, so that he too may draw fruit from it for his own spiritual growth. The Brief of Beatification issued by Paul VI states: “The ministry of the word, that is, the entire Christian institution, is nourished in a salutary way and progresses in a holy way with Sacred Scripture (DV 24). This assertion of the Second Vatican Council admirably explains the zeal and apostolic method of the Servant of God César de Bus and founder of the Congregation of Priests of Christian Doctrine, who nourished his mind with a daily nourishment of the Holy Bible.”
Eucharistic Adoration
César maintained a great devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. He claimed that he would have preferred to suffer the loss of the thing dearest to him rather than miss the celebration even once. Father César also showed his love for the Eucharist in Adoration. At the beginning of his priestly ministry, he retired for about two years to a small hermitage dedicated to St. Jacques, on a hill overlooking Cavaillon. Here, with his own hand, he opened a small window through which, from his room, he could contemplate, even when he was in his bedroom, the Blessed Sacrament in the Tabernacle.
Devotion to Mary
César in his autobiography states that he received this devotion from the Lord since he was a boy, in particular towards the Immaculate Virgin. Mary, in the writings of de Bus, is seen as the Mother of mercy, who intercedes for us pilgrims on earth and continually in need of God’s forgiveness and as the Mother who, at the foot of the Cross, suffered more than any martyr participating in the passion of her beloved Son. In particular, Mary is venerated by him with the recitation of the Rosary.
The Invocation of the Angels and Saints
César also had a great veneration for the Angels and the Saints. He wanted to put every hour of the day under the protection of a Saint and invoked him with various ejaculatory prayers. Being a catechist and announcer of the Word of God is seen by César as being an angel of light. Christian Doctrine is the light that illuminates all men and gives them joy, serenity and hope. By announcing the Doctrine, catechists become messengers of this light that spreads both with words and with the testimony of life. In his spiritual testament he recommends the friendship of a Saint: “Choose a Saint among all, imitate him and read his life often. Pray to him every day so that he may communicate his spirit and his holiness to you. Try to be a devotee of his and courageously follow in his holy footsteps so that like him you may have the same desire to go to heaven”.
Spiritual accompaniment
In the journey of following Christ, Father César allowed himself to be guided by other people, revealing to them his own feelings, his difficulties and his joys. The first two spiritual guides were two lay people: Antoniette Reveillade, a simple and illiterate woman and Louis Guyot, sacristan of the Cathedral of Cavaillon. Afterwards he was directed to the Jesuit Father Péquet, with whom he discovered the spiritual exercises. The Jesuit father also followed him in his studies resumed, deciding to give him lessons himself in this way: Cesare, after finishing his morning meditation, wrote down in French the feelings, inspirations and interior lights that God had communicated to him; he then translated from French to Latin what he had written and gave it to his confessor. The latter thus obtained two results: correcting any errors in the composition and knowing the progress made in his spiritual life.