In the history of the world, there is no story more fantastic and amazing than the true story of the North American Jesuit Martyrs.

It was of these saints (along with the other blessed saints) that Christ spoke to Nathanael, declaring MAIUS HIS VIDEBIS ("thou shalt see greater things than this"). John 1:50

St. Chabanel (1613 - 1649) was a man of great learning and refinement, who could have easily spent his life teaching at the greatest colleges of France and writing poetry.

However, this great servant of Jesus Christ responded to, in a heroic fashion, the beautiful command of our Savior Who said:

Data est mihi omnis potestas in caelo et in terra. Euntes ergo docete omnes gentes baptizantes eos in nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti, docentes eos servare omnia quaecumque mandavi vobis et ecce ego vobiscum sum omnibus diebus usque ad consummationem saeculi.

He went to the mission lands in "New France" (Canada) where the Hurons lived.

This great disciple of Christ endured hardships too terrible to imagine or describe, all for the sake of bringing Christ to the Hurons.

Among other things, St. Noël never had fresh water with which to quench his thirst, struggled with the unrefined language of the Hurons, never had good food to eat (sometimes eating fox refuse), suffered tremendously because of the disgusting and unspeakable conditions of the Huron long houses, had to sleep on the bare ground in hot and cold weather, suffered from great sickness without a doctor or medicine, and (in short) endured every possible inconvenience a man could. If anyone takes up a book and reads about the savage practices of the various tribes at that time (especially the Iroquois) tears will immediately come to his eyes, because he will learn how cruel human beings can be. This was much harder for St. Noël to bear (than for most people) because St. Noël was a very refined man. And it certainly would be hard to find anyone in this world who had a greater love for these Native American tribes than the Jesuit Martyrs.

He often was tempted to leave the missions, until in a crucial moment he wrote out this vow:

I, Noel Chabanel, do vow, in the presence of the Sacrament of Thy most precious Blood and Body, here to stay forever in this Huron vineyard, according to the dictates of my Superiors of the Society of Jesus. Therefore, do I beseech Thee, dear Lord, to receive me as Thy perpetual servant and to make Me worthy of so sublime a ministry.

He was eventually martyred for his faith in Jesus Christ. His last words were: "I am going where obedience calls me, but whether I stay there or receive permission from my superiors to return to the mission where I belong, I must serve God faithfully until death." St. Chabanel took great comfort in the fact that his martyrdom was through obedience.

He was chosen for this project because (as our Holy Father, Benedict XVI has pointed out so often) we are in a particularly difficult situation with regard to Sacred music in the Holy Catholic Church. May Noël Chabanel, who suffered so much in his own difficult situation, pray for us all.

However, there is another reason why he was chosen as patron for this project.

The story of the Jesuit Martyrs of North America reminds us that God does not promise us an easy going or easy life. Nor does God promise us success. Actually, although they endured so much for Christ, their mission was (generally speaking) a complete failure. The entire Huron race died soon after the Martyrs came to them, and not many converted to the True Faith.

Therefore, whether the Chabanel Psalms are successful does not matter. As St. Chabanel said, the only thing necessary in life is to "serve God faithfully until death."