{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_50592/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_50592","id":"gutenberg_50592","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/50592","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Biographies","Category: Essays, Letters & Speeches","Category: History - Early Modern (c. 1450-1750)","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Chantal, Jeanne-Fran\u00e7oise de, Saint, 1572-1641 -- Correspondence"],"text":"SELECTED LETTERS OF\n  ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL\n\n\n\n\n  Nihil Obstat.\n        F. THOMAS BERGH, O.S.B.,\n              CENSOR DEPUTATUS.\n\n  Imprimatur.\n        EDM. CAN. SURMONT,\n              VICARIUS GENERALIS.\n\n  WESTMONASTERII,\n        _Die 6 Novembris, 1917._\n\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration: ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL.\n\n(_Foundress of the Order of the Visitation._)]\n\n\n\n\n  SELECTED LETTERS OF\n  SAINT JANE FRANCES\n  DE CHANTAL\n\n  TRANSLATED BY\n  THE SISTERS OF THE VISITATION\n  HARROW\n\n  WITH A PREFACE BY\n  HIS EMINENCE CARDINAL BOURNE\n  ARCHBISHOP OF WESTMINSTER\n\n\n  R. & T. WASHBOURNE, LTD.\n  PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON\n  AND AT MANCHESTER, BIRMINGHAM, AND GLASGOW\n\n  _All rights reserved_\n  1918\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE\n\n\nWe are all apt so to idealise the Saints whom we love to study and\nhonour, and strive to imitate, that we are in danger of forgetting that\nthey possessed a human nature like our own, subject to many trials,\nweaknesses and frailties. They had to struggle as we have to struggle.\nThe only difference is that their constancy and perseverance were\ngreater far than ours.\n\nBiographers are often responsible for the false tendency to which we\nallude. They like to give us the finished portrait of the Saints, and\nonly too often they omit in great part the details of the long and weary\ntoil that went to make the picture which they delight to paint.\n\nIn the case of some of the Saints we are able to come nearer to the\nreality by reading the letters which have been preserved, in which in\ntheir own handwriting they have set down, without thought of those who\nin later days might read their words, the details of their daily life\nand struggle. Thus in the few selected Letters of the holy foundress of\nthe Visitation which are now being published in an English translation\nwe get glimpses of her real character and spiritual growth which may be\nmore helpful to us than many pages of formal biography. In one place she\nexcuses the brevity of a letter because she is \"feeling the cold to-day\nand pressed for time.\" In another she tells a Sister, \"do everything to\nget well, for it is only your nerves.\" Nerves are evidently not a new\nmalady nor a lately devised excuse. She knew the weariness of delay:\n\"still no news from Rome.... I think His Grace the Archbishop would be\nglad to help us.... Beg him, I beseech you, to push on the matter.\"\n\nHaste and weather had their effect on her as on us: \"I write in such\nhaste that I forget half of what I want to say.... We will make a\nchalice veil for you, but not until the very hot weather is over, for\none cannot work properly while it lasts.\"\n\nWhat mother, especially in these days of sorrow and anxiety, can read\nunmoved the Saint's own words as she speaks of her daughter's death, and\nof her fears about her son. \"I am almost in despair ... so miserable am\nI about it that I do not know which way to turn, if not to the\nProvidence of God, there to bury my longings, confiding to His hands not\nonly the honour but even the salvation of this already half lost child.\nOh! the incomparable anguish of this affliction. No other grief can come\nnear to it.\"\n\nAnd then we feel her mingled grief and joy when at last she learnt that\nthis, her only son, had given up his life, fighting for his King, after\na humble and fervent reception of the Sacraments.\n\nThus in the midst of the daily small worries of life, and of the great\nsorrows that at one time or other fall to the lot of all, we see a brave\nand generous soul, with human gifts and qualities like to our own,\ntreading her appointed path to God.\n\nNo one can read her words without carrying therefrom fresh courage for\nhis life, and a new determination to battle steadfastly to the end.\n\n                                          FRANCIS CARDINAL BOURNE,\n                                        _Archbishop of Westminster._\n\n  FEAST OF ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL,\n        _August 21st, 1917._\n\n\n\n\nTRANSLATORS' PREFACE\n\n\nThe letters here translated are, with a few mentioned exceptions,\nselected from \"Sainte Jeanne-Fran\u00e7oise Fr\u00e9myot de Chantal: Sa Vie et ses\nOeuvres,\" \"First edition entirely conformable to the original\nmanuscripts published under the supervision of the religious of the\nVisitation of Holy Mary at Annecy, by E. Plon and Co., rue Garanciere\n10, Paris, 1877.\"\n\nThe rendering cannot be looked upon as entirely literal, but the\ntranslators have kept as closely to the original as was consistent with\nan easy rendering in modern English.\n\nThe circular letter to the Sisters of the Visitation (page 152) is a\nremarkable document worthy of the reader's special attention, as are\nalso the letters to \"Dom John of St. Francis\" on St. Francis de Sales,\nand the subtle manifestation of St. Jane Frances' own state of soul in\nher letter to \"A great Servant of God.\"\n\nIt has been thought better to leave the superscription heading all the\nSaint's letters, \"Vive J\u00e9sus\" (Let Jesus reign), as in the original, and\nuntranslated.\n\nThe title of \"Sister Deposed\" given to the immediate predecessor in\noffice of the actual Superior is peculiar to the Visitation Order.\n\nThere are, as will be seen, a few slight omissions, but only when the\nmatter was of no interest or importance.\n\nThe Saint, as the reader will observe, does not keep to any fixed rule\nin regard to capital letters.\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n\n  LETTER                                                          PAGE\n\n  JUDGMENT OF ST. FRANCIS ON THE VIRTUES OF MOTHER DE CHANTAL        1\n\n  I. TO ST. FRANCIS DE SALES                                         3\n\n  II. TO THE SAME                                                    4\n\n  III. TO M. LEGROS                                                  5\n\n  IV. THE DUKE OF SAVOY TO ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL               6\n\n  V. TO MADAME D'AUXERRE                                             7\n\n  VI. TO ST. FRANCIS DE SALES                                        9\n\n  VII. TO THE SISTERS OF THE MONASTERY OF ANNECY                    11\n\n  VIII. TO SISTER J. C. DE BR\u00c9CHARD                                 12\n\n  IX. TO SISTER P. M. DE CH\u00c2TEL                                     15\n\n  X. TO MOTHER M. J. FAVRE                                          17\n\n  XI. TO THE SAME                                                   20\n\n  XII. TO THE SAME                                                  23\n\n  III. TO SISTER P. M. DE CH\u00c2TEL                                    27\n\n  XIV. TO MOTHER M. J. FAVRE                                        30\n\n  XV. TO SISTERS P. M. DE CH\u00c2TEL AND M. A. DE BLONAY                33\n\n  XVI. TO MOTHER M. J. FAVRE                                        37\n\n  XVII. TO MADAME DE GOUFFIER                                       40\n\n  XVIII. TO MOTHER M. J. FAVRE                                      42\n\n  XIX. SISTER M. A. DE BLONAY                                       46\n\n  XX. TO THE SAME                                                   49\n\n  XXI. TO MOTHER M. J. FAVRE                                        51\n\n  XXII. TO THE SAME                                                 55\n\n  XXIII. TO MOTHER J. C. DE BR\u00c9CHARD                                58\n\n  XXIV. TO M. DE NEUCH\u00c8ZE                                           60\n\n  XXV. TO MOTHER M. J. FAVRE                                        61\n\n  XXVI. TO MADAME DE LA FL\u00c9CH\u00c8RE                                    64\n\n  XXVII. TO SISTER P. J. DE MONTHOUX                                65\n\n  XXVIII. TO M. MICHEL FAVRE                                        68\n\n  XXIX. TO SISTER A. M. ROSSET                                      71\n\n  XXX. TO SISTER P. J. DE MONTHOUX                                  72\n\n  XXXI. TO MADAME DE LA FL\u00c9CH\u00c8RE                                    73\n\n  XXXII. TO MOTHER J. C. DE BR\u00c9CHARD                                75\n\n  XXXIII. TO MOTHER P. M. DE CH\u00c2TEL                                 76\n\n  XXXIV. TO MOTHER M. J. FAVRE                                      77\n\n  XXXV. TO SISTER M. A. HUMBERT                                     79\n\n  XXXVI. TO THE SISTERS OF THE VISITATION AT BOURGES                80\n\n  XXXVII. TO THE SISTERS OF THE VISITATION AT MOULINS               81\n\n  XXXVIII. TO MOTHER P. M. DE CH\u00c2TEL                                83\n\n  XXXIX. TO MADEMOISELLE DE CHANTAL                                 85\n\n  XL. TO MOTHER J. C. DE BR\u00c9CHARD                                   87\n\n  XLI. TO MADEMOISELLE DE CHANTAL                                   90\n\n  XLII. TO SISTER M. M. LEGROS                                      92\n\n  XLIII. TO MADAME DU TERTRE                                        94\n\n  XLIV. TO M. DE PALIERNE                                           95\n\n  XLV. TO ST. FRANCIS DE SALES                                     100\n\n  XLVI. TO MADAME DE LA FL\u00c9CH\u00c8RE                                   102\n\n  XLVII. TO THE COUNTESS DE TOULONJON                              103\n\n  XLVIII. TO MOTHER M. J. FAVRE                                    105\n\n  XLIX. TO M. DE NEUCH\u00c8ZE                                          108\n\n  L. TO MOTHER A. C. DE BEAUMONT                                   110\n\n  LI. TO MOTHER M. J. FAVRE                                        112\n\n  LII. TO MOTHER A. C. DE BEAUMONT                                 116\n\n  LIII. TO MOTHER M. H. DE CHASTELLUX                              118\n\n  LIV. TO SISTER M. M. MILLETOT                                    123\n\n  LV. TO SISTER F. G. DE LA GRAVE                                  124\n\n  LVI. TO THE BISHOP OF AUTUN                                      125\n\n  LVII. TO SISTER A. M. ROSSET                                     127\n\n  LVIII. TO THE REV. FATHER DOM JOHN DE SAINT FRAN\u00c7OIS             129\n\n  LIX. TO A RELIGIOUS OF THE FIRST MONASTERY OF THE VISITATION\n       AT PARIS                                                    139\n\n  LX. TO THE COUNTESS DE TOULONJON                                 141\n\n  LXI. TO SISTER A. C. DE SAUTEREAU                                144\n\n  LXII. TO MOTHER A. C. DE BEAUMONT                                146\n\n  LXIII. TO THE SAME                                               148\n\n  LXIV. TO MOTHER M. A. FICHET                                     149\n\n  LXV. TO THE SISTERS OF THE VISITATION                            152\n\n  LXVI. TO SISTER A. M. DE LAGE DE PUYLAURENS                      164\n\n  LXVII. TO THE BARON DE CHANTAL                                   166\n\n  LXVIII. TO THE SAME                                              167\n\n  LXIX. TO M. DE COULANGES                                         168\n\n  LXX. TO THE COUNTESS DE TOULONJON                                169\n\n  LXXI. TO THE SAME                                                170\n\n  LXXII. TO MOTHER M. A. FICHET                                    171\n\n  LXXIII. TO MOTHER A. C. DE BEAUMONT                              173\n\n  LXXIV. TO A VISITATION SUPERIOR                                  175\n\n  LXXV. TO MOTHER J. H. DE G\u00c9RARD                                  176\n\n  LXXVI. TO SISTER F. A. DE LA CROIX DE F\u00c9SIGNEY                   179\n\n  LXXVII. TO ST. VINCENT DE PAUL                                   181\n\n  LXXVIII. TO THE COUNTESS DE TOULONJON                            183\n\n  LXXIX. TO MOTHER FAVRE (EXTRACT)                                 185\n\n  LXXX. TO SISTER A. M. CL\u00c9MENT                                    186\n\n  LXXXI. TO MOTHER C. C. DE CR\u00c9MAUX DE LA GRANGE                   187\n\n  LXXXII. TO M. POITON                                             189\n\n  LXXXIII. TO DOM GALICE                                           191\n\n  LXXXIV. TO THE SAME                                              193\n\n  LXXXV. TO MOTHER A. M. CL\u00c9MENT                                   194\n\n  LXXXVI. TO SISTER M. D. GOUBERT                                  195\n\n  LXXXVII. TO DOM GALICE                                           196\n\n  LXXXVIII. TO SISTER M. A. DE MORVILLE                            198\n\n  LXXXIX. TO M. DE COYSIA                                          201\n\n  XC. TO THE COUNTESS DE TOULONJON                                 203\n\n  XCI. TO MGR. ANDR\u00c9 FR\u00c9MYOT                                       205\n\n  XCII. TO A BLIND SISTER                                          208\n\n  XCIII. TO SISTER B. M. DE HARAUCOURT                             209\n\n  XCIV. TO SISTER P. J. DE MONTHOUX                                211\n\n  XCV. TO M. NO\u00cbL BRULART                                          214\n\n  XCVI. TO THE COUNTESS DE TOULONJON                               216\n\n  XCVII. TO M. NO\u00cbL BRULART (EXTRACT)                              218\n\n  XCVIII. TO THE COUNTESS DE TOULONJON                             219\n\n  XCIX. TO SISTER M. A. DE RABUTIN                                 224\n\n  C. TO M. NO\u00cbL BRULART                                            225\n\n  CI. TO MOTHER M. A. LE ROY                                       229\n\n  CII. TO SISTER A. L. DE MARIN DE SAINT MICHEL                    231\n\n  CIII. TO THE ABB\u00c9 DE VAUX                                        234\n\n  CIV. TO A GREAT SERVANT OF GOD                                   237\n\n  CV. TO MOTHER A. M. DE RABUTIN                                   243\n\n  CVI. TO ST. VINCENT DE PAUL                                      244\n\n  CVII. TO SISTER C. M. F. DE CUSANCE                              246\n\n  CVIII. TO SISTER J. B. GOJOS                                     248\n\n  CIX. TO SISTER L. A. DE LA FAYETTE                               249\n\n  CX. TO THE DUCHESS DE MONTMORENCY                                252\n\n  CXI. TO A NOVICE                                                 254\n\n\n\n\nJUDGMENT OF ST. FRANCIS DE SALES ON THE VIRTUES OF MOTHER DE CHANTAL\n\n\n\"My brother de Thorens,\" said St. Francis to one of his friends,\n\"travelled last month into Burgundy to fetch his little wife, and\nbrought back with her a mother-in-law whom neither he is worthy of\nhaving nor I of serving. God has given her to me. She has come to be my\ndaughter in order that I may teach her to die to the world and to live\nto Jesus Christ. Urged by God's design over her she has left all, and\nhas provided for all with a strength and prudence not common to her sex,\nsuch that in her every action the good will find wherewith to praise her\nand the wicked will not know in what to blame her.\"\n\nIn a letter the holy Bishop expresses himself as follows: \"The Queen Bee\nof our new hive, because she is so eager in the pursuit of virtue, is\nmuch tormented with sickness, yet she finds no remedy to her liking save\nin the observance of her Rule. I have never seen such singleness of\nintention, such submission to authority, such detachment from all\nthings, such acceptance of the will of God, such fervour in prayer as\nthis good Mother shows. For my part I believe that God will make her\nlike unto St. Paula, St. Angela, St. Catherine of Genoa, and the other\nholy widows.\" Writing elsewhere to one of his relations he says: \"I feel\nunutterable consolation in seeing the moderation of our dear Mother in\nregard to all the obstacles that come in her way and her total\nindifference to the things of earth. In all truth I may say that,\nproportionately to the graces received, a soul could not arrive at\nhigher perfection. I regard her as an honour to her sex, one who with\nthe science of the Saints leads a most holy, hidden life concealed by an\nordinary exterior, who does nothing out of the common and yet is\nirreproachable in all things.\"\n\nOnce again, writing to a Bishop in answer to a letter about Mother de\nChantal, St. Francis says: \"I cannot speak but with respect of this most\nholy soul which combines profound humility with a very broad and very\ncapable mind. She is simple and sincere as a child, of a lofty and solid\njudgement. A great soul with a courage for holy undertakings beyond that\nof her sex. Indeed, I never read the description of the valiant woman of\nSolomon without thinking of Mother de Chantal. I write all this to you\nin confidence, for this truly humble soul would be greatly distressed if\nshe knew that I had said so much in her praise.\"\n\n\n\n\nSELECTED LETTERS OF ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL\n\n\n\n\nI. _To St. Francis de Sales._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                       ANNECY, 1611.\n\nHow soon may I hope for the happy day when I shall irrevocably offer\nmyself to my God? He has so filled me with the thought of being entirely\nHis, and it has come home to me in such a wonderful and powerful manner,\nthat, were my emotion to last as it now is, I could not live under its\nintensity. Never have I had such a burning love and desire for the\nevangelical life and for the great perfection to which God calls me.\nWhat I feel about it is quite impossible to put into words. But, alas!\nmy resolve to be very faithful to the greatness of the love of this\ndivine Saviour is balanced by the feeling of my incapacity to correspond\nwith it. Oh, how painful to love is this barrier of powerlessness! But\nwhy do I speak thus? By doing so I degrade, it seems to me, the gift of\nGod which urges me to live in perfect poverty, in humble obedience, and\nin spotless purity.\n\n\n\n\nII. _To the Same._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                       ANNECY, 1612.\n\nMy Lord and my own Father, I pray God to fill your soul with His\nchoicest blessings, with Himself, and above all with the most pure love\nof Jesus. Now, for fear others may alarm you, I am telling you myself\nthat this morning I was taken very ill. After dinner I had a shivering\nfit and collapsed completely for a time, but now, thank God, I feel\nquite well again; so do not let this trouble you, for the love of God,\nthat God Whom my soul loves, adores, and desires to serve with the\nutmost singleness of heart and with perfect purity. Obtain for me, my\nFather, when to-morrow you hold this divine Saviour, His grace in such\nabundance that I may for ever adore, serve, and love Him perfectly. It\nis an immense consolation to know that you are occupied with that\nheavenly work \"the Divine Love.\"[A] With what ardour I sigh for that\nlove! Alas! my God, when shall we see one another utterly consumed\ntherewith?\n\nI have seen the good aunt: what a venerable old lady she is! I assure\nyou I am well now, and you know I would not say so if it were not true.\nMay Jesus reign and His Holy Mother. Amen.\n\n\nFOOTNOTE:\n\n[A] The Treatise on the Love of God.\n\n\n\n\nIII. _To M. Legros at Dijon._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                       ANNECY,\n                                                  _18th June, 1612._\n  SIR,\n\nWe have given your daughter a true welcome. This offering which you and\nshe have made so lovingly cannot fail to be very agreeable to the good\nGod. You may be consoled and at peace about her for she is, and will\nalways be, very dear to me. God obliges me to have an exceeding great\ncare and love for all those whom He leads here and the goodness of your\nheart, together with her confidence in me, urges and binds me closely to\nher. I have not leisure for more, but once again, let me assure you that\nthis dear little soul has found here an affectionate Father and Mother,\nso you may be happy about her. I am extremely obliged to you for the\ntrouble you have taken about that business (illegible lines).... May God\nfill you with grace, consolation, and strength to walk in the way of His\ndivine commandments! I affectionately salute all your children, for whom\nI wish a like grace. Madame Legros and I have agreed to be as sisters to\none another. I greatly love and esteem her: she is a brave, generous\nwoman. God guide her to Himself.\n\n                          Always, Sir, your very humble servant,\n                                                            FR\u00c9MYOT.\n\n\n\n\nIV. _The Duke of Savoy to St. Jane Frances de Chantal._\n\n\n  VERY REVEREND DEARLY BELOVED AND DEVOUT PETITIONER,\n\nYour choice of my daughter, the Infanta Duchess of Mantua, as your\nMother and Protectress gives us much pleasure. We are delighted that you\nhave erected your Congregation in our States, as we profoundly esteem\nyour piety, charity, and devotion, and we desire by this letter to\nassure you that you have our special protection, and that it is our wish\nto aid, favour, and assist you in all that is necessary for the carrying\nout of your good work. We have written to this effect to our nephew the\nMarquis de Lans and to our Senate of Savoy, to which you can always have\nrecourse. The Countess de Tournon is charged to assist the Infanta at\nthe solemnity which you will be celebrating and to instruct her as to\nher duties in regard to you. May I beg a remembrance in your prayers and\nin those of your devout flock, whom I pray God to have in His holy\nkeeping.\n\n                                               CHARLES EMMANUEL,\n                                                    _Duke of Savoy._\n             TURIN,\n  _22nd_ of _December_, 1613.\n\n\n\n\nV. _To Madame d'Auxerre,[A] Foundress of the Monastery of the Visitation\nat Lyons._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                       ANNECY, 1614.\n\nMadame, My most dear and beloved Sister, The grace of Our Lord be in\nyour heart.\n\nHe has been pleased to grant you your request and it is He alone who has\ninspired you with this desire. Again, He alone has put into the hearts\nof this little Community a feeling of general satisfaction in regard to\nyour undertaking, and for this intention we have communicated and prayed\nmuch. As for me I tell you, trustfully, in confidence, that when I was\nspeaking to our Lord about this affair His divine goodness seemed to\nmake manifest to me that He Himself led you here with His own hand. This\nconsoled me and made me resolve to give you what He commands, and this\nmy dearly loved Sister is my answer to what you ask. I give it simply\nand in all sincerity. O how happy you are to have been thus called by\nGod to this most excellent service. Respond courageously to such\nabundant graces and remain very humble and faithful to His holy will.\n\nI must say this one word more in answer to what you feel as regards\nGod's goodness in giving you as guide this great and admirable servant\nof His.[B] Know, my dearest Sister, that I also so strongly feel this,\nthat every day I make a special act of thanksgiving to God for it, and\nthe longer we live the more we shall understand what a grace it is. I\nremember, in reference to it, a Capuchin once telling me that it\nincreased his regard for me to think of the peculiar care and love that\nGod must have for me to have given me this grace.... Remain now full of\nthanksgiving in peace and certainty, as much as it is possible to have\nin this life, that you are carrying out God's holy will.\n\nWe pray continually for you. All our Sisters unite with me in saluting\nyou most cordially. I, indeed, look upon your heart, my beloved Sister,\nas mine own, and because this is the very truth you must look upon my\nheart as yours in His who is our only Love.\n\nAdieu. May we belong always wholly to God.\n\n                           I remain with incomparable affection,\n                                                         Yours, etc.\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[A] This pious widow together with two other ladies made a journey to\nAnnecy in 1613 in order to place themselves under the direction of St.\nFrancis de Sales. On their return to Lyons all three petitioned the\nArchbishop, Mgr. de Marquemont, to establish a Monastery of the\nVisitation in that town. Before, however, acceding to their request he\nasked St. Francis the object of the new Order. The Saint at once\nreplied: \"To give God souls of prayer who will be so interior as to be\nfound worthy to serve and adore His infinite Majesty in spirit and in\ntruth. To the great Orders already established in the Church we leave\nthe praiseworthy exercises and brilliant virtues by which they honour\nOur Lord. But I wish that the Religious of my Order should have no other\nambition than to glorify Him by their lowliness, so that this little\nInstitute of the Visitation may be as a dovecot of innocent doves whose\ncare and employment will be to meditate on the law of the Lord without\nmaking itself seen or heard in the world, remaining hidden in the clefts\nof the Rock and the Hollow places of the wall there to give to their\nBeloved, as long as life shall last, proofs of sorrow and love by their\nlowly and humble sighing.\"\n\n[B] St. Francis de Sales.\n\n\n\n\nVI. _To St. Francis de Sales._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                       ANNECY, 1614.\n\nI write because I cannot refrain from doing so; for this morning I am\nmore wearisome to myself than usual. My interior state is so gravely\ndefective that, in anguish of spirit, I see myself giving way on every\nside. Assuredly, my good Father, I am almost overwhelmed by this abyss\nof misery. The presence of God, which was formerly such a delight to me,\nnow makes me tremble all over and shudder with fear. I bethink myself\nthat the divine eye of Him whom I adore, with entire submission, pierces\nright through my soul looking with indignation upon all my thoughts,\nwords and works. Death itself, it seems to me, would be less painful to\nbear than the distress of mind which this occasions, and I feel as if\nall things had power to harm me. I am afraid of everything; I live in\ndread, not because of harm to myself, but because I fear to displease\nGod. Oh, how far away His help seems! thinking of this I spent last\nnight in great bitterness and could utter no other words than these, \"My\nGod, my God, alas! why hast Thou forsaken me.\" At daybreak God gave me a\nlittle light in the highest part of my soul, yet only there; but it was\nalmost imperceptible; nor did the rest of my soul and its faculties\nshare the enjoyment, which lasted only about the time of half a Hail\nMary, then, trouble rushed back upon me with a mighty force, and all was\ndarkness. Notwithstanding the weariness of this dereliction, I said,\nthough in utter dryness, \"Do, Lord, whatever is pleasing to Thee, I wish\nit. Annihilate me, I am content. Overwhelm me, I most sincerely desire\nit. Tear out, cut, burn, do just as Thou pleasest, I am Thine.\" God has\nshown me that He does not make much account of faith that comes of\nsentiment and emotions. This is why, though against my inclination, I\nnever wish for sensible devotion. I do not desire it. God is enough for\nme. Notwithstanding my absolute misery I hope in Him, and I trust He\nwill continue to support me so that His will may be accomplished in me.\nTake my feeble heart into your hands, my true Father and Lord, and do\nwhat you see to be wisest with it.\n\n\n\n\nVII. _To the Sisters of the Monastery of the Visitation of Annecy._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                     LYONS,\n                                              _16th February, 1615._\n\nExcuse me, I beg of you, my dearest and very good Sisters, if I do not\nanswer you each one separately, which indeed the kindness you have shown\nme deserves that I should do, and my affection for you would desire: but\nneither head nor leisure permit it, and besides, God be thanked for it,\nI see no necessity to write to any one in particular. Persevere in your\ngood desires and every day become more faithful to the observance of\nyour holy Rules and love them better. This alone, believe me, should be\nyour sole care. Cast not a look upon anything else and be assured that\nyou will walk upon the right road and will make a good and prosperous\nvoyage. May God in His infinite mercy be with you and bless you so that\nyou may perfectly accomplish His holy will. With all my heart I desire\nthis, for I love you all, and each one individually, with the greatest\npossible affection, far beyond what you could imagine. This I tell you\nall, not forgetting those who have not written to me. God bless you, my\nvery dear daughters. May He be your sole love and desire. Pray, I\nbeseech you, for the needs of your poor Mother, who is very\naffectionately\n\n                  Your most humble and unworthy servant in our Lord.\n\n\n\n\nVIII. _To Sister Jeanne Charlotte de Br\u00e9chard, Assistant and Mistress of\nNovices at Annecy._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                        LYONS,\n                                                   _July 9th, 1615._\n  MY DEAREST SISTER, MY DARLING,\n\nSee now how trouble is lifted off your shoulders by the presence you\nenjoy of my very honoured Lord![A] He is most anxious to work at our\nRules,[B] and is about to curtail them considerably at the desire of the\nArchbishop of Lyons. I think he intends to spend these months of July\nand August at Annecy, for he tells me that during the great heat he has\nmore leisure, having fewer visitors. I shall be very glad when he has\nfinished the blessed book so much desired and so long awaited.[C] Until\nI have put it into the printer's hands for publication I am not, I\nbelieve, to leave here for Annecy. So if you are in such great need of\nme, help by your fidelity and your prayers to secure time for this good\nand dear Lord to complete the work. The whole day, as far as he is\nfree, ought to be devoted to it, but though it no longer requires much\napplication, yet it progresses very slowly: such is the will of the\ngreat God, and may His will be accomplished here and everywhere. For all\nthat, you must keep up your courage; we shall find September upon us\nbefore we know where we are, and then God will console us. You cannot\nthink how I am looking forward to my return--I am simply longing for it;\nbut, my love, His Lordship does not agree with you as to its present\nnecessity; he considers I am more useful here now, to satisfy certain\npersons. Meanwhile, I am getting on with our little business, and I\ntrust, through the goodness of God and the brave heart of my dearest\nSister, that all will go tranquilly till I return. Please God, I will do\nso at the appointed time, when the business of the house will be more\npressing. Then I shall relieve my poor little Sister of the burden as\nmuch as I am able, and she will have nothing to do but to kindle in the\nhearts of her dear novices the love of their Spouse, and to caress her\npoor mother, who is so fond of her. Do not forget the sweetmeats for the\npoor nor the dried fruit, as much as you can procure of it. In the month\nof September lay in a provision of butter and cheese; Sister Anne\nJacqueline (Coste) will help you in this. I am a little surprised that\nyou tell me there is only corn enough for the end of this month, for it\nought to have lasted till the end of September. Perhaps you have not\npaid for what was due, or you may not have returned what was advanced to\nyou for the masons. Anyhow you must buy more as soon as it is wanted;\nbut for these two first months purchase the old corn rather than the\nnew. After that, awaiting the season for laying in provisions, we shall\nsee as soon as possible if my son cannot return part of what he has had\nfrom us, until he is able to pay it all back.\n\nSee that Sister Marguerite (Milletot) writes to say that we shall keep\nher pension here, and tell her to ask out boldly for the ewer and the\ngown about which so many promises have been made to her. They need make\nno excuse about not being able to send them for it is quite easy to get\nthings from here to Dijon. You must treat poor Sister Mary Madeleine (de\nMouxy) very gently, and she will, I think, in time, see for herself what\nis necessary. I am writing in great haste, for this letter goes by the\nBishop. It is absolutely necessary to build the sacristies, complete the\nchurch, and enclose the little court, for you know we must have more\naccommodation. Then we'll stop. As to the continuation of the buildings,\nwe must wait and see what can be done when what we are now doing is\nfinished. If we buy the houses, as his Lordship tells me, and have the\nFathers' garden, that will be a good bit of business done.\n\nI salute affectionately my very dear and beloved Sisters. May Jesus be\nall things to them, and they all to Jesus. Amen.\n\nMy kind remembrances also to my son M. Michel (Favre),[D] to all our\nfriends, and to the workmen. I send two combs for my daughters to tease\nthe red wool, and two ells of material to cover the bodice of a dress\nfor little Fran\u00e7oise, and two of stuff, which is very ugly but most\nexpensive, for the bodice of a petticoat, for sleeves and neck\nkerchiefs, to last her over the summer. Please God, for the future I'll\nchoose her clothing myself, and not trust it to anyone else.\n\nGoodbye, and a happy Vespers,[E] my dear good Sister. It is nearly noon\nand we are only just out from table; for the Archbishop of Lyons, as\nusual, came about 10 o'clock,[F] and then came Madame Saint Chamond.\nGive me your best prayers, for I am most truly miserable. Nevertheless,\nmay the great God accomplish His holy will in us! Amen.\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[A] St. Francis de Sales.\n\n[B] The Saint here calls the Constitutions by this name.\n\n[C] The Treatise on the Love of God.\n\n[D] The Convent Chaplain at Annecy.\n\n[E] The Octave Day of the Feast of the Visitation.\n\n[F] The Sisters' dinner hour.\n\n\n\n\nIX. _To Sister P\u00e9ronne Marie de Ch\u00e2tel at Lyons._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                       ANNECY, 1615.\n  MY DEARLY BELOVED SISTER,\n\nYour letters delight me, they are altogether after my own heart, that\nheart that so loves its dear P\u00e9ronne. It is true, my child, that in this\nlife we must always be beginning anew, but if it were not so where\nshould we be? For this is essential to our humility and to confidence,\nthe two virtues our good God asks of us. Be brave, train yourself to\ncourage and to exactitude in the observance. Keep a light heart, and\nabove all things put sadness far from you. God is wholly ours, and we,\nmy daughter, have no other wish than to be wholly His. How then can we\nbe solicitous about anything whatsoever? When you have time give me news\nof that heart that is so dear to me and that I know so well, I say, so\nwell, thanks be to God.\n\nI am quite easy as to dearest Sister Marie Jacqueline, for I never\ndoubted but that she would be a success, yet to hear your assurance of\nit is very consoling. Give her all the help you can so as to lighten as\nmuch as possible the burden of her charge. Look after her health; I\nentrust it to you, and on this point she is to go by what you say.\n\nI beseech you, my love, be a good example to others, avoid all useless\nconversation, never absent yourself from the community assemblies\nwithout real necessity. Give challenges to spur each other on to virtue.\nLet your chief care be to inculcate recollection, practise it yourself\nin good earnest, it ought to be preeminently our practice. Incite one\nanother to it, and to seek Our Lord, and our own perfection in\nsingleness of heart.\n\nI have received all your letters and the other things you sent by\nChamb\u00e9ry, but they came very late. Another time, my dearest daughter, to\ngive you comfort we'll talk as you desire, heart to heart, but I am\nfeeling the cold to-day, and am pressed for time. In a word, humility,\nexact observance, holy confidence and joy in God.\n\nOur very dear Father is, he says, entirely yours. All our Sisters salute\nyou. To conclude, you are, as I told you the other day, my own dear\nP\u00e9ronne, whom I love with all my heart. When M. Michel goes to see you\nhe will give you plenty of news; he is not, however, going for some\nlittle time yet.\n\n                                              Yours wholly in Jesus.\n\n\n\n\nX. _To Mother Marie Jacqueline Favre, Superior at Lyons._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                       ANNECY, 1615.\n\nThey have taken me by surprise. Here is M. de Boisy, who tells me that\nif I wish to write to you, my daughter, now is the opportunity. He\nstarts at dawn, and so at dawn I write this letter in all haste. Well,\nas to your letters, they always give me pleasure and console me\nexceedingly. All praise to the good God who I see leads you and holds\nyou by His paternal Hand, so that you have nothing to do but to cling\nclose to it, and leave yourself to Him, walking with all possible\nhumility, and simplicity, under His holy protection, while you train\nyour little flock to advance faithfully, for it is in this way that He\nwishes you to show your fidelity, and it is for this end that I always\ntell you, my dearest, that you should keep yourself, as much as the\nperformance of necessary duties allow, free and disengaged from\noccupations, so that you may be continually in the midst of your Sisters\nat the times that they are assembled together, thus will you enlighten\nand animate them in their duty by example as well as by precept. I quite\nagree with our worthy and excellent Archbishop. He is right, my\ndaughter, believe me, you must be Mother and Mistress. Nevertheless, it\nis well to try the capacity of Sister Marie Aim\u00e9e,[A] for she is good,\nthough a little too reserved and somewhat lazy, letting nature dictate,\nand yet I hope that she will, notwithstanding, further the progress of\nthese dear children by good example and by her tongue if she lets it\nloose. Moreover, as you will often be unable to be with them yourself,\nshe can take your place, and thus be a constant relief to you. Your\nresolve about Madame Raime is quite to my mind. Deduct the amount of the\ndamask plums from what you receive and you can ask M. de Medio[B] and M.\nVoullart as to how to act. Be at ease about the dearly loved P\u00e9ronne\nMarie. I never thought of what they told you, but do not on that\naccount delay to train these girls to housework, for most certainly\ncharity obliges you to give the good daughter a rest after she has put\nthe house in good order, and others have been trained for this purpose.\nAlas! my dearest daughter, I have great compassion for poor Sister ----.\nUndoubtedly, her imagination plays a large part in her case, but our\ngood Archbishop and the confessor ought to help in the curing of her.\nTreat as despicable and in no manner condone what she esteems so much in\nherself. I will write to her as to the others when I have leisure. You\nmust take great care of the good Sister ----. Keep her bright, and as\nmuch occupied as possible, see that she eats and sleeps well, for\nusually any weakness of the brain lends itself to such temptations of\nthe imagination, so, dear daughter, show her infinite compassion,\ncharity, and patience. God and time will reveal to us what it is all\nabout.\n\nDaylight is breaking, and I have nothing very special to say except,\nindeed, that you ought to be very grateful for the blessing God has\nconferred upon you in giving you as fathers two such exceptionally great\nand worthy prelates, whose remarkable piety pleases God and man.[C] I\ncannot tell you what a consolation it is to me to see how God has united\nthese two souls, and I believe this union will bring Him more glory than\nour little judgements are capable of understanding. So with all my\nheart I praise God for having given me this consolation which I have so\nlong prayed for and desired, clearly seeing how much good it would\neffect, and the solace of mind it would bring to our worthy Lord\nArchbishop, whose goodness merits and needs it. His dear Lordship here\nis full of kindness, and in perfect accord with this prelate, and has a\ngreat reverence for him. I will write as soon as possible to these dear\nchildren; meanwhile, give them my affectionate love. May the great Jesus\nfill their hearts with sweetness, simplicity, and innocence! My\nrespectful and affectionate remembrance to my Lord Archbishop. My\nregards also to good Father Philip de Saint-Nizier, the chaplain, and\nwhoever else you think I ought to mention. Do not tell the President[D]\nthat you do not get letters from me for I never fail to write when there\nis an opportunity. Remember me very specially to your two dear\ncompanions, my daughters, and most dear Sisters.\n\nGood-morning, my love. May Jesus be your all. Amen.\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[A] Sister Marie Aim\u00e9e de Blonay had just been made Mistress of Novices,\na charge which she greatly dreaded.\n\n[B] Canon of Lyons.\n\n[C] St. Francis de Sales and Mgr. de Marquemont.\n\n[D] Antoine Favre, Mother Marie Jacqueline's father.\n\n\n\n\nXI. _To the Same._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                       ANNECY, 1615.\n\n... I think you have received both the letters that I have written to\nyou since our arrival. Now to answer yours, which has been a joy beyond\nwords to me: so is it in your power, my dearest Sister and friend, to\ngive me true pleasure. You are indeed happy in serving our Lord and His\nholy Mother: give your service, my beloved friend, with boundless joy\nand courage. Our very good Father, whom as yet I have hardly seen, wrote\nyou the other day an excellent and beautiful letter.[A] Ah! how blessed\nare they who hide themselves in the sacred breast of the Saviour, and\nelsewhere find no delight. But I really must answer your letter. I am\nwriting during the Sisters' supper, and I have had no time as yet to\nconverse with any of them. Keep firm to the line you have adopted with\nM. de Saint-Nizier, that is all I have to say on that point. I must\nanswer P\u00e8re Th\u00e9odose, but it is you who ought to do this. Yes, I told\nSister ---- that you would give her a little book on perfection, but she\nmust not let her imagination run away with her, so as to think she\npossesses all the good qualities she desires and which she hears\ndiscussed. Keep her gently and cordially humble, and believe me, my\nlove, she will, please God, do very well.\n\nThere are countless things, my dearest Sister, that I long to say about\nthe true and sincere affection I have for you, and this because I verily\nbelieve that we are not separated, but more united than ever, for our\nmutual intercourse by letter brings home to us, it seems to me, all the\nmore forcibly our affection. O God! may this love be eternal: our life\nhere is too short to suffice for the enjoyment of so great a good! But\nto answer your little questions. God be praised for the zeal of our good\nSisters in holy obedience. Oh! but it is sweet and pleasant news to me,\nand for them an inestimable treasure. I beseech these dearest daughters,\nwhom I truly love, to give all the consolation possible by following\nafter perfection holily and faithfully. Oh, my God, we have only, my\ndearest one, my Sister, to die or to love our good Saviour. Amen.\n\nHis Lordship has, through the chaplain, acceded to the desire of Madame\nColin. You have answered N. right well; no thanks are needed in such\nmatters. If I can I will write to M.; if not, do it yourself, my love,\nfor these are our affairs. Believe me, I pray much, and will continue to\ndo so for you, and still more for your dear Father and Mother....\n\n\nFOOTNOTE:\n\n[A] In this letter, having consoled her for the departure of Sister J.\nF. de Chantal, Saint Francis addresses these sweet words to her: \"We\nneed never part from one another, we whom the very blood of Our\nLord--that is to say, His love, through the merits of His blood--binds\nand unites together. Indeed, as for me, I am in very truth so entirely\nyours that in proportion to the distance that these two or three days of\njourneying seem to separate us corporally the more strongly and with the\nmore affection am I united spiritually to you as to my very dear\ndaughter. You will be the first after our Mother (de Chantal) in my\nprayers and my solicitude, a solicitude, however, which is more sweet\nthrough the extreme confidence which I have in the heavenly care of\ndivine Providence for your soul.\"--(M. S. Lives of the First Mothers, by\nM\u00e8re de Chaugy.)\n\n\n\n\nXII. _To the Same._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                       ANNECY, 1615.\n  MY DEAREST SISTER, MY DARLING,\n\nFirst of all it is quite true that I am entirely at your service. Next,\nit is from no lack of diligence on my part that you have been kept so\nlong without news of us, for we have frequently sent to the\ntrades-people to find out if any were going to Lyons. You must not,\nthen, think that I am wanting in care or affection for you. I do not\nknow how that traveller you speak of passed through without my knowing.\nNow to answer your letters, though I assure you I have to do so in the\ngreatest haste. We have sent you our Office books, and the carrier has\ndelivered everything from you--the beautiful candlesticks and the\ncrucifixes, for which, above all, we thank you. God will give you all\nthat is necessary to instruct these girls from Riom. It is well that you\nhave them, for it is essential that they come either here or to Lyons,\notherwise it would be impossible for us for a good long while to provide\nsubjects suitable for foundations. Truly the making of Superiors is not\nthe matter of a day.\n\nThe First President of Toulouse has written to his Lordship asking for\nSisters for a foundation, and he has replied that he will see to\nsubjects being formed for it. This community is becoming very large,\nand needs assiduous care. Mademoiselle du Ch\u00e2telard and Mademoiselle\nd'Avise were here last week, and asked with great humility and\nearnestness that the votes might be taken for their admittance as\nprobationers. This has been done, and they are coming at the beginning\nof the approaching great feasts. Both souls are altogether to my liking.\nSeveral others are applying for admission....\n\nWe must charitably bear with N., and employ both the green wood and the\ndry to keep her brothers and sisters away from her, and to induce her to\ncurtail her correspondence. She is in bondage to these things, and never\nwill she have courage to break her chains if she is not helped. May God\nin His mercy take her by His good hand and lead her out of all\nsuperfluous cares. His grace the Archbishop has acted prudently in at\nonce settling that her sister is not to be received, to do otherwise\nwould have been inexpedient. She ought not to put upon us these great\nobligations to _Madame la pr\u00e9sidente_ Le Blanc[A] who is one of those\nwomen of the world whom I greatly admire. A thousand cordial salutations\nto her.\n\nMy darling, for the love of God always write quite openly to me about\nall your little affairs, and don't take the trouble to copy your\nletters. I say this not only for myself but also on the part of our\ngood Lord, and it will suffice to write only to one or other of us, for\nwe are as one by the grace of God, and I see that so much writing gives\nyou headaches. This too will economize your time. You will easily be\nexcused by everybody, except perhaps by the dear brother de Boisy[B],\nfor the rest they must write to you and not expect answers unless you\nhave time and want to recreate yourself. I am undecided whether or no to\nwrite to M. Austrain, but in any case be sure to offer him my respects.\nHis little daughter[C] is indeed very happy. Three of us have the\nspecial care of her. She is very charming, but M. and Mme. Austrain\nought to inculcate obedience, and tell her that they always hold it in\nreverence. I am very fond of her and so are all our Sisters. Assure them\nof this, and that I greatly desire to serve them and to give them\nsatisfaction in regard to her. In reference to this over affection that\nyou have for me, you are doing quite right. Alas! dearest daughter, I am\nnot exempt from these feelings. In such things be very generous in the\nguard you keep over yourself; hardly ever speak of it, still less think\nof it: feelings of this kind should be borne with silently and sweetly,\ntaking, as it were, no notice of them.\n\nHow consoled I should be if M. D. is caught in the net. May the good God\ndo this mercy. I want you to get news of the temporal affairs of our\nlate good Sister Marie Ren\u00e9e (Trunel) from the General of the\nFeuillants, and to ask his opinion; the first paper which Sister P\u00e9ronne\nMarie (de Ch\u00e2tel) sent was a rough draft; you will have received what we\nwrote to you by M. Voullart. For God's sake, darling, do all you can\nsoon to procure the money that should come to us for Sister F. A., as we\nare in great necessity, and nobody wants to pay us. M. Voullart has the\nauthority for receiving it (illegible lines)....\n\nAdieu, my love, I am all right as to health, but I want to improve\notherwise when I have time to think about it. I intend to take full\nadvantage of my co-adjutrice. I don't know which to choose unless Sister\nN. Sister P. M. [de Ch\u00e2tel] would make an excellent one. Some day please\nGod I hope to have her, meantime I advise you to make use of her for\nyourself.\n\nAdieu, once more. Let us be His for ever and ever.[D]\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[A] See note to Letter XIX., page 49.\n\n[B] The Count de Boisy was brother of St. Francis de Sales.\n\n[C] The Monastery of Lyons was under obligations to M. Austrain, and St.\nJane Frances took his little daughter back with her to Annecy at his\ndesire. Subsequent letters show that this child did not respond to the\nSaint's kindness and had to be sent away.\n\n[D] The Lives of Mother Favre, de Br\u00e9chard and de Ch\u00e2tel are given in\nthe \"Lives of the First Mothers of the Visitation,\" by Mother de Chaugy.\nThere is a recent life of Mother de Ch\u00e2tel under the title of \"P\u00e9ronne\nMarie\" (Burns and Oates), in which are introduced slight\ncharacter-sketches of Mothers Favre, de Br\u00e9chard, de Blonay and de\nSautereau.\n\n\n\n\nXIII. _To Sister P\u00e9ronne Marie de Ch\u00e2tel at Lyons._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                       ANNECY,\n                                                    _January, 1616._\n\nAt last, my dearest daughter, I take up your letter to answer it as far\nas I am able. May the good God inspire me to say what is for His glory\nand your consolation. All the repugnances of which you speak, all your\nfeelings, aversions, difficulties, are all to my judgement for your\ngreater good, and you are bound not to yield to them. You should keep\nmaking resolutions every day to fight and resist them--nevertheless when\nyou fall, say fifty times a day, never on any account be astonished or\nuneasy, but quite gently reproach yourself, and take up again the\npractice of the contrary virtue, saying all the time words of love and\nconfidence to Our Lord, and saying them just as much after you have\nfallen into a thousand faults as if you had only fallen into one. Do not\nforget all we have said to you on this subject, and practise it for the\nlove of God, being assured that God will draw His glory and your\nperfection out of this infirmity, never have a doubt on this point, and\nbear up bravely and sweetly whatever happens. If sometimes you feel\nweak, cowardly, with no confidence in God, compel your lips to utter\nwords the very opposite to your feelings, and say them firmly. My\nSaviour, my all, notwithstanding my miseries, and my distrust, I trust\nThee out and out, for Thou art the strength of the weak, the refuge of\nthe miserable, the wealth of the poor, in a word Thou art my Saviour,\nwho hast ever loved the sinner. Now these and like words, my dearest\ndaughter, you can say, and though with neither devotion nor tears, yet\nwith set purpose. Then pass on to divert your mind in some way, for the\nAlmighty will not let you escape from His hand, which has so securely\ncaptured you, and do you not see how His sweet goodness comes to your\nsuccour in so striking and profitable a manner?\n\nI beg of you preserve the remembrance of the instructions you have\nreceived in the past, and put them into practice, whenever occasion\noffers. When you feel the need of writing to me, write. I will always\nanswer you promptly, and with the truthfulness of a heart that is wholly\nyours. Be very careful to give good example. Fidelity and exactness in\nobservance is, as you know, necessary for this, and also a well-ordered\nexterior, the basis of which depends on the practice of the presence of\nGod. As far as you can quietly manage it release yourself from household\nduties. I have already spoken to Sister[A] about this, and you will, I\nthink, find her of my opinion, for otherwise those for whom the charges\nare intended cannot be fittingly trained. Certainly, my love, I am\naltogether satisfied and consoled with your dear little Mother, who is\nwith you; every one tells me how well she gets on and what you yourself\ncontinue to write about her gives me increasing pleasure, for I know\nwith what sincerity you speak. I trust in God that she will be one day a\ngreat and worthy servant of His and that she will do good to many. She\nought to steep herself ever more in humility and grow in resignation:\nhelp her according to your little lights, and tell her simply in all\ntruth, what seems to you for her own good and for that of the house. God\nknows how sincerely I love her; I know her heart and how she feels under\nobligation to you, while you are conscious that the obligation is on\nyour side. I am well aware of the help and profit that I receive from my\ncoadjutrix; such is an inestimable blessing for superiors, who from the\nmultiplicity of affairs cannot give sufficient attention to minor things\nwhich it is expedient should be remedied. Let me once more beg of you,\nmy dear little P\u00e9ronne, to further in every way you can my desire that\nour dear Sister's spirits are kept up, and without teasing her have an\neye to her health; tell her frankly what is necessary, and see that she\ndoes it, for she ought to yield to you in this, just as you should obey\nher quite simply when she orders what she considers necessary for your\nhealth. You can humbly represent to her how much you feel able to do,\nbut in such a way that she may have no reason to distrust or be\ndispleased with you. It is better to exceed in charity than in labour,\nand for God's sake never give way to disquietude: do everything you can\nto get well, for it is only your nerves. I must conclude, for I am\nfeeling somewhat indisposed. A hundred thousand loves to all our dearest\nsisters; indeed with all my heart I love your little flock. May their\nthoughts be ever set on their Spouse, and may they hold intercourse with\nHim like pure, sweet, simple, chaste doves. I embrace them all, big and\nlittle, lovingly and tenderly, in spirit, but above all do I embrace my\nwell-loved P\u00e9ronne. His Lordship salutes you and loves you tenderly.\nVive J\u00e9sus.\n\n\nFOOTNOTE:\n\n[A] Mother Marie Jacqueline Favre.\n\n\n\n\nXIV. _To Mother Marie Jacqueline Favre, Superior at Lyons._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                     ANNECY,\n                                                _January 4th, 1616._\n\nOnly one word, my poor dear daughter, for there is no time to write as\nmuch as I should wish. Hardly has one been told that there is an\nopportunity of sending a letter than they come to fetch it. For the love\nof God, my dear friend, do not allow yourself to be so easily carried\naway by your affections. Hold fast in God your spirit, your love, and\nall your pleasure. Keep your heart strong and generous, and interior\njoy will come back to you. We are not separated, my dearest daughter, be\nassured of this, and when it is necessary to think and speak of me\naccustom yourself to do so with a free and joyous spirit as if I were\npresent to you. Ah! my love, to know that our good God is everywhere,\nand that He is always ready to be to us, Father, Mother, sweet and\ngentle Spouse, should indeed make us happy. I am very glad that you have\ntaken Mme. de Chevri\u00e8res for a mother;[A] she is a virtuous and useful\nfriend and I greatly like her: offer her my humble respects. Our poor\ndear Sisters' Christmas carols are very nice. I love all these dear\nhearts: tell them so, darling, I beg of you....\n\nIn your next letter say how you are really feeling, for I cannot say\nthat I like to hear of your getting thin. My daughter de Thorens has\nwritten to me (illegible lines), speaks of the marriage of M. de Foras\nwith Fran\u00e7oise. Madame is wrong, I assure you, my dear friend, in\nblaming his Lordship[B] for not writing to her. I see very little of\nhim, and I cannot tell you how long it is since I last spoke with him:\nhe is overwhelmed with business. However, if I see him I will ask him\nto write to her, and I shall do so myself, if possible.\n\nWell, most certainly I pity the good Archbishop of Lyons with his rules:\nthe poor man is worrying himself to death over them. Why on earth does\nhe not fish where he knows there is plenty of water. Do not send the\nregulations that he has made for us without also sending the rules, and\nget to know as tactfully as you can what he is planning and the cause of\nthis delay.\n\nAs to exterior mortifications, they are performed here in the right\nspirit and with devotion. You know them: Some prostrate across the\ndoorway with face to the ground, others hold out their arms in the form\nof a cross, others again wear a cord round their neck, and ask pardon,\nor mention and deplore their imperfections out loud, ask for an alms and\nthe like. However, I permit them but rarely, because frequency lessens\ntheir power, and when done with devotion they profit and mortify those\nwho perform them, and edify the others. You can of course allow them,\nbut only at the times set down, unless the Sisters ask your permission,\nand let this come from themselves (illegible lines).\n\nThey have come to fetch the letters. Good-day, dearest daughter. Always\nyours. Be humble in all things, and practice mortification of spirit.\nVive J\u00e9sus.\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[A] It was a common custom at this epoch to contract spiritual alliances\nas a mark of reverence, gratitude, and affection. It is of such an\nalliance that Saint Jane Frances here approves. Madame de Chevri\u00e8res was\na pious and devoted friend of the monastery at Lyons.\n\n[B] St. Francis de Sales.\n\n\n\n\nXV. _To Sisters P\u00e9ronne Marie de Ch\u00e2tel and Marie Aim\u00e9e de Blonay._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                       ANNECY, 1616.\n  MY DEAREST DAUGHTERS,\n\nI will begin by answering your last letter, and then go back as far as I\nam able to the preceding one, saying, please God, what He wishes me to\nsay to you.\n\nFirst, then, my dear daughter, I'll tell you what Our Lord wants of you\nand of us all, a humble and tranquil submission to His most holy will in\nwhatsoever happens, for everything is, without question, ordained by\ndivine Providence for His glory, and for our gain; henceforth to be\nindifferent to health or sickness, consolation or desolation, the\nenjoyment or privation of what we most cherish, should be our aim. May\nour hearts have but one desire, that His holy will be accomplished in us\nand in regard to us. Let us not philosophize on things that happen to\nourselves or to others, but, as I have already said, remaining sweetly\nhumble, and tranquil, in the condition in which God has placed us. In\npain patient, in sorrow enduring, in action active, without stopping to\nthink whether we commit faults in this way or that, for such reflections\nare nothing but self-love.\n\nInstead of all that, look at God, and take faithfully as it presents\nitself every opportunity of practising suitable virtues. When you fail\nthrough cowardice or infidelity be not disturbed, make no reflections,\nhumble yourself in meekness and confusion before God, and then lose no\ntime in rising up again by an act of courage and holy confidence.\n\nNow, my daughter (P\u00e9ronne Marie), and my little one (Marie Aim\u00e9e), do\nthus; this letter is for you both in common, for I know that your hearts\nhide nothing from one another. In future, as I have so little leisure, I\nwill always write to you together, unless you tell me that, for some\nparticular reason, you wish me to answer you individually, in which case\nI will willingly do so, for I am at your disposal. Believe me, I love\nyou with all my heart, and I have to bear my fair share in the\nmortification of your absence, though indeed you are more than ever\npresent to me in spirit; but the good God has arranged it so, and all is\nsweet in His holy will.\n\nYou, my P\u00e9ronne, and the little Sister, when you happen to be ill,\nreceive relief willingly and graciously. And mind, in whatever form it\ncomes, whether it be to rise, to go to bed, to eat, obey simply, and\nwithout making difficulties. My dear P\u00e9ronne, walk manfully in your old\nway, both as to the interior, and the exterior. When you are asked what\npoint of prayer you take, and the like, answer boldly as to what you\nhave done or thought formerly in this way: \"I have had such thoughts in\nprayer or done such things while walking about, or when in bed\"; but do\nnot say: \"To-day, or at such an hour, I have done such a thing.\" It is\nnot necessary to be so explicit, but simply say, \"I have done or seen\nsuch a thing,\" and have no scruple in calling all your good aspirations\nand thoughts prayer, for they are prayer, and so, for the matter of\nthat, are all our actions when done to please God. It is enough to\nsalute your good Angel morning and evening. Attention to the presence of\nGod and of Our Lady includes all, for the blessed Spirits are engulphed\nin the abyss of the Divinity, and it is more perfect to walk simply.\nWhen a novice says to you, \"What are you thinking of?\" answer frankly,\n\"I am thinking of God,\" without saying (if it is not so), I was thinking\nof the Passion, and the like, for no doubt to mention a particular\nsubject (if we were not thinking of it) would be an untruth. Say simply,\n\"I was thinking of Our Lord,\" and you might, for example, add, \"My God,\nhow happy we should be if we could always have the Holy Passion or the\nNativity before our eyes.\" This gives edification enough. I see nothing\nelse to say.\n\nOh! but yes; just a word for my Little One. I beg of you, my dearest\nSister, not to trouble about what you feel or do not feel--this I say\nonce for all. Serve Our Lord as it pleases Him, and while He keeps you\nin the desert serve Him there with good courage. He made His dear\nIsraelites spend forty years there, accomplishing a journey that they\ncould have made in forty days. Take courage then, and be satisfied with\nsaying, and being able to say, though without relish, \"I wish to live\nwholly for God and never to offend Him;\" and when you stumble, as is\nsure to happen (be it a hundred times a day), rise up again by an act of\nconfidence. Do likewise towards your neighbour, be content with having\nthe desire to love him, or desiring to desire it, and to procure for him\nall possible good, and, opportunity given, minister gently to him.\n\nIn short take bravely the road in which God leads you--it is a safe one,\nalthough you may not have all the light and satisfaction you would like;\nbut it is quite time to abandon to Our Lord all these plans and desires,\nand to walk blindly, as divine Providence wills, believing that it will\nlead you aright. Now, adieu. Our good M. Michel (Favre) will tell you\nall the news. Needless to say, I recommend him to you, for I am\nextremely fond of him. He is our dear brother and child: entirely\ndevoted to us. Thousands of cordial messages to those most dear\ndaughters of my heart, and special messages to whom you know, and to\nall, for indeed I most truly love them all.\n\nAdieu, my beloved daughters.\n\n\n\n\nXVI. _To Mother M. J. Favre._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                       ANNECY, 1616.\n  MY VERY DEAR DAUGHTER,\n\nYour letter deeply touches me. May God give us genuine humility,\nsweetness, and submission, for with these virtues there is truth, but\nwithout them usually deception and no sure dependence. No need to\nconsult about this good woman, she must be put out, for a thousand\nreasons. Unless God give you light to the contrary, beware of acting on\nany human reasons put forward by her relations. You must drink the\nchalice, my daughter, and bear with contempt for the sake of exact\nobservance. But act, I pray you, in this matter with gentleness and\nconsideration, saying nothing that might cause any trouble to this poor\nwoman.[A]\n\nAs to Mlle. N., we only have knowledge of her in so far as to be able to\nsay that we fear her becoming very dejected from her melancholy and\nunstable temperament. However, you will have to receive her for a first\ntrial and to tell her frankly that she will be obliged to undergo at\nleast four months' probation in the house before she receives the habit.\nAs to the condition she wishes to lay down of being always with you\nafter her profession, it is not to be heard of. She must not claim to\nmake arrangements on becoming a Religious, as if she was purchasing a\nfarm-house; therefore, should there be no conditions in her contract,\nand no reserves, the only thing she can reserve to herself is the\nresolution never to do her own will, and to live peaceably and humbly in\nthe Congregation. I beg of you, my true daughter, maintain a gentle and\na humble, a generous and a joyous heart in the midst of the bustle of\naffairs, for this God requires of you.\n\nYou are right in thinking our Sisters de Ch\u00e2tel and de Blonay are two\npearls of virtue. They have not a little obliged me in so candidly\nopening their hearts to you. I never doubted but that they would do so,\nand I am sure you will always receive consolation and support from them.\nGently encourage the dear _Cadette_[B] to be more expansive and\nopen-hearted with the sisters. She can do it if she look humbly unto God\nand overcome herself. I beg of her to teach her novices to see the\nadvantage of correction, and to love it. They ought to aspire to great\npurity of life and become familiar in their communications with their\ndivine Spouse. I shall not write to them now; it suffices that we two,\nwhom God has so intimately united, confer with one another. God bless\nyou, my child, I am very glad to know the state of your heart. Keep it\none with God in fidelity to the Rule and a stranger to all unprofitable\nthings; for, my true daughter, God has appointed you for my succour and\nto carry with me the burden which He Himself has laid upon me. Do not\nsay that you are inconsolable on account of our separation. I assure you\nthat I write much more to you than I tell our sisters here. We do not\nsee one another it is true, but that is all, and I think a little\ncorporal absence renders you more present to the mind than if you were\npresent. In everything else we never make any difference between you and\nour Sisters here, if it be not that you are more loved and more\ncarefully instructed. Now pity yourself no more, since Jesus Christ is\nthe privileged bond that unites us.\n\n                                                         Yours, etc.\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[A] Elsewhere St. Jane Frances thus sums up for her daughters the views\nexpressed to her on religious life by their Founder, St. Francis de\nSales. \"In truth, there are few monasteries which do not possess some\none who gives a great example of virtue, but the majority are weak and\nneither great nor elevated in character. This evil is brought about by\npersons becoming religious who are not yet really good Christians. Such\nknow indeed their Founder and their constitutions, but they have little\nknowledge of Jesus Christ and His gospels. They aspire to become perfect\nin a day, while yet they are unaware of their own miseries and need of\njustification. They expect to be cured without thoroughly knowing their\ndisease or the physician. They begin with the roof instead of with the\nfoundations, and are eager to offer to the divine Master what He has\nonly recommended as a counsel, without taking the trouble to give Him\nwhat He exacts as a debt. From hence come so many dissensions,\nmurmurings, and complaints about trivial things, so much imprudence, so\nmany indiscretions, suspicions, rash judgements, attachments to one's\nown inclinations and way of thinking, and to trifles; such impatience of\ncontempt, so little fervour in prayer, so little reverence for the holy\nmysteries, so little fruit from confession and frequent communion, such\na poor conception and idea of the life to come, so little gratitude to\nJesus Christ, so little solidity and dignity in the practices of\ndevotion. The remedy for all these evils is to employ the time of\nnoviceship in learning truly to know the adorable Master; His precepts,\nmaxims and counsels, by a thorough explanation of His gospel; truly to\nunderstand the nobility of man, whom God only can render happy; his fall\nand his misery, which the Incarnation and the death of a God could alone\nremedy: the corruption of his heart, of which self-love is master; the\ninability in himself to do any good without the grace of Jesus Christ:\nthe never-ending danger from that concupiscence which, though conquered,\nis always within him; the necessity of continual prayer, of solitude, of\npenance, in order to keep the senses subject to the spirit; truly to\nunderstand how terrible God is in His judgements, how heinous are the\nsins committed after baptism, how differently we shall look upon things\nafter death, and what a heavy responsibility for us will be the life and\ndeath of the Redeemer: truly to learn the folly of despising these\ntruths and the sanctity which the grace of the law of this Jesus exacts\nfrom us, He who is our Saviour and our Model.\"\n\n[B] A name given by St. Francis to Mother Marie Aim\u00e9e de Blonay.\n\n\n\n\nXVII. _To Madame de Gouffier._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                       ANNECY.\n                                                  _17th July, 1616._\n\nI can only send you this little note, my dearest daughter, but his\nLordship is answering your letters. Our Sisters (Favre and de Ch\u00e2tel)\nare to arrive this evening, so you can imagine how busy we are getting\nready for them. God be blessed for all you tell me, and may the work you\nhave undertaken be to you a precious crown for the greater honour of God\nand for our consolation.\n\nCertainly, very dear daughter, if the glory of God and your reputation\nwere not so much involved in this transaction we should never risk\nsending our sisters. Our reasons would be unalterable in regard to\nanyone save you yourself. Sister Jeanne Charlotte will tell you what\nthey are. The experience of Lyons has taught us to walk circumspectly.\nBut we have not the heart to disappoint this daughter who is so much one\nof ourselves. May God be your portion and ours for all eternity! It is\nimpossible for me to leave this house at present, so I cannot accompany\nthe Sisters whom we are sending to Lyons. They will arrive, please God,\non the 29th of this month, and they can start with you on the 5th or 6th\nof August, but not before. We shall write again by them. May God love\nus, and our love be all for Jesus eternally.\n\nAdieu, my daughter. I embrace you with all my soul which is wholly\nyours. But let us not engage in any more combats until we are fully\narmed! I prefer to have few monasteries and those well established than\nmany badly provided.[A]\n\n\nFOOTNOTE:\n\n[A] Madame de Gouffier, a religious of the Order of the Holy Ghost, was\nattracted to greater devotion by reading the \"Introduction to a Devout\nLife,\" and made a long journey to confer with its author, St. Francis de\nSales. The Sister annalist of the Order tells us that Madame de\nGouffier, on arriving, \"Devoutly ferreted out all she could about the\nrising Congregation to see if it might not be the promised land designed\nby God for her, in which she hoped to find rivers flowing with milk and\nhoney. Full of admiration for the new Institute, Madame de Gouffier\nwished to become a member, but insurmountable impediments opposed her\ndesign, and she could only obtain permission to wear the religious habit\nwithin the enclosure, where she was known under the name of Sister Marie\nElizabeth. With tireless energy the new benefactress gave a helping hand\nto the foundations of Lyons, Moulins, and Paris, in all of which houses\nshe successively sojourned, ever seeking to make herself useful to the\nSisters, whose virtue was indisputably made manifest by the thorns\nwithout number with which, all unwittingly, she strewed their paths.\nTowards the end of 1621 Madame de Gouffier quitted her exile here below\nfor the true _Promised Land_.\"\n\n\n\n\nXVIII. _To Mother Jacqueline Favre, Superior at Lyons._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                     ANNECY.\n                                                       _June, 1616._\n  MY OWN DEAREST DAUGHTER,\n\nYou and all the dear Sisters to whom I am in debt must needs be\nperpetually pardoning me. Only at the last moment are we told of an\nopportunity to send letters, and having no time to get mine ready\nbeforehand I am constrained to write in a breathless fashion. They have\njust come to say that Sire Pierre sets out to-morrow. Patience in all\nthings! However, as I want to write to our sisters, and very fully to\nyou, and very particularly to my son M. Michel, those letters I will\nsend by the chaplain. You now know for certain what are our good Lord's\nintentions regarding the Religious question: I mean the conversion of\nour Congregation into a Religious Order, with the conditions laid down\nfor us, which are all excellent, and about which our resolution is\nunalterable. This step has been before the Archbishop of Lyons for a\nlong time, and he did not wish it to be known. But what does it matter\nto us, I pray you, whether our vows are solemn, or made as they are in\npublic, or whether we are to be called a _Religious Order_ or a\n_Congregation_? Such things do not signify at all. We have always shown\nthat we are willing for it on condition that nothing whatever is changed\nas to the end of our Institute or the means of attaining that end, to\nwhich, thanks be to God, we have, up to this, adhered for His glory and\nthe salvation of our neighbour. We do not ask or seek to be brought\nforward, and only wish to be left as we are, content to remain in our\nlittleness, and infinitely preferring it if the glory of God does not\ndemand otherwise.\n\nNow, dearest daughter, your mind will be clear on this subject, and you\ncan satisfy those who make inquiries. I greatly desire that our good\nFather Rector, a man of great virtue and capability, should know all,\nand give his opinion on the whole matter to the Bishop, who is anxious\nto have it. His last letter to me gives the impression that he thinks\nquite the reverse of the above. For the rest, dearest daughter, if you\nhave an opportunity get the Archbishop to write and tell his Lordship\nhow he means to act in regard to the Bishop's last letter, for this is\nof importance to the affair in Rome; but do not let him see any\neagerness on your part or that you have been asked to do this. Enough on\nthis subject.\n\nWhat a grace has not the good God done us these six years in having\ncalled us to true perfection by a manner of life so fitting to our sex.\nEver blessed be this divine Saviour. I tried to-day to renew my heart\nfervently so as henceforth to live in accordance with God's holy will.\nMy great longing for you, who are so dear to me, is that you may bravely\ncast aside all that is not of God, and having but one heart, that you\nmay keep it exclusively for the one Saviour, who has given His dear life\nto win our love and our salvation....\n\nLet us have a great love for our Sisters and bear gently and sweetly\nwith their little miseries and weaknesses, without which we shall never\nbe, and thus make good use of the first-fruits of the spirit which God\nhas diffused on us here, and on you.\n\nWhat joy took possession of my heart yesterday, dearest daughter, when I\ncaught a glimpse of a chance of seeing you again, and what noise and\nexcitement at recreation when I gave the news of your coming! Truly it\nis delightful to see how they all love you. Don't you think that it is\nquite necessary for me to keep my pleasure to myself in case you do not\ncome, for they would all be so disappointed? Alas! my poor P\u00e9ronne, if\nshe is not cured she must come back to Annecy, for she will be useless\nto you and the change of air may be good for her. God knows how welcome\nshe will be, but I fear you will miss her for your little m\u00e9nage:\nhowever, God will provide.\n\nI hope you will not give the habit to the good N. until she has\ncompleted her six months. If I have time I will write her a little note;\nif I cannot, her humility will bear with me, and her charity will be\nindulgent to me. I beg of her to ask God to grant me the grace of being\nentirely His.\n\nA thousand salutations, daughter darling, to you and all your dear flock\n(a little special word to our two).[A] Remembrance also to the Rev.\nFather Rector, to my dear nephew, and to whom else you please. Aye,\ntruly sister de Gouffier may well be admired! I shall write to her by\nthe chaplain when he returns. She is only losing her time, and I am\nastonished that she has not written to me. Yes, indeed, she is losing\nher time. Adieu, my darling, _this holy day of the Feast of St. Claude_.\n\n                                                         Yours, etc.\n\n\nFOOTNOTE:\n\n[A] Srs. P\u00e9ronne Marie de Ch\u00e2tel and Marie Aim\u00e9e de Blonay.\n\n\n\n\nXIX. _To Sister Marie Aim\u00e9e de Blonay, Mistress of Novices at Lyons._[A]\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                       ANNECY, 1616.\n\nWho can doubt, little one, but that a thousand imperfections are mingled\nwith all our actions. We must humble ourselves and own to it, but never\nbe surprised nor worry about it. Neither is it well to play with the\nthought, but having made an interior act of holy humility, turn from it\nat once and pay no further attention to your feelings. Now let me hear\nno more about them, but use them all as a means of humbling yourself and\nof abasing yourself before God. Behave yourself in His presence as being\ntruly nothing, and if you do, these feelings about which you talk will\nnot do you any harm though they will make you suffer. Indeed, as much\nmay be said of this fault of over-sensitiveness. Pray what does it\nmatter whether you are dense and stolid or over-sensitive? Any one can\nsee that all this is simply self-love seeking its satisfaction. For the\nlove of God let me hear no more of it: love your own insignificance and\nthe most holy will of God which has allotted it to you, then whether you\nare liked or disliked, reserved or ready-tongued, it should be one and\nthe same thing to you. Do not pose as an ignorant person, but try to\nspeak to each one as being in the presence of God and in the way He\ninspires you. If you are content with what you have said your self-love\nwill be satisfied, if not content, then you have an opportunity of\npractising holy humility. In a word aim at indifference and cut short\nabsolutely this introspection and all these reflections you make on\nyourself. This I have told you over and over again.\n\nI can well believe that you are at a loss how to answer these young\npersons who want to know, forsooth, the difference between contemplation\nand meditation. How can it be, Sister (The Superior) puts up with them,\nor that you do in her absence? Sweet Jesus, what has become of humility?\nStop it all, and give them books and conferences treating of the\nvirtues, and tell them that they must set about practising them. Later\non they can talk about high things--for by the exercise of true and\nsolid virtue light comes from Him who is the Master of the humble, and\nwhose delight it is to be with souls that are simple and innocent. At\nthe end of all, when they have become Angels, they may talk as the\nAngels do. As to prayer, be at peace and do not attempt anything beyond\nkeeping yourself tranquilly near Our Lord. This too I have often told\nyou. In a word you are not to move any more than a statue can do. Your\none wish has to be to give pleasure to God; now if He in His goodness\nshows you what you have to do, is it right for you to turn from this to\ndo something else because this, His will, has no interest for you? You\nmust take care not to fall into this fault, but be simple; don't think\nmuch about yourself and just do the best you can.\n\nYou have thoroughly satisfied your self-love, in writing me this paper.\nHowever, I will not return it to you, although I think that were I to do\nso it would be a mortification to you. Live wholly with all simplicity\nin God. I have a great affection for Sister Barbe Marie.[B] Take care of\nher, teach her to restrain her over anxiety, which makes her so eager\nfor her own advancement and for that of everybody else.\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[A] We are told in the \"History of the Foundation of Annecy\" that Sister\nMarie Aim\u00e9e de Blonay fulfilled her duties as Mistress of Novices with\nsuch submission and reverence as entirely to justify the beautiful name\nof \"The Living Rule,\" by which she is known throughout the Order; for\nher actions and her teaching were a faithful carrying out of what she\nhad learned from its two holy Founders. She often inculcated the\nfollowing doctrine: \"Just as the Gospel of Jesus Christ is, and always\nmust be, the universal foundation of our obedience and of our belief,\neven though there were a million new worlds, so should the particular\nmaxims of the Visitation of Annecy be common to all houses of the\nInstitute, even though it should increase to millions upon millions of\nmonasteries.\" It gave St. Francis such pleasure to hear this ingenious\ncomparison of the Rule to the Gospel that he ordered the following to be\ninserted in the acts and conditions of establishment for every new\nfoundation: \"That the Sisters undertake to live according to the Rules,\nConstitutions, and customs of the Monastery of Annecy.\" And in answer to\na letter about this time from his dear \"Cadette,\" he says: \"My daughter,\nmake use of this light all your life. Tell what you have seen, teach\nwhat you have heard at Annecy. This root is indeed little,\ninsignificant, and hidden, but the branch that separates from it is fit\nfor nothing but to be cut down and cast into the fire.\"\n\nThe life of Mother Marie Aim\u00e9e de Blonay was written by Charles Auguste\nde Sales, nephew and one of the successors of St. Francis de Sales in\nthe See of Geneva.\n\n[B] Madame la Pr\u00e9sidente Le Blanc, who was converted from a life of\nworldliness by St. Francis de Sales, and became a great benefactress to\nthe new Institute. When at Lyons she lived in the Convent like a\nreligious, and wished to be called Sister Barbe Marie.\n\n\n\n\nXX. _To the Same._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                       ANNECY.\n                                                    _January, 1617._\n\nTruly, my dearest little one, you give me extreme pleasure by writing so\nfully and so simply. Always do so. I have shown your letter to his\nLordship, who is very fond of you. God will be with you and all will go\nwell. Never doubt but that divine Providence will guide and support you\nin all things, if you give yourself wholly into Its hands. Employ such\nlittle talents as you possess faithfully, and they will increase. For\nthe rest what a pity it is that we allow ourselves to be upset about\nwhat we are and how we perform our duties. Let us set about them with\nsimplicity, looking unto God, trusting to His goodness, then all will be\naccomplished, all will be sanctified.\n\nHow consoling it is to hear of your courageous postulants! Salute all of\nthem affectionately for me, but to your last novice I pray you to offer\nmy heart, which I offer her to serve her and to love her perfectly in\nOur Lord. What you tell me in your letter of her fidelity to observance\nalready gives me great consolation in her regard.\n\nOh, Saviour of my soul! how blessed it will be for her if she persevere!\nI exhort all our dear novices to constancy, and I beg of them to take my\nword for it, that their peace will be perfect if they hold fast without\nswerving to the observance. May they forget themselves and all things\nelse in order to achieve thoroughly this one thing, which is of so much\nimportance. If they aim at it always faithfully and humbly, it will\nbring them inestimable happiness.\n\nDaylight is failing me, my daughter.\n\n                                              Your very affectionate\n\n\n\n\nXXI. _To Mother Marie Jacqueline Favre, Superior at Lyons._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                      ANNECY,\n                                                 _10th April, 1617._\n  MY MOST DEAR DAUGHTER,\n\nI am sending you back our good Sister (Madame Colin). I see nothing in\nher that merits rejection. Her manner is a little dry, but that is\nnatural to her, and I think she will improve, for she is most anxious to\nbe gracious. She certainly seems to me to have, in the service of God, a\nwell-directed heart, and a well-disposed mind. She will give you all our\nnews and tell you about his Lordship, who, I feel sure, is altogether\noverworked. She has seen how he is overwhelmed with business. Grenoble\nwas the last straw, on account of the endless letters it has entailed;\nthey are too much for him. If only those ladies would have a little more\nconsideration and confine their correspondence with him to what is\nuseful, or to their spiritual needs! I am told that some of them will be\nvisiting you. For God's sake see if through them you cannot discretely\nmanage to curtail unnecessary appeals to him. You know how kind he is\nand how he never fails to send them a reply, although we are told that\nif he does not greatly retrench his correspondence it will have a very\ninjurious effect on his health, and will shorten his days--days which\nare wholly at the service of God and his neighbour. This is a matter\nwhich it seems to me ought to concern everybody: so I am writing to\nDijon, Chamb\u00e9ry, St. Catherine, and everywhere I can think of, to ask\nthem to spare him as much as possible and only to write in cases of\nabsolute necessity, or at least utility; for in such cases it cannot be\navoided.\n\nNo doubt you perceive that I am a little disturbed, and indeed I am; for\nthis morning I heard several things about him which have greatly upset\nme, and you know how valuable his life is to us--more it could not be.\nHe will return next year to Grenoble. A great many people, and I believe\nhalf the diocese, regret it, especially M. de Boisy: but I do not, for\nit cannot be much prejudice to the bishopric, and is sure to be for\nGod's glory, and he will, please God, reap a double harvest in this\nsecond visit. He greatly praises the goodness and piety of the people of\nGrenoble and particularly of the ladies. Poor Sister Barbe Marie arrived\ntoo late, but she made up for lost time and his Lordship has completely\nwon her.\n\nThis woman has an excellent heart. She it is, I am told, who ought to\nintroduce the ladies to us. Encourage her as much as possible to\nestablish the Visitation at Grenoble. It is really very wonderful how on\nall sides they are asking for us, and we have no desire to settle\nourselves anywhere, except at Grenoble. Everything looks encouraging in\nthat direction. The ladies there are enthusiastic to have a foundation.\nRecommend the affair to Our Lord, for it seems to me that it will be for\nHis glory. Our dear Sister (Barbe Marie) will tell you everything. She\nhas written to me three times since the return of his Lordship and I\nonce to her. This is only fair, for she is not as busy as I am. She is\nquite devoted to you. Get a thurible made out of that beautiful cup; we\noften need one and have to inconvenience our neighbours by borrowing\nfrom them. Sell our watch, my child, to help to pay for the making of\nit. You will have to do this for we are short of money. Good Madame\nColin insists on our keeping her watch, but I shall not do so on any\naccount unless she consents to take the value of it. It keeps good time\nand we have much need of such a one.\n\nMy poor dear Sister, I dearly love you. Live solely for God by giving\nyourself up entirely to His holy will and letting it act. Indeed, I long\nto do likewise and I pray God to let me die if I do not love Him\nhenceforth with all my strength. Such is the desire of the miserable\nlittle heart of your poor Mother who has the toothache, so she must stop\nwriting as soon as she has made up her mind what answer to give\nMonseigneur of Bourges. Our good Bishop will come for it this evening.\nWe seldom, I assure you, see him now. But we do not mind so long as he\ncan get through all his work. Would to God that I could relieve him of\nit!\n\nNow this is the answer to the Archbishop of Bourges. Write to the\ngrand-nephew as from yourself and say that if the matter is urgent we\nshall find great difficulty in providing Sisters, not having any yet\nsufficiently trained. I believe that Monseigneur intends first sending\nCardinal Bellarmine's letter to the Father Rector, and afterwards to his\nGrace of Lyons....\n\nI can understand poor N.'s temptation. Alas! from what I hear the poor\nSister seems quite to have gone astray. God grant she may get into the\nright way again. In conclusion, dear daughter, I hope you will not take\ntoo much to heart what I have said about his Lordship's correspondence,\nI acknowledge to have written forcibly because it is doing him so much\nharm. Yesterday I let him know that I was going to write all round in\nthe hope of curtailing it, and he told me that I must not do so, for he\ncould manage very well. You understand, dearest daughter, I am not\naddressing myself to you, nor to any of our Sisters, for I don't wish to\nstop them from writing to him when they require his advice. Oh, indeed I\ndo not! not them, nor any one. I only mean that discretion should be\nused in this matter.\n\nAdieu, my most dear daughter. I embrace you lovingly in spirit and am\nwholly yours in our sweet Saviour. Amen.\n\n\n\n\nXXII. _To the Same._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                       ANNECY, 1617.\n\nI have three quarters of an hour free, my dearest daughter, and seize\nthe opportunity to write to you. You have indeed given me very special\npleasure by speaking a little of your beloved self and of your dear\ndaughters. God be praised for all you tell me of both the one and the\nother. Oh! my love, if you but persevere in serving our great and gentle\nRedeemer with the highest part of your soul, indifferent as you say to\nall that presents itself, true happiness will be yours. Souls who act\nthus are royal souls. May the divine Majesty give you the grace of\nfaithful perseverance.\n\nYou have done well to discontinue your retreat. I assure you I never\nundertake mine in the very hot weather on account of the great\ndrowsiness which it causes. Well, if God wishes us to walk like one who\nis blind and groping in the dark, what does it matter? We know that He\nis with us.\n\nI am surprised at what you tell me about Paris and Chalons,[A] we have\nheard nothing of it from any one else. It would be a great boon to us\nnot to separate for a year: but the Holy will of God comes before all\nthings, and grace urges us to the acceptance of it. If they send me, it\nwill do me good to see you again.\n\nI do not quite know what to say of Sister ----[B]; tell me about her a\nlittle more in detail and of the effects on her of what she feels.\n\nConsult the Rev. Father Rector and get her to speak to him herself. She\nshould certainly use every endeavour to hide what you tell me of, and\nshould never abandon herself to it; but if there is humility and simple\nobedience we need have no anxiety. You should insist emphatically upon\nsimplicity, truth, and straightforwardness in all her actions, above all\nwhen she has these consolations. But in a word, if she possesses virtue\nyou need fear nothing, even though they may come from the evil spirit.\nNature or the imagination would seem to me more dangerous. Speak of\nthis, I beg of you, in her presence to the Father Rector.\n\nI assure you I am consoled to hear about little Orlandin. But the other\nlittle one, Raton, how is she going on? My daughter, you do singularly\nwell not to keep those girls that are unsuitable. Try to win over their\nfriends so that they may be satisfied with our own choice of subjects,\neven though those we choose may not have much dowry. My God! how\nimportant it is to have good subjects! I shall be sorry if Sister N.\ngoes, for I think that in time she may make a good novice mistress and\nso relieve that daughter[C] whose mind is so wearied by the charge. The\ncontinuance of this weariness of hers gives me pain. Oh! my daughter,\nhow true it is that we must be more than women to serve God above all\nnatural humours and inclinations. Yet what happiness so to subdue nature\nthat grace reigns in its stead! May it please the good God to assist us,\nfor we can do nothing without His succour.\n\nI have just written a line to M. Austrain, who begs of us to keep his\ndaughter at least till September. We will willingly do so for his sake,\nbut I own to you, daughter, that she is no gain to us.[D]\n\nStill no news from Rome. I think His grace the Archbishop[E] would be\nglad to help us should this business be delayed. Beg of him, I beseech\nyou, to push on the matter and above all by using the privileges which\nthe Father Procurator says that he has obtained for us. It is really\nimpossible to submit to anything else. I think, daughter, that you will\ndo well to write him a humble, dignified, earnest request on the\nsubject, for I fear the Father Procurator may be a little slow in\nfollowing it up: but write as from yourself. My child, I must conclude.\nMay God be all to you. Amen.\n\nMay His goodness be blessed. Believe me to be always devoted to you and\nSister Barbe Marie and to all your daughters.... My child, I write in\nsuch haste that I forget half of what I want to say. Yes, indeed, most\nwillingly will we make a chalice veil for you, but not until the very\nhot weather is over, for one cannot work neatly while it lasts. I do not\nknow if we have the silks: Sister P\u00e9ronne Marie says we have not, but\nshe will write to you about it.\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[A] Projected foundations in these towns.\n\n[B] A Sister at Lyons who enjoyed great spiritual consolations. Her name\nis not given.\n\n[C] Sister Marie Aim\u00e9e de Blonay.\n\n[D] In another letter to Mother Favre, dated July 3rd, 1617, Saint Jane\nFrances writes: \"The little Christine is very much frightened at the\nprospect of returning to her father (M. Austrain), for she knows that he\ndoes not want her, and she dislikes still more the thought of going to\nSt. Ursula. A lady came here from Neuville some time ago, and ever since\nthe little Austrain has desired to be sent there. She is now imploring\nher father to let her go to that town. Help us, I beg of you, to get rid\nof her quietly and with courage.\"\n\n[E] Mgr. de Marquemont.\n\n\n\n\nXXIII. _To Mother Jeanne Charlotte de Br\u00e9chard, Superior at Moulins. On\nthe death of the Saint's daughter, Madame de Thorens._[A]\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                      ANNECY,\n                                                  _September, 1617._\n\nAh, Lord Jesus, grant that we may love Thee perfectly and Thee alone.\nHis divine Goodness has truly pierced the depths of my heart, and I am\noverwhelmed with sorrow at the death of my daughter de Thorens. Yet what\ncan I do but lovingly kiss the dear hand that has given this terrible\nblow? May it be blessed for ever! Indeed, this daughter was as lovable\nand as sensible as could be found at her age. I admired her great virtue\nand was consoled to see her firm resolve to dedicate herself entirely to\nGod. O good Jesus, I did not deserve to have such a companion, and\nperhaps it was not good for us to have in this life such enjoyment and\nsuch contentment as she and I had in one another's society. So she is\nhappy in the sovereign good which I have always desired for her, and God\nhas surrounded my affliction with so many mercies and favours that\ntrying to forget myself in my righteous sorrow I bless and thank Him for\na grace which I dearly prize.[B]\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[A] Marie Aim\u00e9e de Chantal was born in 1593; married, in 1609, Bernard\nde Sales, Baron de Thorens: died in 1617. In September of this year the\nyoung widow gave birth to a daughter at the Visitation Monastery,\nAnnecy, where she happened to be staying, and was unexpectedly taken\nill. The infant only lived to receive baptism, and Marie Aim\u00e9e died two\ndays later, having made her profession in the Order on her deathbed. St.\nFrancis de Sales, who received her vows, said he had never seen so holy\na death.\n\n[B] The rest of this letter has been cut off.\n\n\n\n\nXXIV. _To M. de Neuch\u00e8ze, the Saint's nephew._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                    ANNECY,\n                                               _November 6th, 1617._\n\nI feel sure, my dearest nephew, that, alas! you must already know of the\ndeath of my dear one.[A] Five days after her decease we announced the\nnews to Mgr. of Bourges,[B] but I fear the letters may have been lost.\nIt has truly, my child, been a great grief to me to be deprived of the\npresence of this dear, amiable daughter, but with all my heart I adore\nand embrace the divine will which has sent me this sorrow. There is much\nto console me in her happy and holy death, while I am almost in despair\nat the thought of the state of soul of your cousin.[C] So miserable am I\nabout it that I do not know which way to turn, if not to the Providence\nof God, there to bury my longings, confiding to His hands not only the\nhonour but even the salvation of this already half lost child. Oh! the\nincomparable anguish of this affliction! No other grief, my dearest\nnephew, can come near to it. If it were not that I am tied down here by\na violent ague I would have already set out to be with him. I am asking\nhim to come to me: if he does not, I beseech Mgr. of Bourges to find\nsome pretext for visiting him, and for remaining with him till he comes\nto Nantua. Alas! he must be helped. I implore of you to do all you can\nin the matter. I can say no more. I am overwhelmed with sorrow, and my\ntears blind me. Obtain for him the prayers of all those good souls who\nwalk steadily in the fear of God. My salutations to all the household.\nMy dearest nephew, may His goodness grant you all blessings.\n\n                     Believe me always your humble aunt and servant,\n                            Sister J. F. Fr\u00e9myot of the Visitation.\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[A] The Saint's daughter, Madame de Thorens.\n\n[B] Archbishop of Bourges, brother of St. Jane Frances. M. de Neuch\u00e8ze\nwas Vicar-General and Chancellor of his Diocese.\n\n[C] The Saint's son, Celse Benigne.\n\n\n\n\nXXV. _To Mother Marie Jacqueline Favre, Superior at Lyons._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                     ANNECY,\n                                              _25th November, 1617._\n\nThis severe mortification which the good N. has given you is, my dearest\ndaughter, the fruit of the holy cross. Ah! may God grant us the grace to\nprofit by every mortification that He sends us. You are indeed blessed;\nfor see how the divine Saviour lays on you burden upon burden. May His\ngoodness give you His holy strength. He will do so, daughter, for with\nyour whole soul you have given yourself into the arms of divine\nProvidence, and you have no other arms to bear you up and no other\nbreast on which to repose in love save His. Abide there as a gentle dove\nin all simplicity and tranquility, not making account of your\nafflictions but looking only at the _Heart_ of Him who has sent them to\nyou.\n\nHere we have truly shed many tears and prayed much for our dear one who\nis taken from us.[A] I have, however, much consolation; for could there\nhave come a greater happiness to this pure and innocent soul than to\nmeet her Saviour? Rejoice in her repose, my dearest daughter.\n\nIn order not to lose this opportunity of writing to you I am doing so\nwithout having given myself time to look over your letters again.\nBelieve me, daughter, that if we are faithful to our vocation, and if in\nour little efforts we seek only the pure glory of God, His majesty will\nraise us up.\n\nHis Lordship wishes us to make another attempt before sending to Rome M.\nde Sainte-Catherine, who will be an admirable agent. God will help us,\ndaughter, but we must keep lowly and patient and let ourselves be\ntrampled under foot. His Lordship hopes that this new petition,\nsupported by our Rules and the testimonials, will settle the matter. If\nthe Archbishop thinks well to write a new letter of recommendation, from\nhimself, to this gentleman who is acting for him, it is quite as it\nshould be, so long as this gentleman acts in unison with the Father\nProcurator of the Barnabites. But to ask him to send these attestations\nto the house of Lyons would, I think, be loss of time, as they have\nalready been sent here. The Prince, on his side, has heard that the\nmatter is being taken up warmly. Ah! well, we have done what we can, and\nthe success of it we must leave to the Providence of God and ask Him to\nguide and fashion this work according to His holy will. I hope we shall\nhave some news in a few weeks.\n\nHis Lordship left us yesterday, and he asked me to send you his\napologies for not having written to you, but he will write from\nGrenoble. He is absolutely overwhelmed with business. We spoke of our\nvow of obedience, and he believes it to be pleasing to God. He asked me\nhow you bore that sharp mortification; but alas! I could not tell him.\n\nYes, my dear daughter, we read the Catechism to the Sisters four times a\nweek,[B] and if any one wants to know over and above what is in the book\nI check her, saying that she and I must submit our understandings to\nwhat we read without questioning beyond, and this I find does much\ngood, for such as we are very ignorant.\n\nThank you a thousand times for the beautiful wax candles. They are most\nacceptable, but one lasts for a whole year. We have never seen the\nblessed grains of incense.\n\nPlease forward the packet from D\u00f4le at once, and securely. There is one\nfrom his Lordship from Paris. My darling, I am wholly yours and salute\nyou all.\n\nThis St. Catherine's Day.\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[A] Madame de Thorens, the Saint's daughter.\n\n[B] St. Jane Frances' insistence on the simple Catechism instructions\nwas peculiarly applicable to the time in which she lived, for the\nJansenist heresy, added to the errors of Protestantism, gave rise to a\nsubtle and questioning attitude of mind, and women, misled by their\nmasters in error, set themselves up as Doctors in the new heretical\nschools of learning.\n\n\n\n\nXXVI. _To Madame de la Fl\u00e9ch\u00e8re._[A]\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                       ANNECY, 1617.\n\nOh! may our most good and sweet Saviour be the strength and life of your\nsoul, which is dear to me in very truth beyond all others, with, as you\nknow, one exception, which does not bear comparison. Ah! my Sister, let\nus by faithful obedience press forward, enlarging our love for this all\nlovable Saviour. No, we have it not in our power to render Him a\nservice, we are of too small account for that, but in the name of His\nGoodness let us do all we can to please Him, depending on Him, and on\nHis Providence, so that it may be our sole support. I have no time to\nwrite, but I must send you this line to content my own heart and to\nsalute yours. Adieu, and good morning, my Sister all dear to me.\n\n\nFOOTNOTE:\n\n[A] In writing to a mutual friend, M. Philippe de Quoex, St. Francis de\nSales says of Madame de la Fl\u00e9ch\u00e8re: \"With the exception of Madame de\nChantal I do not think that I have ever met in any woman a soul\nstronger, a mind more reasonable, a humility more sincere.\" Madame de la\nFl\u00e9ch\u00e8re lived at Rumilly, and was a lifelong friend of St. Jane\nFrances, to whom she gave her ch\u00e2teau for a Visitation foundation, which\nConvent her daughter Fran\u00e7oise de la Fl\u00e9ch\u00e8re in later years governed.\nMadame de la Fl\u00e9ch\u00e8re was received into the Order on her deathbed.\n\nThere are no less than sixty letters extant from St. Francis de Sales to\nMadame de la Fl\u00e9ch\u00e8re.\n\n\n\n\nXXVII. _To Sister Paule J\u00e9ronyme de Monthoux,[A] Mistress of Novices at\nAnnecy._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                     GRENOBLE, 1618.\n\nI have received all your letters, my poor dear daughter; they came in\ntwo sets and you have had replies to the first five, but I still have\nfour by me with questions to answer.\n\nThere is no doubt whatever that the novices should have recourse to\ntheir Mistress in every matter, which the Rule says they are to treat\nwith her, and it is but fitting that they should be as exact as possible\non this point. Sister Assistant should give her instructions through\nyou: for to act otherwise would be very prejudicial to them.\n\nYes, you do well to tell me the more important things, but you do wrong\nto call me a Saint. Take it to confession, and never do it again. My\nGod! I am nothing but a sink of miseries.\n\nYou are right to devote yourself as much as possible to your duties in\nthe novitiate. The body is indeed a poor thing, yet be careful to do\nnothing to injure your health. May God bless your remedies, though I\nvery much doubt their curing you: however, in all things we must look\nsolely for His good pleasure. You are quite wrong, my daughter, in\nthinking that Sister Assistant is not altogether open with you. Do not\nmake such reflections and don't hesitate about taking your own line. Has\nnot good M. ---- the Senator been right? Remember me most affectionately\nand respectfully to him. Meantime I am very much concerned about your\nillness. You ought to consult the doctor and do whatever he tells you.\nSalute the good man cordially for me.\n\nHow is it the infirmarian never gives me one word of news? Well, my\ndear, I am very fond of her all the same. I beg of her to gain the\nmastery over that heart of hers so that she may train herself to\ngentleness and simple observance; however, I will tell this dear\ndaughter, Marie Adrienne (Fichet), of this myself. I am glad that you\nare employing little Sister Fran\u00e7oise Marguerite (Favrot). Test her well\nso that she may advance in the virtues of religion.\n\nIf these dear novices hold fast to all that is marked down for them, and\nI entreat them to do so, they will make great progress. Do not be afraid\nto write quite candidly to me; letters are slow but sure in coming. I\nwish you could be a little clearer and more detailed in speaking of the\ncauses which prevent the Superior from being quite fitted for her\noffice; I thought they were exterior rather than interior. Ah! what a\npity that our negligence should be of such prejudice to the service of\nour good God. Write openly and walk faithfully in uprightness,\nsimplicity, and great gentleness, bearing with your neighbour, and\nsupporting her without stint. Seek God in all things and be faithful to\nHim. He looks to the intention. Speak out boldly, with entire confidence\nto our good M. Michel; he is a good and sincere man. Adieu, my daughter.\nMay the great Jesus make you all His own. Amen.\n\n\nFOOTNOTE:\n\n[A] Sister Paule J\u00e9ronyme de Monthoux de Annemasse was the first\nSuperior of the foundation of Nevers, 1620, and in 1625 of that of\nBlois. Her biographer, Mother de Chaugy, tells us that in the houses she\nfounded the virtues of simplicity, poverty, and humility were so\nsuccessfully implanted by her that it could truly be said: \"The workman\nis recognized in the perfection of his work.\" She died at Blois in 1661,\nwhere her memory was held in such veneration that a tombstone was\nerected in her honour, half of which tombstone was in the Nun's choir\nand half in the secular chapel, in order thus to satisfy the devotion of\nthe people.\n\n\n\n\nXXVIII. _To M. Michel Favre, Confessor to St. Francis de Sales, and to\nthe Religious of the Visitation at Annecy._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                     GRENOBLE, 1618.\n\nMost truly, good Father and dear son, do I long for leisure to write as\nmy heart dictates to you, but it is impossible. My feelings towards you\nare those of a mother, and greatly have you consoled me by your kindness\nin telling me how God has made known His will to those two dear sisters\nwho aspire to Him and find their rest in His paternal bosom. It gives me\nineffable consolation, seeing that I myself have this same attraction,\nbut I should like to know the very words that were communicated to them\nso that I may feed my soul upon them. This I say from my heart. Give me\nthen this satisfaction, and do you also nourish yourself with this\nsacred manna. Truly having this, how can we seek elsewhere for other\nplace of security and rest?\n\nAlas! dear Father, how pitiable are our infirmities and imperfections!\nThese two Sisters appear to me to be unduly observant of one another.\nThey have this defect by nature, and I think it better that I should not\ntell them of it, lest they suffer from jealousy, both having so much\naffection for me and such a desire to please me; but if you put it\nbefore them and induce them to be more simple, cordial, and open with\none another that is all that is needed to set matters right, for I\nplainly see that each fears to do wrong. Sister Assistant, who seems to\nme the least in fault, ought to divert Sister N.'s mind, and be trustful\nand more companionable, compassionately bearing with her, and in this\nway draw her out of her melancholy. That is how I should act, and by so\ndoing I have often relieved and cured souls: warming their hearts with\nconfidence, talking over matters with them quite openly, while\nconsulting them as if I had need of their advice, and trusting them; yet\nreferring neither to their state of melancholy, nor to the subjects on\nwhich they philosophize; neither to their difficulties nor to the\nconcerns of their neighbour. In a word, let these sisters act as charity\nwill teach them, if they but ask Our Lord. For, as our very dear Lord[A]\nsaid to me yesterday, \"It is to the humble souls that the divine\nGoodness gives true wisdom.\"\n\nVerily, if there is any lack of conformity to the teachings of our\nInstitute it is most improper that the sister novices should know of it.\nThis is a thing of importance, and is too serious to be dealt with\nmerely as we may feel inclined. The Mistress should lead the Novices\naccording to the ordinary exercises of the house, and if on some\noccasion she differs in opinion as to these, she should communicate with\nthe Superior, and learn from her how to act. But for ordinary things,\nwhen the sisters who are under the charge of the Mistress come to speak\nto the Superior of their interior state and their difficulties she\nshould, before answering, ask them if they have spoken to their Mistress\nand what she said on the subject. If their Mistress has wisely\ninstructed, let her confirm what the Mistress has said, and encourage\nthem to follow her direction; if, on the contrary, the Mistress has led\nthem astray she ought not to let the novice know it, but put her\nimperceptibly on the right way, and then go herself to the Mistress,\ntalk the matter over with her, instructing her, and instilling into her\na desire to serve the Sisters affectionately. To me it seems always\nbetter, when necessary, to nourish the esteem and confidence of the\nnovices for their Mistress. I should like the Superior to speak to them\nas far as possible only through her, except when the Rule ordains\notherwise. But I have already written so much about this that I hope it\nwill be done; for I certainly see that our Sister Assistant has an\nexcellent heart. She must be encouraged to get out of herself, and to\nseek the advancement and repose of the Sisters with simplicity and\nintegrity: only speaking to them for this end, and to console them: for\nsometimes for our own satisfaction we have an awkward way of teasing and\nworrying others by inopportunely returning to a subject which we should\nnever do if we gave ourselves time to reflect.\n\nI write to you as to a trusty friend. Manage it all, very dear Father,\nas you think best. It seems to me that if you do it as coming from\nyourself it will be better received than if they thought you had\ncomplained to me, or than if I said it myself.\n\nCertainly this life is full of mortifications, therefore it is necessary\nto keep ourselves above it, looking for a better life in which you will\nclearly see how sincerely I am,\n\n                                                         Yours, etc.\n\n\nFOOTNOTE:\n\n[A] St. Francis de Sales.\n\n\n\n\nXXIX. _To Sister Anne Marie Rosset, Assistant at Annecy._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                     GRENOBLE, 1618.\n\nIt will be a great comfort to you, my very dear Sister, to see His\nLordship,[A] and to hear that all the people here expect to become more\nfervent in the service of Our Lord by means of this house. God grant it\nmay be so! What a consolation it is to hear that Sister Paule J\u00e9ronyme\nis fulfilling so well her very important charge. I hope all our dear\nSisters will by a faithful and strict observance of our holy Rules\nadvance every day in the way of Our Lord. To this fidelity, in the name\nof our sweetest Saviour, I exhort them, and I embrace them all in spirit\nwith true and most sincere love. They should continue as the Rule\nteaches, and with earnestness, to pray for the health and the growth in\nholiness of his Lordship. And let them neither forget us, nor the other\nnew and dear foundations that are being planted here and there by the\nhand of Our Lord; for these ought to be as dear to us as our own, since\nit is the divine Will that we dwell in perfect union of heart, as by the\ngrace of God we do. Salute all our friends for me, especially dear\nMadame de la Valbonne, not forgetting my poor old Sister Anne\nJacqueline, nor my friends the workmen, for whom I have a great liking.\n\n\nFOOTNOTE:\n\n[A] St. Francis de Sales left Grenoble to return to Annecy just at this\ntime.\n\n\n\n\nXXX. _To Sister Paul J\u00e9ronyme de Monthoux, Mistress of Novices at\nAnnecy._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                     GRENOBLE,\n                                                 _26th April, 1618._\n  MY POOR J\u00c9RONYME,\n\nI know all about your little difficulties with good Sister Assistant.\nYou were like two children, but I see by your last letter you are now\nsimple and frank as children ought to be with one another. What pleasure\nthis gives me! It is just how I desire to see the heart of my dearest\nlittle J\u00e9ronyme. You must keep it up and make no reflections whatever on\nthe past. As it helps you so much to tell me about your troubles, do so,\nmy daughter, for I am very glad to know them. You will have to be very\nvery generous in bearing with yourself and with others. Certainly, speak\nout fearlessly, in a spirit of charity and cordial confidence, to Sister\nAssistant of all you think proper. God be praised for the satisfactory\nway in which your dear novices are getting on. You should be continually\nhelping them to advance, but do it gently, and bear with the little\nweaknesses which are in some. Yes, the Mistress can speak to them when\nnecessary at their assembly and can send a young professed sister to\nfetch her work. Their letters ought to be given to her, who can doubt\nit? She can also speak to the novices during great silence but not\nwithout necessity. Should the number in the novitiate be considerable\nyou must, in a spirit of charity, take what time you think necessary to\nsatisfy them. I have a great affection for you, child. No, no; you must\nnot say to the Sister Assistant, \"Our Mother would not do that,\" unless\nit be in council, and then only if necessary and with great respect.\n\n\n\n\nXXXI. _To Madame de la Fl\u00e9ch\u00e8re._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                     BOURGES,\n                                               _2nd February, 1619._\n\nOnly one word, my dearest Sister, for it is not long since I wrote to\nyou, and I await good news of you. My own, thank God, is good. Our\nlittle house goes on peaceably, its good odour increasing. As to my\nchildren, I hope my daughter's marriage with M. de Foras will soon be\narranged, and that she will settle in Burgundy.[A]\n\nMy son[B] gives me as keen a sorrow as ever a mother could suffer--the\ncause I will tell you when we meet. He is at court, brave and gallant as\nhe can be, and they tell me, that he is resolved to conduct himself well\nand to make his fortune. My own wish is that he should do so with our\ngood Prince, but I know not what he will do. My dear Father will help\nhim. I am overwhelmed with letters that have to be answered, so I must\nconclude. O, my very dear Sister, may the great Jesus be our only love!\nAmen.\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[A] This marriage never took place, for, though St. Jane Frances desired\nit, Fran\u00e7oise could not make up her mind to accept the gentleman.\n\n[B] Celse Benigne, in whose character good and bad qualities were so\nmingled that he was at once the joy and the anguish of his mother, each\ntime he risked the life of both his soul and body by the unfortunate\nduels in which he was so often engaged, nearly broke her heart. In order\nto avoid the seductions of Paris and the dangerous influence of his\nfriends, the Saint was anxious to have him attached to the Court of\nSavoy, but her project did not find favour with the young Baron.\n\n\n\n\nXXXII. _To Mother Jeanne Charlotte de Br\u00e9chard, Superior at Moulins._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                       PARIS,\n                                                   _July 9th, 1619._\n  MY VERY DEAR DAUGHTER,\n\nThis is only a line to announce the arrival of a good young lady[A] whom\nhis Lordship and I are sending to you. She needs a home to retire to,\nand ardently desires to find it with us. Now, as we cannot have her\nhere, we hope you will welcome her and look after her lovingly and\ncharitably. She is a lady of quality and can give a good pension. She\nwill not come to you for a fortnight, so that you may have time to get\neverything suitably ready for her. See that she has a little room with a\nvery neat and comfortable bed and all things as we are accustomed to\nhave them. Adieu, she will give you all our news. Do not expect his\nLordship for the clothing ceremony. Alas! this good and dear Father\nfeels far from well. Pray for him. I wrote to you the other day.\n\n\nFOOTNOTE:\n\n[A] The lady so charitably recommended to Mother de Br\u00e9chard was\nMademoiselle de Morville (Madame du Tertre). Left a widow at twenty-two,\nshe had long before given herself up to a life of vanity and worldly\npleasure. Her parents, anxious to safeguard her honour and the future of\nher children, procured for her an introduction to St. Francis de Sales,\nwho was then in Paris. The result of this acquaintance was that Madame\ndu Tertre quickly renounced her unedifying life and asked to be admitted\ninto a Visitation Monastery, not as an aspirant to religious life but as\na secular benefactress.\n\nThinking it desirable to remove her to a distance from Paris, where the\ntemptations to return to her former life might prove too strong for one\nso weak and so recently converted, St. Francis arranged with her family\nand with Mother de Chantal to ask Mother de Br\u00e9chard to give her a home\nin her convent. His solicitude was ill repaid. This volatile and\nmischievous young woman brought endless bitterness to his heart, and to\nthat of St. Jane Frances, while she was the source of misery and\ncontention in the community in which she lived. In due time, acting upon\nthe advice of their holy Founder, who was ever too hopeful in his views\nabout Madame du Tertre, she was allowed to make her profession, but she\nsoon relapsed into her former disedifying and uncontrolled manner of\nliving, thereby becoming the cause of great suffering to the Institute.\nA letter of St. Jane Frances' shows that her repentance at the end was\ngenuine, and that she died happily in peace with God.\n\n\n\n\nXXXIII. _To Mother P\u00e9ronne Marie de Ch\u00e2tel, Superior at Grenoble._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                        PARIS, 1619.\n\nYou ask me, my dear daughter, if we are poor. Yes, indeed we are, but I\nhardly ever give it a thought. Heaven and earth may pass away, but the\nword of God remains eternally as the foundation of our hope. He has said\nthat if we seek His kingdom and His justice all the rest shall be added\nunto us. I believe Him, and I trust in Him. The extreme necessity in\nwhich we sometimes find ourselves gives us opportunities of practising\nholy confidence in God and rare perfection. Truly we already see how\nwise it is to adhere to Him and to hope in Him against all human hope,\nfor our foundation has been a thousand times more successful than we\ndared to anticipate.\n\n\n\n\nXXXIV. _To Mother Marie Jacqueline Favre, Superior at Lyons._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                      PARIS,\n                                               _September 29, 1619._\n\nWhat a great consolation for you, my very dear daughter, to have the joy\nof a little visit from our dearest Father! It is such a relief that he\nis out of Paris, where the epidemic[A] is so bad that his departure was\na delight to me. Although it surrounds us do not fear for us, daughter,\nonly pray earnestly that we may accomplish the most holy will of our\ngood God. I have every confidence that nothing will happen but what is\nHis good pleasure, and what pleases Him pleases us. So if it is His will\nI shall often write to you, and I will address all my letters to his\nLordship, who has desired me to keep him well acquainted with our news.\nI wish you could find out the best address for our letters and tell me\nalso how you will send yours. It would be well to take advantage of M.\nRousselet when he returns to this town, for he has a brother at Lyons.\n\nI do not give you any news, dear daughter, for I have commissioned my\nnephew de Boisy to do it; and besides, you know it is a thing which is\ndistasteful to me. One thing only is necessary--to possess God, and for\nthis I have a burning desire. This alone is happiness. All the rest is\nmere smoke. Cling then with constancy to this holy aim. Write to me of\nyour interior state: you will be reviewing it now.[B] O God, how I love\nthat heart of my great and dear daughter! I long to see it generous,\npure, perfect, in a word united in a holy union with the _Heart_ of its\namiable and adorable God. Adieu, my daughter, a thousand good mornings\nto you and to your dear flock. I do not know if his Grace of Lyons has\nreturned: he will mayhap want to delay the change of your congregation\ninto a monastery.[C] It is, however, expedient that it should be done\nbefore you are taken away. His Lordship will speak to you of this. But\nit must be managed very tactfully. One word in conclusion. Test your\ndaughters well before their profession.\n\nAdieu, my daughter. I am always yours in Our Lord. You know this. May He\nbe blessed! St. Michael's Day.\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[A] We read in the inedited \"Foundations of the First Monastery of\nParis\": \"In the years 1619 and 1620 God permitted a terrible plague to\nbreak out in Paris. Terror drove away not only the court but almost the\nentire population, who sought safety in flight. So deserted did this\ngreat city become that we are told the grass grew in the streets. As\nmight be expected in such circumstances, the alms upon which our newly\nestablished Community subsisted entirely ceased, and to add to our\nmisfortunes we were surrounded by infected houses. All day long we could\nhear the tinkle of the little bell that announced the passing of the\ndeath waggon in front of the house.\"\n\n[B] The autumn has always been the season appointed for the annual\nRetreats of the Sisters of the Visitation.\n\n[C] The Archbishop of Lyons, Mgr. de Marquemont, although the first to\nurge that the Visitation should have enclosure and solemn vows, was the\nlast to put in force the Bull erecting it into a Religious Order. He\nheld back in the hope of inducing the house at Lyons to undertake the\nreciting of the great Canonical Office.\n\n\n\n\nXXXV. _To Sister Marie-Avoye Humbert, at Moulins._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                        PARIS, 1619.\n\nI want you to know, my dear little daughter, what a great consolation\nyour letter has been to me. You have portrayed your interior state with\nmuch simplicity, and believe me, little one, I tenderly love that heart\nof yours and would willingly undergo much for its perfection. May God\nhear my prayer, and give you the grace to cut short these perpetual\nreflections on everything that you do. They dissipate your spirit. May\nHe enable you instead to use all your powers and thoughts in the\npractice of such virtues as come in your way. How happy would you then\nbe, and I how consoled! Make a fresh start in good earnest, my darling,\nI beg of you. For faults of inadvertence and suchlike, humble yourself\nin spirit before God, and after that do not give them another thought.\nYou will do this, will you not, my love? Ah, do! I ask it through the\nlove you bear to your poor mother. For the rest, say out boldly\neverything in your letters; they always console me. Let nothing worry\nyou. Always yours in sincerity. Pray much for me. May the sweet Jesus\naccomplish in you His holy will!\n\n\n\n\nXXXVI. _To the Sisters of the Visitation of Bourges._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                       PARIS,\n                                                  _October 3, 1619._\n  MY BELOVED DAUGHTERS,\n\nThe affection I bear you is my only motive in striving to serve and\nconsole you: I need no other spur, for that one is boundless. But God\ndoes not intend that we should see each other for the present, and we\nwillingly submit our desires to His holy will. Meanwhile, let us prepare\nourselves by a greater fidelity to observance to profit by the occasion\nshould He arrange a meeting for us.\n\nAbove all things, dear daughters, dwell together, I beseech of you, in\na great and magnanimous love of His holy will, and a gentle mutual\nsupport of one another, which will ravish the HEART of the sovereign\nGoodness: for our good Saviour has said that it is by our love for one\nanother that we shall be recognized as His disciples.\n\nNo leisure for more--I recommend myself to your prayers. May God dwell\nhabitually in your midst and heap upon you His choicest graces!\n\nYours always in Him. May He be blessed!\n\n\n\n\nXXXVII. _To the Sisters of the Visitation of Moulins._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                     PARIS,\n                                              _December 14th, 1619._\n  MY DEAREST DAUGHTERS,\n\nWe are now beginning a new year, and with my whole heart I come to beg a\nfavour of you. For the sake of the honour and privilege of being\ndaughters of Our Lady will you not grant it to me? for all the affection\nof which I am capable is bound up in the asking. It is this, to make a\nstrong and effectual resolve to walk in the way of exact observance,\nobeying simply, in all humility and meekness.\n\nIn the name of God, let not self-conceit be seen amongst you, nor desire\nof offices, nor of high places; but rather, in the knowledge of your\nown weaknesses and miseries, cultivate a great love of humiliations, of\nself-abasement, and of all things lowly. Never use sharp words one to\nanother. Holy gentleness, cordiality, and union of heart should reign\ninstead among you, so that a gracious affability may season all your\nwords and actions, and no shadow of repugnance ever show itself. Do not\nthink about whether you are loved more or less than another. Kill such\nlittle foxes, I pray you, for they will steal away the peace of your\nhearts. We should never desire to be loved, but believe that we get as\nmuch affection as God sees good for us.\n\nNever make questions as to whom the charges are given; never desire\nthem. The divine will ought to be the rule of our will and enough for\nus. Now, my dear Sisters, give the Holy Virgin, our Lady, the pleasure\nof seeing you serve our sweet Master, her dear Son, by being faithful to\nthese little counsels which I give on their part, and in their presence.\nI ask this of you through the infinite goodness of the Son and Mother,\nwhile I beseech them to grant you a superabundance of graces and their\neternal benediction. Amen.\n\n\n\n\nXXXVIII. _To Mother P\u00e9ronne-Marie de Ch\u00e2tel,[A] Superior at Grenoble._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                     PARIS,\n                                               _January 13th, 1620._\n\nAh! how is it, my darling, my dearest daughter, that you expect a severe\nletter from me? I tell you candidly, and glory be to God for it, your\nheart is too good to deserve scolding, and even if it were not, I have\nno inclination to scold. In a letter which I received from his Lordship\nspeaking of the houses (of the Institute) that he has visited, he says:\n\"To speak quite openly, at Grenoble I have found one who is a Superior\naltogether after my own heart.\" Now, you may imagine, my daughter, what\ngood it did my heart to hear this. Yes, indeed I love you very dearly,\nbut I can give you no better advice than to walk straight on in your own\npath, which is a good one, without turning to right or left. You are\nwonderful in the way you complain of yourself. Remember, that if God\npermits you to be so unfaithful, He allows these little negligences so\nthat you may always have wherewith to humble yourself. When God\nconsoles you receive His consolations quite simply, accepting alike good\nand ill. In a word, my daughter, you must unite yourself to God in\neverything, and by everything, and lead your daughters in the same way.\nAs to a spiritual Father, nothing more can be done. You must continue to\nhave patience for a little longer and God will provide you with one.\nMeanwhile be all things to your daughters, and then all will go well. It\nis a great consolation to hear that they are so good. Oh! Lord Jesus,\npour down Thy graces upon this chosen company. Pray much for us. The\nchoice of a house here depends upon his Lordship, and we are at our\nwits' end to find a suitable one; however, we hope to be settled this\nsummer. Well, my daughter, God alone suffices; were He our only\nconsolation, and did we never wish for any other, how happy we should\nbe! Let us hold to this, for nothing else matters. Adieu, my love. Pray,\nand get prayers for my children, I beseech you. You are most truly,\nbelieve me, the very dear daughter of my heart.\n\n\nFOOTNOTE:\n\n[A] Such was the reputation for fervour of the Monastery of Grenoble\nthat many distinguished members of the Society of Jesus, and of other\nOrders, spoke of it as a \"Furnace of Prayer,\" and a \"School of Virtues,\"\nbut the humility of Mother de Ch\u00e2tel hid from her the great work that\nGod was accomplishing through her means in her own community.\n\n\n\n\nXXXIX. _To Mademoiselle de Chantal._\n\n[The Saint tells her daughter of M. de Toulonjon's proposal of\nmarriage.]\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                        PARIS, 1620.\n  MY DEAREST DAUGHTER,\n\nLet us bless God who takes such care of His children who trust in Him.\nHis divine Providence is arranging for you something that I think you\nwill like: and for my part, it is altogether desirable to me. Your\nbrother is going to see you and he will tell you about the gentleman,[A]\nwhom you do not know but who has seen you. He is our neighbour at\nMonthelon, a fine straightforward, brave gentleman, rich too, and with a\nvery well-appointed house. We are extremely pleased at the honourable\nway in which he comes to make his courtship. Tell me promptly and\ncandidly, I beg of you, my dear daughter, if your affections are free,\nfor if so, and that you continue as reasonable and submissive as you\npromised me to be in your last letter, you will be happier than you or I\ncould have dreamt of. For the love of God, my darling, put your whole\nheart entirely into the hands of God and don't let yourself be\nprejudiced by any foolish talking, or taken up with silly thoughts and\napprehensions. Let us act, for your happiness is dearer to us than it\nis to yourself.\n\nIf it please the great God to bring this affair to a satisfactory\ntermination, verily you will be happy and well pleased, for this\ngentleman is all that I could desire for you. All the rest I leave for\nyour brother to tell you. Do not speak about this matter to anyone, but\npray and send me your answer as soon as you can. Now don't fail to do\nso. Write by two routes and promptly. In fifteen days I shall send to\nthe coach office for your answer, and I beg of you to have it there for\nme. As regards other business, I have already asked you to urge M.\nCoulon to sell Foretz. Be sure to see to this; for we must have three\nthousand crowns in ready money, as I have promised that sum. Arrange\nthat M. Coulon pays you in full, at latest within six months; urge him,\nand be careful to see that there is no unnecessary expenditure. I write\nin the greatest haste. God bless you, my child. Unite with me in\npraising and blessing Him always. I shall settle things to your best\nadvantage, so have no fear, dearest daughter.\n\n\nFOOTNOTE:\n\n[A] M. de Toulonjon.\n\n\n\n\nXL. _To Mother Jeanne Charlotte de Br\u00e9chard, Superior at Moulins._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                      PARIS,\n                                                 _March 12th, 1620._\n\nI know well, my dearest Sister, how deeply you felt the news of my son's\naccident,[A] for your heart is so full of love for me that all my\nsorrows are sorrows to you. I did not mention it when writing because I\ndid not think of it. God has given me the grace not to be very much\nupset by this news, which was broken to me bluntly enough. Indeed, it\nwas an unlooked for happening, and one in which a wiser man than he\ncould not have refused to come to the assistance of an injured friend.\nSuch is the way of the world. All the same he got into trouble about it,\nwithout, however, being too much inconvenienced, and the affair is now\nall settled. The good gentleman whom the sergeant tried to take away was\nbadly wounded and has not yet recovered; but thank God all the rest are\non their feet again.\n\nYour prayers will be of use to my son and he needs them. We are thinking\nof marrying my daughter[B] to M. de Toulonjon, the brother of Mme. de\nla Poivri\u00e8re. The matter has been proposed to us through M. Dautesy. My\nnephew d'Effran and my son know him well, and they consider it a very\nadvantageous match for my daughter and advise me not to refuse. The\ngentleman declared his intentions most honourably and with all\ndeference. He is a frank, honest man.\n\nDo not speak of this for the present, my love, but pray about it, for I\nfear my daughter's irresolution. She is a painful anxiety to me.\n\nOur M. Lefevre has not come; if you can tell me where he is staying I\nwould invite him, or indeed beg of him to come here; however, the\nchancellor is very likely to be with the King.\n\nThe girl I proposed to you as a lay sister lives near Moulins, but if\nyou have others whom you yourself know, do not trouble about her, it\ndoes not signify. Your plan of treating with the Sisters for the Nevers\nfoundation is, I consider, admirable. They have done the same at\nOrleans. But, my dear friend, see that everything is on a very secure\nfooting and only treat with good subjects, such as you know they ought\nto be. For the rest visit and find out all about the place they propose\nselling to you before you purchase it, and arrange, if you can, as they\nhave done at Orleans, to purchase in case it proves suitable, and if not\ndesirable as a permanent residence, to rent it. What you tell me about\nthe Carmelites wishing to take it keeps me in a state of uncertainty,\nfor they are extremely prudent and have very competent people to help\nthem. But the good Father of our Sisters (Bonsidat) can do much with the\nadvice of the Jesuits. I think, or rather I fear, they may be very glad\nto put us off now that the Carmelites are coming. Indeed, we must put\nthe affair into the hands of God and follow good counsel as you are\ndoing. You should make quite certain of the consent of the gentlemen of\nNevers and of the authorities of the town before taking the Sisters\nthere; for this reason we must obtain it, at latest, by Easter, as it is\nso far from Nessy, and I think those for Orleans will be sent by\nPentecost. By the way, you have not told me if they have sent you a\nmistress of novices; but as dear Sister Marie H\u00e9l\u00e8ne (de Chastellux) is\ndoing so well I think you might do with her. Certainly, my child, if the\nSuperior of Nevers is from Nessy that is enough. Don't urge Mgr. of\nLyons, but let him do as he likes. Your spiritual Father can give\npermission for the departure of the Sisters.\n\nYou see I am writing in breathless haste. We are always overwhelmed with\nwork here; but to-day it is because I have a heavy cold for which I was\nbled yesterday. You know how subject I am to these colds, but you need\nnot be in the very least anxious about me. Would to God, my dearest\nfriend, that you kept as well as I do, and that they took as much care\nof you! It distresses me that you have no one to look after you. May God\nin His goodness provide you with someone! Take what care you can of\nyourself, I beseech you.\n\nI have had no news of his Lordship for a long time, but I know he is\nquite well. Thank God, I think he will soon go to Piedmont. M. de Boisy\nis coadjutor in the bishopric of Geneva. No more time. I salute your\ndear family and your hostess. I cannot write more. Good-bye, my dearest\nand best of daughters, for whom I have such a special love. Urge on your\ndaughters gently in the way of holy tranquillity and recollection. Amen.\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[A] The young Baron de Chantal had just been compromised, not in a duel,\nbut in one of those sudden assaults so common at that period, in which\nhe took part in order to defend a friend who had been attacked.\n\n[B] Fran\u00e7oise de Chantal.\n\n\n\n\nXLI. _To Mademoiselle de Chantal._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n  PARIS, 1620.\n\nListen to this, daughter dear. M. de Toulonjon finds himself free for\neight or ten days, and off he is going to know whether you consider him\ntoo old to please you; for as regards everything else he is in hopes of\nfinding favour with you. As for me, to be candid with you I see nothing\nto find fault within him, and even nothing more to wish for. I never\nbefore remember feeling such satisfaction about a temporal matter. Our\nLord has given me this feeling. It is not so much this gentleman's good\nnature and good birth that attracts me as his mind, disposition,\ncandour, his good sense, uprightness, and reputation. In a word, my dear\nFran\u00e7oise, we may well bless God about this affair. In gratitude to Him,\nmy child, you should try to love and serve Him better than you have ever\ndone and to let nothing whatsoever prevent you from frequenting the\nsacraments and from practising humility and gentleness. Take the Devout\nLife for your guide and it will lead you safely. Do not lose your time\nover such little vanities as jewels and clothes. You are about to\npossess them in abundance, but, dear daughter, never forget that we\nshould use the good things God gives us without being attached to them,\nand everything that the world esteems should be looked upon in this\nlight. Henceforth, let your ambition be to be adorned with honour and\nmodest discretion in the position into which you are about to enter.\nIndeed I am gratified that your relatives and I have arranged this\nmarriage without you. It is thus that the wise act, and I should like\nalways to be your counsellor. Besides, your brother, who has a good\njudgment, is charmed with this alliance. M. de Toulonjon it is true is\nsome fifteen years your senior, but, my child, you will be far happier\nwith him than if you married a foolish, inconsiderate young scamp such\nas are the young men of to-day. You are marrying a man who is nothing of\nall this, who never gambles, but who has passed his life at court and\nin the battlefield with honour and who has a high appointment from the\nKing. You will not have the good judgment with which I credit you if you\ndo not receive him cordially and frankly. Do so, my daughter, with a\ngood grace, and be assured that God has you in His mind and will not\nforget you if you throw yourself tenderly into His arms, for He takes\ncare of those who trust in Him.\n\n\n\n\nXLII. _To Sister Marie-Marthe Legros, at Bourges._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                        PARIS, 1620.\n  MY VERY DEAR SISTER,\n\nI understand perfectly, and have never doubted but that your intention\nwas upright. Don't be afraid to tell me what you think it your duty to\nmention, but, my love, do not worry yourself about such things, if they\nare not manifest faults. Leave them to the coadjutrix, who ought to do\nher duty in all humility and cordiality. Tell her from me that I will do\nall she asks me, but I cannot write to her this time. For God's sake\nobserve the rules punctually, and have all of you but one heart and one\nsoul, and so will your love be perfect in Our Lord. Give my affectionate\nlove to my poor fat Sister M. M., and dear little M. Louise; both are in\nmy heart. I wish all happiness to the two dear daughters\nMarie-Fran\u00e7oise and Anne-Marie; I pray God to give them and all of you\nthe virtue of holy obedience, the mother of all virtues.\n\nBe sure to tell the dear professed that they have a bigger share of my\nheart than they dream of. But as to the reception to the habit of Sister\n---- this child has not the conditions marked, why then have they given\nher their votes? They do not set sufficient value on fidelity to the\nRule. Votes should never be given in the hope of amendment, you should\nsee the improvement first before giving the habit, and the same with\nregard to Sister C. M.: she should not make her profession at the end of\nthe year. Why! in truth she has only really conducted herself as a\nnovice for six months, so she ought, I consider, to be kept back, and\nthis will prove her perseverance and bring home to her that she does not\ndeserve to be professed, and that with humility and submission, such\nmatters should be left in the hands of the Superior, and the Sisters. By\nthis prolongation of her trial, her virtue and her dispositions will be\ntested.\n\nMay God in His goodness give you all His spirit, and the grace to weigh\nwell all our Rules, so that they may be observed and followed even to\nthe most insignificant point, for in this our happiness consists.\n\nAdieu to you, my dear Sister, and to all our dear professed. Let us love\nGod and accomplish His will, I beseech you, my dearly loved daughter.\n\n\n\n\nXLIII. _To Madame du Tertre._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                        PARIS,\n                                                  _11 August, 1620._\n  MY VERY DEAR DAUGHTER,\n\nHaving a little free time I make use of it to beg of you in the name of\nGod to accept the judgement of the Bishop of Geneva, to whom you have\nreferred this affair, and who considers that what was so deliberately\nsettled on the house of Nevers should remain with that house. You, my\ndearest daughter, ought to be indifferent about such matters so long as\nwe give you all you desire. Why should you trouble as to what use we\nmake of your gift since quite sufficient is provided for your\nmaintenance? If you keep to your holy desire of living amongst us and\ngiving yourself entirely to God you must, if you please, trust his\nLordship and show that you are satisfied with his decision. As for us,\nwe desire neither law-suit nor contention, and a hundred times would we\nprefer to return all you have given us rather than retain it with the\nleast accompanying unpleasantness: for we value peace with holy poverty\nincomparably more than all the goods this world can give us.\n\nThe Bishop of Geneva will not disclaim what I now say to you. I am a\nlittle surprised that, since his letters have arrived, we have received\nno news except that much pressure is being brought to bear on our\nSisters of Nevers to induce them to return the money they have received.\nIt is their Bishop tells me this. You understand, my very dear daughter,\nthat if you desire to persevere, as I believe you do, you must please,\nnow that you are acquainted with the views of his Lordship of Geneva,\ncease to discuss this matter.\n\nOur poor Sisters of both houses are sorely afflicted at having to give\near to a style of conversation with which they are unacquainted--peace\nis more to them than such things. Let them have it, then, I pray you.\n\n                                             Believe me,\n                                                  Always yours, etc.\n\n\n\n\nXLIV. _To M. de Palierne, Treasurer of France at Moulins._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                       PARIS,\n                                                  _August 15, 1620._\n  SIR,\n\nYour regard for the Bishop of Geneva and for our little Institute,\ntogether with the prudence with which you have always guided our Convent\nof Moulins, gives me hope that you will find a means of adjusting the\nopposing claims of the Bishop of Nevers and Madame du Tertre. The\npregnant arguments you put forward bear, I acknowledge, great weight,\nbut so do those of his Lordship of Nevers. I see much to consider on\nboth sides. Yet I tell you frankly, and it seems to me that I am not\nunreasonable in my opinion, that, in consideration of Madame du Tertre's\nresolve to live with us, what she has so freely given ought to be left\nwith the house of Nevers: otherwise she would have to make a virtue of\nnecessity, and this we should be sorry to oblige her to do. But I am\nchiefly influenced by the fact that the authorities of Nevers only gave\npermission for the establishment of the Convent because Madame du Tertre\naccompanied her petition by a promise of ten thousand crowns, which\npromise was followed by the actual purchase in her name of a property,\nand the payment of a third of the foundation money; and on the strength\nof this the Sisters were received. Possession was afterwards taken of\nthe house. The Sisters were installed by the Bishop, enclosure\nestablished, and the Blessed Sacrament reserved. Since that day the\nDivine Office[A] has been continuously recited. Thus, the foundation is,\nas you see, completely established. How, then, can Madame du Tertre,\nhaving undertaken the financial establishment of this house, now draw\nback without upsetting the whole affair? For as his Lordship of Nevers\nhas upon two occasions plainly told me, the spiritual foundation cannot\nexist without the temporal.\n\nDo you not see, Sir, that to do what this young lady wishes would mean\nruining one of our houses to ensure abundance to the other house.\n\nMy very dear brother, may I, Sir, so call you? When writing to you, I\nhave often thought of doing so because of my sisterly confidence in, and\naffection for you, and because of the obligations under which you have\nplaced me. This I say simply and frankly, though perhaps somewhat\nunconventionally. Allow me Sir, my very dear brother, to tell you that\nthe property is not ours to divide. As Madame du Tertre no longer wishes\nto adhere to her first resolve, she may be at liberty to take back what\nshe has given, but I do not know what justice would have to say on this\npoint. Still, putting justice aside, the Bishop of Geneva would surely\nnot approve of our retaining one _teston_[B] that was not freely given.\nOh! of that there is no doubt. But as she has entered amongst us, and as\nour house of Moulins is satisfied with the twenty thousand francs she\nbrings, acknowledging that this sum is quite sufficient to provide the\nyoung lady with all she requires, and as the affair concerns our own\nhouses, is it not better to follow the advice of his Lordship of Geneva\nand share the ten thousand crowns between the two houses? or at least\nleave ten thousand francs to Nevers, so that that house may not be\nruined. It was upon the assurance of this from our Moulins sisters that\nthose of Nevers decided to go to that town. Before God, how can we\npossibly put into the power of the Bishop of Nevers such a favourable\npretext for sending the sisters away? Oh! can you not see, my very dear\nbrother, how shameful it would be, and how prejudicial to the service of\nGod? Although the houses are ours, and we have the principal interest in\nthem, the agreement has been more to the advantage of this dear young\nlady than to us. For with her twenty thousand francs she possesses at\nMoulins all the privileges she could hope for were it fifty thousand,\nand besides, when there is just reason, in virtue of her title of\nbenefactress, she is free to pass on to Nevers and there enjoy the same\nrights as are conferred on her at Moulins. This, in my opinion, is a\nvery just arrangement and I most humbly beg of you to induce her to\naccept it. Use your influence with her, I beseech of you, for the honour\nand glory of God and of His Blessed Mother, and also for the love you\nbear our little Institute. Madame du Tertre desired to know the wishes\nof the Bishop of Geneva, and he has acceded to her request. Let her then\naccommodate herself to his views and live in peace. I appeal to you in\nthe name of God, for I see no other way of settling this affair, and I\nown candidly that I can obtain nothing more from his Lordship of Nevers,\nwho holds out for the full sum and writes about it in a very\nmatter-of-fact way. I answer as God directs me, resolved through His\ngrace to place all in His hands and to remain in peace and submission to\nwhatever divine Providence ordains.\n\nI beg of our Sisters of Moulins to do whatever justice demands. Oh! what\na shame it would be to see our houses sueing one another! A thousand\ntimes rather would I prefer to see them overwhelmed with reproaches and\npoverty than that this should ever happen. If, dearest brother, after\nall these humble petitions and arguments, Madame du Tertre and our\nSisters of Moulins wish to act against those of Nevers she must do as\nshe pleases; but we shall neither blame them nor defend ourselves, for\nto do so would not be the will of God, and under these circumstances I\nam persuaded it would be better for one or other entirely to surrender\nits claim. Such, too, is the opinion of his Lordship of Geneva.\n\nOblige me by telling our Sister, the Superior of Moulins, that I have\nalready written to her, as by accident she may not have yet received my\nletter. This, that I now write to you, will also serve for good Madame\ndu Tertre, it being all I am able for, as I have a slight indisposition\nwhich is becoming habitual with me. I have no other wish than that she\nshould be treated sweetly and cordially with all affection as she\ncertainly merits. But, I assure you, Nevers was entirely her own free\nchoice: I have ample evidence of this in her letters. God only knows all\nthat has passed on this subject. Our poor Sister Superior may have\nappeared somewhat inflexible and shown how much she felt this rupture.\nBut, dearest brother, in consideration for her position we must throw\nover this fault of weakness or surprise, the mantle of holy charity,\nthat mantle which bears with all, excuses all, and hides all the defects\nof her children. These last lines are in confidence for your own ear\nonly, your goodness and piety encouraging me to confide in you. I\nbeseech of you in conclusion to use all the influence at your command in\nfavour of peace and charity. Believe me, I am truly indifferent to\neverything except the glory of God.\n\nI remain, Sir, very dear brother, with much affection,\n\n                              Your humble and obliged\n                                     Sister and servant in Our Lord.\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[A] The Little Office of Our Lady.\n\n[B] An old French coin.\n\n\n\n\nXLV. _To St. Francis de Sales._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                   PARIS,\n                                                     _August, 1621._\n\nPray much, my incomparable Father, for the Archbishop of Bourges,[A] and\nask our Sisters to pray for him. What is this storm after all in\ncomparison with the sufferings of Our Lord in His Passion? I beseech His\ndivine Majesty, to which I have consecrated myself, to let my brother's\npart in this affair serve entirely for His glory, and I doubt not but\nthat it will be so. The doctor was thunderstruck when they told him that\nMgr. of Bourges had been removed and M. N. given the Archbishopric. He\nspeaks of nothing but the universal affection of the people of Bourges\nfor our good Archbishop, who feels this blow though he has taken it in\nhis usual good-natured way. You who know him can understand how\ndetrimental the change will be to the poor and to the religious Houses,\nto both of whom he has been such a benefactor. Our Sisters will not be\nthe least sufferers, for he loved them much and was extremely good to\nthem. A word from you would be an immense consolation to him.\n\nMay the sweet Jesus fill your heart with His most pure love, and may we\neternally repose in Him. Amen.\n\n\nFOOTNOTE:\n\n[A] The Archbishop of Bourges, being one of those who discovered the\nambitious conspiracy hatched by Cond\u00e9, Governor of Berry, for which he\nwas arrested in September, 1616, became, upon that Prince's release\nseveral years later, the object of his special vengeance. He obliged\nMgr. Fr\u00e9myot to resign his Archiepiscopal See, assigning him in\ncompensation the abbeys of Ferri\u00e8res, and Breteuil, and also the priory\nof Nogent-le-Rotrou.\n\n\n\n\n\nXLVI. _To Madame de la Fl\u00e9ch\u00e8re._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                        PARIS, 1621.\n\nMadame, I pray that God may always be your strength, your love, and your\nhope, for in my littleness I have an incomparable affection for you. Eh!\nbut your letters, dear, best of sisters, console me, and yet I truly\nfeel with you who bear the burden of sharp and hidden sorrows. But after\nall, how happy we should be to suffer such things with only the eye of\nGod to look upon them. Truly our crosses ought greatly to raise our\ncourage, seeing that by them we attain to a union all secret with our\nsweet Master, the greatness of whose sufferings nor men nor angels can\never conceive. Take comfort in this thought when pain is at its height.\nStill, you ought not to conceal your pain from our _Blessed Father_ (but\nI think you do not).\n\nWe can, it seems to me, so name him, as there is a worthy ecclesiastic\nhere who calls him _the true Father_. I am sure, dearest sister, that\neach day he strives after a higher perfection. Happy they who have the\nexample of his rare virtues before them, but far happier they who\nimitate them! God grant us the grace to be of this number, and may my\nweakness not hold me back. I shall be satisfied if I follow him a\nhundred steps behind. I am very glad that your sister has the comfort of\nstaying with you and that your son is good. May God give him the grace\nto persevere, and may he root all vanity out of your daughter's heart.\nMine is very extravagant. It is well that she has found such a good and\nprudent husband. When I see her I do my best to make her sensible and to\nshow her her mistake. I recommend her to your prayers. My son is also\nmost extravagant, but otherwise he is brave, loveable, and esteemed at\ncourt, where the King has given him a very honourable post for one so\nyoung. But all this is vanity. I value more your remembrance of him\nbefore God than all these dignities. He is always here, I mean with the\ncourt, or in his garrison. I trust to the prayers of our Blessed Father\nto save these children's souls, and that is all I care about.\n\nAdieu, dearest Sister.\n\n\n\n\nXLVII. _To the Countess de Toulonjon._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                        PARIS, 1621.\n  MY DEAREST DAUGHTER,\n\nThe dress I am sending you is really quite perfect and is the most\nbeautiful that can be procured. If your brother were very rich it would\nbe a pleasure to him to pay the bill for you, but as it is he begs of\nyou to be satisfied with his good-will, for he has not wherewith to pay\nit. Be content with this dress, for it is handsome and quite\nsufficiently stylish, and because you so long for it I want to satisfy\nyou. M. de Toulonjon writes that you have not a single gown except the\none you are wearing. I cannot understand this, as during the last\nseventeen months you have had four silk dresses and the brocade costume\nabout which you told me. What then am I to think, I pray you, dear\nFran\u00e7oise? Oh! God bless you, my daughter; do be content and let it be\nseen that you are the child of parents who were altogether reasonable,\npeaceful, and constant in their perfect affection, and this it is that I\ndesire for you.\n\nI write in haste. A thousand salutations to all your dear relatives. Do\nnot expect your brother: he cannot go to you, and I do not wish him to.\nYou have my nephew. Courage, my child, be not a silly, frivolous girl,\ntroubling over trifles, and letting them take up your thoughts. Urge M.\nde Toulonjon to send me the money for the dress. The amount of the bill\nis, I understand, 500 livres, and I have not got the money to pay it, so\nlet me have it by the first opportunity, as I do not wish to remain in\ndebt here.\n\nGod bless you, dearest Fran\u00e7on. I am in a great hurry.\n\n\n\n\nXLVIII. _To Mother Marie Jacqueline Favre, Superior at Montferrand._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                     DIJON,\n                                                        _May, 1622._\n  MY DEAREST DAUGHTER,\n\nYour letter of the 17th of March is the only one I have received; the\nothers will no doubt come to hand later, God willing. You must not put\noff your departure beyond the date you mention. I do wish you were here,\nfor it certainly does delay me not to have you. Your presence here is\nneeded, and as the affairs of dear Mme. de Dalet are hopeless you had\nbetter come away as soon as ever you can. The house of Montferrand ought\nto finance your journey from the place whence you came to them, and the\nhouse of Lyons should do likewise; but your coming here is hardly more\nthan your going to Nessy.[A] I shall write to the Lyons Sisters in\nreference to this.\n\nWe are, thank God, poor here, yet, God be praised, nothing is wanting to\nus. A widow of good family, discreet and genial, wants to live with us\nas a benefactress. She proposes giving her furniture and 2,000 crowns,\nbesides defraying all her own expenses.\n\nWe have received two good children, and find no lack of aspirants for\nour life, but the important thing is to be careful in our choice. In my\nopinion you will be pleased with those you will find here. Yesterday we\nwent with Mgr. de Langres[B] to look for a house. It is not easy to find\na suitable one, but Our Lord will help us. We are advised to bide our\ntime and to put up with the house that adjoins this, which is\nsufficiently commodious for a beginning. Moreover, to the money the good\nlady (the benefactress) intends giving us she will add sufficient to\nenable us to be housed here. Then upon our leaving this house, which\nwill be at the end of three or four years, if not sooner, she will give\nus the 2,000 crowns. Everybody agrees in thinking this a most\nadvantageous offer. The worst of it is that the garden is very small:\nthe courts are quite suitable. Dijon is very much shut in, and it is\ndifficult to find a house to rent that will accommodate us. That in\nwhich we now are is small and has no garden or courtyard except one\nhardly bigger than a table. Even as I write it makes me laugh to think\nof it; and I must tell you besides that if we want to get a little fresh\nair we have to climb on the roof. Nevertheless, we are, thank God, as\nmerry and as contented as we can be. Be on your guard, my _great\ndaughter_,[C] against that dislike which you have of coming here.\nOvercome it, I beg of you, for everybody who knows that you are coming\nis delighted at the idea, and as for me, I simply cannot tell you how I\nam looking forward to it. Oh! what a joy to see you once more for a\nlittle while. It will do me a world of good. Who are those timorous\npeople who say that they must not use terms of affection to me? I don't\nagree with them at all, neither should you. Our hearts could not stand\nthat.\n\nThe Archbishop of Lyons is in trouble as to who will take you back. They\nhave made a great fuss about Sister ----. If our _Cadette_ is removed I\nam afraid that house will fail. She has never been elected: see to this\nif you can at your deposition, and don't stop longer than just to\narrange about it. Let me have news of you again before you start. What\nwill Mme. de Chazeron's plan come to? I most affectionately salute your\n_successor_. It has always been a source of regret to me that I have not\nseen your community: none the less do I love it, and I send my warm\ngreetings to it and to all its good friends.\n\n                               With all my heart, your affectionate,\n\nP.S.--Ask the Sisters, I beseech you, to pray hard and continually for\nmy poor son till he is won back to Our Lord.\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[A] A popular name for Annecy.\n\n[B] Monseigneur Sebastian Zamet, Bishop of Langres, in which diocese\nDijon was situated.\n\n[C] A title given to Mother Favre by St. Francis.\n\n\n\n\nXLIX. _To M. de Neuch\u00e8ze._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                   DIJON,\n                                                     _June 8, 1622._\n\nSo engrossing is Paris, my dear nephew, that if I do not refresh your\nmemory about your old aunt she runs the chance of your forgetting all\nabout her. Yet for all that I do not think you would forget me. I have\nreceived too many proofs of your good nature for that. But, tell me,\nwhat are you doing in that great Paris amidst so many honours and such\nworldly luxuries? Oh! I beseech of you, dear child, guard yourself\nvigilantly on every side, lest an undue affection for these things take\nhold of you. My God! how I hate them all. And am I not right, dearest\nnephew, since they leave no time for reflection, and no desire for\neternal goods? All is sacrificed to perishable enjoyments. For the love\nof God beware of them. I would have you protect your dear soul with a\nvery watchful care, so that however abundantly you possess temporal\nthings they may never take possession of you. Rise quickly and holily\nabove them all. This advice goes to you direct from my heart, and as\ncoming thence I know you will receive it. Now and always I am most\naffectionately desirous of obtaining for you through the divine\nGoodness an abundance of blessings, all that it is in my power to\nprocure, that you may enjoy God's grace in this life and in the next His\nglory. These, dearest nephew, are the wishes of her who remains always,\n\n                                  Your very humble aunt and servant.\n\nP.S.--Allow me very affectionately to salute good M. Robert Dapantor[A]\nand all your household. Dear Sister Parise[B] took the habit on St.\nClaud's Day. Mgr. de Langres gave it to her and performed the whole\nceremony. She sends you affectionate messages, as does likewise the\ndeceased[C] Mother of Bourges and all that little family of nine\ndaughters. If they dared they would all beg of you respectfully to\nsalute on their part his Grace the Archbishop.\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[A] Former tutor of the young Baron de Chantal.\n\n[B] Sister Marie Claire Parise was the foundress of the Visitation\nMonastery at Dijon--a humble and fervent soul. While still a secular she\nasked God never to permit her to be without suffering of some kind for\nHis love. He heard her prayer, and her life was a continual interior\nmartyrdom, nevertheless joy and tranquility of soul never abandoned her.\nHaving with the utmost solicitude and care established the monastery of\nDijon, she was sent to Beaune, on its foundation in 1632, and there died\nin the odour of sanctity.\n\n[C] A nickname given by the Saint to Sister Anne Marie Rosset when she\nwas deposed from the Superiorship of Bourges.\n\n\n\n\nL. _To Mother Anne Catherine de Beaumont, Superior of the First\nMonastery of Paris._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                        DIJON,\n                                                  _30th June, 1622._\n\nI cannot but believe, my dearest daughter, that there is more artifice\nthan martyrdom about our N., and I assure you I find it very difficult\nto think otherwise. If she were reproved, or passed over, I expect it\nwould cure her. There will be nothing but trouble if God does not put\nHis hand to the work. May His divine Goodness apply the remedy. I\nenclose her letter, and my reply. What a strange thing is this spirit of\nthe world! You must remain patient and firm under its hard criticism. As\nyou will see by my answers all your letters have reached me.\n\nIt certainly is a rare thing, my child, in a large community not to find\nsomeone who is a trial, but that so many are good is a great subject of\nconsolation. For the love of God, I pray you don't imagine that it is\nthrough your fault that others do not advance. That is not so, thank\nGod. They will be very happy, my dearest daughter, if they follow your\nadvice, and do as you do. In a word I am of opinion that in this (the\nsupport of feeble souls) consists in great part the cross of poor\nSuperiors. The strength of mind God gives you to reprimand will be of\ngreat service to them. Persevere in allowing nothing contrary to\nperfection. For zeal combined with gentleness is of great force in\nanimating hearts, and the like of us women need to be perpetually egged\non and kept up to the mark.\n\nI feel I must just simply tell you the truth. All you say about yourself\ngives me great cause to praise God. It is all excellent. Go always, as\nyou now do, to God alone. I had much consolation in reading your letter\nand above all in seeing what courage God has given you. Verily, my dear\nSister, he who loves not, he who trusts not, he who rests not wholly in\nthe arms of divine Providence must be hard as flint and altogether\ninsensible. In these arms, then, at His mercy, let us dwell so that He\nmay do as He pleases with us.\n\nI cannot tell you how grateful I feel to God for the graces that I see\nand know you to have received, and it seems to me that for this I am\nunder a great obligation of gratitude to Him.\n\nInstruct, and speak continually to your daughters of the sweet, sure,\nabundant mercy of God towards those souls who hand themselves over to\nHim, trusting Him out and out. I am very glad about little de B. I think\nshe will be a good child if she can bear mortification, but the\ngentleness which is practised with us will make it easy for her.\nGoodbye, my dearest daughter; I am truly overwhelmed here with visits\nand writing. I salute all my friends and above all our poor Sisters of\nVilleneuve.\n\nShow these letters to the Rev. Father. It only needs a little time to\nget the postulant away. We must do this, and say nothing, except that as\nthe Chapter has not received her she cannot be kept, and we must bear\nthe consequences patiently. God will direct all and you will draw profit\nfrom it. The good Father who brings you these letters is a great friend\nof our Institute, and we are under many obligations to him.\n\n\n\n\nLI. _To Mother Marie Jacqueline Favre, Superior at Dijon._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                      LYONS,\n                                               _8th December, 1622._\n  MY OWN DEAREST DAUGHTER,\n\nHere we are returned from our dear little Montferrand where I certainly\nfound excellent souls, full of desire to advance in the perfect\nobservance. The poor Superior[A] was almost broken by the dread of her\ncharge; this she told me you already knew from herself; I have left her\ngreatly encouraged. She truly gives me pleasure, for her judgement is\ngood, her aspirations are good, and she possesses an exceedingly good\nappearance and manner (several illegible lines). My daughter, perform\nthe Office, I beg of you, as it is marked. These fancies pass. His\nLordship wishes us to keep up a tone not too high, but moderate, and to\nsing clearly, distinctly, and evenly: as for other faults I do not know\nof any, unless some defect in pronunciation. I very much desire that we\nshould observe the same manner of singing the Office in all the houses;\nchanges I find slip in. But for the future his Lordship will mark how it\nis to be carried out, and then we have only to keep to what is settled.\nAt St. Etienne they drag shockingly. By the way there is an excellent\nSuperior there who carries out her charge with great discretion.[B] You\nknow how exact she is, she fits into her office admirably. I tell her\nthat she is in her element. Certainly all goes well in that house, and I\nam delighted with it.... Monseigneur is here,[C] and we see a little of\nhim. He does not wish us to leave yet; this I think is out of\nconsideration for the Archbishop of Bourges. Sister Marie de Valence is\nalso here. She is undoubtedly a most humble and simple soul, without any\nconstrained or peculiar ways, and her little daughter is the same.\n\nI pray you, my child, manage if you can to get the letters from Madame\nde Puy-d'Orbe; I wish you could help her, for she greatly needs it.\n\nHis Lordship wants us seriously to contemplate a means of keeping the\nhouses united. He intends to consult the great Jesuit Fathers about it,\nand he wishes us always to have recourse to them, for he says no one\ncomes up to them. I am very glad the Father Rector likes you so much; he\nhas always done so. Salute him very affectionately for me, also the good\nFather Gentil, I have the highest respect for them both. But above all\ndo I honour with a singular reverence and affection Mgr. de Langres.\nAssure him of it, my child. When he goes to Dijon and when I know he is\nthere I shall write to him.\n\nM. Gariot is here: he will worry you with his suggestions, but it is not\nnecessary, I think, to do all he wants, at least I don't: above all in\nthe parlour, where I cut him short; nevertheless, my Love, have his\naffairs recommended to Councillor Berbisey. This is urgent, for he\nwishes to start. My good cousin, I must tell you, is in admiration of\nyou (three lines illegible). He has a good heart; be quite open with\nhim, and with the good Sister de Vigney, who is also very fond of you,\nas indeed are all the others.\n\nAdieu, my child, my truly amiable and dearest daughter. God be\nblessed--Our Lady's Day--have prayers said for our affairs. Salute on my\nbehalf all our relatives, our friends, and whoever else you wish.\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[A] Mother Marie Jacqueline Compain.\n\n[B] The foundation of St. Etienne had but just been made, and Mother\nFran\u00e7oise J\u00e9ronyme de Vilette named Superior.\n\n[C] \"On December 8th, 1622, while King Louis XIII. was making his state\nentry into Lyons amidst a great display of pomp on the part of the two\ncourts of France and Savoy, St. Francis de Sales, wishing, like a true\nfather, to enjoy the society of his daughters, sent off all his retinue\nto see the f\u00eate and came by himself to the Convent parlour. There in the\ncourse of conversation with us he drew a contrast between the feast\nwhich the Church that day celebrated, and the political feast the town\nwas keeping in honour of the King's entry.\n\n\"Our worthy Mother de Chantal, who was present, was overjoyed to meet\nagain the father of her soul, but this meeting was not to give her the\nconsolation for which she had hoped. The town was crowded with persons\nof distinction, all of whom flocked to the Visitation, there to meet\n'the Sun of Prelates,' as they called St. Francis de Sales. One day the\nArchbishop of Bourges and his nephew, the Abb\u00e9 de Neuch\u00e8ze, the devout\nSister Marie de Valence, and P\u00e8re Cotton, S. J., all met in our parlour,\nso that it was said our house was the meeting-place of all the holiest\npeople, and had become, so to say, a court of Heaven, while the court of\nthe Royal Princess was being held in the town.\n\n\"Upon a certain day St. Francis, having some hours free, came to the\nparlour to confer with the Venerable Foundress; but much as she wished\nto speak to him of her interior state, he would not permit her to do so,\ndeferring all that until their return to Annecy, desiring her to visit\nthe Monasteries of Valence, Grenoble, and Belley before returning to\nSavoy. St. Jane Frances at once set out, never dreaming that she had\nseen her blessed Father for the last time on earth.\" (Taken from the\n\"History of the Foundation of Lyons.\") St. Francis died on the 28th of\nthat same month.\n\n\n\n\nLII. _To Mother Anne Catherine de Beaumont, Superior of the First\nMonastery of Paris._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                       ANNECY, 1623.\n  MY VERY DEAR SISTER,\n\nIt is indeed true that the privation of the presence of my beloved\nFather is the greatest sorrow I could have: for it was my priceless\nprivilege and my sole joy in this life. But since it has pleased God to\ndeprive me of it I acquiesce in His good pleasure with all my heart,\nconsoling myself in that I can now say with truth: \"He is my supreme and\nonly consolation.\" Alas! my dearest Sister, ought not this to be enough\nand even all-satisfying? Truly that heart is too avaricious for which\nGod is not enough: and miserable is the heart which is satisfied with\nanything less than God. I owe it to you, and it is my wish to tell both\nyou and Sister H\u00e9l\u00e8ne-Ang\u00e9lique (L'huillier), since by the goodness of\nGod you are so perfectly united, that this most holy soul, who in life\ngave us so many perfumes of virtue, gives us still the manifestation of\nthem.[A] The greater part of the sisters here perceived numberless\ntimes and in divers places odours so sweet and extraordinary that we can\nbut think it is our Blessed Father who visits us and makes us understand\nby these celestial perfumes that he is praying for us. How this\npenetrates me, dearest Sister! On Sunday I was quite overcome, for three\ndistinct times I was conscious of them.\n\nIt would take too long to tell you how God is manifesting His most\nhumble Servant. In a word there is much for which to thank and glorify\nHim. Do so then, my daughter, whom my soul loves, and let your gratitude\nbe shown by faithful observance to all we have learnt. Oh! what honour\nand happiness is comparable to that of serving in humble and absolute\nsubmission the holy will of our good God! Let us only think of, only\nseek this glorious eternity, for there is our Sovereign Good, with whom\nwe shall eternally rejoice. May He be blessed!\n\n                                                         Yours, etc.\n\n\nFOOTNOTE:\n\n[A] We read in the history of the foundation of Annecy: \"As soon as the\nblessed body (of St. Francis de Sales) had been carried into the first\nMonastery, celestial perfumes were perceived throughout the entire\nhouse, on account of which our worthy Mother forbade the Sacristan, who\nalone had in her keeping pastilles and perfumes, to use any of them, and\na like obedience she gave to all the Sisters, forbidding them to handle\nor put any scented thing anywhere in the house. But all these\nprecautions only served the better to make known the favour Our Lord had\ngranted, for the cloisters, corridors, choir, oratories, and other\nplaces of the Monastery were perfumed with a most fragrant odour, which,\nlike a heavenly unction, spread many interior graces upon the\nCommunity.\"\n\n\n\n\nLIII. _To Mother Marie H\u00e9l\u00e8ne de Chastellux, Superior at Moulins._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                       ANNECY, 1623.\n\nGlory be to God, dearest Daughter, that this disagreement between you\nand our Sisters of Nevers has come to an end. I have known of it for a\nlong time. Henceforth, I conjure you, live together in perfect and sweet\nunion, for such was the desire of our Blessed Father.\n\nI shall write to our Sister the Superior of Paris, and if she can leave\nyou the dowry of Sister M. Marguerite I am sure she will do so, for she\nis no lover of money, but justice must be maintained.\n\nFor God's sake keep far from you all desire of being well off. Love\npoverty and God will make you abound in true riches: this is the spirit\nof our Blessed Father. He could not tolerate any eagerness in us for\ntemporal goods, or that we should be solicitous at all about them. It\nconsoled him to see souls love and esteem poverty. Surely it is but\nreasonable that we who are vowed to it should no longer hold dear the\nriches we have renounced. And it is with the great Master that this\ncontract has been made. Oh! my daughter, be not angry with me for\nspeaking thus. I do not accuse you of this evil, but I speak because I\nhave an extreme desire to see holy poverty honoured and cherished\namongst us, and my heart's wish is that every soul in the Institute\nshould love it.\n\nO Jesu! never burden yourself, daughter dearest, with girls who have no\nreligious vocation, nor fitting dispositions for our manner of life.\nAfter having exercised charity for some months towards this girl, if God\ndoes not truly touch her heart and if she does not genuinely desire to\nbe a Religious, you ought in all humility to ask these gentlemen, her\nrelations, to take her away: for how does it look, I pray you, to keep\ngirls in the convent who are simply boarders and _must_ have their meals\napart? Certainly, daughter, this must not be done, and I feel confident\nthat Sister Marie Aim\u00e9e (de Morville) is too good-hearted not to help\nthis girl to overcome herself, and send her to eat with the community\nwhile she is with you. My God, how we must guard ourselves against this\nmiserable world, and take every precaution, lest its spirit enter into\nour monasteries. May God in His mercy preserve us from it!\n\nI have the greatest aversion to this title _M\u00e8re ancienne_, because it\nis against the Rule and therefore against the spirit of our Blessed\nFather. You will see a little reference to it in the last conference he\ngave at Lyons. I should like to see our Sisters hold in such reverence\nhis memory, and the Rule, that in comparison to them they could give no\nthought at all to their own silly fancies and inclinations, and I am\nsure Sister Jeanne Charlotte (de Br\u00e9chard) would agree with me, as she\nought to in this. Alack! what honour is there in such things? Rather is\nhonour to be found in perfect observance. I am very sorry for poor\nSister M. Catherine (Chariel), but she ought to be faithful to the\nexercises, in as much, at least, as depends on herself, by the exterior\nobservance of them, and she should refuse to consent to those evil\nreflections, resisting them with the sword of the spirit. This much God\nhas put in our power, and never can we fall except by our own will. If\nshe is faithful to this, God will be satisfied, but she must submit\nherself absolutely. I will write to her.\n\nBe most careful to let no coolness exist between you and the Jesuit\nFathers, and give them no excuse for keeping away from you. Our Blessed\nFather would not have approved of it. Soon, please God, you will see in\nthe Directory what he said to me at Lyons on this point. Recall them\ngently, daughter, and give them your former confidence. Although the\ngood Father you mention did not take the matter rightly the Jesuits are\ntoo wise and too good to keep up a grudge against us.\n\nI think I know P\u00e8re de G\u00e9ney, if it is the same; he is a very good\nReligious in whom you can confide. Converse in a trustful spirit with\nthem all, but above all with the Jesuits and their Rector. He spoke the\ntruth to you in saying that the Sisters are satisfied and feel the\nimprovement. Keep your courage ever higher, my most dear daughter, and\nalways, I beseech you, govern in a spirit of extreme gentleness. Look\nsometimes at the advice I give to Superiors, and although I am worthless\nOur Lord has allowed Himself to speak through me in this. May He be\nblessed for ever!\n\nIf Sister M. Charlotte (de Feu) is eighteen or twenty let her in the\nname of God follow the community, and if on that account she suffers\nsomewhat she will be very happy. At least do not let her be the judge of\nher own needs, and she should submit herself to you. Give her plenty to\ndo, and then be at her side to help her. You ought not to have sent out\nthat letter that you did not understand, though it is true when written\nto one of ourselves there is less danger.\n\nBear with the old woman, I beg of you, and you will gain her to God. I\nrather prefer your writing during recreation than in the evening. I do\nthis, and in the midst of our Sisters. Get Sister Jeanne Charlotte or\nsomeone else to help you in this, and write little except to our\nmonasteries; but you should read a good quarter of an hour every evening\nafter _Matins_, for this will be useful to you. We should wear ourselves\nout in the service of our neighbour, and doing so we shall be happy.\n\nCertainly, daughter, the dormitory ought not to be made into an\ninfirmary: if doing otherwise gives a little more trouble to the sisters\nthey will have all the more merit. Alas! my God, the poor have far more\nthan this to put up with. Our Blessed Father's maxim was to refuse no\ninconvenience, and to ask for no relief, yet if relief was given him he\naccepted it. Oh, daughter, great courage is needed to seek God alone,\nbearing all for love of Him.\n\nI am a little surprised to have no news of Sister Jeanne Charlotte, and\nSister Marie Aim\u00e9e. Had I time I would send them a note to waken them\nup, and assure them that I belong to them, but for this time give them\nmy message and tell them that I wrote to them when I was at Moulins the\nlast time, at least to the elder sister. May God in His goodness hold\nyou in His holy hand. I am devoted to you more than I could ever put\ninto words. God be Blessed!\n\nI salute all our sisters, especially Sister Assistant, for whom I have a\ngreat affection, but I wish she would write to me once more, then I\nwould answer her fully. It is because I have not had time that I have\nnot done so. God be Blessed!\n\nP.S.--It has occurred to me that I ought to send you the first sheet of\nthe Directory--all that is yet out--in which is set down how the Office\nought to be performed on the great feasts of our Lord. His Lordship will\nbe satisfied at its being performed in this manner. The change must be\neffected quietly and imperceptibly. Our Sisters are very much pleased\nwith it.\n\n\n\n\nLIV. _To Sister Marie Marguerite Milletot at Dijon._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                       ANNECY, 1623.\n  MY VERY DEAR DAUGHTER,\n\nDo not be astonished at seeing yourself surrounded by spiritual enemies;\nonly guard your heart so that they may not enter. But I know you would\ndie a thousand times over rather than let them do so. Remain then in\npeace and patience, awaiting your deliverance by our good Saviour, and\nHe will free you sooner than you think. This trial is, dearest daughter,\nhard to bear, but believe me if you had any other you would find it\nequally so. This life is only given us to combat. Every one has his own\ncross. Oh God! how heavy is the burden to me of my own extreme misery\nand of my own infidelities! May the good God deliver me from myself! Be\nbrave, daughter dearest, he who does not conquer shall never be crowned.\nI beseech the divine Goodness to strengthen you in this combat. Pray to\nthe good God for\n\n                                    Your humble and unworthy Mother.\n\n\n\n\nLV. _To Sister Fran\u00e7oise Gasparde de la Grave,[A] Assistant to the\nSuperior at Belley._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                       ANNECY, 1623.\n  MY DEAREST DAUGHTER,\n\nDo you know that these fears and self-torturings about your past\nconfessions are pure temptations of the devil? Make a firm stand and\ntake no heed of them, dear daughter, for the devil is only trying in his\nmalice to deceive you. Bear with his attacks and the suffering that\ncomes of them gently and humbly, submitting to the good pleasure of God,\nwho permits them to test your fidelity and confidence. Pay no regard to\nanything the tempter suggests. Never let your mind argue about it; but\nsuffer it without yielding consent. Throw yourself upon the mercy of the\ndivine Mercy. Leave to it the care of your salvation and of everything\nregarding you. Tell God that you have entire trust in His goodness, and\nalthough it may seem to you that you have not any, never cease to assure\nHim that you have, and always will have with the assistance of His\ngrace. This I command you to do. And bear patiently the burden without\ndesiring to be delivered from it; for that would be a brave sort of\nvirtue which never wished to be attacked, and a grand fidelity that\nwhich would surrender at the first approach of the enemy! Remain firm\nwithout wishing ever to confess past sins a second time, or ever\nswerving from your duty of patience and confidence in God: and you will\nsee how God draws His glory and your good out of this temptation, for\nwhich may He in His infinite goodness be blessed.\n\n\nFOOTNOTE:\n\n[A] Sister Fran\u00e7oise-Gasparde de la Grave, professed of the first\nMonastery of Annecy in 1617, was specially loved and trained by St.\nFrancis de Sales, and always showed herself worthy of her great master.\nShe was chiefly remarkable for her calm and unalterable sweetness in the\nmidst of the contradictions of all kinds with which she was surrounded.\n\"My Blessed Father has taught me,\" she would say on such occasions,\n\"that the love of one's own abjection ought never to be one step distant\nfrom our hearts.\" She was successively Superior at Belley, Bourges, and\nPerigueux, from which last house she contributed to the foundation at\nTulle. Having governed the Monastery of Seyssel for three years, she\nreturned to the house of her profession, where she died in 1638. After\nher decease they found she had carefully written down all the\nhumiliating things that had ever been said to her. On the corner of this\npacket was written: \"The enclosed are to perfume my heart with the\nprecious odour of humiliation.\"\n\n\n\n\nLVI. _To Mgr. the Bishop of Autun._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                       ANNECY, 1623.\n  MY LORD,\n\nI have heard of your kindness to our poor Sisters of Moulins in regard\nto the difficulties they have had with their Foundress, and that by the\ngrace of God you and your Council, recognizing the true virtue and\nuprightness of the Superior and of her Religious, gave them protection\nand comfort in their extreme affliction. But, my Lord, from what I\nlearn, they at the present moment need more than ever your paternal\nassistance, and I humbly beg your Lordship in the name of our good God\nto help them. If, in order to restore tranquility in their monastery, it\nis only necessary to return the money to our good Sister Foundress, so\nthat she may live elsewhere, certainly we shall be content to do so, for\nwe love better to live poorly and keep our observance than to abound in\nriches and be thwarted in it. The Providence of God will never fail us\nas long as we persevere in fidelity to His holy service; and our delight\nis, under its protection, to live in poverty. See, my Lord, how I lay my\nsentiments before you in all simplicity. If, however, our Sister the\nFoundress continues to enjoy the happiness she possesses I shall rejoice\nprovided she content herself with the privileges which you, my Lord,\nhave either confirmed or granted her, and for the rest that she live as\nis fitting to her condition.\n\nBeseeching you my Lord, very humbly and with all earnestness to provide\nhelp for these good servants of God, and trusting that through your\nkindness and piety the divine mercy may come to their aid, I pray God to\nspread in abundance His holy benedictions upon you and your Church.\n\n                               I remain, with humble reverence, etc.\n\n\n\n\nLVII. _To Sister Anne Marie Rosset, Assistant and Mistress of Novices at\nDijon._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                       ANNECY, 1623.\n\nYou know and you can never doubt how truly you are my dearest daughter.\nLay claim to this title more and more by your charity in praying for me.\nIndeed, my daughter, this dear Mother (Favre) is a soul of true virtue.\nShe is all for God, for the Rule, and for me. I hope you will always\ncontinue to feel that you have a faithful friend in her. The spirit of\nreligion and even religion itself is destroyed by preoccupation about\nmiserable human affections. If the intelligence of the Sisters be not\nclouded by them nor by self-love they will see the guidance of God over\nthis soul, and through her over other souls, and will themselves be\nestablished in solid virtue. Keep the spirit of your novices at a high\nlevel and do it with vigour. Engrave in their hearts this maxim, that\nthe love of their divine Saviour is the only love for them, and that in\nHim they must love their neighbour according to the order of duty and\ntrue charity. Oh God! what should we seek on earth or aspire to in\nheaven save Thee who art our portion and our eternal inheritance? My\ndaughter, a Religious of the Visitation who should attach herself to\nanything whatsoever but God is not worthy of her vocation. Make this\nvery clear to our Sisters. Each one must have a holy zeal to attain\neternal life by the path which God has marked out for her. If our\nSisters really love their holy Founder they will prove it not only by\nthe attention and pleasure with which they read his writings, for all\nthe world delights in them, but also by faithfully carrying out his\nteachings. That incomparable love and sweetness towards their neighbour,\nthat profound humility and lowliness of which he was so great a lover,\nand which put him at enmity with all ostentation, should above all be\npractised by them. Finally, let them make theirs the glorious gift he\nenjoyed of devout attention to the presence of God.\n\nMy daughter, see that the spiritual exercises are held in great esteem\nby the novices. Bring this about: for prayer, recollection, and frequent\nejaculatory prayer are the oil of benediction in monasteries. Give good\nbooks to those dear novices to read, so that their minds may be filled\nwith profitable food wherewith to make useful reflection, and to\nundeceive themselves as to the value of the false maxims of the world.\nMake them value thoroughly the acts and exercises of their Directory, so\nthat their memory being well stored with spiritual things, and their\nunderstanding well enlightened, our divine Master will (as I hope) soon\nwarm their wills with His holy love.\n\n                                                       Your devoted.\n\n\n\n\nLVIII. _To the Rev. Father Dom John de Saint Fran\u00e7ois, General of the\nOrder of Feuillants._\n\nON ST. FRANCIS DE SALES.[A]\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                               1624.\n\nAlas! my Rev. Father, you command me to do what is beyond my capacity.\nThe intimate knowledge that God has permitted me to acquire of the\ninterior life of my blessed Father and Lord, and especially that with\nwhich He has favoured me since this holy man's decease (for the object\nbeing present somewhat, it seems to me, obscured the light), is, I feel,\naltogether beyond my deserts: and I confess to you quite frankly that I\nhave no facility whatever in expressing myself. Yet to obey your\nReverence and for the love and respect which I owe to the authority by\nwhich you command, I will write what comes to my mind in all simplicity,\nin the presence of God.\n\nFirst, then, I have always observed in him the perfect gift of faith\naccompanied with great clearness, certitude, perception, and extreme\nsuavity. It was a subject upon which he spoke admirably, and he once\ntold me that God had bestowed upon him much light and knowledge of the\nmysteries of our holy faith, and he thought that he had a good grasp of\nthe correct interpretation of the Church's teachings to her children. To\nthis his life and writings bear witness.\n\nGod had so fully illuminated this holy soul, or, as he put it, shed so\nclear a light in the highest point of his soul, that he had, so to say,\nbut to open the eyes of his spirit and the excellencies of the truths of\nfaith lay before him, and from this proceeded raptures, ecstacies, and\ncelestial ardours. He submitted himself to the truths thus unveiled to\nhim by a simple yielding up of his will, and the place wherein these\nilluminations were centred he called \"The Sanctuary of God.\" It was his\nplace of retreat, his every day abode, for notwithstanding continual\nexterior occupation he held his spirit in this interior solitude as much\nas was possible. The one longing, the sole aspiration and desire of this\nholy man, it always seemed to me, was to live by faith and according to\nthe maxims of the Gospel. He used to say that the true way to serve God\nwas to follow Him and walk in His footsteps by the pure light of grace,\nwithout the support of consolations, of feeling, of light, other than\nthat of bare faith, and for this reason he valued derelictions,\ndesolation, and dryness of spirit. He never stopped, he said, to think\nwhether or no he had consolations, and that if Our Lord sent them he\nreceived them in simplicity; if they were not given him he made no\nreflections about their loss. But as a matter of fact he usually had\ngreat sensible sweetness, as was betrayed by his countenance, however\nslightly he withdrew into himself, which he was in the habit of doing.\nThus did he draw good out of all things, turning all to the profit of\nhis soul. The time of preparation for his sermons, which he usually\nspent walking about, was one of special illumination for him. Study, he\nsaid, provided him with prayer, and he came from it enlightened and full\nof holy affections.\n\nSeveral years ago he told me that he had no sensible devotion in prayer,\nand that God operated in him without feeling, but by sentiments and\nilluminations, which were diffused in the intellectual part of his soul,\nthe inferior part having no share therein. These were for the most part\nperceptions and sensibilities of simple unity and heavenly emotions\nwhich he did not try to fathom: for his practice was to hold himself in\nhumility and lowliness before God with the trustful reverence of a\nloving child.\n\nWhen writing to me he has often asked me to remind him when we met to\ntell me what God had given him in prayer. When I did so he would say,\n\"These things are so impalpable, so pure, so intangible, that one cannot\nexplain them when they have passed, only their effects remain in the\nsoul.\"\n\nFor several years before his decease there was left him little leisure\nfor prayer, as business overwhelmed him, and one day when I asked him\nif he had any time for prayer, he said: \"No, but I do what is the same.\"\nIn such wise he held himself always united to God, saying that in this\nlife work and labour are prayer. And most certainly his life was a\ncontinual prayer. Though, from what has been said, it is easy to believe\nthat the delightful union of his soul with God in prayer was not his\nonly enjoyment. Oh! indeed it was not, for however the will of God was\npresented to him he equally loved it. And in his last years he had, I\nbelieve, attained such purity in his love that all things were the same\nto him so long as he saw God's will in them. There was nothing in the\nworld, as he used to say, that could give him any satisfaction out of\nGod. Thus he lived, as was manifest to those who knew him, no more in\nhimself but truly Jesus Christ lived in him. This universality in his\nlove of the will of God was the more excellent and the purer by reason\nof the clear light which God diffused in his soul, and because of it his\nsoul was neither subject to change nor to deception, and by it he\nperceived in himself the first movements of self-love which he\nfaithfully suppressed the more perfectly to be united to God. He told\nme, that, sometimes in the depth of his greatest afflictions, he felt\nconsolations beyond comparison more sweet than at ordinary times, for by\nmeans of this intimate union with God things most bitter became to him\nmost sweet.\n\nBut, if your Reverence wishes to see clearly the state of this holy\nsoul on these points, read, if you please, the three or four last\nchapters in the \"Divine Love.\"[B] All his actions were animated with the\nsole motive of pleasing God, and truly (as he says in this sacred book)\nhe asked nought of heaven nor of earth but to see the will of God\naccomplished. How many times has he not repeated over to me those words\nof David: \"O! Lord, what have I in heaven, and besides Thee what do I\ndesire on earth? Thou art my portion and my eternal inheritance.\" He\nlived on the principle that what was not God was nothing to him. His\neminent virtue and that universal indifference which was remarked in him\nby all were the product of this perfect union. I never read those\nchapters which treat of it in the ninth book of \"Divine Love\" without\nseeing clearly that as occasions arose he practised what he taught.\n\nThat admirable but little known maxim, _Ask for nothing, desire nothing,\nrefuse nothing_, which he faithfully carried out to the very end of his\nlife, could not originate with one who was not entirely indifferent and\ndead to self. In regard to his actions such incomparable equality of\nmind did he possess that there was no changeableness in his attitude. He\nunquestionably felt keen resentment when subjected to rudeness or\ninsult, above all when God was offended, or his neighbour oppressed; but\non such occasions, as is mentioned in his memoirs, he exercised complete\nself-control and would retire into himself with God and remain silent.\nYet he none the less set to work, and that promptly, to remedy the evil,\nfor he was the refuge, the succour, the support of all.\n\nBecause he had acquired a perfect mastery of his passions, there reigned\nin his soul complete submission to God, and in his heart an\nimperturbable peace. \"What is there that could disturb our peace?\" he\nsaid to me at Lyons. \"When all is in confusion around me it does not\ntrouble me, for what is all the world besides in comparison with peace\nof heart?\" This power was the outcome of his intense and virile faith,\nfor he regarded all things, the least and the greatest, as ordained by\nthat divine Providence in which he reposed with more tranquility than a\nchild on its mother's bosom. He used to say that Our Lord taught him\nthis lesson from his youth, and that if he could be born again he would\ndespise human prudence more than ever, and would let himself be still\nmore entirely governed by divine Providence. He had very great\nillumination on this subject, and conveyed it forcibly to the souls he\ncounselled and governed. All the undertakings God committed to him he\nplaced under the protection of this supreme government, and never was he\nmore certain of an affair or more content amidst vicissitudes than when\nhe had no other support than God. On the contrary, when human prudence\nforesaw the impossibility of the execution of a design his firm\nconfidence in God alone remained unshaken. Therefore did he live without\nsolicitude. I remarked this to him when he had made up his mind to\nestablish our Congregation, and he replied: \"I have no light as to how\nto do it, but I am sure that God will do it\"; and so it came about, and\nthat far more quickly than he anticipated. Speaking of this confidence\nin God, I remember once many years ago, when attacked with a violent\ntemptation, which he bravely resisted, he wrote to me: \"I feel very much\nunder its pressure. It seems to me that I have no strength to resist and\nthat I should succumb if the occasion were presented to me, but the\nweaker I feel the more do I trust in God, and I assure myself that were\nthe object to present itself, I should be invested with the power of\nGod, and that my enemies would be as lambkins before me.\"\n\nOur Saint was not exempt from the stirrings of passions nor did he wish\nnor think it desirable to be so. Except for the purpose of governing and\nchecking them, which he said gave him pleasure, they were disregarded by\nhim; and he looked upon them as excellent opportunities for practising\nvirtue and establishing it more solidly in the soul. His own were so\nabsolutely under his control that they obeyed him as slaves, and in the\nend hardly showed themselves at all. His was a manifestly bold and\ngenerous soul, very dear Father, strong to bear burdens and\nresponsibilities and to carry out the undertakings with which God\ninspired him. Nothing, as he said, could induce him to abandon these;\nnot an inch would he abate, and he had a courage that conquered all\ndifficulties.\n\nCertainly such perseverance as his, required wonderful strength of mind,\nfor who has ever seen him out of humour, or losing one iota of\nself-control? Who has ever seen his patience ruffled or his soul\nembittered against any one whomsoever? and all because he had a\nguileless heart.\n\nThat he was gentle, humble, and gracious none could fail to remark. His\nmind was clearer, freer, and broader than any other I have come in\ncontact with; the prudence and the wisdom natural and supernatural with\nwhich God had endowed him were excellent and solid.\n\nOur Lord indeed forgot nothing in perfecting His work. \"Charity,\" as he\nsays, \"entering into a soul brings with it every other virtue sweetly\nand unostentatiously in the degree and measure by which charity animated\nit.\" He made no mysteries, and did nothing that might excite admiration;\nthere was no singularity about him, no display of great virtue to exalt\nhim in the eyes of the vulgar. He walked the common way, but in so\nsupernatural a manner that it seemed to me that of all to be admired in\nhis life this was the most admirable trait. He had no affected ways,\nneither casting up his eyes nor closing them, but he kept them modestly\nlowered and made no unnecessary gestures. His face, passive, sweet, and\ngrave, portrayed the profound tranquility within.\n\nWhoever observed his outward bearing was unfailingly impressed. Whether\nat prayer, reciting the office, or saying Mass, his countenance shone\nwith angelic splendour, but it was above all at the consecration of the\nMass that it seemed to radiate. This has been remarked to me a thousand\ntimes. He had a special devotion to this adorable Sacrament. It was his\ntrue life, his sole strength, and when carrying it in Procession he\nlooked like one on fire with love. As his outpourings of love when\nbefore the Divine Sacrament, and his wonderful devotion to our Lady are\ntreated of elsewhere I will not speak of them here.\n\nOh, how worthy of admiration was the order with which God had endowed\nthis blessed soul! so much was it under the control of reason, so calm,\nand so lucid the light shed by God within it that absolutely nothing\npassed therein that was hidden from him.\n\nSo clear was his view in regard to perfection of spirit that he could\ndistinguish between the most subtle and intangible sensibilities, and\nnever willingly would he tolerate the less perfect in his soul; his\nburning love could not suffer it. It was not that he did not commit some\nimperfections, but they were always from frailty or pure surprise, and I\nnever knew him to leave in his heart one single attachment, however\nsmall, that was contrary to perfection. Purer than the sun, whiter than\nthe snow in every act, resolve, and desire, he was united to God not\nonly by his purity, but in humility and simplicity.\n\nTo hear him speak of God and of perfection was a delight, for his terms\nwere precise and intelligible, so that they easily brought home to the\nunderstanding the high and subtle points of the spiritual life and this\ngreat gift he used for the guidance of souls. Reading the depths of\ntheir hearts and clearly seeing the motives from which they acted, he\nguided and governed them with a skill other than that of this world. His\nindefatigable charity for souls is well known, and the incomparable\ndelight with which he laboured amongst sinners, never resting till he\nhad put the conscience in peace and set the soul on its way to heaven.\nWhat care did he not bestow upon the weak and repentant sinner, making\nhimself one with him, weeping together with him over his sins, and\nbecoming so one in heart with his penitent that none could conceal\nanything from him.\n\nZeal for the salvation of souls was, I consider, his dominant virtue,\nand in a sense it may be said that he preferred the service of his\nneighbour, for whom he wore himself out, to the immediate service of\nGod. His charity was regulated in a remarkable manner, for he loved the\nmany souls for whom he had a special regard, and they were great in\nnumber, not equally yet perfectly, and purely, recognizing the most\nestimable virtue and the measure of grace in each and giving it place\naccordingly in his regard. While to all he bore the utmost respect\nbecause he saw God in his neighbour and him in God, yet his humility\nnever prevented him from reverencing the dignity of his position as\nBishop, and with what gravity and majesty he bore himself in it.\n\nI now venture to repeat what so many persons have said to me--that when\nthey saw this man it seemed to them that they looked upon Our Lord on\nearth. And to me he always appeared the living picture in which the Son\nof God, Our Lord, was portrayed, for most truly the order and economy of\nhis soul was divine.\n\n                   I remain, my Reverend Father,\n                      Your very humble, obedient, and unworthy\n                          daughter and servant in Our Lord,\n                                    SISTER JANE FRANCES FR\u00c9MYOT\n                                 (_Of the Visitation of Holy Mary_).\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[A] This letter is taken from \"Sainte Jeanne-Fran\u00e7oise Fr\u00e9myot de\nChantal: Sa Vie et ses Oeuvres,\" Vol. II.\n\n[B] The treatise on the Love of God.\n\n\n\n\nLIX. _To a Religious of the First Monastery of the Visitation at Paris._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                       ANNECY, 1625.\n  MY DEAREST DAUGHTER,\n\nThe wings of this little butterfly that thrusts itself out into the\nlight before its time need to be clipped; otherwise it will come to\ndestruction. And in like manner, my daughter, as soon as you perceive\nyour mind taking these high flights you must bring it down to the foot\nof the crucifix by a profound but gentle act of humility, holding\nyourself there all confused and abashed. Your doing this will put an end\nto the trouble. Walk simply, my daughter, and you will walk happily.\nCrush self-love, stamp it out; and with it self-esteem. Let true\nhumility take its place, that humility which always and in all\ncircumstances aims at oblivion and at being under the feet of all. This\nlesson is a difficult one, but God invites you to the practice of it.\nFollow His will and His example and He will lead you on until you attain\nthat perfection to which His Providence has called you. Strive to keep\nyour thoughts off yourself, and never scrutinize what is passing within\nyou. Let this truth dwell in your heart and have it always before your\nmind that whatever little good there may be in you is from God, and that\ntherefore you have no right to take pride in it, nor to think any the\nbetter of yourself because of it. Remember that of yourself you are mere\nnothingness, possessing only the abjection of your sins and of your\ncountless imperfections. And bearing this in mind, welcome contempt and\nall that kills pride. Make use for this end of that thought of yours\nthat the Sisters may very justly think you to be full of self-love and\nself-esteem, or of any other such humiliating reflection. Desire to be\nemployed in low and abject things. Not that you should seek them, but\nthat you be always disposed willingly to accept them. Beg your good\nMother to help you to acquire this dear virtue of humility, without,\nhowever, asking for anything in particular; for to choose would spoil\neverything. If you do all this you will find the source of true life,\nand if you do it not, you will never have any peace nor be able to\ncorrespond to your vocation and to the designs of God over you. I\nbeseech His Goodness to grant you this precious grace.\n\n                                                         Yours, etc.\n\n\n\n\nLX. _To the Countess de Toulonjon._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                     CHAMB\u00c9RY, 1625.\n\nNot as soon as I thought, my dearest daughter, shall we have the\npleasure of seeing Mgr. of Bourges, and indeed it will be a very great\npleasure. Ever since he was cured of his illness and received the other\ngraces which Our Lord has bestowed upon him I feel drawn to him by a\npeculiar appreciation: and neither do I wish to cease, nor can I cease,\nfrom praising and thanking our good God for His great mercy to him.\nAlthough he frequently writes to me he has made no allusion in any of\nhis letters to what you tell me he has done for my son.[A] I will speak\nto him about it when I have the honour of meeting him, and see if I\ncannot have the good fortune of obtaining from him something to your\nadvantage. He always appears to me to have a great affection for you,\nbut I do not think he has much in the way of temporal goods beyond the\nfurniture of his house. However, I know little about this. But my good\nand dearest daughter, even if this good lord has altogether forgotten\nyou, why on that account give way to sorrow and resentment? Oh! cease to\ndo so, my daughter, for you might offend God by it. You are too much\nattached to the things of this life and take them too much to heart.\nWhat have you to fear? Is it that the fact of having so many children\ndeprives you of the means of providing for and educating them according\nto their birth and your ambition? Have no such apprehensions, I beg of\nyou, for in this you wrong the Providence of Him who gives them to you,\nand who is good enough and rich enough to nourish them and provide for\nthem as is expedient to His glory and their salvation. That is all that\nwe should desire for our children, and not look for worldly prosperity\nin this miserable and mortal life.\n\nNow my dearest daughter, lovingly look upon all these little creatures\nas entrusted to you by God, who has given them to you; care for them,\ncherish them tenderly, and bring them up not in vanity, but faithfully\nin the fear of God. So doing, and trustfully leaving all these anxieties\nof yours to divine Providence, you will see how sweetly and tenderly it\nwill provide for all, so that you will have good reason to bless and\nrely wholly upon it. Take my advice, dearest daughter, and cast yourself\ninto these safe arms: serve God, cast aside vanity, live in perfect\nharmony with him whom God has given you, interest yourself in the good\ngovernment of your household, be active and diligent in applying\nyourself to that work, and begin from this time forth to live after the\nmanners and customs of a true mother. If I had not had the courage to do\nthis from the beginning in my married life we should not have had the\nmeans of livelihood, for we had a smaller income than you have and were\nfifteen thousand crowns in debt. Be brave then, dearest daughter; employ\nyour time and your mind not in worrying and being anxious about the\nfuture, but in serving God and your household, for such is the divine\nwill. Act thus, and you will see how blessings will attend your\nundertakings. I feel that I am bound to speak thus fully and openly to\nyou, and I hope that you will profit by what I say, for I say it with\nmuch love and with a great desire for your good; and that you will often\nread over this letter and put its contents in practice. May God grant\nyou this grace, and may His Goodness pour abundantly upon you and your\ndear family His choicest blessings. I cordially salute them all.\n\nYou know, dearest child, how you are my very own and most dear daughter,\nand that I am your very humble mother, most lovingly desirous of your\ntrue happiness.\n\n\nFOOTNOTE:\n\n[A] Madame de Toulonjon having learnt that her uncle, the Archbishop of\nBourges, had made his will in favour of her brother, the Baron de\nChantal, and left her out, was deeply wounded at this proceeding, and\nwhen writing to her holy Mother had justified herself for her anxieties\nby alleging the obligation to provide for the future of her children.\n\n\n\n\nLXI. _To Sister Anne Catherine de Sautereau, Mistress of Novices at\nGrenoble._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                       ANNECY, 1626.\n  MY DEAREST DAUGHTER,\n\nI will do as you desire and in God's presence will write what He in His\nGoodness inspires me to say. I am praying that I may do this. First,\nthen, it seems to me, my daughter, that in your devotion you should\nstrive to be generous, noble, frank and sincere, and build upon a\ngroundwork of profound humility which engenders true obedience, sweet\ncharity, and that artless simplicity that makes us amiable to every one\nalike, bearing with and excusing all. Try to instil this same spirit\ninto your novices and into all the souls that God may at any time put\nunder your care.\n\nOn the other hand, dearest daughter, you must leave yourself wholly in\nthe hands of God, so that your dear soul and the souls of those you\nguide, may be, as far as you can make them, independent of all that is\nnot God; aiming straight and with such singleness of purpose that\nfriendships, looks, words may never be wasted in frivolous amusement\nwith creatures. By walking in the perfect way of exact observance of the\nrules of the Institute, all impediments are left behind on the road and\nnot given a thought; for in all things the eye of God only, that is, His\ndivine good pleasure, is considered. This is a road without bypaths,\ndaughter, but it is solid, short, simple, and safe, and by it the soul\nquickly attains to a rare union with God which is her end. Let us then\nfaithfully pursue this way. Truly it cuts short multiplicity and leads\nus to that unity which is the one thing necessary. I know that you are\nattracted to this happiness. Give yourself up to it, then, and you will\nrepose quite at your ease in the bosom of divine Providence; for souls\nwho cast aside every aim and end but that of pleasing God are bound to\ndwell in peace in this tabernacle.\n\nAbraham (I do love this patriarch) left his country and his family to\nobey God, but, my daughter dearest, the only Son of God accomplished the\nwill of His heavenly Father by remaining in the country of his birth and\nworking there.[A] Be satisfied, then, to imitate the Saviour, for no\nperfection can equal His. And do not look elsewhere, but apply yourself\nwith diligence to do lovingly and cheerfully the works that Providence\nand obedience put into your hands. The chief exercises of the novitiate\nare mortification and prayer. I have said enough, and perhaps too much,\nto one whom God Himself enlightens and directs. I pray His Goodness to\nbring your spirit to the perfection of His most pure love. Your soul is\nendeared to me more than I can tell you. Rest assured of this and pray\nfor her who is wholly yours in Our Lord. God be praised!\n\n\nFOOTNOTE:\n\n[A] Sister Anne Catherine de Sautereau was a native of Grenoble.\n\n\n\n\nLXII. _To Mother Anne Catherine de Beaumont, Superior of the First\nMonastery of Paris._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                    ANNECY,\n                                                     _Jan. 6, 1626._\n\nPraise be to our Good God! I assure you, my very dear daughter, that it\nhas been a great consolation to me to read your letter and to see the\nstate of your good heart, in which I perceive the divine Goodness\ndiffuses many holy and profitable lights which you turn to good account.\nThese thoughts are worthy of being noted; they are beautiful, and are\ngreat graces from the divine mercy. And so is this diversity of states\nin which you continually find yourself, for it holds the soul more\ndetached and more simply united to its God in whom all its happiness\nconsists. I see also that suffering is not wanting to you. Suffering is\nthe crucible in which Our Lord wishes entirely to purify you. Your\ninterior correspondence ought wholly to consist in a simple handing over\nof yourself, in a complete self-surrender; then for the exterior,\nhumility, submissiveness and meekness. And I beseech you, even if\ninterior lights superabound, not to fail to seek counsel, preferring the\nopinions of others to your own, in as far as it is possible. This is one\nof the chief fruits of that most holy humility which should inspire all\nour actions. Indeed, had your letter been as long again it would only\nhave been all the more welcome to me. May God give me the grace to draw\nprofit from it! Although in my unworthiness I cannot walk by so high and\nexcellent a way, still, I hope that it will do me good.\n\nI am very glad that you have received those two good subjects, and I\nthank you with all my heart for our little Adrienne. It is quite true\nthat our dear Mgr. Bourges grows daily in piety and devotion, which,\nmethinks, must be real because there is so much humility, meekness of\nheart, and detachment from the things of earth about it. We shall pray\nvery specially for good M. de N. He is a person whom I always look up\nto, and so I do to the Rev. Father Superior. I send them both my\nrespectful salutations. Hold yourself very humble, my dearest daughter,\nand think yourself very unworthy of the graces of God: for this little\nholding back will draw them on you all the more. I pray His Goodness\ndaily to increase these graces in your soul, which I love more than I\ncan express.\n\n\n\n\nLXIII. _To the Same._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                       ANNECY,\n                                                  _28th Jan., 1626._\n\nI see quite well, good dear daughter, that nothing will satisfy that\nheart of yours unless you make clear to me the holy affection it has for\nmy miserable little heart, and I reciprocate your love to a degree that\nI cannot express. Oh God! what will it be to love each other with a love\nthat is ever present and beyond all earthly love, for such is the gift\nthe great Lover of our souls will bestow on us! Let us try, my daughter,\nto grow in this divine love from moment to moment. Alas! I desire it,\nbut you--you possess it. For this may God be praised and also for the\ngood order of your house, which our dear Father M. Vincent[A] tells me\nis a matter worthy of great thanksgiving and consolation.\n\nBelieve me, it is a true delight to me to know that our Rules are so\nfaithfully kept. Now observe from this how Mother Superiors should see\nthat the Rule is carried out in regard to Ecclesiastical Superiors, and\nhow the Mothers themselves should faithfully observe what is prescribed\nfor them, so that by example we may instruct and strengthen those whom\nGod has committed to our care. Pray continually, I beg of you, for our\ndear Father, Dom Juste, and for the affair of the Beatification of our\nBlessed Father. Our Holy Father the Pope has issued a Decree about\nbeatifications which causes me some apprehension.[B] But in all things\nwe must conform our wills to that of God.\n\n                                                         Yours, etc.\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[A] St. Vincent de Paul.\n\n[B] The fears of St. Jane Frances were not without cause, for the\npopular enthusiasm occasioned by the many miracles wrought through the\nintercession of the holy Bishop resulted in many _ex voto_ offerings and\nmuch public worship being paid to his remains, all of which was\nforbidden by the Decree, pending the decision of the Church.\n\n\n\n\nLXIV. _Mother Marie Adrienne Fichet, Superior at Rumilly._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                       ANNECY, 1626.\n  MY VERY DEAR DAUGHTER,\n\nThe letters I receive from your Sisters Councillors are the greatest\ncomfort to me, for they bear witness to the union and content that\nreigns between you and them. If you practice all you teach, there is\nevery reason that this should not only continue but increase. Let the\nold feel that you are satisfied with them, treating them with cordial\nlove, respect and confidence. Be one in heart with them as true sisters\nought to be; for although they should honour and obey you as their\nMother, still, you ought to treat them as sisters and companions. And to\nthe young be as a benign mother with her daughters, not pressing them\ntoo much unless it be to encourage them in a loving way. What I am\nwriting is in reference to your last letter, in which you tell me that\nyou often say they must be open with you. My dear daughter, you must\nlead them to this openness by kindness and encouragement; for the spirit\nof the Visitation is one of gentleness, and this must be preserved at\nall costs, else yours would not be a Visitation house even though all\nthe rest of the Rules should be observed, for this, the most important\nof our characteristics would be wanting. Let then this holy gentleness\nwith every one be your chief care. Retiring and tranquil in all your\nundertakings, carry them out prudently so that God may be glorified by\nyour intercourse with those outside the monastery and by the sweetness\nof your government with those within. You are aware that your natural\ndisposition needs bridling and that you must keep it in check. Do this\nthen for God and you will receive all manner of graces. Keep near the\ngood God and read carefully your Rules, for He wishes that in the charge\nHe has committed to you you should become a living Rule, to His\nsovereign glory.\n\nI had not thought of saying all this to you, but as I write God has put\nit into my mind. Profit by it then, my very dear daughter, and let this\nletter serve you for a long time and for always, as I am sure my good\nAngel and yours have dictated it. If you saw my heart and its keen\naffection for your welfare, you would indeed love me.\n\nFor the rest, his Lordship bids me take our Sisters into Lorraine. If I\ncan manage it, and that he approves, I'll go a little out of my way to\nsee you. I send you some relics of our holy Father. Madame Garbillon\nseems inclined to take her daughter to you herself after Easter. There\nare still plenty of others, but we shall try to send you those who are\nfairly well off. However, you will be obliged to floor your dormitory in\norder to accommodate so many subjects. See to this in good time so as to\nhave in the necessary planks and wood. Also have the garden wall raised\na little. This, and the well, is, in my opinion, all you need.\n\nI cannot express to you, my dearest daughter, how I love your little\nhouse. In it may God make you worthy to serve Him and all your dear\ndaughters perfectly, not forgetting the good and dear Sister de la\nFl\u00e9ch\u00e8re, who has lodged us so comfortably. Show her much affection and\ncomfort her with all simplicity and confidence. The poor woman needs it,\nfor she is in great trouble about her affairs. Good-bye, dearest\ndaughter.\n\n                                          Yours most affectionately.\n\nPray for me that I may do God's holy will. Amen.\n\nP.S.--I must add this word. Study meekness and humble gravity. I beg it\nof you. The Chapter on Religious Modesty, well practised, will give you\nthis grace.\n\n\n\n\nLXV. _To the Sisters of the Visitation._[A]\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                       ANNECY, 1626.\n  MY VERY DEAR SISTERS,\n\nI present to you, in all the sincerity of my heart, the directions and\ncustoms which have been established in this monastery by our late holy\nFather and Founder, having arranged them in what seemed to me the most\nconvenient form for their preservation. And I have added, following his\ninjunctions, some things which he had written with his own hand, and\nothers, which he had marked, but had not yet written.\n\nThe majority of the Sisters who have known him are aware, as I am, that\nit was his wish that these Directories, Ceremonials, and Customs should,\nin the future, be for ever observed in all our monasteries of the\nVisitation, in order, permanently, to keep up the union and conformity\nwhich until now has existed between them and the first monastery. To\nfurther this end, it has been my desire, by means of the first Sisters\nof our holy Order and of the entire Chapter here, to make them known, so\nthat with me they may bear witness, to those who succeed us, that they\nare the same Directories, Ceremonials, Customs, and Ordinances which\nwere established in this monastery of Annecy by our said holy Founder,\nand that they have been observed by these first Sisters, and by all the\nCommunities which they governed, in as far as they have been\ncommunicated to them. But because it has pleased divine Providence to\nconfer on me, though so unworthy, the honour, grace and happiness of\nbeing one of the first sisters employed in beginning this most admirable\nand holy manner of life, our holy Father and Founder has instructed me\nand them with peculiar care. Therefore, dearest Sisters, I think it will\nnot be distasteful to you if I exhort you to be faithful to the\nobservance of things which have been recommended for the welfare of our\nsouls with such tender love and zeal. Nor do I think you will gainsay my\nrecalling you to some notable points to which I know he specially wished\nthat we should adhere.\n\nThis I do in true affection, for, to me they sum up all that is\nnecessary for us and nothing more is needed by us. His great fear, our\nBlessed Father told me, was lest we should not thoroughly devote\nourselves to the practice of the Rule. And I, also fearing this, pray\nGod that our very apprehension may make us all the more faithful to our\nobservance. \"The precepts,\" he said, \"of all virtue and perfection are\ncontained in our Rules and Constitutions.\" Oh, how true this is! For if\nwe have but one heart in God, if we honour Him in the person of one\nanother; if we are simple, humble, chaste, poor, retiring, and all else\nthat is prescribed, shall we not fulfil all perfection? Again, he said\nthat our Institute teaches us sufficiently what to do, and our part is\nto do it. Let us, then, labour, I beseech you, very dear Sisters, with\nour whole hearts, whether it be in obeying or in commanding, to become\nliving Rules, not according to our own human wisdom and prudence, but\naccording to what is set down, practising it, exactly and punctually, to\nthe letter, without gloss or comment; and let us rather die than under\nany pretext whatsoever depart from this holy way.\n\nThe peculiar obedience we owe their Lordships, our prelates, is a\nspecial virtue of our Institute. They ought to be its protectors and\nconsequently cannot command us anything at variance with it. Many a time\nhas our Blessed Father exhorted us to be on our guard against opening\nthe door to any change, for with it all will go. Not even in things of\nsmall importance would he have us yield, for little changes open the way\nto greater, and if we want to keep intact what we have received, and\nwhat has been so wisely instituted, we must change nothing. Old\nestablished customs, though but mediocre, are better than new ones that\nappear to us more desirable. Above all he charged Superiors to take heed\nto this, and insisted that the good or evil estate of their monasteries\nrests in their hands; that care and attention to their duty should, in\nthem, be universal; that they ought not to neglect even the most\ninsignificant points; and said that their love, cordial support, and\nzeal for the perfection of the Sisters in exact observance would make\ntheir monasteries abodes of happiness, and preserve their Institute. We\nmust aspire, then, to nothing more and to nothing less than what is\nprescribed for us. All these words of Our Blessed Father should be\nengraven on our hearts and practised literally. If, however, times and\nplaces demonstrate the necessity of accommodating in some point, and the\nchange affects in no way the Rules, Constitutions, and Customs essential\nto the conformity of the convents, such change can be made. But we\nshould first consult the Spiritual Father, some capable and pious\npersons, and the old established monasteries of the Order, above all\nAnnecy, which latter, after having maturely considered the proposition,\nshould confer with the monastery of Lyons, so that the changes\nintroduced may not be made lightly, nor except when of great utility for\nthe welfare of the monasteries and in cases of evident necessity.\nAnother grave fear entertained by Our Blessed Father was, lest the\nspirit of worldly prudence and wisdom should glide in amongst us. Here\nalso then should we be on our guard, for it would be our ruin; above all\nif it crept in in regard to the election of Mother Superiors and of\nthose Sisters who have the chief charges in the monasteries. Most\ncareful and conscientious should the Sisters be on this point, never\nreceiving any Superior but her whom they themselves have elected; for\nthis the Rule commands. Make no account on these occasions of certain\nnatural or acquired talents, of the gift of speaking well, of fine\npresence, of certain attractive qualities, of brightness of manner, of\nnobility, or of many years of priority in age or in Religion, nor of\nsuch qualities which if they be not accompanied with what is solid,\nshould not be considered by us. Rather let us choose those who have\ndiscretion and good judgement, who are simple, sincere, humble, who have\nzeal for the observance. Not those who abound in their own sense, for\nsuch as are affected with this malady usually discredit the spirit of\nreligion in order to introduce their own. We should employ those who do\nnot seek the higher charges, judging themselves unworthy of any.\n\nSuch sisters will do admirably all that obedience orders and the spirit\nof God will govern in them. Believe me, this point is of great\nimportance, my dearest Sisters. Be faithful to it, then, I beg of you.\n\nIn the same way must we dread human prudence and human considerations in\nthe reception of subjects (the good choice of which is essential for the\npreservation of the Institute); above all of subjects who are infirm or\ndefective in body. You will tell me that this has been so often\nrecommended in our writings that there is no need for me to speak of it\nhere. Yes, this is true, yet I cannot refrain from repeating myself,\nbecause I see that this article on the reception of those who have some\nbodily defect is often combated by wise persons, and is quite contrary\nto natural prudence, which sometimes furnishes so many good reasons that\npoor charity has trouble enough to hold herself above it. Wherefore, to\nobserve this point intact we need great courage, and we should often\ncall to mind that it is the end of our Institute, and the desire of\ndesires of our holy Institutor, as is shown by his warning to those who\ninfringe it. And see how by this law he has provided us with a means of\npractising the two cherished virtues of our Congregation to which he so\nconstantly exhorted us: gentle charity towards our neighbour, and love\nof our own humiliation. All that can help us to gain these virtues ought\nto be very dear to us, since they are the foundation and mainstay of\nthe whole spiritual edifice of the Visitation. Let us then cleave to\nthem, humbling ourselves more and more, so that we may accept lovingly\nand with a welcome all that is abject in the eyes of the world. Thus may\nwe esteem ourselves very poor and little in comparison to others,\ndesiring no other excellence than not to excel, depending wholly on the\ngood pleasure of God, seeking in all things only His glory, for this, as\nyou know, is the characteristic of the daughters of the Visitation. Oh!\nmy dearest daughters, how we should prize it! It is the one thing worth\ncaring about. For the love of God, let us preserve it in its entirety,\nand beware of the desire of excelling and of self-esteem, which would\nrob us of it. Continually bear in mind all that our Blessed Father has\nboth left us in his writings and said to us on this subject, so that our\nundertakings may be adorned with this holy virtue. I shudder as I write\nand cannot keep back my tears from the fear that some day this spirit\nwill be lessened or lost. Oh my God! permit not this, but rather let our\nInstitute cease to be. My Sisters, I entreat you to be faithful. When I\nrecall the labours, cares, and pains through which our holy Founder\nestablished and confirmed us as we now are, and his intense desire that\nthis spirit should continue unimpaired, I feel that I would willingly\ngive my life to preserve it. With all the strength of my soul then I\nsay: Be jealous of it, for it is the supreme means of drawing down upon\nus the grace of God, in whose hands Our Blessed Father has left us with\nthe assurance that within the paternal Arms of the sovereign Providence\nof God we shall never lack grace to maintain our Institute in its first\nfervour, provided we are faithful to its spirit.\n\nWhen at Lyons he gave me the good and solid reasons on which he had\nformed his final resolve to leave us under the authority of their\nLordships the prelates. He added, with a deep and humble sense of\nconfidence: \"Jesus Christ will be your Head and your Protector--the\nhappiness of your Congregation will not depend on being placed under the\ngovernment of one Superior, but on the fidelity of each Sister\nindividually, and of all together, to unite themselves to God by an\nexact and punctual observance.\" These are very consoling and striking\nwords, full of faith as they are. I am aware that they are in the Book\nof Customs, yet I feel impelled to quote them again here, for I should\nlike to write them in a hundred places, and above all in the depths of\nyour hearts. We should look upon them as the last will and testament of\nour holy Founder, and by faithful practice keep them inviolably. In them\nwe shall find our happiness and the one and only means of preserving\nuntarnished the spirit of our Institute, which is a spirit strong and\nfinely tempered. By means of them shall we also learn how to hide\nourselves and how to dwell in peace in the paternal bosom of our good\nGod, humbly trusting that these his words will produce deeds. So we must\nnot be anxious, no matter what happens to us, but remain ever tranquil,\nstriving with the assistance of divine grace not to philosophize on what\nmay never come about. For our Blessed Father said to me: \"To maintain\nour Congregation we may search in vain amongst human means for any\nbetter way than our Rule.\"\n\nHe likewise told me that he intended to put things still more plainly,\nso as to secure that unity and conformity amongst the monasteries and\nthat spirit of humility, with all of which God had already so abundantly\nblessed them; for he longed above all things that they should continue\nas they are. He ordered me to see that, to the permissions for\nfoundations given by the Bishops, the article on \"Foundations\" which is\nin the Book of Customs should be added. The principal exterior means\nthat he judged suitable for keeping up union was conformity to and\ncorrespondence with Annecy in everything regarding the complete\nobservance received from him. \"Although,\" he said, \"it is established in\na small town, it has nevertheless been the will of divine Providence\nthat the germ of the Congregation of the Visitation should be formed\nthere, and there receive its law and foundations.\" Wherefore the other\nmonasteries of the Visitation are always to acknowledge the house of\nAnnecy as their mother and source, and maintain with it the closest\nunion of charity, conforming themselves entirely to it, having\nparticular intercourse with it, and referring to it in order to be\ninstructed in the doubts and difficulties which may arise in practising\nthe Rule and Customs. Such, I assure you with entire truthfulness, was\nhis express wish, and he informed me of it in a manner full of\ngraciousness and wisdom. Conformity to his wishes, and likewise the\nhappiness which this monastery possesses in being the depository of his\nholy body, will always induce the other houses to keep up an\naffectionate union with us here. And as he asked this on your parts so\ndid he desire that Annecy should make you all a return of unstinted\nservice, giving both materially and of its members with a great zeal and\na large-hearted affection, while keeping up the observance even to the\nmost minute regulations conscientiously and exactly, so that here it may\nbe always found practised in its pristine vigour and integrity.\n\nI must not omit to repeat these words of his, also said to me at Lyons:\n\"It is by a special providence of God that the Jesuit Fathers have so\ngreat an affection and charity for us. We should value this and return\nit, holding them in singular respect and giving them our confidence, for\nthey will be a great help to us. It is not, however, necessary so to\nattach ourselves to their Order as to lose our liberty, for this we must\njealously guard. Neither should it prevent us from union with other\nOrders with which we ought to keep in touch, for our Congregation should\nhave a universal spirit\"; and again: \"I do not mean that those who\ncounsel our Sisters are to change their exercises or their manner of\ncarrying them out, for there must be no change, and in this they must be\nfirm.\"\n\nSuch is almost word for word what I learned from his lips, and to know\nhis will is sufficient, I feel assured, in the goodness of your hearts,\nto render you docile to it. For me, it but remains to urge you to this,\nnot only exteriorly, but what is of far more consequence, interiorly, in\nthe spirit, to be cordial, gentle, humble, artless, poor with a poverty\nwhich keeps us to a holy medium in everything, avoiding superfluities\nand all that savours of ostentation. To all this I affectionately\nentreat you with all the earnestness of which I am capable. I cannot\ntruly bring my letter to a close without congratulating this dear\nconvent of Annecy on the privileges and graces with which eternal\nProvidence has been pleased to favour it in rendering it lovable and\nworthy of respect to all the other houses, for where will true daughters\nof this Order be found who hold it not in high esteem and who envy it\nnot its privileges, above all that of being the dear guardians of the\nsacred body of its Founder?--verily, a most precious grace, for which it\nought unceasingly to offer the sacrifice of praise to the divine\nMajesty. But, my very dear daughters, what, think you, ought to be this\nsacrifice of praise in thanksgiving for so great a benefit? None other\nsurely than the constant and persevering offering of a very exact and\nholy observance to all contained in the Institute, so that it will\nalways there be found practised in its perfect vigour and integrity.\nSee, my dear daughters, to what our birthright obliges us.\n\nLet us then remain very humble, very poor in our own esteem, and in holy\nfear before God, showing our appreciation of the dignity conferred upon\nus not by esteeming ourselves above others, which would but turn to harm\nthe priceless gifts we possess, but rather by being the most humble, the\nmost lowly, the most faithful of all.\n\nMay God grant us this grace! Amen.\n\n\nMay I venture to add a very humble prayer to our Sisters the Superiors,\nthat they will keep in mind this word of the Rule: \"Let us be before God\nunder the feet of all our Sisters\"? Ah! my God, if we treat them so, if\nwe love our Sisters with a truly maternal love, which is solicitous,\nvigilant, zealous for the welfare of its children; if we govern them not\naccording to our own views we shall draw upon our family all manner of\nblessings. Let them feel that you have a mother's heart and solicitude\nfor them, keeping their minds tranquil and contented, and you can do\nwhat you like with them.\n\nAll I have said above, very dear Sisters, I have said solely moved by\nlove and desire. I reiterate it all with the most emphatic and tender\nentreaties from the depth of my heart. All our happiness is shut up in\nit. We are obliged to it by vow. It is our way of perfection of which we\nshall have to render an account at the hour of death. Think well on\nthis.\n\nI pray the divine Goodness, through the intercession of His Holy Mother\nand of our Blessed Father, to pour on you all the abundant treasures of\nHis grace, so that generously and cheerfully you may continue to walk on\nthis road, gaining by it the fullness of all perfection in this life and\nin the next the prize of a blessed eternity.\n\nPardon the great length of this letter and its confidences, and obtain\nfrom the divine Mercy eternal salvation for her who wishes you God's\nbest graces in abundance and who is, with unbounded affection,\n\n                                                    Devotedly yours.\n\n\nFOOTNOTE:\n\n[A] Saint Jane Frances originally intended this letter to serve as a\nPreface to the Book of Customs, but deeming that she had spoken with too\nmuch authority therein, and also in order not to give any pretext for\nthe calumnies of those who accused her of desiring to pose as General of\nher Order, the holy foundress kept back its publication, and never in\nher lifetime gave it to the Institute. Amongst her sisters she would not\naccept any other title than that of Eldest Daughter of the Family.\n\n\n\n\nLXVI. _To Sister Anne Marie de Lage de Puylaurens, Assistant and\nMistress of Novices at Bourges._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                       ANNECY, 1626.\n  MY VERY DEAR DAUGHTER,\n\nGod has indeed favoured you in giving you His holy light and strength to\nextricate yourself from the dangerous temptation against your good,\nvirtuous Mother. It is the devil's doing, in the hope of upsetting you\nboth by disuniting you. God be blessed who has delivered you. Take great\ncare never to fall into it again and keep invariably united to your\nwritten Rule, and to the living rule which is your Superior. For it may\nbe that God will permit you to be under a very imperfect Superior, and,\nif so, endure it. The spirit of God is there for you, and think of\nnothing save that. Most assuredly, if faithful you will never come to\ngrief by this road.\n\nYes, of course, dearest daughter, your timidity comes from self-love.\nFor the love of God, master your inclination and live as the Rule tells\nus, according to reason and to the will of God. If you yourself do not\nmake up your mind to this, there is no way of helping you. You can be\ntold what you ought to do, but no one can do it but yourself. Be brave\nthen. God requires this of you. He calls you to a high perfection, and\nyour true way, the solitary road by which you can attain it, is by\ncorresponding faithfully to the exact observance of the Institute, and\nthis with a holy fervour of spirit, humbly, sweetly and simply. It\nconsoles me to hear that you have cut short your introspections, and\nthat you are more tranquil in the desire for your advancement, this\neagerness comes from nothing but self-love. Be watchful against it\nalways, I beg of you, and accustom yourself to regard the will of God in\nall things and to unite yourself to it. There is nothing changed in the\nceremonial. You can take as you think fit from the Book of Customs and\nthe Spiritual Directory for the instruction of your Novices, whom I\naffectionately salute, and you also whom my soul cherishes with a\nspecial and cordial love. I beseech of you to be cordial and generous.\n\n\n\n\nLXVII. _To the Baron de Chantal, the Saint's Son._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                       ANNECY, 1626.\n\nI have an intense longing for news of you, as I cannot but feel anxious\nabout this pain you are suffering. If I could but ease it by bearing it\nin my own body! God so willing, what a relief it would be to me, for my\nheart is sore at the thought of you. Yet, believe me, my dearest Son,\nthis suffering is sent for the profit of your soul. Bear it then as\nsweetly and as patiently as you can. It will help to win heaven for you.\nLift up your heart often to that blessed country. The happiness that\nawaits us there is eternal, while the sorrows of this life soon pass\naway. And I beseech you, my own beloved Son, since your condition\nobliges you to row on the tempestuous sea of this world, try never to\nswallow its waters, but drink rather of those of Divine grace, turning\nin all your needs with a loving, filial trust to that source of mercy.\nLove above all else, and fear to displease, the God of sovereign\ngoodness who alone can make you happy both here and hereafter. That you\nmay possess in abundance His most precious graces is the abiding wish of\nher who with all her heart loves and cherishes you, her own special one.\n\n                                                   Your good Mother.\n\n\n\n\nLXVIII. _To the Same._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                       ANNECY, 1627.\n\nMay blessings of every description be bestowed upon my very dear son and\nbeloved daughter for this new year and for always, so that after having\nlived long and happily together here on earth they may continue in the\nenjoyment of one another in eternal glory. This is my wish of wishes for\nyou, dearest son, and for that most charming little wife whom God has\ngiven you and whom I love so tenderly for your sake. I long for news as\nto the health of both of you and of the dear little daughter,[A] whom\nmay God also make altogether His own if it please Him.\n\nI still look forward to visiting you next summer, as Mother de Ch\u00e2tel,\nwho is Superior here (at Annecy), desires me to go to Orleans, and you\nare so near that I hope to be able to see you and your little family.\nThis consolation I promise myself with the help of divine Providence\nwhich I unceasingly invoke for you, that it may lead you securely\nthrough all the miseries and temptations of this wretched life, beset as\nit is with occasions of separating us from God's holy fear and love. My\nbeloved son, never put a foot outside the safe keeping of this love and\nfear. Think of the eternal life to which we are all journeying and of\nthe instability of this one, which is but a roadway on which we pass\nfrom one sorrow to another. In the name of God let us so live here that\nwe may live together eternally in everlasting happiness and glory. This\ndesire consumes the heart of your unworthy Mother, who loves you beyond\nwords.\n\n\nFOOTNOTE:\n\n[A]Marie de Chantal, afterwards Madame de S\u00e9vign\u00e9.\n\n\n\n\nLXIX. _To M. de Coulanges, Junior, at Paris._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                     ANNECY,\n                                               _12th January, 1627._\n  SIR,\n\nI bless God with all my heart for the good news you give me of your\nhappy marriage and of the complete recovery of my son. Indeed, I am\nallied to your honourable family by so many obligations and so close an\naffection that I cannot but share in a large measure all the good and\nevil fortune that befalls you; therefore have I every reason, seeing you\nso happy in this marriage, to rejoice with you and to congratulate your\nfamily. Thanking God, as I do with all my heart, for this great\nblessing, I beg of Him in His infinite goodness to spread an abundance\nof graces upon your union and to give you many prosperous years. Such,\nSir, are the wishes of my heart for you and for your wife, whom I pray\nto believe me to be her very humble servant.\n\n                             Always your very\n                                    humble and affectionate servant.\n\n\n\n\nLXX. _To the Countess de Toulonjon._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                       ANNECY, 1627.\n  MY DEAREST DAUGHTER,\n\nMay God in His infinite goodness recompense you by an abundance of\nspiritual and temporal blessings for the loss you have sustained in the\ndeath of a son,[A] tidings of which have reached me. I know that you\nwill have received this visitation of God with a patient and loving\nsubmission to His good pleasure, for in this valley of tears we must\nexpect many afflictions and but few consolations. Keep lifting up your\nthoughts to Eternal Life, where alone is to be found true repose. Into\nit cast all your heart and all your hopes, and teach the little one\n(Gabrielle[B]) this lesson while she is still young.\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[A]Madame de Toulonjon unhappily lost several of her children at birth.\n\n[B]Gabrielle de Toulonjon married her cousin, de Bussy Rabutin, of\nunenviable celebrity. Needless to say, the union was not for her a happy\none.\n\n\n\n\nLXXI. _To the Same._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                       ANNECY, 1627.\n  MY VERY DEAR DAUGHTER,\n\nMay the sweet Saviour fill you and all those dear to you with His holy\nlove. I do not know whether you have received my last letter in answer\nto your confidential one. I am looking out for good news. The tender\nlove I bear you cannot but make me a little anxious. However, I trust\nthat God in His love will support you and bring you safely through. Now\nthat a satisfactory peace[A] is, thank God, concluded, I hope to have\nthe consolation of seeing you this year. Nevertheless, dearest daughter,\ndo not let yourself be taken up too much with this hope, so that if\ndivine Providence should put obstacles in the way you may not be greatly\nupset; for beyond everything I want you to love His holy guidance, and\nHe is so good that He always arranges what is best for His children, one\nof whom you most assuredly are. How I long to impress upon you this\ntruth, that nothing can happen except by the order and disposition of\nthe Eternal Will. I salute dear Gabrielle.\n\n                                              Ever your Mother, etc.\n\n\nFOOTNOTE:\n\n[A]A temporary peace made, during the Thirty Years' War, with the\nHuguenots in May, 1626, and called the Peace of Monzon.\n\n\n\n\nLXXII. _To Mother Marie-Adrienne Fichet, Superior at Rumilly._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                       ANNECY, 1627.\n\n[The first lines are illegible.]\n\nAs to your temptations, divert your mind from them, and in this do\nviolence to yourself, but let it be a gentle violence, and yet taking\ngood hold. This firmness tempered with mildness is, my daughter, the\ncourse for you. God has hidden the prize of eternal glory in the\nconquest and mortification of ourselves, but a conquest and a\nmortification that are always accompanied with sweetness; otherwise,\nwith your quick nature you will be the cause of suffering not only to\nyourself but likewise to others. Hence, gentleness is an important\nfactor in government, and when allied to generosity, I daily see how\nmuch souls are helped and supported by it. You are aware of the very\nspecial love which I have for your soul, and your house is to me as one\nof our own dormitories here. They speak of your monastery as being\nunfortunate, and ask how it is that it is so afflicted. Such affliction\nshould not be spoken of as a misfortune, as it is the means of bringing\nglory to God; for not one of your Sisters has died whose soul is not\ngiving Him praise in Heaven. This is, dearest daughter, the language of\nthe world. That of God is quite otherwise: for whenever a house is\nvisited by such tribulation as does not offend Him it is a great mark of\nHis benediction upon that community. Now continue to be on your guard\nlest there be any asperity in your corrections, for hardness is neither\nbecoming nor fruitful. Those who have the charge of others are not\nusually able to say with St. Paul: \"I am innocent of your blood,\"[A]\nmeaning of the faults which these people commit. On the contrary most\ncommonly we are guilty not only of our own faults but likewise of those\nof others. For either we are too severe, or too lenient; we have either\ncorrected with harshness, not seasoning our words with the sugar of holy\ncharity, or have neglected to correct at all.\n\nI have nothing more to say, dearest daughter, but that I forward the\nmoney for the new habit you have made for me, and I beseech you, on the\nfirst opportunity, to send me back the old one which the sisters have\nkept. There is nothing upsets me more than these exterior manifestations\nof imaginary sanctity in me; they are simply snares that the devil lays\nto make me tumble into the pitfall of pride. I am already a sufficient\nstumbling-block to myself without your adding to it. I implore of you,\nall of you, not to be the occasion to me of so dangerous a temptation,\nand if anyone has anything belonging to me they will oblige me by\nburning it. Would to God that my sisters treated me as I deserve before\nHim, then I should have some hope that by humiliations I might become\nwhat they imagine me to be: but this providing me with continual\ntemptations to vanity is a thing insupportable to me. I tell you this\nwith sorrow in my heart and tears in my eyes. The good N. and N. are\nvery happy in having so many exterior humiliations. I cherish them more\non account of these, and believe them to be, in God's judgement, which\nis so different from that of men, all the greater because of them.\n\n                                                         Yours, etc.\n\n\nFOOTNOTE:\n\n[A]Acts, XX, 26.\n\n\n\n\nLXXIII. _To Mother Anne Catherine de Beaumont, Superior of the First\nMonastery of Paris._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                     ANNECY,\n                                                _August 12th, 1627._\n\nHow good it is, my dearest daughter, to rest in God and seek only His\nglory! See how He has guided this election, which has been a great\nconsolation to me, and I have every hope that this dear Mother H\u00e9l\u00e8ne\nAngelique (L'huillier) will rule with such humility and gentleness that\nmuch glory will accrue to God, and the Sisters be consoled and\nsatisfied. The Bishop of Geneva is very glad that things have turned out\nas they have done. When you are in the new house I think you will do\nwell to send him word of your deposition and tell him of the nature of\nyour new office.\n\nOur Blessed Father's process[A] is, thank God, progressing well. The\nDepositions are bringing to light treasures of virtue and sanctity: His\nincomparable charity and profound humility shine conspicuously\nthroughout; but, for the matter of that, there is no virtue that does\nnot shine in him, for he possessed all in a pre-eminent degree. Lord\nJesus, what a glorious thing it is to be a saint! May God make us worthy\ndaughters of such a Father, and may we above all have the grace to\nimitate his humility and his poor opinion of himself! Oh how happy we\nshould be if we could love this lowliness and poverty so much prized by\nhim.\n\nThe Archbishop of Bourges will be here till October; but he will not be\nable to finish the business. The Bishop of Belley will then take it up,\nfor it is going to be a long affair. We start for Orleans (D.V.) at\nlatest on the 15th of October.\n\nIf Sister M. M.'s mind is not in accord with that of her superior of\nParis, and she is not satisfied, though it seems to me she ought to be,\nyou would be doing a great charity to take her away with you. It is a\nmisery to see poor souls like this who are not content with things as\nthey are; however, they are objects of our charity and our forebearance.\nGoodbye, very dear daughter; I pray God to fill you and all our dear\nSisters with His holy love. I salute all, but in particular Sister\nAssistant. Our Sister the Superior of Blois writes to tell me that their\ngood foundress has died. Help to relieve them if you can in reference to\nthe foundation.[B] They have confidence that you will do your best for\nthem, and do it, I beg of you.\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[A]Process of Beatification.\n\n[B]This is to say, see that the sum promised by the foundress for the\nfounding of a convent is forthcoming.\n\n\n\n\nLXXIV. _To a Visitation Superior._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                       ANNECY, 1627.\n\nThank you, my dear daughter, for praying for my son. With his death,[A]\nmost truly, came to me not a feeling of death so much as of life for\nthe soul of my child, and God has given me a very clear light and a very\ntender gratitude for His mercy towards this soul. Alas! not one of the\nfears that used to come upon me of his dying in one of those duels into\nwhich his friends enticed him but was harder to bear than has been this\ngood and Christian death. And although it has deeply affected me, yet\nthe consolation in the thought that my son has given his blood for the\nFaith outweighs the sorrow. Besides, dear daughter, it is a long time\nnow since I have given him and everything to Our Lord, by whose goodness\nI hope to obtain the grace no more to desire aught save to see Him\ndispose of all things to His liking in time and in eternity.\n\n\nFOOTNOTE:\n\n[A]The death of the Baron de Chantal is related by a contemporary\nhistorian in the following terms: \"Chantal was chosen to head the first\nsquadron of Volunteers, which at this time comprised the whole flower of\nthe Court, and finding himself under orders to defend the Isle of R\u00e9\nagainst the English on July, 22nd, 1627, held his post with such\ntenacious courage during six hours, although he had received twenty-six\npike wounds, of which he died two hours later, that the heroism of his\ndeath was the subject of universal praise, and all mourned him as his\nvalour merited. He was thirty-one years of age. The end of this gallant\ngentleman was as Christian as it was self-sacrificing. On the morning of\nthe combat he prepared himself by the reception of the Sacraments, and\nbreathed his last in sentiments of the most sincere piety. The following\nday Toitas claimed his body from the English General, and it was then\nembalmed and buried in the Isle of R\u00e9, his heart having been sent to his\nsorrowing widow, who had it buried with honour in the church of the\nMinims in Paris, from whence it was afterwards removed to the Church of\nthe Visitation Monastery, Rue St. Antoine.\"\n\n\n\n\nLXXV. _To Mother Jeanne H\u00e9l\u00e8ne de G\u00e9rard, Superior at Embrun._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                    ANNECY,\n                                             _14th September, 1627._\n  MY VERY DEAR MOTHER,\n\nI have just received your letter, and as we are on the point of starting\nfor Orleans I can neither give my answer the attention the matter\ndeserves, God with His wonted goodness will make up for my\ndeficiencies. Those good subjects to whose admittance your Archbishop\nobjects must not, of course, be received, and if the Fathers write to me\nin reference to them I will keep to his Lordship's commands.\n\nIt is impossible for a superior to undertake to give all her orders at\nthe Obedience[A] although it is well for her to think a little\nbeforehand of what she intends to say at that time. The defect you\nmention is a mere trifle, but that of urging on spirits over much,\nalthough there is rarely sin, owing to your purity of intention, is,\nhowever, a matter of great importance: therefore, my dearest Sister, do,\nI beg of you, proceed gently in this holy work.\n\nRead with attention the writings of our holy Founder (St. Francis de\nSales), and you will there see the extreme sweetness and suavity with\nwhich he led souls, and how marvellously they thus advanced. Follow his\nspirit closely, I pray you, animating all, encouraging all, yet always\nwith gentleness. Commonly speaking, we have more strength for bearing up\non great occasions than on small ones, so it is that being overcome by\nslight difficulties we get to know, through the grace of God, how weak\nwe are, and in this way He keeps us humble and dependent on Him. These\nlittle attacks which give you heart-aches are nothing to an enlightened\nmind resolved to will only as God wills; and this, I know, is your own\nsole aim.\n\nYour sincerity in telling me this thought (that you are more enlightened\nthan I am) has given me great pleasure. Such openness and simplicity of\nheart is the cream of virtue, which I desire for the daughters of the\nVisitation. May God increase it in you, together with the love of your\nown humiliation and holy liberty of mind.\n\nKeep to this way, very dear daughter, and God will, I trust, make you\nexperience the wonders of His mercy. Abide, I pray you, between the arms\nof divine Providence and of holy Obedience, and let not your desires\noutstep these limits.\n\nBelieve me, daughter, it is to God's glory that you finish your term of\noffice. I mean your triennial term in the charge of which obedience has\nplaced you. I have a thousand reasons, both for God's sake and for what\nis becoming in yourself, to show you that this is the Visitation spirit,\nbut I have no leisure to write them. Give us the comfort of seeing you\npersevere generously. You have only eighteen months to get through. It\nwill soon pass, and at the end of it you will have abundance of\nconsolation for having satisfied the good pleasure of God who asks this\nof you. Before that time, please God you will confer and resolve\ntogether as to who is to be your successor, and also about the\nbuildings in regard to which it would be well to have the opinion of the\nArchbishop so as to conform to it as much as possible.... I want to say\na few words to Sister Anne Marie (Bon) and then hasten to finish.\n\nPraying God abundantly to spread His holy benedictions upon you and all\nyour dear family, I recommend myself with great earnestness to your\nprayers, that in this journey, and at all times, I may accomplish the\nholy will of God. I shall always answer your letters whenever I receive\nthem, for God has given me a very sincere affection for you and for your\nlittle house, and my desire is to respond to the holy confidence you\nplace in me with so much candour and fidelity.\n\nAdieu, dearest daughter. Believe me, with my whole heart,\n\n                                Your very humble sister and servant.\n\n\nFOOTNOTE:\n\n[A] Before the Sisters disperse at the morning and evening recreations\nthey receive \"Obediences\" from the Superior as to any change of\nemployment or any special devotions in the course of the day.\n\n\n\n\nLXXVI. _To Sister Fran\u00e7oise-Ang\u00e9lique de la Croix de F\u00e9signey, Mistress\nof Novices at Riom._[A]\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                      ORLEANS, 1627.\n  MY DEAREST LITTLE ONE,\n\nYour letter has given me much consolation, for in it I see somewhat more\ndetermination to follow the advice we have given you, which, for you,\nis the only suitable advice. Keep your heart on high and confide with\nholy joy, and no reserves, in the goodness of God. He has designed to\nmake choice of you for His service in the Monastery in which He has\nplaced you: where no doubt there are others more capable than you, but\nthat does not signify in God's eyes. It is humility, not capacity, He\nlooks for. The most humble and the most faithful to His divine will\ncontents Him most, and this is, I know, the way in which you are\ndetermined to serve Him. Live where you now are as you used to live at\nNessy, growing in perfection by perseverance in the practice of virtue.\nThis is all I ask of you. And if you give way now and again, be not cast\ndown by such falls, but for love of God rise again with courage. It will\ngive me great pleasure if you try to suppress childish ways. I wish I\ncould make you see this. Should you, however, fall into them sometimes,\ndo not worry. In a word, dearest little one, guide your novices boldly\naccording to the teaching of the Directory and you will see how God will\nbless your care of them. For my part I feel sure He wishes to use you\nfor the well-being of your monastery, for, as you know, all depends on\nthe novitiate.\n\nI never thought much of good Sister Madeleine. Let her not think that I\nbelieve in her revelations. Most assuredly God does not give such to\nsouls who are so full of imperfections. She can tell untruths about\nwhat I said to her just as she does about other things. Try, however, to\ngain her and give poor Sister, the Superior, all the comfort you can. I\nwrite in haste. I should like to write often, but I cannot. However, we\nshall meet again, please God. My daughter, my dearest little one, be\nhenceforth, I repeat, joyous and generous in the service of the good\nGod. Ask Him always how you should speak and act, and be assured that in\neverything for your good and for that of your dear novices He Himself\nwill act and speak through you. I salute most affectionately the novices\nwhom I dearly love, and all our Sisters. May God put Sister N. in the\nright way.\n\n                                                    Adieu, daughter.\n\n\nFOOTNOTE:\n\n[A] This Sister was a relative of St. Francis de Sales. St. Jane\nFrances, who never flattered, used to call her \"the little Saint.\"\n\n\n\n\nLXXVII. _To St. Vincent de Paul._[A]\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                        PARIS,\n                                                   _December, 1627._\n\nNow that you are working in the Province of Lyons, my very dear Father,\nwe shall have no opportunity of seeing you for a long time, yet it is\nnot for us to gainsay what God arranges. May He be blessed in all\nthings. But, very dear Father, I am taking advantage of the liberty\nwhich in your charity you have given me to continue importuning you with\nmy confidence, and I do so in all simplicity.\n\nI gave four days to the Exercises (Retreat), and no more, on account of\nthe amount of business that has come unexpectedly upon me. During those\ndays I realized how much I need to labour at acquiring humility and at\nbearing with my neighbour. I have been trying to acquire these virtues\nduring the past year, and with Our Lord's help have practised them\nsomewhat. But it is His doing, not mine, and if it please Him I will so\ncontinue as He gives me many opportunities for the practice of them. For\nmy part it seems to me that I am in a simple state of waiting on the\ngood pleasure of God to do whatever He wills with me. I have no desires,\nno plans; I hold to nothing, and very willingly leave myself in His\nhands; still, I do this without sensible devotion, but I think it is all\nright at the bottom of my heart. I just do at the present moment what\nseems to me necessary without thinking any further, or planning for the\nfuture. The whole inferior part of my being is frequently in revolt,\nand this causes me much distress. I can but bear with it, knowing that\nthrough patience I shall possess my soul. Moreover, I have an ever\nincreasing weariness of my charge, for I cannot endure the labour it\nentails, and I am obliged to force myself to do the necessary work which\nis wearisome to both mind and body. No matter how I am occupied, my\nimagination gives me a good deal of trouble, and it all makes me sick at\nheart. Our Lord permits me besides to have many exterior difficulties,\nso that nothing in life gives me pleasure save only the will of God who\nwills them. I beseech you to implore Him to have mercy on me, and I\nshall never fail to pray Him with all my heart to give you the strength\nyou need for the charge that He has entrusted to you.\n\n\nFOOTNOTE:\n\n[A] The reciprocal affection and veneration of St. Vincent de Paul and\nSt. Francis de Sales is well known. Both trained in the school of the\nSacred Heart of Jesus, the one the apostle of Charity, the other of\nGentleness, these two souls bore so striking a resemblance to one\nanother that when, upon the death of St. Francis, St. Chantal placed\nherself under the guidance of St. Vincent de Paul, she is said to have\nfelt that she had made no change in her spiritual direction. Of her\nintimate correspondence with St. Vincent, which continued until her\ndeath, there remains, unfortunately, but a mere fragment.\n\n\n\n\nLXXVIII. _To the Countess de Toulonjon._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                       PARIS,\n                                                _10th of May, 1628._\n  MY GOOD, DEAREST DAUGHTER,\n\nMay God be your eternal joy and consolation! The Bishop of Chalons has\nwritten to tell me what a comfort it has been to him to have had you\nnear him for a little while, and his only regret is that you could not\nhave stayed longer. He is most kind-hearted....\n\nM. Coulon, at the request of M. de Coulanges, has brought me all the\ncontracts, in order to let me see just how things have been, which\nindeed I knew already, and an account of which I have given in a\nmemorandum to M. de Bussy for you, so that M. de Saint-Satur may make up\nhis mind either to relinquish his claim or to make it good: for M. de\nCoulanges wishes to hear our side of the matter before putting my son's\nproperty in order. This is, dearest daughter, my reason for begging of\nyou to settle how you intend to act, for if this business is dragged on,\nthe property will be spent to the ruin of the little de Chantal child. I\nhope Our Lord in His goodness will let us see clearly the truth, and\nthat seeing it we may preserve that blessed peace and harmony which is\nmore precious in families than all the goods of the world. M. Coulon\nwill have told you how greatly M. de Coulanges and my daughter de\nChantal desire that this union amongst us should be maintained, and that\nthings should be arranged amicably and without delay; of this I can\nassure you, dearest daughter, so pray think the matter over; for to tell\nme that you will give it all up if I so desire is not the point at all.\nIf you have a just claim I have no wish that it should not be satisfied,\nthis being only reasonable; but if you have none, which I think is the\ncase, and that the title-deeds show it as plain as day, I would wish you\nto put in no claim, so that the affairs of this poor little child may\nbe arranged in peace. Should God take her to Himself you will then have\nwherewith to be satisfied. While awaiting the great comfort of seeing\nyou, you ought, I think, to act conclusively in the matter.\n\nPraying God to spread in abundance His holiest blessings upon you and\nupon our poor child, I remain, very dear daughter, notwithstanding all\nsurmises to the contrary, in very truth and with my whole heart your\nMother, who has for you that incomparable maternal love which God has\ngiven me and which by His grace will never grow less.\n\nI salute M. de Saint-Satur, whose most humble servant I am.\n\n                                      Good-bye, my dearest daughter.\n\n\n\n\nLXXIX. _Extract from a letter to Mother Favre._\n\n\nWriting from Bourges, 1628, to Mother Favre, who had just been elected\nSuperior of the Second Monastery of Paris, St. Chantal says: \"Your good\nFather (St. Vincent de Paul), for whom I feel so much reverence and\naffection, thanks me for the gift we have given him of you. This is, I\nthink, to forstall your being taken away. I shall see to it with the\nBishop of Geneva and with you yourself. What a rogue you are! But all\nthe more are you my truly loved daughter, for whom I have an\nincomparable affection. I send my salutations to whoever you wish. God\nbe blessed!\"\n\n\n\n\nLXXX. _To Sister Anne Marguerite Cl\u00e9ment at Orleans._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                        DIJON, 1628.\n\nYes, indeed, my dearest daughter, God should be all in all to you. The\none cherished good of the soul is to be alone with her God. Remain in\nthis state of simple detachment, loving and obeying Our Lord in the\nperson of your Superior and following blindly her guidance and her\ncommands. I know full well that you have given me your heart and that\nGod has lodged it in mine, and this is why I hope nothing may ever take\nit thence. Through His grace we have been trained in the same spirit and\nvocation in this world; may we continue together to love and praise the\nsupreme Beloved of our souls for all eternity. Since God has deprived\nyou of the power to use the intellectual faculties of your soul, do not\nattempt to do so, but acquiesce in His good pleasure. Be as a child in\nthe arms of its nurse, letting God do just as He likes with you through\nholy obedience, and try little by little to forget self. I do not think\nthere is any other means of securing stable peace of soul than the\ngiving oneself up absolutely, in order to be led and directed by\nobedience.\n\n                                                         Yours, etc.\n\n\n\n\nLXXXI. _To Mother Catherine-Charlotte de Cr\u00e9maux de la Grange._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                       ANNECY, 1629.\n  MY VERY DEAR DAUGHTER,\n\nThe good gentleman[A] who is making your foundation at Condrieu\nmanifests a great regard for it and much piety, courtesy, and humility\nin the articles of his foundation which I have seen. Indeed it is but\nreasonable to do all you can to please him. However, in regard to this\nfirst proposition of naming those whom he wishes to be received without\na dowry, you must if possible arrange that the Sisters have the liberty\nto choose the subjects, lest those he names may not be suitable. This is\nan important point for the preservation of peace in our Institute, as\nusually those who present subjects have such a strong desire to see them\nreceived that, if they prove to have no vocations, the Sisters by\nsending them away make for themselves enemies instead of friends: so\nhave a clear agreement on this point. It is quite necessary, in order\nnot to be constrained to take those who are found to be unsuitable. The\nBook of Customs will afford light on this matter....\n\nAs to the Fourth Article, the instruction of young girls. To take\nboarders is contrary to the spirit of our Institute. Our Blessed Father\nnever approved of it. I do not know if you will find amongst his letters\none which he wrote to a superior who had been approached on this subject\nby her Bishop. The Book of Customs permits indeed that three young\ngirls, but not more, between the ages of ten and twelve, whose parents\ndestine them for the Religious life, should be instructed and trained\nfor it. If therefore one could manage to give satisfaction by arranging\nsuch instructions as they desire in the parlour to young girls, and to\nsome friends, that could be done on feast-days, and on one day in the\nweek besides, but to act otherwise would be contrary to the Institute.\nSuch is my humble opinion, since you desire to have it.[B] We received\nyour letters yesterday, and will answer them as soon as we can, but the\nbearer only gave us time to open them. We shall have the answers ready\nto send you on the first opportunity that presents itself.\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[A] This foundation was made from Lyons by M. de Villars, whose brother,\nMgr. de Villars, Archbishop of Vienne, presided at the installation of\nthe Sisters at Condrieu, January 1st, 1630.\n\n[B] The Little Sisters, of whom St. Jane Frances herself deemed it\nsometimes necessary to increase the numbers, have long since been\nsuperseded by small secular schools. The needs of the times, and the\nsolicitations of the Bishops, under direct obedience to whom St. Francis\nwished his daughters always to remain, impelled the Mother Superiors of\nvarious monasteries, including that of Annecy, to deviate from the\noriginal design of the founders in so far as to open schools. But where\nthis departure from the original Rule is not found necessary, the houses\ncontinue to be purely contemplative. It is interesting to note that on\nthe deathbed of the Venerable Mother Chappuis, her daughters desiring to\nknow her dying wish in reference to their own school, she said: \"It\nneither interferes with the silence, the regularity, nor the solitude of\nthe Sisters, and is neither against the Rule, nor against the spirit of\nthe Institute.\" We are told that at Troyes, where this venerable servant\nof God died, the Community, apart from the few engaged in teaching, was\nabsolutely ignorant of what passed in the school, knowing neither the\nnames nor the numbers of the school-children.\n\n\n\n\nLXXXII. _To M. Poiton,[A] at Chambery._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                        ANNECY,\n                                                   _Feb. 2nd, 1630._\n  MY GOOD AND VERY DEAR BROTHER,\n\nI have already thanked God for your safe return, and when writing to my\nSister the Superior (of Chambery) sent you my good wishes. Now, while\nrenewing them, I would like to tell you how very much I desire to see\nyou and talk over some matters of interest with you, so I hope this\npoor town will soon be restored to entire liberty.[B] Meanwhile, dear\nbrother, you will, with your usual kindness, take steps to accelerate\nthe lawsuit against M. de la Ravoir, and this I very strongly recommend\nto you, as I am greatly astonished to see such apathy about an affair,\nthat is so clear. It is now two years, or at least a year and a half,\nsince the suit was begun, and it is of great importance to all our\nmonasteries in Savoy. As to us here, if the judgment is not in our\nfavour it will later entail a number of legal proceedings and\nannoyances, for many are awaiting the result of this case to go to law\nwith us themselves. M. Fichet, who is at Chambery, has already done so,\nand hopes to deprive us of the dowry of his sister, who died here after\na year and a day of profession. The ground upon which he bases his claim\nis, that, notwithstanding her profession, she made a will leaving\neverything to this monastery. You see, dear brother, how much the peace\nor trouble of our houses of Savoy, in regard to the Sisters' dowries,\ndepends on the issue of M. Ravoir's case. If you can still procure legal\napproval of our exemption from the tax upon salt all our houses will be\nunder fresh obligations to you, and, besides, you will be helping\ntowards our Sisters' buildings while awaiting the time when you can help\nus to build our church.\n\nPray convey my remembrances to the Commander Baldain. I never write to\nhim because letters only worry him, and, besides, I am myself so\noverwhelmed with letters and business, owing to the number of our\nmonasteries that correspond with this one, that I am hardly able to get\nthrough it all. From day to day we are expecting the removal of the\nrestrictions on this town, after which we shall converse with leisure,\nfully and freely. I beseech Our Lord to shed upon you His choicest\nblessings. Recommending myself to your good prayers, believe me with the\nsame affection that I always have for you,\n\n                                                         Yours, etc.\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[A] The Convent lawyer.\n\n[B] In the spring of this year (1630) the invading armies of Louis XIII.\nreached Annecy. The little town bravely but ineffectually resisted. On\ncapitulation one of the clauses it stipulated, and which was granted by\nthe Commander-in-Chief of the French Army, was that the body of the\nvenerable Francis de Sales should never be removed nor taken out of\nAnnecy.\n\n\n\n\nLXXXIII. _To Dom Galice, Barnabite Father at Montargis._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                       ANNECY,\n                                                   _February, 1630._\n  MY REV. FATHER,\n\nMay the love of our Divine Saviour be the life of your soul....\n\nI am very incompetent to give a useful answer to your letter in\nreference to my Sister the Superior of Montargis:[A] I beg of Our Lord\nto enlighten me that what I say may be in accordance with His good\npleasure. In the spiritual life of this Sister I have always seen many\ntraits of special communication from God. Her humility is genuine, her\ncharity towards her neighbour practical, her manner of treating with her\nSuperiors straight and simple, and she has a real love of mortification,\nand of the practice of virtue. These are solid dispositions and such as\nare usually favoured by God. He has, I see, given your Reverence so\nclear and discerning a light in regard to the workings of grace in this\nsoul and so much wisdom and counsel in guiding her that we can but look\non with silent admiration. All I have to say is that I have never seen\nanything clearer, more simple, humble, and artless, than the terms, in\nwhich, with such lucidity, she manifests the operations of God in her,\nand the activities of her own soul. To me it is impossible to believe\nthat she is moved by any other than the Spirit of God. It is said that\nwe know the tree by its fruit, and as her tree brings forth the fruit of\nsolid virtue there is nothing, I think, to fear. With your approval, my\nvery dear Father, I venture to say that the suitable accompaniment to\nsuch great favours is interior recollection and self-humiliation. She\nwrites to me somewhat fully of her feelings. I reply briefly, but, as I\nthink, sufficiently. Let her pay little attention to what passes in her,\nand fix the eyes of her mind on the unity and simplicity of the presence\nof God, leaving it to do its own work. As to communion, your Reverence\nwill allow it to her as your prudence and discretion dictate. I am told\nthat the Bishop of Sens is a man of a very interior spirit and of great\npiety. If he visits this convent it would be well, I have been thinking,\nsubject to your approval, to let him know what passes in this dear soul:\nthis would give us much light, or at any rate it would give us\nconfidence. I am quite of your opinion that it would be well for her to\nwrite what passes within her.\n\n\nFOOTNOTE:\n\n[A] Mother Anne Marguerite Cl\u00e9ment.\n\n\n\n\nLXXXIV. _To the Same._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                   ANNECY,\n                                                     _August, 1630._\n  MY REV. FATHER,\n\nMy dear Sister, the Superior, is very happy to be privileged to receive\nso many graces in such a spirit of deep humility and detachment. This is\nthe touchstone by which to prove that they are from God, and which keeps\nin security the soul of the recipient. She serves truly a good Master;\nyet I am always of the same opinion that she ought not to be too much\ncarried away by these affections for fear that in weakening the body\nthey might unfit her for the duties of her charge. It would be well for\nher to restrain her emotions so as to keep them in the superior part of\nher soul and thus prevent an overflow on the body: this is a safer way.\nTo hear from time to time of what passes within her would, my very dear\nFather, be an immense consolation to me: say, for instance, towards the\nend of the year, or as your Reverence judges best.\n\n\n\n\nLXXXV. _To Mother Anne Marguerite Cl\u00e9ment, Superior at Montargis._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                       ANNECY, 1631.\n\nI am very well satisfied, my dearest daughter, with the favourable\nopinion of your Bishop as to your dealings with God. Blessed for ever be\nHe who is so infinitely good as to deign to communicate Himself in such\nplenitude to His poor and unworthy creature.\n\nMy daughter, there is nothing for me to say on this head. Do faithfully\nwhatever your worthy Bishop desires you to do. You have only to look at\nGod and to let Him work, completely forgetting yourself in Him. Since He\nin His love permits you to speak to Him so lovingly and familiarly I\npray you, dearest daughter, present to Him sometimes my miserable little\nheart, humbly beseeching Him to make it entirely His, to strip it of all\nthat does not find favour in His sight, and to give it the grace to do\nand suffer all things whatsoever that His good pleasure wills.\n\nEarnestly recommend to Him our poor little Congregation, that His spirit\nmay reign therein, and commend me often to His most holy love. Do this\nso heartily that I may feel the effects in as full a measure as His\nadorable will permits. Give me always your sweet affection in that holy\nlove. I have read the two pages of your letter regarding your interior\nstate, upon which I say nothing, save to praise God for the graces and\nlights that He vouchsafes to you. It is not for the creature to use\nempty and insipid words when the Creator Himself deigns to speak.\n\n\n\n\nLXXXVI. _To Sister Marie Denise Goubert, of the First Monastery of\nLyons._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                       ANNECY, 1631.\n  MY DEAREST SISTER,\n\nI have read and re-read your letter, at the end of which you beg of me\nto tell you if you are deceiving yourself in the belief which you hold\nas strong as an article of faith (to begin with, it is a grave fault to\nbelieve one's imagination in the same way as one believes an article of\nfaith) that your spirit is lost in God, as you describe it to be. Now I\ntell you plainly, with my wonted sincerity, that I believe you are\ndeceiving yourself; for true lowliness is not made up in the\nimagination, nor does it consist in having many affections and lights\nto discourse on such things as you do. When one sees such lights in a\nsoul dead to self it gives great consolation. But, my daughter, you are\nvery far from such happiness, for you are bristling with self-love. Try\nto acquire genuine humility, which consists in the death or the allaying\nof your passions, inclinations, sentiments: your presumption, vanity,\nand self-love; having achieved this you must labour constantly and\nperseveringly by a continual mortification of your whole being. Begin by\nretrenching the vain flights of your imaginations and the activity of\nyour understanding. I would wish you not to be so subtle in your\nquestions.\n\nIn a word, my daughter, you must become truly humble and really\nmortified, and then God will live and reign in you. Take the advice and\nfollow the guidance of your good Mother, and God will bless you. That\nGod may do so is my prayer to Him.\n\n                                    I remain, in His holy love,\n                                                         Yours, etc.\n\n\n\n\nLXXXVII. _To Dom Galice, Barnabite Father at Montargis._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                       ANNECY, 1632.\n  VERY REV. FATHER,\n\nI most humbly thank you for the trouble you have taken in writing me so\nfull an account of what it has pleased Our Lord in His goodness to\noperate in this privileged soul,[A] and of the favourable judgement\nwhich the Archbishop of Sens and the Rev. Fathers de Condren and de\nSuffren have formed of her. I do not think that it would be advisable at\npresent to seek further evidence, lest, as you say, the peace of her\nspirit might thereby be disturbed. As for me, knowing as I have done for\na long time the true humility, simplicity, and sincerity of this soul,\nit seems to me almost impossible to doubt that what passes in her is\nfrom God. From her infancy, preventing graces have been evident in\nher--graces quite exceptional in one of her age; and when received into\nthis house she, from the very first, manifested in all her actions the\ntrue virtues of religion, and as she can herself tell your Reverence,\nGod led her by very rare lights and sentiments of devotion to seek Him\nalone. I see by her letter to me that she does not wish to remain\ninactive, and this comes from the ardent desire that she has to please\nGod. But I think, my Rev. Father, that all she has to do is to leave\nherself in Our Lord's hands, simply regarding Him without the\ndistraction of any other thought. God will give you the light requisite\nfor the guidance of this holy soul, since He has placed her under your\ncare and direction. Indeed she is fortunate in having met your\nReverence, who takes such a paternal interest in her, and there is good\nreason to praise God. The divine Goodness will recompense you\nabundantly, besides which I believe, very Rev. Father, that this charge\nis light and comforting to you. Do not forget to remember in the Holy\nSacrifice her who desires for you the most pure love of our Lord, and\nwho is truly,\n\n                                                         Yours, etc.\n\n\nFOOTNOTE:\n\n[A] Mother Anne Marguerite Cl\u00e9ment.\n\n\n\n\nLXXXVIII. _To Sister Marie Aim\u00e9e de Morville, at Moulins._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                       ANNECY, 1632.\n\nI have just come from holy communion, my dearest daughter, at which I\nblessed and thanked the God of infinite goodness for the loud call with\nwhich He has been pleased to bid you turn back to Him, and I besought\nHim with all the energy of my soul to keep so firm a hold upon you that\nnothing ever again may draw you away. For this I hope, dearest daughter,\nthrough His grace and your faithful co-operation. I cannot but think\nthat your heart is too good ever to forget His superabundant mercies to\nyou. Ponder often on that counsel given by both the Princes of the\nApostles; Labour in fear and trembling by good works to make sure your\nvocation.[A] Your past miserable experience ought surely to make you\ntremble, and fearful of again falling, and very watchful in avoiding all\noccasions of temptation, especially those which you know to be most\nprejudicial, such as conversations, intimacies, affections, and\ncommunications with the outside world, and even with spiritual persons\nunless rarely and from true necessity. Then will it be your delight to\nfind contentment in the instructions you will receive from the good\nMother (Marie Ang\u00e9lique de Bigny), who has a singular love for you, and\nis besides both capable and full of charity. Her tears, fasts,\nausterities, and prayers so frequently offered to God on your behalf\nwill, I doubt not, have touched His heart, and helped to achieve your\nconversion. To her will be given without fail every help requisite for\nyour happiness, and by means of her will His Goodness lead you in the\nstraight path. I have a strong belief that those who submit not\nthemselves to the guidance of their Superiors submit not to God. In a\nword, apply yourself to do rather than to learn; this is my wish for\nyou. We have in abundance holy and solid instructions in the Institute.\nFor none better could we wish, and none are better adapted to lead us to\nthe great perfection that our vocation demands. May the study and the\npractice of them henceforth be your delight. To this I conjure you so\nthat by means of them you may offer to the divine Goodness fruits worthy\nof His mercy and to the Institute the perfume of a holy and sincere\nconversion. Thus will be assuaged the sorrow and shame that by your past\ndisorders you have made it suffer, and all our hearts will be filled\nwith consolation. So much do I feel consoled by the generous acts you\nhave made[B] that my displeasure at the past is all gone, and I assure\nyou you are now within my heart, where I cherish you most truly and\naffectionately, and believe me you will receive from all of the\nInstitute and from me nothing but proofs of love and affection.\n\nI think it would be well some months hence, when you have given yourself\ntime to test your perseverance, that you should give testimony of it to\nthe houses of the Institute by some humbly written note, to make\nsatisfaction for your past misconduct. You have done well, dearest\ndaughter, in giving yourself unreservedly to God. His Providence will\nnot fail you nor permit you to be in want of anything. If the good\nsister who used to serve you is worthy of the favour you desire for her,\nmost willingly can it be granted, but not till she has proved her\nperseverance in well-doing for some years. I pray God to shed abundantly\nupon you the assistance of His grace.\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[A] \"Labour the more that by good works you may make sure your calling\nand election.\" 2 Pet. i. 10.\n\n\"With fear and trembling work your own salvation.\" Phil. ii. 12.\n\n[B] In the early part of the summer of this year, 1632, says the Mother\nde Chaugy, \"it pleased God to open the eyes of the Benefactress of our\nmonastery of Moulins by means of a dream. One night she dreamt that she\nsaw a torch suddenly extinguished by someone at the moment it seemed to\nbe trying to give forth more light. Taking this as a divine warning that\nher life would, when she least expected it, be thus suddenly\nextinguished, it evoked a keen remorse for her past conduct. She sought\nher Superior, and with every mark of genuine sorrow begged, for God's\nsake, to be permitted once more to enter the novitiate, of which\npetition the good Mother warmly approved. Sister Marie Aim\u00e9e, now\ndesiring to make public reparation for the scandal she had given, asked\nto do so at the open grille. This was allowed, and having there renewed\nher profession, she tore up the document containing the list of\nprivileges which had been granted to her as Benefactress and\nCo-foundress with Madame de Gouffier. At the same time she begged to be\nallowed the favour of living as a simple religious, while confessing\nherself unworthy of such a grace. From this time she became the\nconsolation and the edification of all her Sisters, an example of\nfidelity to the holy Rule, and for fifteen months her obedience,\nmortification, and piety were all that could be desired. At the end of\nthat time the dream which had wrought her conversion was verified. She\nwas taken suddenly ill, and had only time, before passing from this\nlife, to implore the mercy of Him who came to save the repentant\nsinner.\"\n\n\n\n\nLXXXIX. _To M. de Coysia, Counsellor to the Royal Senate of Savoy._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                      ANNECY,\n                                                 _19th March, 1633._\n\nAlas! Sir, what is this that I have just heard? That you are arrested\nand charged with fresh accusations! Our good God, in permitting so much\naffliction, can have no other design than by it to make you conformable\nto His beloved Son our most gentle Redeemer. If you shut your eyes to\nthe things of earth and open them to eternal truths this tribulation,\naccepted with loving and patient submission, will, in the end, work a\nweight of glory and bring you solid peace. One single spark of this true\nhonour is worth more, a million times, than all the prosperity that the\nworld could offer, which, as you know, Sir, is all deceit and illusion.\nPonder well over the accusations with which the most holy Son of the\nEternal Father was charged, the pains that He suffered, followed as they\nwere by a terrible and ignominious death. You are not more innocent than\nHe. And all this He suffered for you, for me, for all ungrateful men,\nbecause it was the good pleasure of His Eternal Father, with a love,\npatience, and humility incomprehensible to us. So do you, Sir, seek to\nimitate this portion of His Passion. Lovingly embrace His will. Resign\nyourself absolutely to it. Place yourself and all your affairs in His\nhands, so that He may dispose of all according to His good pleasure....\n\nI need not assure you of our prayers: both affection and duty claim\nthem. May Our Lord be the joy and consolation of Madame, my most dear\nsister, and of yourself.\n\n                          Always sincerely your very humble servant.\n\nFeast of the glorious Saint Joseph, to whom I recommend you with all my\nheart.\n\n\n\n\nXC. _To the Countess de Toulonjon, at Pignerol._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                       ANNECY, 1633.\n  MY VERY DEAR DAUGHTER,\n\nI hear that God is about to give you again the blessing of motherhood,\nand I like to console myself with the hope that you thank Him for this\ngrace and for all the prosperity you enjoy, taking all from His hand who\nsends you these good things, not to be employed in pomp and vain\ndisplay, but to make you advance in holy humility and loving fear of\nHim. Tell me, daughter, and tell me quite honestly and frankly, what are\nyour sentiments upon this point? for I always have a certain dread that\nthe atmosphere of this world's affluence and honours may smother us if\nwe do not keep well before our minds the thought of their instability,\nthe certainty that we must one day leave them, and the uncertainty of\nthe coming of that day. Think often of death and of the blessed eternity\nthose will enjoy who value true happiness above all perishable things.\nImpress these truths on your daughter, for they are the best and most\npermanent heritage that you can give her. Make her dearly prize the\nhappiness of living in the holy love of God, and in the fear of\noffending Him. These things, as you know, I have always, from your\ntenderest years, striven to engrave on your heart, and especially did I\nadvise you to fulfil all your duties towards your husband, as God\nordains. This advice I now reiterate. You should give him all the\nsatisfaction in your power. Tell me also your thoughts on this point.\nAh! for the love of God, daughter, let not your head be turned by the\nhonours and good things which you have in such abundance. I am told that\nyou have become sarcastic. Believe me, dearest daughter, it is by\nChristian modesty and a gentle and gracious manner to all that you ought\nto make yourself known. Turning others into ridicule is not becoming in\none of your position and age. Try to conquer and attract hearts by the\nmeans I have just pointed out, and to surpass all in prudence and holy\nreticence of action. Take this advice from your mother, who loves you\nand desires to see you altogether perfect in your station. May God give\nyou the grace to be so!\n\n\n\n\nXCI. _To Mgr. Andr\u00e9 Fr\u00e9myot, formerly Archbishop of Bourges (the Saint's\nbrother)._\n\nON THE DEATH OF HER DAUGHTER-IN-LAW, MME. DE CHANTAL.[A]\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                       ANNECY, 1633.\n  MY VERY HONOURED LORD,\n\nWe have but to adore with profound submission the will of our good God,\nand lovingly to kiss the rod with which He chastises His elect. Yes,\nindeed, notwithstanding all the repugnance of nature, I praise and thank\nHim a thousand times, because He is our good God, who sends us with the\nsame love joys and sorrows, and even for the most part causes greater\nprofit to come to us through affliction than through prosperity. Yet is\nit not strange that knowing and experiencing this we should feel so\nkeenly as we do the death of those we love?--for I own to you that upon\nopening the little note that announced the death of my poor dear\ndaughter I was so overcome that had I been standing I think I should\nhave fallen. I never remember any previous sorrow to have had the effect\nof this note upon me. O! my Jesus! What a climax of grief it has been\nto my poor feeble heart and how your trouble has added to mine! It is\nmost natural that you should feel it as you do, and at your age too;\nwhat a sweetness and support you have lost in this daughter who so\nlovingly looked after your health and every want of yours. All this\nmakes me suffer more than I can say, for whatever touches you touches me\nacutely. But when I reflect that by means of these privations, lovingly\naccepted, our good God wishes to be Himself everything to us, and that\nthe least advance we make in His love is worth more than all the world\nwith all its joys, and that in those sharp trials which deprive us of\nour sweetest pleasure He prizes above all the union of our will with\nHis--truly, I say, when I consider these things, I find myself impelled\nto acknowledge that the more sorrows that come upon one the more is one\nfavoured by God. I hope that before now you will yourself have received\nthis light and found comfort in it. First emotions [of grief], my\nbeloved and dearest Lord, are inevitable, and our sweet Saviour is not\noffended by them. But I trust that after them He will abundantly fill\nyou with consolations; this I pray for unceasingly. Distract yourself as\nmuch as you can and let the confident hope that we shall be united in a\nblessed eternity fortify you. The virtuous life and holy death of our\ndearly loved daughter gives strong hope that in God's mercy she is\nalready in this enjoyment. We are after all here only to prepare for\nfuture happiness, and the sooner we possess it the happier for us.\n\nI am writing to M. and Mme. de Coulanges, to whom this terrible loss\nmust have been a great blow. I believe they will take into their heart\nthe poor little orphan[B] and always keep her there. Verily when my\nthoughts turn to her I have to hold them in. I trust that God, to whom I\nconfide her, will be Father and Protector to her, and I give her up to\nthe care of the Blessed Virgin with all my heart.\n\nOur Sisters of both Convents upon this occasion have forgotten nothing.\nBesides their own love for the dear deceased they also felt very much\nfor your sorrow in her loss and for mine. There is some comfort in\nknowing that she is to be left, with the heart of my poor son, in the\ncare of the Sisters. Your judge of Nantua told me the other day that you\nare at N. I was very glad, my dear Lord, to hear it, as it will help to\ngive you the distraction that you ought to seek.\n\n                                                     My Lord,\n                                                         Yours, etc.\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[A] The young Baroness de Chantal died August 20th, 1633, and was buried\nin the vault at the Visitation Monastery, Rue St. Antoine.\n\n[B] Marie de Chantal, afterwards Mme. de S\u00e9vign\u00e9.\n\n\n\n\nXCII. _To a blind Sister_[A].\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                   [Date not given.]\n  MY VERY DEAR DAUGHTER,\n\nYour letter consoles me, for it tells me with what patience you have\naccepted your cross, and what profit, by your submission to the good\npleasure of God, you are drawing from it. He, it may be, deprives you of\nthe light of the body in order to make you more abundantly enjoy that of\nthe spirit, and this is a great motive for blessing Him. As a saint once\nsaid to one who was blind and very holy: \"There is nothing to be proud\nof in bodily sight; we have it in common with the beasts; but we may\nwell rejoice in God's having given us the interior light by which we see\nand know His goodness.\" I am very glad that our good Sisters are so\naffectionately attentive in their care of you, as this gives you\npleasure. I envy them in having the opportunity, for, I must tell you,\nwhat will perhaps console you. I have always set very little value on\ncorporal sight, being of opinion that, except for the reading of good\nbooks and somebody else's devotions, it is a hindrance rather than a\nhelp in the spiritual life, so it is almost more desirable to be without\nit than to enjoy it, as in its absence the interior sight remains\nfirmer, more purified from external objects, and more solidly fixed on\nGod. This is indeed the only thing, it seems to me, worth desiring. If,\nnevertheless, you feel inspired to ask your cure of God, do so, but\nalways with your former resignation, and pray for her who is all, etc.\n\n\nFOOTNOTE:\n\n[A] From \"Sainte Chantal: Pens\u00e9es et Lettres.\" P. T\u00e9qui, 29, rue de\nTournon, Paris. 1899.\n\n\n\n\nXCIII. _To Sister Bonne Marie de Haraucourt at Nancy._[A]\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                       ANNECY, 1633.\n\nGod bless you, my dearest daughter, for the good news you send me of the\nconvalescence of the good prelate....\n\nTo return to yourself, whom I so dearly love. Repose in peace in your\nstate of spiritual poverty. Blessed are the poor, for God will reclothe\nthem. How happy should we be if our hearts were stript of all that is\nnot God, and if we loved so to be. What a blessed thing it is to be in\nobscurity, with no devotion, no spiritual enlightenment, no consolation\nfrom creatures. Oh, my daughter, when a soul finds herself in this\nstate, what can she do save hide herself like a little fledgeling, and\nnestle under the wing of her good mother Providence, remaining hidden\nthere, not venturing to come out for fear the kite might capture\nher--this, then, is your place of repose where there is naught to fear,\nand in what better place could you be? And what richer clothing could\nyou have than to be covered beneath the shelter of the sweet providence\nof your heavenly Father? Dwell there, and be well content to possess\nthis singular privilege. You know, my daughter, that you have a place in\nmy heart from which no one can ever dislodge you.\n\n                                                         Yours, etc.\n\n\nFOOTNOTE:\n\n[A] Sister Bonne Marie de Haraucourt, whose memory is venerated in the\nVisitation Order, spent her youth in the midst of the gaieties of the\nCourt of Lorraine without ever reflecting that she had a Jesus to\nimitate or a heaven to gain. On terms of intimacy with the Duchess\nNicloe, wife of Charles IV., this girl became intoxicated with the\nflattery by which she was surrounded because of her beauty and her wit,\nwhen of a sudden the same words that converted the great Arsenius,\n\"Fuge, Tace, Quiesce,\"* fell upon her ear. The arrival of St. Jane\nFrances in Lorraine at the moment (1626) was propitious, and the young\nCourt favourite made no delay in answering the call. With mingled\nfeelings of joy at the thought of the great sacrifice, and of dread of\nwhat it entailed, she offered herself to the Saint. Soon after the\narrival of Mademoiselle de Haraucourt at the Visitation of\nPont-a-Mousson, the flower of the younger ladies of the Court,\ncaptivated by her example, followed her there, where, regardless of the\nopinion of the world, they led a life hidden with God. After seven years\nof solitude and prayer, Sister Bonne Marie was sent to help Mother P. J.\nFavrot in the reform of the Penitentiary at Nancy, and she obtained\nleave to found there a Convent of her own Order, with the holy desire to\nperpetuate in this town, where she feared to have so much offended in\nthe past, a homage of unceasing reparation.\n\nThe Princes of Lorraine, and the Court, cherished and protected the new\nfoundation, but soon after, the horrors of the Swedish war and the\nconsequent departure of the Princess, left the little Community in a\nmost pitiable state of destitution. Elected Superior at this critical\ntime, Sister Bonne Marie, by the heroism of her faith, wrought wonders\nequal to those of great miracle-workers amongst the Saints. When no\nlonger Superior, this holy Nun, by the force of her example, was the\nlife and soul of her Convent at Nancy, as she had been the joy and\nsupport of Mother Favrot at Pont-a-Mousson. She died February 26th,\n1666. (_Ann\u00e9e Sainte_, Vol. II).\n\n* Fly, be silent and be at peace.\n\n\n\n\nXCIV. _To Sister Paule J\u00e9ronyme de Monthoux, Sister Deposed,[A] at\nBlois._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                       ANNECY, 1633.\n  MY DEAREST DAUGHTER,\n\nYour letter by which I see that you are in the midst of suffering fills\nme with compassion. However, the Superior[B] being such as she is, I do\nnot think it desirable to remove you at present, for your absence would,\nI fear, make matters worse.\n\nYou ought to follow faithfully the attraction you mention in your last\nletter of wishing to live in profound humility in order to imitate more\nperfectly the divine Saviour who was subject not only to His Father but\nto His children, to His creatures. As you know, they did not treat Him\nwell, but with infinite contempt and opprobium, and all this suffering\nHe bore without complaint. If, then, you have the courage to suffer in\nhumility, sweetness, patience, silence, all that presents itself to you,\nI most truly believe that by so doing you will become holy, that your\nservice will be agreeable to the divine Majesty, will work great good to\nthe Institute, and in particular to your own house.\n\nThese little things you mention to me, that the Mother does not wash the\ndishes, and does not sweep, I should take no notice of, except to bring\nthem to her notice just once in a casual way and humbly. But when you\nremark important things, tell her of them with gentleness and affection,\nand try to win her heart, for if you once gain that you can do as you\nwill with her. Neglect nothing that you think could further this end.\nWith my pen as with my whole heart I beseech you to do all you possibly\ncan to remedy this evil. You see how it is, beloved daughter; the older\nSisters do not like to be the fault-finders. I gather this from their\nletters, and I see also that they fail in humility and respect towards\nthe Mother. Certainly when a Sister, whoever she may be, is in charge as\nMother, the same obedience and respect should be given to her as to her\npredecessor. To act otherwise is to prove that we have no virtue and\nthat we do not, as is our duty, regard God in the creature. So should it\nbe when she is in office. And when she is no longer Superior let us\ncherish her as a sister, and keeping ourselves in humility, meddle as\nlittle as possible with anything. If it is requisite to admonish it\nought to be done with such respect and charity that no harm can come of\nit. In a word, as you would wish that others should act towards you if\nyou were Superior, so do you to them. I assure you, dearest daughter, it\ngrieves me more than I can tell you when I know that the newly elected\nMothers and the Sisters deposed are not in harmony; for it is clear as\nnoon-day that this comes from a want of humility. Wherever such a\nmisfortune exists it is the ruin of peace and of the observance of the\nRule, and that house is no longer held in good esteem.\n\nMay God put His hand to this reformation. If I outlive my term of office\nI am resolved to keep myself so much in the background, and so ignorant\nof the affairs of the house that I can give umbrage to no one. Should I\nsee wrong I shall certainly speak of it, but with all possible\ngentleness and humility, and having done so, if it is not put right I\nshall hold my tongue until the [Ecclesiastical] Superior's visit, then I\nshall simply represent the matter without exaggeration to him. To\nconclude, dearest daughter, do everything God suggests to you for the\ngood of your Convent and for peace. Charity remedies all things. I am\nwriting a long letter to the (Mother) Superior. Receive all I say as\ncoming from a heart that only desires your good, and is entirely,\n\n                                                         Yours, etc.\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[A] In the Visitation Order the former Superior upon the election of her\nsuccessor is called \"Sister Deposed.\"\n\n[B] Mother Marie Michel Gervain was not re-elected.\n\n\n\n\nXCV. _To M. No\u00ebl Brulart, the Commander de Sillery._[A]\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                   [Date not given.]\n\nNow see, my most dear Brother, how you have fallen into the state to\nwhich I always feared your great fervour would reduce you. And yet you\nsay that you fear to flatter yourself and are not sufficiently on your\nguard against your own cowardliness. My true Father, for the love of God\nmake no such reflections: for believe me all these little apprehensions\nthat you are not doing enough are not half so pleasing to God as would\nbe your submission in accepting the relief you require both for body and\nmind. God only wants your heart. Our uselessness and powerlessness when\nlovingly accepted through reverence and devotion to His most holy will\nare more agreeable to Him than if we were perpetually doing violence to\nourselves by great works of penance. Indeed, as you know, it is the\nheight of perfection to will in regard to ourselves as God wills. And\nsince He has given you a delicate constitution He wishes you to take\ncare of it, so do not want to exact from it what He in His gentleness\ndoes not ask. A mild and tranquil inaction is what He requires of you,\nresting near Him, without paying any attention whatsoever either to the\nsuggestions of your understanding or the movements of your will, unless\nit be to say some words of love, fidelity, and simple acquiescence\noffered gently and tranquilly without effort, and without desire to feel\nconsolation or satisfaction in them. This practised with peace and\nrepose of spirit will be very agreeable to God, more so, I think, than\nanything else you could do. Bear this state then, letting it take the\nplace of the excessive application of mind which has reduced you to your\npresent condition. Just one word more. Believe me, if instead of the\nfour or five hours which you spend every day on your knees you would\nspend one hour--that is a quarter of an hour after rising, another in\npreparation for holy Mass, the same in thanksgiving, and one short\nquarter for the evening examen--that should be quite sufficient. Try for\nthe love of God, by repose of body and mind, and by taking plenty of\ngood nourishing food, to regain your former strength. If I did not feel\nit my duty to make this request I should not be writing to you so soon.\nAnd I trust through your goodness and all your fatherliness towards us\nthat, for our consolation, you will not overlook anything which you feel\nmay help towards your recovery, or that you think will make you stronger\nin the future. I have not written to our charming and lovable dearest\ndaughter,[B] because she does not know of your illness.\n\nA word to the good mother, who, though we write seldom to each other, I\nknow to be so dear to you in Our Lord.\n\nI pray God in His mercy to preserve you for many years for the service\nof His glory and the happiness of our Congregation. Amen.\n\n                                                     I am, Sir,\n                                                         Yours, etc.\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[A] No\u00ebl Brulart, Commander of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem\n(better known in the correspondence of St. Jane Frances as the Commander\nde Sillery), after a brilliant career at Court, where as Ambassador to\nthe courts of Spain and Rome he displayed all the pride and splendour\nthat his great revenues enabled him to gratify, fell under the influence\nof St. Vincent de Paul, and the Visitation Nuns, by whom he was excited\nto a higher ambition, and in 1632, in the fifty-fourth year of his age,\ngiving up his worldly career, became a Priest and consecrated his wealth\nto relieving the unfortunate and furthering the interests of religion. A\ngenerous benefactor to the Visitation Order, amongst many other gifts he\nbuilt the Church of the first monastery of Paris (designed by Mansard),\nwhere he was buried. It is now, alas! the Protestant temple of the Rue\nSt. Antoine, near the Bastille. Commander de Sillery closed a life of\nrare sanctity on the 26th Sep., 1640, in the sixty-third year of his\nage. The above letter is taken from the \"Lettres de S^{te} Jeanne\nFran\u00e7oise Fr\u00e9moit de Chantal.\" Tournei edition. J. Casterman, 1848.\n\n[B] Presumably Mother Marie Jacqueline Favre.\n\n\n\n\nXCVI. _To the Countess de Toulonjon, at Alonne._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                       ANNECY, 1634.\n\nI see by your letter that you are in great grief, and it touches me\ndeeply. There is no doubt about it, your troubles are great, and viewed\nin this world's judgement they are of a very distressing nature. But\nlook up, above these low and wretched passing things, to that blessed\neternity in which is to be found great and endless consolation, and you\nwill be glad that those for whom you mourn are in the happy possession\nof it, and a sweet peace will fill your heart amidst the vicissitudes of\nthis mortal life. Ah! when shall we give a little reflection to these\ntruths of faith? When shall we, dearest daughter, relish the sweetness\nof the divine will? When shall we see in all that happens to us the good\npleasure of God? Whether He sends prosperity or adversity, He intends\nall equally for our greater good, and gives all with a love which to us\nis incomprehensible. But, miserable creatures that we are, we turn into\npoison the remedies meant for our cure. Let us not do this any more,\nrather let us lovingly submit like obedient children and co-operate with\nthe designs of our heavenly Father, whose only aim in sending us\naffliction is to unite us more intimately to Himself. If we so act, He\nwill be all to us, He will take the place of brother, son, husband,\nmother, of all things. Take courage from these strengthening thoughts. I\npray Our Lord to give you a knowledge of the rich treasures which He, in\nHis goodness, shuts up in the afflictions He sends us.\n\n\n\n\nXCVII. _Extract from a letter to M. No\u00ebl Brulart, the Commander de\nSillery, at Paris._[A]\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                       ANNECY, 1634.\n\nThe state of your mind, which you narrate with so much simplicity, is\nincomparably better and safer than if you were overflowing with\nconsolations and sensible love of God. This interior peace, this\nstability in God, these lights, which although slight, transient, and\ndevoid of definite reasoning, yet retain the soul in the state in which\nGod has placed her, are all infallible marks that He reigns in you, and\ngive great hope that His goodness desires to lead you in a wholly\nintellectual way to a state of great purity and simplicity; hence you\nshould, I think, my dearest brother, seek no other devotion than looking\nunto God purely and simply, and letting Him accomplish His will in you.\nThis Divine Saviour being the only object of your affections and\ndesires, the solitary pleasure of your heart, all that He will\naccomplish in you will be for His greater glory, and for your own\nsanctification. Be, then, as content to be powerless, idle, dry, and\narid before God, as if you were actively at work, and in the enjoyment\nof His gifts of devotion and contentment. As all consists in union with\nGod one state ought to be as pleasing to you as another. Age and health\nno longer permitting you to be active, you will apparently have to spend\nthe remainder of your days in this heavenly exercise by which your mind\nwill be renewed. So will you be uninterruptedly employed in the love and\nrepose of God, and I believe that the fruit which will result therefrom\nwill enrich your soul, give glory to His divine Majesty, and even\nedification to your neighbour, for this salutary exercise teaches\ncontempt of all earthly things, and is a great proof to the world of the\ntrue piety and happiness that are to be so completely found in God.\n\n\nFOOTNOTE:\n\n[A] Taken from the \"Life of No\u00ebl Brulart de Sillery,\" Paris, at the\nMonastery of the Visitation of Holy Mary, Rue d'Enfer-Saint-Michel, 72.\n1843.\n\n\n\n\nXCVIII. _To the Countess de Toulonjon._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                               1634.\n\nYou wish, my very dear daughter, to have in writing my desires in your\nregard. Here they are.[A] The strongest longing I have is that you\nshould live as a true Christian widow, modest in dress, reserved in\naction, and above all in conversation. On this account you must avoid\nhaving to do with vain and worldly young men. If you do otherwise, my\ndearest daughter, although by the grace of God I hold your virtue to be\nunapproachable and feel surer of it than of my own, it might easily be\nsullied, and your conduct would surely be criticised when it became\nknown that you receive such persons and take pleasure in their society.\nI beseech of you, trust me in this. Your honour and my own and my peace\nof mind are involved. I know well that there is no living in this world\nwithout some sharing in the pleasures it offers, but, believe me, you\nwill never find stable enjoyment save in God, in virtue, and in a just\nand reasonable attention to the education of your children, to the\nmanagement of their affairs, and to the care of your household. If you\nseek it elsewhere you will have a thousand tribulations of heart and\nmind. Well do I know this. I would not have you refuse the lawful\npleasure that is to be found in the upright conversation of the virtuous\nand in their visits, although in the circumstances in which God has\nplaced you it would be desirable to receive visitors but rarely. In a\nword, dearest child, for God's glory, for the love and reverence you owe\nto the memory of your dear husband, for the preservation of your good\nname, and the edification of your daughter, who, without doubt, models\nherself upon you, you must keep your inclinations a little in check,\nsubmitting them to God, to reason, to your own well-being and to that of\nyour children. You must also bear in mind what is due and becoming to\nyour birth and your condition and to the comfort of your neighbours. You\nwill be greatly helped in this by faithfully following the little\npractices of devotion of which I have spoken to you, and which I will\nnow again set down.\n\nUpon awakening in the morning, turn your thoughts to God present\neverywhere, and place your heart and your whole being in the hands of\nHis goodness. Then think briefly on the good that it will be in your\npower to do that day, and the evil you should avoid, above all on that\ndefect to which you are most subject, resolving by the grace of God to\ndo good and avoid evil. Having risen from bed, kneel on your bed, or\nelsewhere, and adore God from the depths of your soul, thanking His\ngoodness for all the graces and benefits that He has bestowed upon you,\nfor a moment's reflection will show you how you are surrounded by His\nmercies and what a special care He has had of you. This thought ought\nindeed to touch your heart, which offer Him anew with your resolutions,\naffections, thoughts, words and works of that day, in union with that\nsacred offering which our divine Saviour made of Himself upon the tree\nof the cross, and ask Him for His holy grace and assistance to guide\nyou through the day. Beg afterwards for His holy blessing with that of\nthe Blessed Virgin, of your good angel and your holy patrons, saluting\nthem by a simple inclination of the head and an interior act of\nreverence. All this can be done in the space of two Paters and Aves.\nNext, do not waste time over your toilette. As far as possible assist at\nholy Mass every day as attentively and devoutly as you can by using such\nholy considerations as are taught in Philothea.[B] If you cannot be\npresent at Mass hear it spiritually as the same book teaches. Philothea\nought to be your book of predilection and your spiritual guide. Either\nduring holy Mass, if you cannot give other time, or at some other hour,\nwithdraw a little into some quiet place every morning, and make about a\nquarter of an hour's prayer from your heart, placing yourself in God's\npresence, or at His sacred feet, or at those of the most holy Virgin, as\na daughter before her father or her dear mother, and converse with the\ndivine Majesty in humble, filial confidence. Do this either by\nreflecting on some mystery of Faith, or in accordance with some need you\nmay have, or as your mind suggests. Conclude all by an act of great\ndesire of loving and pleasing God, renewing your holy resolutions and\ninvoking His grace. Let your chief care be to do everything with purity\nof intention, and often offer up your actions to God by holy\naffections, frequently calling to mind His goodness as He will suggest\nor your own heart will dictate.\n\nRead every day for a quarter or half an hour some spiritual book,\npreferably Philothea. Before supper, either walking about or retiring\napart, place yourself in the hands of God by some holy aspirations.\nBefore going to bed examine your conscience and, prostrate before God,\nadore, thank, and invoke Him, offering Him your soul. If you are able,\nadd the Litany of Our Lady, your attendants making the responses.\nCommunicate at least on each first Sunday of the month and on the chief\nfeasts, such as those of Our Lord, and our Lady, and the feast of St.\nJoseph, to whom I wish you to be devout.\n\nTry to subdue your passions and bring them and your inclinations under\nthe law of reason and of the holy will of God: otherwise you will never\nhave anything but trouble and uneasiness of soul. God permits or sends\nto His predestined children, for their good and as a means of bringing\nthem to His glorious beatitude, the afflictions and contradictions of\nthis life. My dearest daughter, if you are so happy as sweetly and\npatiently to accept all that He sends, then be assured you will begin to\ntaste even here on earth something of the delights of the blessed\neternity of glory. But for this you must serve God willingly and love\nHim supremely, seeking His pleasure, choosing His divine will through\nholy obedience in preference to your own will, desires, or inclinations.\n\nMay God in His sweet goodness grant you this grace, dearest daughter; I\nunceasingly implore it of Him from my heart, which is that of one who\nloves you as her own with her entire capacity for loving. Amen.\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[A] These counsels had been given verbally by St. Jane Frances to Madame\nde Toulonjon at the time of her sojourn at Annecy, where she came to\npass the first months of her widowhood, and the Saint at the request of\nher daughter wrote them down for her so that she might be able often to\nread them over, and thus more faithfully adhere to her mother's pious\nrecommendations.\n\n[B] \"The Introduction to a Devout Life,\" by St. Francis de Sales,\nChapter XIV. of the second part.\n\n\n\n\nXCIX. _To Sister Marie Aim\u00e9e de Rabutin,[A] Mistress of Novices at\nAnnecy._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                        PARIS, 1635.\n  DAUGHTER DEAR,\n\nYou attribute everything to your negligence! Accept the good that comes\nto you, and when God withdraws Himself do not run after Him. You are\nalways doing His will provided you keep yourself under His hand without\ndesiring anything whatsoever save to do His will. These doubts against\nFaith that you tell me of He permits so that you may make frequent acts\nof this virtue. For you see, my daughter, He only sends temptations to\nsouls whom He intends to raise to high perfection. All the doubts and\nfears lest you may have consented come from the evil spirit. Pay no heed\nto them, unless to say, \"Get thee behind me, Satan, for I am at peace in\nGod.\"\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[A] Marie Aim\u00e9e de Rabutin possessed all the caustic wit for which the\nde Rabutins were distinguished, and had no other thought than of\npleasure and of her independence, until St. Jane Frances won her to\nChrist. \"Make haste, my daughter,\" she said to her, \"for God is the\nenemy of delay.\" From the entrance of Mademoiselle de Rabutin into the\nMonastery of Annecy (1624) her fervour was without bounds, and were it\nnot for obedience her austerities would have shortened her life. When\nshe was elected Superior at Thonon St. Jane Frances said to the\noutsister who came to fetch her: \"Make the most of the time your new\nSuperior rules you, for you have never had and perhaps never will have\nher equal.\" She governed several monasteries and died in 1678. Her\npraises are summed up in these words of St. Jane Frances: \"When once\nMother Marie Aim\u00e9e returns to Annecy she must not be taken away again,\nfor although she is my relative, I cannot help saying that she has\nalways been a living rule and a model of perfect observance.\" (Archives\nof the Visitation, Annecy.)\n\n\n\n\nC. _To M. No\u00ebl Brulart, Commander de Sillery, at Paris._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                 VALENCE,\n                                                   _2nd July, 1636._\n  MY MOST HONOURED, BELOVED, AND DEAREST FATHER,\n\nI certainly have no wish to delay in answering your kind and cordial\nletter, which gives such a lucid account of the finale of this wicked\naffair[A], and above all of the good odour of those little servants of\nthe Lord, our Sisters of the Faubourg, and of the reparation made to\nthem. Oh! how good God is! and how prompt in coming by ways which\nconfound the prudence of the worldly-wise to the succour of the\ninnocent. For the greatness of His mercies may He be for ever blessed!\nYou must have been deeply moved in the goodness of your heart on\nwitnessing such a marked and fatherly interposition of Providence in\nthis grave crisis. Truly happy are the souls who repose entirely in the\npitying and loving bosom of this heavenly Father. You cannot think what\nthis grace has wrought in my heart towards God, whom we can never\nsufficiently thank for it, and towards you, my very dear Father, for the\nincomparable assistance which you have given these poor daughters of\nmine. It is quite impossible to express to you what I feel, and always\nshall feel, for the succour and the support in all our necessities which\nGod has given us through you is a priceless treasure from which we draw\nboth spiritual and temporal profit. May the sweet Saviour bless you with\nHis richest graces and recompense you with His divine love. My poor\nSisters needed this experience so that they might learn to trust\nthemselves entirely to your paternal care. They have written to me\nexpressing their gratitude and begging of me to help them to return you\nfitting thanks. It is a sweet Providence, I cannot but think, that has\npermitted the evil act of that miserable man, so that by means of it a\nmore complete union should be established between our two monasteries\n(of Paris), and that Our Lord should have made use of you as the bond of\nunion, for they themselves recognize this and write of it to me. God be\nblessed! This story deserves to be recorded for posterity. But if it is\npossible I should be glad to know every circumstance of it in detail,\nfor from certain things that have been written to me, it seems as if\nthis man took the money to invest it for the benefit of our Sisters. I\nwant to know the truth about this, and for what object it was confided\nto him. My Sister, the Superior of the Faubourg, tells me that on\nSunday evening when I had said adieu to her, M. de Lamoignon took\nfifty-four thousand francs of it to buy an office for his son. I am\nasking Sister to write to me about this matter, for you must not trouble\nto do so....\n\nWe have visited our houses of Pont-Saint-Esprit, Avignon, Montpellier,\nArles, Aix, and Marseilles, where certainly everything is blessed, and\nin all of which the observance is kept with great exactitude. It is most\nconsoling to see on all sides how the Sisters love and esteem their\nvocation. All these houses have excellent Superiors. When at Aix we saw\nthose of Digne, Draguignan, Grasse, and Forcalquier. The four are\ninvaluable Mothers capable of putting their hands to anything in which\ndivine Providence may employ them, and of rendering all manner of good\nservice to God and the Institute.\n\nWe also met at Aix the Superiors of Sisteron, Apt, and Toulon, humble\nand virtuous souls, but not possessing the useful talents of the first\nfour. In returning from Provence I stopped at our house of Crest, where\nI again found very good Sisters with a young Mother of thirty, but of a\ncapable mind, judicious and zealous. She keeps straight to the grand\nroad of the Rule, \"for fear,\" she says, \"of going astray.\" She gave me\ngreat satisfaction. Now I am at Valence, where it appears to me the\ncommunity is feeling somewhat the effects of having had young Superiors\nfor eight years in succession; nevertheless they keep to the exterior\nobservance and manifest an ardent desire to profit by our stay. I have\nnot yet spoken with them, but I intend to do so. The Superior is good,\ngentle, capable, and willing, but is wanting in experience; this, please\nGod, will come. These Sisters are in need of one who is firm and\nexperienced. I hope, as next year will be that of their election, that\nGod will look after them in this matter according to their needs.\n\nPardon my bad writing, but I forget half I wish to say. We went from\nMarseilles to Sainte-Baume, a place of great devotion.\n\nAlways your very humble, obedient, and obliged daughter, and servant in\nOur Lord.\n\n\nFOOTNOTE:\n\n[A] We quote the following extract from the \"History of the Foundation\nof the Visitation Order\": \"A person of good social position had, it is\nsaid, borrowed a very large sum of money from the Second monastery of\nthe Visitation at Paris, promising immediately to send a written\nacknowledgement of this loan, and to repay it at the end of a fortnight.\nBut upon receiving the money he at once absconded. Informed of his\ndeparture, Mother Marie Agnes Le Roy took active steps to recover the\nmoney, which was the entire capital of her community. The immediate\nresult of her inquiries was that the affair became public, and the\nfriends of the accused, who were very numerous, all took his part and\nspread the grossest calumnies against the victims of his treachery. But\nGod taking charge of their defence providentially brought back to Paris\nthe culprit, who thus fell into the hands of those who were seeking him.\nHe made restitution, in so far as to acknowledge with confusion that he\nhad taken the money, intending to speculate with it, but he appears to\nhave been unable to restore to the Convent the entire sum.\"\n\nThe Nuns claimed no other punishment for him than the avowal of his\ndiscreditable conduct.\n\n\n\n\nCI. _To Mother Marie Agnes Le Roy, Superior of the Second Monastery of\nParis._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                      VALENCE, 1636.\n  MY WELL-BELOVED AND DEAREST DAUGHTER,\n\nFor this indeed you are to me in so peculiar and intimate a way that no\ndearer term can I add to it, and no other feeling than this loving one\ncould my heart entertain towards you, seeing the way in which you look\nupon the true and solid lights and affections of heart that God has\ngiven you. My daughter, I am quite enchanted with your letter.[A] I\ncannot keep myself from kissing it and pressing it to my heart, for\nevery word of it from beginning to end has deeply moved me. I shall\ncarefully treasure it. Nothing else have I to say, my true daughter, if\nnot that you ought, in order fully and worthily to correspond with such\ngraces, to keep your heart firmly set on God, and casting out all that\nis not He, jealously and faithfully preserve the rare treasure which the\ndivine Goodness has confided to your hands. Spread the good odour all\nyou can in the hearts of your daughters, and may everyone who comes in\ncontact with you feel that the virtues of the crucified and despised\nSaviour go out from you. Recommend my heart with your own to Him and let\nthem be as one in His divine love.\n\n\nFOOTNOTE:\n\n[A] This letter, which so charmed St. Jane Frances, contained an account\nof the intimate feelings of Mother Marie Agnes Le Roy, when she found\nherself under the calumny spoken of in the preceding letter to the\nCommander de Sillery. To quote from her letter: \"It seems to me,\" she\nsays, \"that it is a particular grace to have been chosen to bear this\nhumiliation. Our Lord is so good that He gives me very great pleasure\nand contentment in it, because it shows His special love for me, and\nseeing that it has all happened to imprint in my heart the spirit of\nlowliness and humility I am greatly consoled and incited to redouble my\nlittle efforts to procure Him glory....\n\n\"Ah, my dear mother, how wise such occurrences make us, and what fruit\nthey bear!\" (History of the Foundation of the Second Monastery of\nParis.)\n\n\n\n\nCII. _To Sister Anne Louise de Marin de Saint Michel, Superior at\nForcalquier._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                      ANNECY,\n                                                  _April 5th, 1637._\n  MY DEAREST DAUGHTER,\n\nMay our most gentle Saviour in His goodness fill our souls with the\nmerits of His holy Passion! Alas! my daughter, if you knew me such as I\nreally am you would not desire many years of life for me in this valley\nof tears, but rather that God in His merciful goodness should soon take\nme to Himself. Still less should you think that sanctity was ripe in me,\nfor truly all I can discover within my soul is very great poverty and\nmisery. To speak quite in confidence to you and to you alone: it has\npleased the divine Goodness to deprive me of all light and consolation,\nand to let me be overwhelmed with darkness and affliction. In a word, I\nam she for whom our good Mother has asked you to pray, and I beseech you\nto do it with all the compassionate affection and the loving charity\nwhich God has put into your heart for me. For indeed, dearest daughter,\nI am in sore need of your prayers; no other desire am I conscious of\nsave that God may hold me in His blessed hands and so keep me from\noffending Him. To do and suffer all, for and according to His good\npleasure, is enough for me. I tell you all quite openly in order that\nyou may speak of me to the _Heart_ of our divine Saviour, whom I bless\nand thank for the graces that He continues to bestow upon you, with the\ngrowth of that intimate realization of His divine presence. Oh, how\nprecious, how glorious is this grace! Yet this gift of His presence is\nnot the same as His presence in the divine Sacrament, where His Sacred\nBody and Soul and Divinity all in the most real sense dwell with us, and\nremain with us in our miserable tabernacles until the species is\nconsumed. Nevertheless in the gift of the presence of God this eternal\nTruth remains in us by essence, by power, and by grace, and to be\nconscious of this is an exceptional favour. You will understand this\nbetter by reading the books that treat of it. In the \"Treatise of Divine\nLove\" I think you will find it admirably explained. What I now tell you\nI have learnt there, or heard in sermons. Oh! what a happiness for a\nsoul to possess her God in peace, and to be possessed entirely by Him! I\nam surprised that what I say contents you and gives you peace, but it is\nbecause our good God makes all things work to good for those who love\nHim.\n\nOnce again I beseech of you to recommend me to His divine mercy, and I\npray that in you He may perfect His rare graces. All you have to do is\nto leave yourself in the hands of this heavenly Workman, and to be very\nfaithful in paying no heed to what passes in you, but always keep the\neye of your mind fixed on God. Of a truth I desire myself to be very\nattentive to this point, but my mind is so restless that I am not able\nto do so, and this is a constant trouble to me. See how I give you all\nmy confidence. Will you not also tell me your thoughts, and it will be a\nconsolation and a profit to me, if God so wills. May He bless you and\nall your Sisters to whose devout prayers I recommend myself. Those\namongst us are most blessed who long for the holy perfection of their\nvocation. Divine Providence when it sees well will increase their\nnumber, neither will it fail to provide all things necessary for the\nmaintenance of those who leave themselves in its care and only think of\nconforming to its good pleasure.\n\nBelieve me, always yours entirely in our Lord. May He be blessed.\n\n\nPalm Sunday. On this day Holy Church bids us sing,\n\n  \"The Saviour comes in the multitude of His mercies.\"\n\nMay our souls eternally praise Him. Amen.\n\n\n\n\nCIII. _To the Abb\u00ea de Vaux._[A]\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                       ANNECY, 1637.\n  MY VERY DEAR AND VERY HON. BROTHER,\n\nMay the sacred love of our divine Saviour be our eternal life! The\nlittle preface or pretended excuse in your letter is not quite in\nkeeping with the simple confidence with which we have resolved to treat\neach other, which I believe God desires and ratifies, and with the\nprofession you make of wishing to live in the entire simplicity and\ncandour of the Visitation spirit, which one certainly cannot but see in\nyou. I bless God for it with all my heart, and know not how to thank Him\nfor His infinite Goodness in having given such a friend to our\nCongregation, and such a support to the new plant which Providence has\nset in the garden of the church of Angers. Now I say all this straight\nout from my heart; will you not receive it, then, in this wise, my very\ndear brother, and unite with me in praising God, for to Him we owe it\nall. He is the sole author of all good things, hence should all glory be\nreferred to Him. Your whole bearing with our Sisters is extremely\npleasing to me. Sister Mary Euphrasia Turpin has a good heart, a fine\nintelligence, and loves the Rule, which I advise her closely to follow,\nabove all in the guidance of her Novices. Will you not also give her\nthis advice? You will find her pliant, open, and easy to convince.\n\nWe must let Mother Claire Madeleine de Pierre complete her three\nyears,[B] and I hope by that time divine Providence will have provided a\nsuccessor. It is a very serious matter in a new foundation when a\nsuperior is often ill, and cannot follow the common life. By seeking\npretexts, without necessity, to dispense herself, however little, from\nthe exercises, she does great harm to herself and her community. She who\nought to be a model of good example to her Sisters. How miserable and\ndangerous is this false liberty. May God preserve us from it! What\nresponsibility have not such superiors on their consciences, and what an\naccount they will have to render, not only for their own faults but for\nthose which have been committed in imitation of them, and for impeding\ntheir own perfection and that of those under their care. This is\nfar-reaching, my dear brother, so speak of it occasionally, I beg of\nyou. A true daughter of the Visitation is a great treasure--may God give\nus all the grace to become such. You do not tell me if the Sisters are\nstill in your house. How good you are to them! I pray God to reward you\nwith the glorious gift of His eternal City. To Him you owe much for\nhaving given you the heart and the generous soul you possess, wherein\nthere is but the one desire, to serve Him. Go forward, dear brother,\nforward, always advancing and increasing in the purity and perfection of\ndivine love, and may God give you the grace faithfully to correspond to\nthe great favours He bestows upon you. This is, I know, your great wish,\nand I seem to see our Blessed Father looking down upon you as one of His\nmost cherished children. God knows how I esteem you in His sight. But\nalas! my own poverty and misery are beyond description. May God diminish\nthem for the sake of His glory. I trust to His Goodness and to the\nprayers that are offered for my needs....\n\nThere is no doubt that this difficulty of not being able to make\nconsiderations in prayer leads to a more simple form of prayer, and a\nsoul thus led ought to adhere to this way to which God is undoubtedly\ncalling her, however faint may be the call, and although the calm and\nfacility of dwelling reverently before Him which it brings be but\nslight. Neither ought she to forsake it because of her indigent state\nnor because of her wanderings of mind, but remain patiently and\ntranquilly before Our Lord, not giving willing consent to distractions,\nbut when worried by them just say from time to time words of submission,\nabandonment, confidence, and love of the divine will, and give up\ndiscoursing with the understanding; indeed it is useless to split our\nheads trying to do so, for it will be of no avail. The great secret of\nprayer is to follow our attraction and to go to it in good faith.\n\nA soul who wishes to live in the presence of God should be very faithful\nto the practice of virtue, to great purity of heart, and to an\nunconditional surrender of herself to the divine will. When she sees\nherself walking in this way she need fear nothing, but if she has great\nconsolations and facilities in prayer without the practice of these\nvirtues, she certainly ought to fear. Truly this manner of prayer has in\nits simplicity a wonderful power of leading souls to a total\ndespoliation of themselves. Yet they usually enjoy neither relish nor\nsensible devotion.\n\n                                                         Yours, etc.\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[A] Guy Lanier Abb\u00e9 de Vaux not only put his own house at the disposal\nof the Sisters foundresses of the Visitation at Angers, but continued in\nafter years to give them constant proofs of his paternal affection. He\nwas one of the most virtuous ecclesiastics of the seventeenth century.\n\n[B] Each election in the Visitation Monasteries is for a period of three\nyears.\n\n\n\n\nCIV. _To a great Servant of God._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                       ANNECY,\n                                                   _December, 1637._\n  MY VERY DEAR MOTHER,\n\nMay Our Lord fill our souls with the consolations and with the merits of\nHis most holy Nativity.\n\nIt is about a month since I received your letter of November 9th in\nwhich I read your true goodness and loving care of me in my never-ending\ntrials. However, by the grace of God they are somewhat less acute than\nwhen I last wrote. At that time Our Lord had sent me a great sorrow in\nthe death of the virtuous Mother (de Ch\u00e2tel), who is a serious loss to\nme. It seems as if God wishes to deprive me of all help both of nature\nand of grace. This our Blessed Father prophecied to me before I was a\nReligious. With all my heart I adore the most holy will of God, and the\nonly good I desire is its complete fulfilment. May I have the grace\nnever to resist it. If it is perfectly wrought out in me how happy I\nshall be. Pray for this, dearest Mother, I beg of you. Strange to say,\nwhen writing to you I can never altogether keep back my tears, though\notherwise I rarely weep, unless perchance when I reflect upon those\nprecious virtues[A] of which I feel deprived, and thoughts against them\nrise up within me that are like daggers to my heart. Yet I am conscious\nthat these divine treasures exist, but where I know not, and it seems to\nme that I do at least desire them and would willingly suffer anything in\norder to have the enjoyment of them. My mind pictures untold delights\nfor souls who possess them: were I to dwell on this thought I should be\nparched up with sorrow, because I care for nothing in comparison with\nthem. Could I be so fortunate as to die for Holy Church, nay, even for\nthe least article of our Faith, how happy I should be; for, thank God,\nthere is no point that I doubt about, though it seems to me that I am\ndestitute of all faith.\n\nTo tell you further, dearest Mother, shortly after my last letter to you\nit pleased the divine Goodness somewhat to relieve me of the great\noppression and desolation from which I was then suffering, by giving me\na sensible feeling of the divine presence. I have already told you that\nI have never been altogether without some slight and almost\nimperceptible feeling of the presence of God, by which in the midst of a\nstorm of troubles and temptations my spirit never wholly loses its\ntranquility, and as long as I maintain myself in that presence my soul\nis calm notwithstanding the piteous struggle. When it first pleased our\nLord to give me some relief in the terrible temptations under which I\nlaboured for so many years after I made my Vow,[B] I received the grace\nof a simple consciousness of His presence at prayer, and remaining in it\nI used to surrender myself up to Him and become absorbed and at rest in\nHim. This favour has not been withdrawn from me, notwithstanding that by\nmy infidelities I have often hindered it; yielding to apprehensions that\nI should be useless in this state, and, wanting to do something on my\nown part, I used to spoil all. I am still often subject to this same\nfear, not, however, when at prayer, but at other exercises; I am always\nwanting to make acts, or to do something, and yet I feel that by so\ndoing I am taking myself from my centre--that this looking straight at\nGod alone is the only remedy for me, the sole relief in all the\ntroubles, temptations, and accidents of life. If I followed my\nattraction, I should certainly never seek any other way than this, for\nwhen I think to fortify my soul by reflections and discourses, or by\nacts of resignation, for all of which I have to do violence to self, I\nonly succeed in exposing myself to fresh troubles and temptations, and\nfinding therein nought but dryness and dissatisfaction, I have perforce\nto return to this simple surrender to God. Apparently He wishes thus to\nshow me that He desires on this subject a total cutting off of the\nactivities and workings of my mind, so that His activity and not mine\nshould undertake the care of all. Mayhap He requires this of me not only\non the subject of Faith but on all others as well, for in every trouble\nand in every spiritual exercise to look at Him is all that He seems to\nwant of me, and the more unwaveringly I do so the better I find myself,\nand the quicker my troubles pass. But the activity of my mind is such\nthat I am always in need of comfort and encouragement. Alas! my dearest\nFather often spoke to me of this. Yet recalling the past, I see that my\nsufferings at that time were not the troubles I now endure. Then it was\nonly my distracted prayers and such-like trifles that troubled and\nsometimes deceived me, for which I am not sorry, as there was no real\ndanger; God was there, and I had only to keep myself steadfast to Him.\nBut in my present trials I am as one always on the edge of a precipice.\n\nOur late Mother (P\u00e9ronne de Ch\u00e2tel) was an immense help to me, for she\ntaught me to walk with simplicity, firmly and fearlessly in the presence\nof God, and that sufficed for all. The more completely I am stript of\nall sentiment, all relish, all repose in God, the more do I seem to gain\nstrength and peace of soul, and the more clearly do I see that there is\nnothing to lean upon but God alone, purely, and simply. One of our\nSisters[C] is drawn by this absolute detachment to a degree that it is\nalmost impossible to surpass, and our good Mother (de Ch\u00e2tel) told me\nthat God gave this Sister to me as an example to follow. She wrote at\nthe request of our late Mother an account of her interior state to which\nI have added in detail. She is a soul of great virtue and her detachment\nis marvellous. Speaking of this, some days ago, Our Lord gave me a light\nso vivid and set it before me in a manner so luminous that I saw without\na shadow of doubt that I must no longer cast my eyes upon myself about\nanything whatsoever, nor even question my Beloved, but in all simplicity\nand repose become absorbed in Him. Now since this day of alleviation it\nseems to me that I have kept myself more continuously in God's presence,\nand I have but seldom had those violent temptations--only two or three\ntimes.\n\nThis is, I think, all that I can give myself time to say at present. If\nI have not expressed myself well to this distinguished servant of God\nyou will not fail to understand me and will tell me what he says.\n\n                                                         Yours, etc.\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[A] The following extract from a letter of St. Francis to Mme. de\nChantal, March 28th, 1612, tells us what these virtues were: he says,\n\"But let us come to the interior trial which you write to me about. It\nis in reality a certain insensibility which deprives you of the\nenjoyment not only of consolations and inspirations but also of faith,\nhope, and charity. You have them all the time, and in a very good\ncondition, but you do not enjoy them: in fact you are like an infant\nwhose guardian takes away from him the administration of all his goods\nin such sort that, while in reality all is his, yet he handles and seems\nto possess no more than what he requires for living, and as St. Paul\nsays in this, 'He differeth nothing from a servant though he be lord of\nall things.' In the same way, my dear daughter, God does not want you to\nhave the management of your faith, your hope, or of your charity, nor to\nenjoy them except just to live, and to use them on occasions of pure\nnecessity.\"\n\n[B] On September 2nd, 1604, Saint Jane Frances made a vow of perpetual\nchastity and of obedience to St. Francis de Sales, from this time until\nher death she suffered from temptations against Faith in varying\nintensity. On Oct. 4th of this same year (1604), St. Francis wrote to\nher, \"You ask a remedy for the temptations against faith which assail\nyou. Never argue with them, but do as the children of Israel, who threw\nthe bones of the Paschal Lamb into the fire without attempting to break\nthem,\" and again: \"Oh, my daughter, it is a good sign when the enemy\nurges so vehemently from without, it is a sign he is not within.\"\n\n[C] Sister Anne Marie Rosset.\n\n\n\n\nCV. _To Mother Marie Aim\u00e9e de Rabutin, Superior at Thonon._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                     ANNECY,\n                                               _October 15th, 1639._\n  MY DEAREST DAUGHTER,\n\nMay God be always blessed in all things and may He be particularly\nblessed for the good health you tell me you enjoy, and for the care you\ntake to do all that is prescribed to keep you well. I am sending you a\nbox of lozenges. Take them as directed besides the other remedies. I beg\nof you to take them regularly, for they are sweet, not unpleasant, and\nvery inexpensive. Do not, I beseech of you, undertake any extra fasting\nnor abstain more than you can easily manage. Continue cheerfully to make\nuse of the little alleviations that are settled for you, and any others\nthat your weakness may require, just as you would see that others did.\nDrink your wine, at least half your portion, for your wine-cups are very\nsmall.[A] Neither rise earlier nor go to bed later than the others, nor\nundertake any laborious work, for I know your health would not stand\nit. Take the discipline only on Fridays. Possess your spirit in peace\nand calm, and pass gently through this miserable life, not taking too\nmuch to heart the faults of your sisters, nor their little ways of\nworrying you. Do your best amongst them, and leave the rest to God.\nPray, and get prayers, that it may please God to turn the miseries and\ncalamities of this world to His glory and to the salvation of His\npeople, and do not forget me. If you would like me to write to Sister J.\nAntoine I will do so. However, she must be kept to the promises she made\nto me--tell her that I have spoken to you about them and have asked you\nto let me know how she is going on. May God be your support. Blessed be\nHe and His holy Mother. Amen.\n\n\nFOOTNOTE:\n\n[A] These wine-cups held about two small glasses.\n\n\n\n\nCVI. _To St. Vincent de Paul at Paris._\n\nON THE ARRIVAL OF THE LAZARIST FATHERS AT ANNECY.\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                       ANNECY, 1640.\n  MY VERY DEAR FATHER,\n\nPraised be our divine Saviour who for His great glory and the salvation\nof many souls has brought your dear children happily here. Their coming\nis a subject of thanksgiving to Our Lord from everyone, but most of all\nfrom the Bishop of Geneva and myself, to whom it is an unbounded\nconsolation. We look upon them as our true brothers, with whom, in\nsimple openheartedness and confidence we are as one, and they too feel\nthis. I have had a conversation with them, and truly they speak as if\nthey were daughters of the Visitation. All are full of goodness and\ncandour. The third and the fifth need a little help to get out of\nthemselves. I shall tell their Superior, M. Escarts, of it. He is a\nSaint, and a man truly equal to his charge. I have given them each a\npractice of virtue. With God's help, for our mutual consolation and to\nobey you, I will always lovingly continue so to do, for indeed, my dear\nFather, there is much to speak of to these dear souls. The good Father\nN. has manifested his own difficulties to me with the utmost simplicity.\nHe has an upright heart and a good judgement, but it will be difficult\nfor him to persevere. I have begged of him to put aside all thought of\neither leaving or staying, and to apply himself in good earnest to do\nGod's work, leaving himself trustfully to His Providence. I wish he\ncould settle down, as he is a soul of great promise. In fact they are\nall charming and have already given great edification in this town\nduring the three or four days that they have been here. Their spirit is\nvery like that of my dear and good Father.\n\n\n\n\nCVII. _To Sister Claire-Marie-Fran\u00e7oise de Cusance[A] at Gray._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                       ANNECY, 1640.\n  MY DEAREST DAUGHTER,\n\nYour letter fills me with tender compassion, but it also gives me very\nreal comfort, seeing how joyfully God is enabling you to make your\npassage through this life to Him. You will love and adore Him in an\neternity of glory, for this is the only good that is worth setting our\nhearts upon. Here we are all regretting your absence, and envying you\nyour happiness, but our regret and our envy are more than balanced by\nour gratitude to God who is taking you so mercifully to Himself. Oh! how\nhard and long is this life for those who yearn to be with Him! You must\ndo, my daughter, as your good Mother desires about your state of health.\n\nMost earnestly do I beg of you to ask God that I may live and die in His\ngrace and according to His good pleasure. Do not refuse me this favour,\nand when you see Him do not forget to speak to Him about me. Be kind to\nme in this.\n\n                          I remain,\n                              Yours affectionately in His love. Amen\n\n\nFOOTNOTE:\n\n[A] This religious belonged to the ancient family of the Counts of\nBerghen, Champlitte, and Belvoir. At the age of thirteen, upon the\nfoundation of the Monastery of Champlitte, she was taken there and given\nthe title of Foundress. Her arrival was the signal for a great ovation.\nCannons boomed forth their welcome, while the Magistrates harangued, and\nthe people cheered her, acclaiming the great and good deeds of her\nancestors. In this wise did the child enter into her new life of\npoverty, obedience, and chastity. Soon after her entrance the war\nbetween France and Spain obliged the Community to leave Champlitte for\nthe little town of Gray. Here fresh trials awaited it; the plague broke\nout, and so awful were its ravages that the town was soon a veritable\nsepulchre. Yet none of the terrors that surrounded her shook the\nresolution of the brave child. Full of confidence in God she remained\ncalm and joyful in the midst of unheard-of privations.\n\nThe fame of her courage and her virtue went abroad and even before her\nprofession she was the object of public veneration, for the people loved\nher and claimed her as their own heroine. At the age of sixteen, Sister\nClaire-Marie-Fran\u00e7oise de Cusance made her solemn vows and became the\nSaint Stanislaus Kostka of the Visitation. She died two years after her\nprofession, having spent those eighteen years of life more like an angel\nthan a woman, and having enjoyed many supernatural communications. No\nsooner was her death known, than the Mayor ordered all the bells of the\ntown of Gray to be tolled, on which the inhabitants at once announced\ntheir intention of assisting at the obsequies with torch-lights to\nhonour not so much her birth as her high virtue. The Visitation\nMonastery had not as yet a cemetery of their own, so the religious of\nthe Annunciation, at their urgent request were given the holy remains,\nwhich for some days they exposed to public veneration. Numerous were the\ngraces obtained during those days by the devout inhabitants through the\nmediation of the holy nun. Her portrait was circulated in Flanders where\n[like Soeur Th\u00e9r\u00e8se of Lisieux in our day] she was venerated, though not\nyet on the Altars of the Church. Fourteen days after the obsequies had\nbeen celebrated a religious of the Annunciation wrote to the Mother\nSuperior of the Visitation at Gray. \"This dear deceased is still quite\nbeautiful and her body quite flexible, the veins are to be seen in her\nperson as in a living body, which proves to us that it was truly the\ntemple of a pure and angelic soul. Several persons have noticed a\nfragrant perfume exhaling from the coffin, and others have received\nextraordinary graces and interior illumination when praying beside it.\"\n(Taken from Vol. IX. of the \"Lives of the Sisters of the Visitation.\")\n\n\n\n\nCVIII. _To Sister Jeanne Benigne Gojos,[A] Lay Sister at Turin._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                       ANNECY, 1640.\n  MY DAUGHTER MOST DEAR,\n\nYour few words explaining your interior occupation have made your soul\nas clear to me as if it lay open before mine eyes. All that passes\nwithin you and without you is God's own work.\n\nRegarding your interior life, my advice is: Give God a free hand to do\nas He likes, while you look on in loving simplicity. And as to the\nexterior: Practise virtue by making faithful use from moment to moment\nof the opportunities provided by divine Providence. But it is\nsuperfluous for me to offer advice, as the heart that is governed by God\nneeds no other guidance. Beseech of Him in His goodness, my dear\ndaughter, to accomplish in us His holy will, without let or hindrance on\nour part.\n\n                                                         Yours, etc.\n\n\nFOOTNOTE:\n\n[A] Sister Jeanne Benigne Gojos died at Turin, in the odour of sanctity,\nNovember 5th, 1692. Her life was written under the title of \"The Charm\nof Divine Love,\" and it possesses all the beauty of true mysticism. It\nis hoped that one day she may be raised to the Altars of the Church. St.\nJane Frances said of her: \"From the day of her profession she seemed no\nlonger to be on earth.\"\n\n\n\n\nCIX. _To the Sister Louise-Ang\u00e9lique de la Fayette,[A] at the First\nMonastery of Paris._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                       ANNECY, 1641.\n  MY DEAREST DAUGHTER,\n\nThough not personally acquainted with you, none the less do I know and\ndearly love you. Your letter shows me quite clearly the state of your\nmind, and the source of your trouble and embarrassment. It comes from\nyour over-eagerness in seeking to arrive at the perfection you desire,\ninstead of patiently and submissively awaiting the will of Him who alone\ncan give it to you. Now if you wish truly to acquire the spirit of your\nvocation you will have to correct this fault, and carry out whatever\ninstructions are given you, gently and faithfully, repressing your\ndesires and your thoughts in order, in God's good time, to become a\ntrue Visitation nun. I think, if I am not mistaken, that you are not\ncontent simply to make acts requisite for your training in perfection,\nbut you want to feel and be conscious that you have made them. This\nsatisfaction you should give up, and content yourself with saying to God\nwithout sensible feeling: \"I wish with all my heart to perform such and\nsuch practices of virtue for Thy good pleasure.\" Then perform them\nalthough with dryness and wish for nothing better than in this manner\nlovingly to serve Him. If you do this you will soon find yourself in\npossession of that calm and holy peace so necessary to souls who desire\nto live by the spirit, and not according to their own views and\ninclinations. Your repose and spiritual advancement depend, I can see,\non these things. May God fill you with Himself and give you the grace to\npractice all that is taught you by her to whose guidance He has\ncommitted you.\n\n                                          I am affectionately yours.\n\n\nFOOTNOTE:\n\n[A] Marie-Louise Motier de la Fayette became maid of honour to Anne of\nAustria at the age of fourteen. Her beauty and the promise of great\nability for which she was afterwards so remarkable attracted the King\nLouis XIII. His devotion to her which lasted all his life was that of a\nbrother to a most dear sister. He turned to her in his troubles and\nrelied and acted on her advice. When at the age of nineteen she decided\nto retire into the Monastery of the Visitation, for which she had not\nceased to long during her short life at Court, the King opposed her\nvocation, but seeing that her happiness was bound up with it he at last\ngave his consent. Yet he never ceased to visit this devoted friend who\ncontinued to exercise over him a wise and salutary influence. Richelieu,\njealous of her power with the King, was sensibly relieved by her\nentrance into religion. However, hearing one day that Louis had spent\nthree hours at the Rue St. Antoine with this young religious, he was\nthoroughly frightened, and sending for P\u00e8re Caussin, the King's\nconfessor, he said: \"I am greatly astonished that the King has made such\na mystery to me of this visit. It has caused a great sensation, and the\npublic are persuaded that the consequences of it will be serious. My\nfriends have come to offer to defend me at the peril of their lives.\"\n\"What can you mean, Monseigneur?\" replied the Jesuit Father. \"Surely you\ndo not fear Mademoiselle de la Fayette? she is but a child.\" \"You are a\nsimple man,\" replied the Cardinal, pressing the Priest's hand; \"but you\nwill have to learn the wickedness of the world. Know then that this\nchild has had it in her mind to ruin all.\"\n\nNotwithstanding the discontent--nay, even the abject terror--of the\npowerful Cardinal, Louis continued his visits, which always took place\nin the grilled parlour: for although as King he had a right to enter the\nmonastery he never took advantage of this royal privilege.\n\nUpon the foundation of the monastery of Chaillot, for which Henrietta\nMaria of England herself chose the house, Mlle. de la Fayette, now\nSister Louise-Ang\u00e9lique, was sent as one of the foundresses, and was\nelected Superior there on the decease of Mother L'huillier. After the\ndeath of Louis XIII., Louis XIV., Charles II., and James II. of England,\nAnne of Austria, and Marie Th\u00e9r\u00e8se, all continued to frequent the\nmonastery in order to learn how to sanctify respectively their triumphs\nor their misfortunes. The unfortunate Queen Henrietta Maria took up her\nresidence there. Mlle. D'Aumale, afterwards Queen of Poland, the\nPrincess Louise Hollandine, daughter of Frederick V. of Bohemia (the\nchampion of Protestanism in Germany) and grand-daughter of James I. of\nEngland, were instructed by and lived with the nuns. Later, Marie\nBeatrice, widow of James II., lived at the monastery. Yet all this\nconcourse of the great ones of the world did not tarnish the virtue nor\ndissipate the mind of that lover of solitude and of penance, Louise\nAng\u00e9lique de la Fayette. She died as Superior at Chaillot, January 11th,\n1665, loved and venerated by all who knew her. It is little known that\nthe world owes the birth of Louis XIV. to the wise advice of this holy\nnun, who pressed home upon the King his conjugal duty.\n\nTaken from, firstly, the original manuscript letter of P\u00e8re Caussin, S.\nJ., to Sister de la Fayette, found amongst her papers after her death;\nsecondly, from the memoirs of Mme. de Motteville, a personal friend of\nSister de la Fayette; thirdly, from the History of Louis XIII., by P.\nGriffet, who had recourse to the memoir of P\u00e8re Caussin for these\nincidents.\n\n\n\n\nCX. _To Madame the Duchess de Montmorency (n\u00e9e des Ursins)._[A]\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                       MOULINS,\n                                                  _19th June, 1641._\n  MY VERY HONOURED AND VERY DEAR MADAME,\n  AND BY DIVINE GRACE OUR TRUE AND BELOVED SISTER,\n\nI bless and thank our good God for enabling you so courageously to show\nforth the power of His divine Love. Your entrance into Religion will be\nfor His greater glory and for the happiness of our little Congregation.\nO my dearest Sister, My well beloved of God, with what overflowing\nconsolation you have filled my soul! I have just received your letter,\nwhich has been a long time on the road, and I now write in haste not to\nlose the opportunity of this messenger who goes direct to Lyons, as I am\nanxious to tell you that I consider that in no way have I now either the\nstrength or the capacity to undertake the superiorship of any of our\nmonasteries.\n\nThe Bishop and our Sisters, the latter very unwillingly, have partly\nconsented not to have me re-elected here. Still, I assure you if his\nLordship gives me an obedience to go to you I do not think I could\npossibly have a command more to my liking, and I pray God if this is His\nwill that He may inspire the Bishop to send me. It would be an immense\nconsolation to me to give the veil to one so full of desire as you are\nto revive the true spirit of our Blessed Father. May our good God\ncomplete in you the high perfection which He has so gloriously begun.\n\nI am most truly your poor humble and unworthy servant in Our Lord, etc.\n\n\n\nFOOTNOTE:\n\n[A] When becoming a postulant at the Visitation, the Duchess de\nMontmorency wished not only to renounce her titles of nobility, but also\nto change her baptismal name of Marie-F\u00e9lice, a custom which was not\nusual at that time. She was named Marie after Marie de Medicis, and\nF\u00e9lice after her maternal uncle F\u00e9lix Peretti (Pope Sixtus the Fifth).\nAt her clothing she dropped these names and was from henceforth only\nknown as Sister M. Henriette. She became Superior at Moulins some years\nafter the death of St. Jane Frances.\n\n\n\n\nCXI. _To a Novice._\n\n\nVive [+] J\u00e9sus!\n\n                                                        [_Undated._]\n  MY VERY GOOD AND DEAR BROTHER,\n\nI have been absent for four weeks, and only yesterday on my return\nreceived your letter. It gave me, I assure you, very great consolation,\nand I am full of gratitude to the God of divine goodness for His mercies\nto you. The evil spirit cannot give this attraction you speak of; he\ndraws us away from good. On the other hand, our loving Saviour sheds His\nperfume in our hearts, so that young souls may be drawn to follow Him by\nthe sweetness of His odour.\n\nRejoice, then, in this grace with great humility, my dearest brother,\nand by means of it grow stronger in your vocation and in the practice of\nall virtue, above all in that of self-renunciation, so that you may\nadvance in union of soul with God. Give yourself wholly into His hands.\nThat done, have no fear of the evil spirit but of God alone, for, having\nquitted all things and yourself in your desire to belong to Him, Satan\ncan do you no harm. Go forward quite simply, ruminating but little. The\naffection I feel for you, as a mother for her son, draws from me these\nwords of advice, but I know the best counsel is not wanting to you where\nyou are. May God lead you Himself to the height of perfection to which\nHe has called you, and always keep you within His holy hand. I never\nforget to ask this of His Goodness. Neither do you forget me when\nspeaking to Him.\n\n                       Believe me, I am, and always will be,\n                                        Your most affectionate, etc.\n\n                   *       *       *       *       *\n\n                         _Printed in England_\n\n\n\n\nTranscriber's Notes:\n\n\nWords surrounded by _ are italicized.\n\nSmall capitals are presented as all capitals in this e-text.\n\nSymbol ^(carat) followed by curly brackets indicate superscript,\ntherefore \"S^{te}\" means \"S\" followed by superscripted \"te\".\n\nSymbol [+] represents the  cross patt\u00e9e symbol (a crucifix with four\nuniform-length limbs).\n\nObvious printer's errors have been repaired, other inconsistent\nspellings have been kept, including inconsistent use of diacritical mark\n(e.g. \"Abb\u00e9\" and \"Abb\u00ea\"), inconsistent use of hyphen (e.g. \"Fran\u00e7oise\nGasparde\" and \"Fran\u00e7oise-Gasparde\").\n\nPage 122, word \"be\" added to sentence \"...how the Office ought to [be]\nperformed...\"","title":"Selected Letters of Saint Jane Frances de Chantal","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":65072}