much as I should wish. Hardly has one been told that there is an
opportunity of sending a letter than they come to fetch it. For the love
of God, my dear friend, do not allow yourself to be so easily carried
away by your affections. Hold fast in God your spirit, your love, and
all your pleasure. Keep your heart strong and generous, and interior
joy will come back to you. We are not separated, my dearest daughter, be
assured of this, and when it is necessary to think and speak of me
accustom yourself to do so with a free and joyous spirit as if I were
present to you. Ah! my love, to know that our good God is everywhere,
and that He is always ready to be to us, Father, Mother, sweet and
gentle Spouse, should indeed make us happy. I am very glad that you have
taken Mme. de Chevrières for a mother;[A] she is a virtuous and useful
friend and I greatly like her: offer her my humble respects. Our poor
dear Sisters' Christmas carols are very nice. I love all these dear
hearts: tell them so, darling, I beg of you....
In your next letter say how you are really feeling, for I cannot say
that I like to hear of your getting thin. My daughter de Thorens has
written to me (illegible lines), speaks of the marriage of M. de Foras
with Françoise. Madame is wrong, I assure you, my dear friend, in
blaming his Lordship[B] for not writing to her. I see very little of
him, and I cannot tell you how long it is since I last spoke with him:
he is overwhelmed with business. However, if I see him I will ask him
to write to her, and I shall do so myself, if possible.
Well, most certainly I pity the good Archbishop of Lyons with his rules:
the poor man is worrying himself to death over them. Why on earth does
he not fish where he knows there is plenty of water. Do not send the
regulations that he has made for us without also sending the rules, and
get to know as tactfully as you can what he is planning and the cause of
this delay.
As to exterior mortifications, they are performed here in the right
spirit and with devotion. You know them: Some prostrate across the
doorway with face to the ground, others hold out their arms in the form
of a cross, others again wear a cord round their neck, and ask pardon,
or mention and deplore their imperfections out loud, ask for an alms and
the like. However, I permit them but rarely, because frequency lessens
their power, and when done with devotion they profit and mortify those
who perform them, and edify the others. You can of course allow them,
but only at the times set down, unless the Sisters ask your permission,
and let this come from themselves (illegible lines).
They have come to fetch the letters. Good-day, dearest daughter. Always
yours. Be humble in all things, and practice mortification of spirit.
Vive Jésus.
FOOTNOTES:
[A] It was a common custom at this epoch to contract spiritual alliances
as a mark of reverence, gratitude, and affection. It is of such an
alliance that Saint Jane Frances here approves. Madame de Chevrières was
a pious and devoted friend of the monastery at Lyons.
[B] St. Francis de Sales.
XV. _To Sisters Péronne Marie de Châtel and Marie Aimée de Blonay._
Vive [+] Jésus!
ANNECY, 1616.
MY DEAREST DAUGHTERS,
I will begin by answering your last letter, and then go back as far as I
am able to the preceding one, saying, please God, what He wishes me to
say to you.
First, then, my dear daughter, I'll tell you what Our Lord wants of you
and of us all, a humble and tranquil submission to His most holy will in
whatsoever happens, for everything is, without question, ordained by
divine Providence for His glory, and for our gain; henceforth to be
indifferent to health or sickness, consolation or desolation, the
enjoyment or privation of what we most cherish, should be our aim. May
our hearts have but one desire, that His holy will be accomplished in us
and in regard to us. Let us not philosophize on things that happen to
ourselves or to others, but, as I have already said, remaining sweetly
humble, and tranquil, in the condition in which God has placed us. In
pain patient, in sorrow enduring, in action active, without stopping to
think whether we commit faults in this way or that, for such reflections
are nothing but self-love.
Instead of all that, look at God, and take faithfully as it presents
itself every opportunity of practising suitable virtues. When you fail
through cowardice or infidelity be not disturbed, make no reflections,
humble yourself in meekness and confusion before God, and then lose no
time in rising up again by an act of courage and holy confidence.
Now, my daughter (Péronne Marie), and my little one (Marie Aimée), do
thus; this letter is for you both in common, for I know that your hearts
hide nothing from one another. In future, as I have so little leisure, I
will always write to you together, unless you tell me that, for some
particular reason, you wish me to answer you individually, in which case
I will willingly do so, for I am at your disposal. Believe me, I love
you with all my heart, and I have to bear my fair share in the
mortification of your absence, though indeed you are more than ever
present to me in spirit; but the good God has arranged it so, and all is
sweet in His holy will.
You, my Péronne, and the little Sister, when you happen to be ill,
receive relief willingly and graciously. And mind, in whatever form it
comes, whether it be to rise, to go to bed, to eat, obey simply, and
without making difficulties. My dear Péronne, walk manfully in your old
way, both as to the interior, and the exterior. When you are asked what
point of prayer you take, and the like, answer boldly as to what you
have done or thought formerly in this way: "I have had such thoughts in
prayer or done such things while walking about, or when in bed"; but do
not say: "To-day, or at such an hour, I have done such a thing." It is
not necessary to be so explicit, but simply say, "I have done or seen
such a thing," and have no scruple in calling all your good aspirations
and thoughts prayer, for they are prayer, and so, for the matter of
that, are all our actions when done to please God. It is enough to
salute your good Angel morning and evening. Attention to the presence of
God and of Our Lady includes all, for the blessed Spirits are engulphed
in the abyss of the Divinity, and it is more perfect to walk simply.
When a novice says to you, "What are you thinking of?" answer frankly,
"I am thinking of God," without saying (if it is not so), I was thinking
of the Passion, and the like, for no doubt to mention a particular
subject (if we were not thinking of it) would be an untruth. Say simply,
"I was thinking of Our Lord," and you might, for example, add, "My God,
how happy we should be if we could always have the Holy Passion or the
Nativity before our eyes." This gives edification enough. I see nothing
else to say.
Oh! but yes; just a word for my Little One. I beg of you, my dearest
Sister, not to trouble about what you feel or do not feel--this I say
once for all. Serve Our Lord as it pleases Him, and while He keeps you
in the desert serve Him there with good courage. He made His dear
Israelites spend forty years there, accomplishing a journey that they
could have made in forty days. Take courage then, and be satisfied with
saying, and being able to say, though without relish, "I wish to live
wholly for God and never to offend Him;" and when you stumble, as is
sure to happen (be it a hundred times a day), rise up again by an act of
confidence. Do likewise towards your neighbour, be content with having
the desire to love him, or desiring to desire it, and to procure for him
all possible good, and, opportunity given, minister gently to him.
In short take bravely the road in which God leads you--it is a safe one,
although you may not have all the light and satisfaction you would like;
but it is quite time to abandon to Our Lord all these plans and desires,
and to walk blindly, as divine Providence wills, believing that it will
lead you aright. Now, adieu. Our good M. Michel (Favre) will tell you
all the news. Needless to say, I recommend him to you, for I am
extremely fond of him. He is our dear brother and child: entirely
devoted to us. Thousands of cordial messages to those most dear
daughters of my heart, and special messages to whom you know, and to
all, for indeed I most truly love them all.
Adieu, my beloved daughters.
XVI. _To Mother M. J. Favre._
Vive [+] Jésus!
ANNECY, 1616.
MY VERY DEAR DAUGHTER,
Your letter deeply touches me. May God give us genuine humility,
sweetness, and submission, for with these virtues there is truth, but
without them usually deception and no sure dependence. No need to
consult about this good woman, she must be put out, for a thousand
reasons. Unless God give you light to the contrary, beware of acting on
any human reasons put forward by her relations. You must drink the
chalice, my daughter, and bear with contempt for the sake of exact
observance. But act, I pray you, in this matter with gentleness and
consideration, saying nothing that might cause any trouble to this poor
woman.[A]
As to Mlle. N., we only have knowledge of her in so far as to be able to
say that we fear her becoming very dejected from her melancholy and
unstable temperament. However, you will have to receive her for a first
trial and to tell her frankly that she will be obliged to undergo at
least four months' probation in the house before she receives the habit.
As to the condition she wishes to lay down of being always with you
after her profession, it is not to be heard of. She must not claim to
make arrangements on becoming a Religious, as if she was purchasing a
farm-house; therefore, should there be no conditions in her contract,
and no reserves, the only thing she can reserve to herself is the
resolution never to do her own will, and to live peaceably and humbly in
the Congregation. I beg of you, my true daughter, maintain a gentle and
a humble, a generous and a joyous heart in the midst of the bustle of
affairs, for this God requires of you.
You are right in thinking our Sisters de Châtel and de Blonay are two
pearls of virtue. They have not a little obliged me in so candidly
opening their hearts to you. I never doubted but that they would do so,
and I am sure you will always receive consolation and support from them.
Gently encourage the dear _Cadette_[B] to be more expansive and
open-hearted with the sisters. She can do it if she look humbly unto God
and overcome herself. I beg of her to teach her novices to see the
advantage of correction, and to love it. They ought to aspire to great
purity of life and become familiar in their communications with their
divine Spouse. I shall not write to them now; it suffices that we two,
whom God has so intimately united, confer with one another. God bless
you, my child, I am very glad to know the state of your heart. Keep it
one with God in fidelity to the Rule and a stranger to all unprofitable
things; for, my true daughter, God has appointed you for my succour and
to carry with me the burden which He Himself has laid upon me. Do not
say that you are inconsolable on account of our separation. I assure you
that I write much more to you than I tell our sisters here. We do not
see one another it is true, but that is all, and I think a little
corporal absence renders you more present to the mind than if you were
present. In everything else we never make any difference between you and
our Sisters here, if it be not that you are more loved and more
carefully instructed. Now pity yourself no more, since Jesus Christ is
the privileged bond that unites us.
Yours, etc.
FOOTNOTES:
[A] Elsewhere St. Jane Frances thus sums up for her daughters the views
expressed to her on religious life by their Founder, St. Francis de
Sales. "In truth, there are few monasteries which do not possess some
one who gives a great example of virtue, but the majority are weak and
neither great nor elevated in character. This evil is brought about by
persons becoming religious who are not yet really good Christians. Such
know indeed their Founder and their constitutions, but they have little
knowledge of Jesus Christ and His gospels. They aspire to become perfect
in a day, while yet they are unaware of their own miseries and need of
justification. They expect to be cured without thoroughly knowing their
disease or the physician. They begin with the roof instead of with the
foundations, and are eager to offer to the divine Master what He has
only recommended as a counsel, without taking the trouble to give Him
what He exacts as a debt. From hence come so many dissensions,
murmurings, and complaints about trivial things, so much imprudence, so
many indiscretions, suspicions, rash judgements, attachments to one's
own inclinations and way of thinking, and to trifles; such impatience of
contempt, so little fervour in prayer, so little reverence for the holy
mysteries, so little fruit from confession and frequent communion, such
a poor conception and idea of the life to come, so little gratitude to
Jesus Christ, so little solidity and dignity in the practices of
devotion. The remedy for all these evils is to employ the time of
noviceship in learning truly to know the adorable Master; His precepts,
maxims and counsels, by a thorough explanation of His gospel; truly to
understand the nobility of man, whom God only can render happy; his fall
and his misery, which the Incarnation and the death of a God could alone
remedy: the corruption of his heart, of which self-love is master; the
inability in himself to do any good without the grace of Jesus Christ:
the never-ending danger from that concupiscence which, though conquered,
is always within him; the necessity of continual prayer, of solitude, of
penance, in order to keep the senses subject to the spirit; truly to
understand how terrible God is in His judgements, how heinous are the
sins committed after baptism, how differently we shall look upon things
after death, and what a heavy responsibility for us will be the life and
death of the Redeemer: truly to learn the folly of despising these
truths and the sanctity which the grace of the law of this Jesus exacts
from us, He who is our Saviour and our Model."
[B] A name given by St. Francis to Mother Marie Aimée de Blonay.
XVII. _To Madame de Gouffier._
Vive [+] Jésus!
ANNECY.
_17th July, 1616._
I can only send you this little note, my dearest daughter, but his
Lordship is answering your letters. Our Sisters (Favre and de Châtel)
are to arrive this evening, so you can imagine how busy we are getting
ready for them. God be blessed for all you tell me, and may the work you
have undertaken be to you a precious crown for the greater honour of God
and for our consolation.
Certainly, very dear daughter, if the glory of God and your reputation
were not so much involved in this transaction we should never risk
sending our sisters. Our reasons would be unalterable in regard to
anyone save you yourself. Sister Jeanne Charlotte will tell you what
they are. The experience of Lyons has taught us to walk circumspectly.
But we have not the heart to disappoint this daughter who is so much one
of ourselves. May God be your portion and ours for all eternity! It is
impossible for me to leave this house at present, so I cannot accompany
the Sisters whom we are sending to Lyons. They will arrive, please God,
on the 29th of this month, and they can start with you on the 5th or 6th
of August, but not before. We shall write again by them. May God love
us, and our love be all for Jesus eternally.
Adieu, my daughter. I embrace you with all my soul which is wholly
yours. But let us not engage in any more combats until we are fully
armed! I prefer to have few monasteries and those well established than
many badly provided.[A]
FOOTNOTE:
[A] Madame de Gouffier, a religious of the Order of the Holy Ghost, was
attracted to greater devotion by reading the "Introduction to a Devout
Life," and made a long journey to confer with its author, St. Francis de
Sales. The Sister annalist of the Order tells us that Madame de
Gouffier, on arriving, "Devoutly ferreted out all she could about the
rising Congregation to see if it might not be the promised land designed
by God for her, in which she hoped to find rivers flowing with milk and
honey. Full of admiration for the new Institute, Madame de Gouffier
wished to become a member, but insurmountable impediments opposed her
design, and she could only obtain permission to wear the religious habit
within the enclosure, where she was known under the name of Sister Marie
Elizabeth. With tireless energy the new benefactress gave a helping hand
to the foundations of Lyons, Moulins, and Paris, in all of which houses
she successively sojourned, ever seeking to make herself useful to the
Sisters, whose virtue was indisputably made manifest by the thorns
without number with which, all unwittingly, she strewed their paths.
Towards the end of 1621 Madame de Gouffier quitted her exile here below
for the true _Promised Land_."
XVIII. _To Mother Jacqueline Favre, Superior at Lyons._
Vive [+] Jésus!
ANNECY.
_June, 1616._
MY OWN DEAREST DAUGHTER,
You and all the dear Sisters to whom I am in debt must needs be
perpetually pardoning me. Only at the last moment are we told of an
opportunity to send letters, and having no time to get mine ready
beforehand I am constrained to write in a breathless fashion. They have
just come to say that Sire Pierre sets out to-morrow. Patience in all
things! However, as I want to write to our sisters, and very fully to
you, and very particularly to my son M. Michel, those letters I will
send by the chaplain. You now know for certain what are our good Lord's
intentions regarding the Religious question: I mean the conversion of
our Congregation into a Religious Order, with the conditions laid down
for us, which are all excellent, and about which our resolution is
unalterable. This step has been before the Archbishop of Lyons for a
long time, and he did not wish it to be known. But what does it matter
to us, I pray you, whether our vows are solemn, or made as they are in
public, or whether we are to be called a _Religious Order_ or a
_Congregation_? Such things do not signify at all. We have always shown
that we are willing for it on condition that nothing whatever is changed
as to the end of our Institute or the means of attaining that end, to
which, thanks be to God, we have, up to this, adhered for His glory and
the salvation of our neighbour. We do not ask or seek to be brought
forward, and only wish to be left as we are, content to remain in our
littleness, and infinitely preferring it if the glory of God does not
demand otherwise.
Now, dearest daughter, your mind will be clear on this subject, and you
can satisfy those who make inquiries. I greatly desire that our good
Father Rector, a man of great virtue and capability, should know all,
and give his opinion on the whole matter to the Bishop, who is anxious
to have it. His last letter to me gives the impression that he thinks
quite the reverse of the above. For the rest, dearest daughter, if you
have an opportunity get the Archbishop to write and tell his Lordship
how he means to act in regard to the Bishop's last letter, for this is
of importance to the affair in Rome; but do not let him see any
eagerness on your part or that you have been asked to do this. Enough on
this subject.
What a grace has not the good God done us these six years in having
called us to true perfection by a manner of life so fitting to our sex.
Ever blessed be this divine Saviour. I tried to-day to renew my heart
fervently so as henceforth to live in accordance with God's holy will.
My great longing for you, who are so dear to me, is that you may bravely
cast aside all that is not of God, and having but one heart, that you
may keep it exclusively for the one Saviour, who has given His dear life
to win our love and our salvation....
Let us have a great love for our Sisters and bear gently and sweetly
with their little miseries and weaknesses, without which we shall never
be, and thus make good use of the first-fruits of the spirit which God
has diffused on us here, and on you.
What joy took possession of my heart yesterday, dearest daughter, when I
caught a glimpse of a chance of seeing you again, and what noise and
excitement at recreation when I gave the news of your coming! Truly it
is delightful to see how they all love you. Don't you think that it is
quite necessary for me to keep my pleasure to myself in case you do not
come, for they would all be so disappointed? Alas! my poor Péronne, if
she is not cured she must come back to Annecy, for she will be useless
to you and the change of air may be good for her. God knows how welcome
she will be, but I fear you will miss her for your little ménage:
however, God will provide.
I hope you will not give the habit to the good N. until she has
completed her six months. If I have time I will write her a little note;
if I cannot, her humility will bear with me, and her charity will be
indulgent to me. I beg of her to ask God to grant me the grace of being
entirely His.
A thousand salutations, daughter darling, to you and all your dear flock
(a little special word to our two).[A] Remembrance also to the Rev.
Father Rector, to my dear nephew, and to whom else you please. Aye,
truly sister de Gouffier may well be admired! I shall write to her by
the chaplain when he returns. She is only losing her time, and I am
astonished that she has not written to me. Yes, indeed, she is losing
her time. Adieu, my darling, _this holy day of the Feast of St. Claude_.
Yours, etc.
FOOTNOTE:
[A] Srs. Péronne Marie de Châtel and Marie Aimée de Blonay.
XIX. _To Sister Marie Aimée de Blonay, Mistress of Novices at Lyons._[A]
Vive [+] Jésus!
ANNECY, 1616.
Who can doubt, little one, but that a thousand imperfections are mingled
with all our actions. We must humble ourselves and own to it, but never
be surprised nor worry about it. Neither is it well to play with the
thought, but having made an interior act of holy humility, turn from it
at once and pay no further attention to your feelings. Now let me hear
no more about them, but use them all as a means of humbling yourself and
of abasing yourself before God. Behave yourself in His presence as being
truly nothing, and if you do, these feelings about which you talk will
not do you any harm though they will make you suffer. Indeed, as much
may be said of this fault of over-sensitiveness. Pray what does it
matter whether you are dense and stolid or over-sensitive? Any one can
see that all this is simply self-love seeking its satisfaction. For the
love of God let me hear no more of it: love your own insignificance and
the most holy will of God which has allotted it to you, then whether you
are liked or disliked, reserved or ready-tongued, it should be one and
the same thing to you. Do not pose as an ignorant person, but try to
speak to each one as being in the presence of God and in the way He
inspires you. If you are content with what you have said your self-love
will be satisfied, if not content, then you have an opportunity of
practising holy humility. In a word aim at indifference and cut short
absolutely this introspection and all these reflections you make on
yourself. This I have told you over and over again.
I can well believe that you are at a loss how to answer these young
persons who want to know, forsooth, the difference between contemplation
and meditation. How can it be, Sister (The Superior) puts up with them,
or that you do in her absence? Sweet Jesus, what has become of humility?
Stop it all, and give them books and conferences treating of the
virtues, and tell them that they must set about practising them. Later
on they can talk about high things--for by the exercise of true and
solid virtue light comes from Him who is the Master of the humble, and
whose delight it is to be with souls that are simple and innocent. At
the end of all, when they have become Angels, they may talk as the
Angels do. As to prayer, be at peace and do not attempt anything beyond
keeping yourself tranquilly near Our Lord. This too I have often told
you. In a word you are not to move any more than a statue can do. Your
one wish has to be to give pleasure to God; now if He in His goodness
shows you what you have to do, is it right for you to turn from this to
do something else because this, His will, has no interest for you? You
must take care not to fall into this fault, but be simple; don't think
much about yourself and just do the best you can.
You have thoroughly satisfied your self-love, in writing me this paper.
However, I will not return it to you, although I think that were I to do
so it would be a mortification to you. Live wholly with all simplicity
in God. I have a great affection for Sister Barbe Marie.[B] Take care of
her, teach her to restrain her over anxiety, which makes her so eager
for her own advancement and for that of everybody else.
FOOTNOTES: