pleasure of seeing Mgr. of Bourges, and indeed it will be a very great
pleasure. Ever since he was cured of his illness and received the other
graces which Our Lord has bestowed upon him I feel drawn to him by a
peculiar appreciation: and neither do I wish to cease, nor can I cease,
from praising and thanking our good God for His great mercy to him.
Although he frequently writes to me he has made no allusion in any of
his letters to what you tell me he has done for my son.[A] I will speak
to him about it when I have the honour of meeting him, and see if I
cannot have the good fortune of obtaining from him something to your
advantage. He always appears to me to have a great affection for you,
but I do not think he has much in the way of temporal goods beyond the
furniture of his house. However, I know little about this. But my good
and dearest daughter, even if this good lord has altogether forgotten
you, why on that account give way to sorrow and resentment? Oh! cease to
do so, my daughter, for you might offend God by it. You are too much
attached to the things of this life and take them too much to heart.
What have you to fear? Is it that the fact of having so many children
deprives you of the means of providing for and educating them according
to their birth and your ambition? Have no such apprehensions, I beg of
you, for in this you wrong the Providence of Him who gives them to you,
and who is good enough and rich enough to nourish them and provide for
them as is expedient to His glory and their salvation. That is all that
we should desire for our children, and not look for worldly prosperity
in this miserable and mortal life.
Now my dearest daughter, lovingly look upon all these little creatures
as entrusted to you by God, who has given them to you; care for them,
cherish them tenderly, and bring them up not in vanity, but faithfully
in the fear of God. So doing, and trustfully leaving all these anxieties
of yours to divine Providence, you will see how sweetly and tenderly it
will provide for all, so that you will have good reason to bless and
rely wholly upon it. Take my advice, dearest daughter, and cast yourself
into these safe arms: serve God, cast aside vanity, live in perfect
harmony with him whom God has given you, interest yourself in the good
government of your household, be active and diligent in applying
yourself to that work, and begin from this time forth to live after the
manners and customs of a true mother. If I had not had the courage to do
this from the beginning in my married life we should not have had the
means of livelihood, for we had a smaller income than you have and were
fifteen thousand crowns in debt. Be brave then, dearest daughter; employ
your time and your mind not in worrying and being anxious about the
future, but in serving God and your household, for such is the divine
will. Act thus, and you will see how blessings will attend your
undertakings. I feel that I am bound to speak thus fully and openly to
you, and I hope that you will profit by what I say, for I say it with
much love and with a great desire for your good; and that you will often
read over this letter and put its contents in practice. May God grant
you this grace, and may His Goodness pour abundantly upon you and your
dear family His choicest blessings. I cordially salute them all.
You know, dearest child, how you are my very own and most dear daughter,
and that I am your very humble mother, most lovingly desirous of your
true happiness.
FOOTNOTE:
[A] Madame de Toulonjon having learnt that her uncle, the Archbishop of
Bourges, had made his will in favour of her brother, the Baron de
Chantal, and left her out, was deeply wounded at this proceeding, and
when writing to her holy Mother had justified herself for her anxieties
by alleging the obligation to provide for the future of her children.
LXI. _To Sister Anne Catherine de Sautereau, Mistress of Novices at
Grenoble._
Vive [+] Jésus!
ANNECY, 1626.
MY DEAREST DAUGHTER,
I will do as you desire and in God's presence will write what He in His
Goodness inspires me to say. I am praying that I may do this. First,
then, it seems to me, my daughter, that in your devotion you should
strive to be generous, noble, frank and sincere, and build upon a
groundwork of profound humility which engenders true obedience, sweet
charity, and that artless simplicity that makes us amiable to every one
alike, bearing with and excusing all. Try to instil this same spirit
into your novices and into all the souls that God may at any time put
under your care.
On the other hand, dearest daughter, you must leave yourself wholly in
the hands of God, so that your dear soul and the souls of those you
guide, may be, as far as you can make them, independent of all that is
not God; aiming straight and with such singleness of purpose that
friendships, looks, words may never be wasted in frivolous amusement
with creatures. By walking in the perfect way of exact observance of the
rules of the Institute, all impediments are left behind on the road and
not given a thought; for in all things the eye of God only, that is, His
divine good pleasure, is considered. This is a road without bypaths,
daughter, but it is solid, short, simple, and safe, and by it the soul
quickly attains to a rare union with God which is her end. Let us then
faithfully pursue this way. Truly it cuts short multiplicity and leads
us to that unity which is the one thing necessary. I know that you are
attracted to this happiness. Give yourself up to it, then, and you will
repose quite at your ease in the bosom of divine Providence; for souls
who cast aside every aim and end but that of pleasing God are bound to
dwell in peace in this tabernacle.
Abraham (I do love this patriarch) left his country and his family to
obey God, but, my daughter dearest, the only Son of God accomplished the
will of His heavenly Father by remaining in the country of his birth and
working there.[A] Be satisfied, then, to imitate the Saviour, for no
perfection can equal His. And do not look elsewhere, but apply yourself
with diligence to do lovingly and cheerfully the works that Providence
and obedience put into your hands. The chief exercises of the novitiate
are mortification and prayer. I have said enough, and perhaps too much,
to one whom God Himself enlightens and directs. I pray His Goodness to
bring your spirit to the perfection of His most pure love. Your soul is
endeared to me more than I can tell you. Rest assured of this and pray
for her who is wholly yours in Our Lord. God be praised!
FOOTNOTE:
[A] Sister Anne Catherine de Sautereau was a native of Grenoble.
LXII. _To Mother Anne Catherine de Beaumont, Superior of the First
Monastery of Paris._
Vive [+] Jésus!
ANNECY,
_Jan. 6, 1626._
Praise be to our Good God! I assure you, my very dear daughter, that it
has been a great consolation to me to read your letter and to see the
state of your good heart, in which I perceive the divine Goodness
diffuses many holy and profitable lights which you turn to good account.
These thoughts are worthy of being noted; they are beautiful, and are
great graces from the divine mercy. And so is this diversity of states
in which you continually find yourself, for it holds the soul more
detached and more simply united to its God in whom all its happiness
consists. I see also that suffering is not wanting to you. Suffering is
the crucible in which Our Lord wishes entirely to purify you. Your
interior correspondence ought wholly to consist in a simple handing over
of yourself, in a complete self-surrender; then for the exterior,
humility, submissiveness and meekness. And I beseech you, even if
interior lights superabound, not to fail to seek counsel, preferring the
opinions of others to your own, in as far as it is possible. This is one
of the chief fruits of that most holy humility which should inspire all
our actions. Indeed, had your letter been as long again it would only
have been all the more welcome to me. May God give me the grace to draw
profit from it! Although in my unworthiness I cannot walk by so high and
excellent a way, still, I hope that it will do me good.
I am very glad that you have received those two good subjects, and I
thank you with all my heart for our little Adrienne. It is quite true
that our dear Mgr. Bourges grows daily in piety and devotion, which,
methinks, must be real because there is so much humility, meekness of
heart, and detachment from the things of earth about it. We shall pray
very specially for good M. de N. He is a person whom I always look up
to, and so I do to the Rev. Father Superior. I send them both my
respectful salutations. Hold yourself very humble, my dearest daughter,
and think yourself very unworthy of the graces of God: for this little
holding back will draw them on you all the more. I pray His Goodness
daily to increase these graces in your soul, which I love more than I
can express.
LXIII. _To the Same._
Vive [+] Jésus!
ANNECY,
_28th Jan., 1626._
I see quite well, good dear daughter, that nothing will satisfy that
heart of yours unless you make clear to me the holy affection it has for
my miserable little heart, and I reciprocate your love to a degree that
I cannot express. Oh God! what will it be to love each other with a love
that is ever present and beyond all earthly love, for such is the gift
the great Lover of our souls will bestow on us! Let us try, my daughter,
to grow in this divine love from moment to moment. Alas! I desire it,
but you--you possess it. For this may God be praised and also for the
good order of your house, which our dear Father M. Vincent[A] tells me
is a matter worthy of great thanksgiving and consolation.
Believe me, it is a true delight to me to know that our Rules are so
faithfully kept. Now observe from this how Mother Superiors should see
that the Rule is carried out in regard to Ecclesiastical Superiors, and
how the Mothers themselves should faithfully observe what is prescribed
for them, so that by example we may instruct and strengthen those whom
God has committed to our care. Pray continually, I beg of you, for our
dear Father, Dom Juste, and for the affair of the Beatification of our
Blessed Father. Our Holy Father the Pope has issued a Decree about
beatifications which causes me some apprehension.[B] But in all things
we must conform our wills to that of God.
Yours, etc.
FOOTNOTES:
[A] St. Vincent de Paul.
[B] The fears of St. Jane Frances were not without cause, for the
popular enthusiasm occasioned by the many miracles wrought through the
intercession of the holy Bishop resulted in many _ex voto_ offerings and
much public worship being paid to his remains, all of which was
forbidden by the Decree, pending the decision of the Church.
LXIV. _Mother Marie Adrienne Fichet, Superior at Rumilly._
Vive [+] Jésus!
ANNECY, 1626.
MY VERY DEAR DAUGHTER,
The letters I receive from your Sisters Councillors are the greatest
comfort to me, for they bear witness to the union and content that
reigns between you and them. If you practice all you teach, there is
every reason that this should not only continue but increase. Let the
old feel that you are satisfied with them, treating them with cordial
love, respect and confidence. Be one in heart with them as true sisters
ought to be; for although they should honour and obey you as their
Mother, still, you ought to treat them as sisters and companions. And to
the young be as a benign mother with her daughters, not pressing them
too much unless it be to encourage them in a loving way. What I am
writing is in reference to your last letter, in which you tell me that
you often say they must be open with you. My dear daughter, you must
lead them to this openness by kindness and encouragement; for the spirit
of the Visitation is one of gentleness, and this must be preserved at
all costs, else yours would not be a Visitation house even though all
the rest of the Rules should be observed, for this, the most important
of our characteristics would be wanting. Let then this holy gentleness
with every one be your chief care. Retiring and tranquil in all your
undertakings, carry them out prudently so that God may be glorified by
your intercourse with those outside the monastery and by the sweetness
of your government with those within. You are aware that your natural
disposition needs bridling and that you must keep it in check. Do this
then for God and you will receive all manner of graces. Keep near the
good God and read carefully your Rules, for He wishes that in the charge
He has committed to you you should become a living Rule, to His
sovereign glory.
I had not thought of saying all this to you, but as I write God has put
it into my mind. Profit by it then, my very dear daughter, and let this
letter serve you for a long time and for always, as I am sure my good
Angel and yours have dictated it. If you saw my heart and its keen
affection for your welfare, you would indeed love me.
For the rest, his Lordship bids me take our Sisters into Lorraine. If I
can manage it, and that he approves, I'll go a little out of my way to
see you. I send you some relics of our holy Father. Madame Garbillon
seems inclined to take her daughter to you herself after Easter. There
are still plenty of others, but we shall try to send you those who are
fairly well off. However, you will be obliged to floor your dormitory in
order to accommodate so many subjects. See to this in good time so as to
have in the necessary planks and wood. Also have the garden wall raised
a little. This, and the well, is, in my opinion, all you need.
I cannot express to you, my dearest daughter, how I love your little
house. In it may God make you worthy to serve Him and all your dear
daughters perfectly, not forgetting the good and dear Sister de la
Fléchère, who has lodged us so comfortably. Show her much affection and
comfort her with all simplicity and confidence. The poor woman needs it,
for she is in great trouble about her affairs. Good-bye, dearest
daughter.
Yours most affectionately.
Pray for me that I may do God's holy will. Amen.
P.S.--I must add this word. Study meekness and humble gravity. I beg it
of you. The Chapter on Religious Modesty, well practised, will give you
this grace.
LXV. _To the Sisters of the Visitation._[A]
Vive [+] Jésus!
ANNECY, 1626.
MY VERY DEAR SISTERS,
I present to you, in all the sincerity of my heart, the directions and
customs which have been established in this monastery by our late holy
Father and Founder, having arranged them in what seemed to me the most
convenient form for their preservation. And I have added, following his
injunctions, some things which he had written with his own hand, and
others, which he had marked, but had not yet written.
The majority of the Sisters who have known him are aware, as I am, that
it was his wish that these Directories, Ceremonials, and Customs should,
in the future, be for ever observed in all our monasteries of the
Visitation, in order, permanently, to keep up the union and conformity
which until now has existed between them and the first monastery. To
further this end, it has been my desire, by means of the first Sisters
of our holy Order and of the entire Chapter here, to make them known, so
that with me they may bear witness, to those who succeed us, that they
are the same Directories, Ceremonials, Customs, and Ordinances which
were established in this monastery of Annecy by our said holy Founder,
and that they have been observed by these first Sisters, and by all the
Communities which they governed, in as far as they have been
communicated to them. But because it has pleased divine Providence to
confer on me, though so unworthy, the honour, grace and happiness of
being one of the first sisters employed in beginning this most admirable
and holy manner of life, our holy Father and Founder has instructed me
and them with peculiar care. Therefore, dearest Sisters, I think it will
not be distasteful to you if I exhort you to be faithful to the
observance of things which have been recommended for the welfare of our
souls with such tender love and zeal. Nor do I think you will gainsay my
recalling you to some notable points to which I know he specially wished
that we should adhere.
This I do in true affection, for, to me they sum up all that is
necessary for us and nothing more is needed by us. His great fear, our
Blessed Father told me, was lest we should not thoroughly devote
ourselves to the practice of the Rule. And I, also fearing this, pray
God that our very apprehension may make us all the more faithful to our
observance. "The precepts," he said, "of all virtue and perfection are
contained in our Rules and Constitutions." Oh, how true this is! For if
we have but one heart in God, if we honour Him in the person of one
another; if we are simple, humble, chaste, poor, retiring, and all else
that is prescribed, shall we not fulfil all perfection? Again, he said
that our Institute teaches us sufficiently what to do, and our part is
to do it. Let us, then, labour, I beseech you, very dear Sisters, with
our whole hearts, whether it be in obeying or in commanding, to become
living Rules, not according to our own human wisdom and prudence, but
according to what is set down, practising it, exactly and punctually, to
the letter, without gloss or comment; and let us rather die than under
any pretext whatsoever depart from this holy way.
The peculiar obedience we owe their Lordships, our prelates, is a
special virtue of our Institute. They ought to be its protectors and
consequently cannot command us anything at variance with it. Many a time
has our Blessed Father exhorted us to be on our guard against opening
the door to any change, for with it all will go. Not even in things of
small importance would he have us yield, for little changes open the way
to greater, and if we want to keep intact what we have received, and
what has been so wisely instituted, we must change nothing. Old
established customs, though but mediocre, are better than new ones that
appear to us more desirable. Above all he charged Superiors to take heed
to this, and insisted that the good or evil estate of their monasteries
rests in their hands; that care and attention to their duty should, in
them, be universal; that they ought not to neglect even the most
insignificant points; and said that their love, cordial support, and
zeal for the perfection of the Sisters in exact observance would make
their monasteries abodes of happiness, and preserve their Institute. We
must aspire, then, to nothing more and to nothing less than what is
prescribed for us. All these words of Our Blessed Father should be
engraven on our hearts and practised literally. If, however, times and
places demonstrate the necessity of accommodating in some point, and the
change affects in no way the Rules, Constitutions, and Customs essential
to the conformity of the convents, such change can be made. But we
should first consult the Spiritual Father, some capable and pious
persons, and the old established monasteries of the Order, above all
Annecy, which latter, after having maturely considered the proposition,
should confer with the monastery of Lyons, so that the changes
introduced may not be made lightly, nor except when of great utility for
the welfare of the monasteries and in cases of evident necessity.
Another grave fear entertained by Our Blessed Father was, lest the
spirit of worldly prudence and wisdom should glide in amongst us. Here
also then should we be on our guard, for it would be our ruin; above all
if it crept in in regard to the election of Mother Superiors and of
those Sisters who have the chief charges in the monasteries. Most
careful and conscientious should the Sisters be on this point, never
receiving any Superior but her whom they themselves have elected; for
this the Rule commands. Make no account on these occasions of certain
natural or acquired talents, of the gift of speaking well, of fine
presence, of certain attractive qualities, of brightness of manner, of
nobility, or of many years of priority in age or in Religion, nor of
such qualities which if they be not accompanied with what is solid,
should not be considered by us. Rather let us choose those who have
discretion and good judgement, who are simple, sincere, humble, who have
zeal for the observance. Not those who abound in their own sense, for
such as are affected with this malady usually discredit the spirit of
religion in order to introduce their own. We should employ those who do
not seek the higher charges, judging themselves unworthy of any.
Such sisters will do admirably all that obedience orders and the spirit
of God will govern in them. Believe me, this point is of great
importance, my dearest Sisters. Be faithful to it, then, I beg of you.
In the same way must we dread human prudence and human considerations in
the reception of subjects (the good choice of which is essential for the
preservation of the Institute); above all of subjects who are infirm or
defective in body. You will tell me that this has been so often
recommended in our writings that there is no need for me to speak of it
here. Yes, this is true, yet I cannot refrain from repeating myself,
because I see that this article on the reception of those who have some
bodily defect is often combated by wise persons, and is quite contrary
to natural prudence, which sometimes furnishes so many good reasons that
poor charity has trouble enough to hold herself above it. Wherefore, to
observe this point intact we need great courage, and we should often
call to mind that it is the end of our Institute, and the desire of
desires of our holy Institutor, as is shown by his warning to those who
infringe it. And see how by this law he has provided us with a means of
practising the two cherished virtues of our Congregation to which he so
constantly exhorted us: gentle charity towards our neighbour, and love
of our own humiliation. All that can help us to gain these virtues ought
to be very dear to us, since they are the foundation and mainstay of
the whole spiritual edifice of the Visitation. Let us then cleave to
them, humbling ourselves more and more, so that we may accept lovingly
and with a welcome all that is abject in the eyes of the world. Thus may
we esteem ourselves very poor and little in comparison to others,
desiring no other excellence than not to excel, depending wholly on the
good pleasure of God, seeking in all things only His glory, for this, as
you know, is the characteristic of the daughters of the Visitation. Oh!
my dearest daughters, how we should prize it! It is the one thing worth
caring about. For the love of God, let us preserve it in its entirety,
and beware of the desire of excelling and of self-esteem, which would
rob us of it. Continually bear in mind all that our Blessed Father has
both left us in his writings and said to us on this subject, so that our
undertakings may be adorned with this holy virtue. I shudder as I write
and cannot keep back my tears from the fear that some day this spirit
will be lessened or lost. Oh my God! permit not this, but rather let our
Institute cease to be. My Sisters, I entreat you to be faithful. When I
recall the labours, cares, and pains through which our holy Founder
established and confirmed us as we now are, and his intense desire that
this spirit should continue unimpaired, I feel that I would willingly
give my life to preserve it. With all the strength of my soul then I
say: Be jealous of it, for it is the supreme means of drawing down upon
us the grace of God, in whose hands Our Blessed Father has left us with
the assurance that within the paternal Arms of the sovereign Providence
of God we shall never lack grace to maintain our Institute in its first
fervour, provided we are faithful to its spirit.