dearly love you. Your letter shows me quite clearly the state of your
mind, and the source of your trouble and embarrassment. It comes from
your over-eagerness in seeking to arrive at the perfection you desire,
instead of patiently and submissively awaiting the will of Him who alone
can give it to you. Now if you wish truly to acquire the spirit of your
vocation you will have to correct this fault, and carry out whatever
instructions are given you, gently and faithfully, repressing your
desires and your thoughts in order, in God's good time, to become a
true Visitation nun. I think, if I am not mistaken, that you are not
content simply to make acts requisite for your training in perfection,
but you want to feel and be conscious that you have made them. This
satisfaction you should give up, and content yourself with saying to God
without sensible feeling: "I wish with all my heart to perform such and
such practices of virtue for Thy good pleasure." Then perform them
although with dryness and wish for nothing better than in this manner
lovingly to serve Him. If you do this you will soon find yourself in
possession of that calm and holy peace so necessary to souls who desire
to live by the spirit, and not according to their own views and
inclinations. Your repose and spiritual advancement depend, I can see,
on these things. May God fill you with Himself and give you the grace to
practice all that is taught you by her to whose guidance He has
committed you.
I am affectionately yours.
FOOTNOTE:
[A] Marie-Louise Motier de la Fayette became maid of honour to Anne of
Austria at the age of fourteen. Her beauty and the promise of great
ability for which she was afterwards so remarkable attracted the King
Louis XIII. His devotion to her which lasted all his life was that of a
brother to a most dear sister. He turned to her in his troubles and
relied and acted on her advice. When at the age of nineteen she decided
to retire into the Monastery of the Visitation, for which she had not
ceased to long during her short life at Court, the King opposed her
vocation, but seeing that her happiness was bound up with it he at last
gave his consent. Yet he never ceased to visit this devoted friend who
continued to exercise over him a wise and salutary influence. Richelieu,
jealous of her power with the King, was sensibly relieved by her
entrance into religion. However, hearing one day that Louis had spent
three hours at the Rue St. Antoine with this young religious, he was
thoroughly frightened, and sending for Père Caussin, the King's
confessor, he said: "I am greatly astonished that the King has made such
a mystery to me of this visit. It has caused a great sensation, and the
public are persuaded that the consequences of it will be serious. My
friends have come to offer to defend me at the peril of their lives."
"What can you mean, Monseigneur?" replied the Jesuit Father. "Surely you
do not fear Mademoiselle de la Fayette? she is but a child." "You are a
simple man," replied the Cardinal, pressing the Priest's hand; "but you
will have to learn the wickedness of the world. Know then that this
child has had it in her mind to ruin all."
Notwithstanding the discontent--nay, even the abject terror--of the
powerful Cardinal, Louis continued his visits, which always took place
in the grilled parlour: for although as King he had a right to enter the
monastery he never took advantage of this royal privilege.
Upon the foundation of the monastery of Chaillot, for which Henrietta
Maria of England herself chose the house, Mlle. de la Fayette, now
Sister Louise-Angélique, was sent as one of the foundresses, and was
elected Superior there on the decease of Mother L'huillier. After the
death of Louis XIII., Louis XIV., Charles II., and James II. of England,
Anne of Austria, and Marie Thérèse, all continued to frequent the
monastery in order to learn how to sanctify respectively their triumphs
or their misfortunes. The unfortunate Queen Henrietta Maria took up her
residence there. Mlle. D'Aumale, afterwards Queen of Poland, the
Princess Louise Hollandine, daughter of Frederick V. of Bohemia (the
champion of Protestanism in Germany) and grand-daughter of James I. of
England, were instructed by and lived with the nuns. Later, Marie
Beatrice, widow of James II., lived at the monastery. Yet all this
concourse of the great ones of the world did not tarnish the virtue nor
dissipate the mind of that lover of solitude and of penance, Louise
Angélique de la Fayette. She died as Superior at Chaillot, January 11th,
1665, loved and venerated by all who knew her. It is little known that
the world owes the birth of Louis XIV. to the wise advice of this holy
nun, who pressed home upon the King his conjugal duty.
Taken from, firstly, the original manuscript letter of Père Caussin, S.
J., to Sister de la Fayette, found amongst her papers after her death;
secondly, from the memoirs of Mme. de Motteville, a personal friend of
Sister de la Fayette; thirdly, from the History of Louis XIII., by P.
Griffet, who had recourse to the memoir of Père Caussin for these
incidents.
CX. _To Madame the Duchess de Montmorency (née des Ursins)._[A]
Vive [+] Jésus!
MOULINS,
_19th June, 1641._
MY VERY HONOURED AND VERY DEAR MADAME,
AND BY DIVINE GRACE OUR TRUE AND BELOVED SISTER,
I bless and thank our good God for enabling you so courageously to show
forth the power of His divine Love. Your entrance into Religion will be
for His greater glory and for the happiness of our little Congregation.
O my dearest Sister, My well beloved of God, with what overflowing
consolation you have filled my soul! I have just received your letter,
which has been a long time on the road, and I now write in haste not to
lose the opportunity of this messenger who goes direct to Lyons, as I am
anxious to tell you that I consider that in no way have I now either the
strength or the capacity to undertake the superiorship of any of our
monasteries.
The Bishop and our Sisters, the latter very unwillingly, have partly
consented not to have me re-elected here. Still, I assure you if his
Lordship gives me an obedience to go to you I do not think I could
possibly have a command more to my liking, and I pray God if this is His
will that He may inspire the Bishop to send me. It would be an immense
consolation to me to give the veil to one so full of desire as you are
to revive the true spirit of our Blessed Father. May our good God
complete in you the high perfection which He has so gloriously begun.
I am most truly your poor humble and unworthy servant in Our Lord, etc.
FOOTNOTE:
[A] When becoming a postulant at the Visitation, the Duchess de
Montmorency wished not only to renounce her titles of nobility, but also
to change her baptismal name of Marie-Félice, a custom which was not
usual at that time. She was named Marie after Marie de Medicis, and
Félice after her maternal uncle Félix Peretti (Pope Sixtus the Fifth).
At her clothing she dropped these names and was from henceforth only
known as Sister M. Henriette. She became Superior at Moulins some years
after the death of St. Jane Frances.
CXI. _To a Novice._
Vive [+] Jésus!
[_Undated._]
MY VERY GOOD AND DEAR BROTHER,
I have been absent for four weeks, and only yesterday on my return
received your letter. It gave me, I assure you, very great consolation,
and I am full of gratitude to the God of divine goodness for His mercies
to you. The evil spirit cannot give this attraction you speak of; he
draws us away from good. On the other hand, our loving Saviour sheds His
perfume in our hearts, so that young souls may be drawn to follow Him by
the sweetness of His odour.
Rejoice, then, in this grace with great humility, my dearest brother,
and by means of it grow stronger in your vocation and in the practice of
all virtue, above all in that of self-renunciation, so that you may
advance in union of soul with God. Give yourself wholly into His hands.
That done, have no fear of the evil spirit but of God alone, for, having
quitted all things and yourself in your desire to belong to Him, Satan
can do you no harm. Go forward quite simply, ruminating but little. The
affection I feel for you, as a mother for her son, draws from me these
words of advice, but I know the best counsel is not wanting to you where
you are. May God lead you Himself to the height of perfection to which
He has called you, and always keep you within His holy hand. I never
forget to ask this of His Goodness. Neither do you forget me when
speaking to Him.
Believe me, I am, and always will be,
Your most affectionate, etc.
* * * * *
_Printed in England_
Transcriber's Notes:
Words surrounded by _ are italicized.
Small capitals are presented as all capitals in this e-text.
Symbol ^(carat) followed by curly brackets indicate superscript,
therefore "S^{te}" means "S" followed by superscripted "te".
Symbol [+] represents the cross pattée symbol (a crucifix with four
uniform-length limbs).
Obvious printer's errors have been repaired, other inconsistent
spellings have been kept, including inconsistent use of diacritical mark
(e.g. "Abbé" and "Abbê"), inconsistent use of hyphen (e.g. "Françoise
Gasparde" and "Françoise-Gasparde").
Page 122, word "be" added to sentence "...how the Office ought to [be]
performed..."