Chapter VII: Part 7

To return to yourself, whom I so dearly love. Repose in peace in your state of spiritual poverty. Blessed are the poor, for God will reclothe them. How happy should we be if our hearts were stript of all that is not God, and if we loved so to be. What a blessed thing it is to be in obscurity, with no devotion, no spiritual enlightenment, no consolation from creatures. Oh, my daughter, when a soul finds herself in this state, what can she do save hide herself like a little fledgeling, and nestle under the wing of her good mother Providence, remaining hidden there, not venturing to come out for fear the kite might capture her--this, then, is your place of repose where there is naught to fear, and in what better place could you be? And what richer clothing could you have than to be covered beneath the shelter of the sweet providence of your heavenly Father? Dwell there, and be well content to possess this singular privilege. You know, my daughter, that you have a place in my heart from which no one can ever dislodge you.

Yours, etc.

FOOTNOTE:

[A] Sister Bonne Marie de Haraucourt, whose memory is venerated in the Visitation Order, spent her youth in the midst of the gaieties of the Court of Lorraine without ever reflecting that she had a Jesus to imitate or a heaven to gain. On terms of intimacy with the Duchess Nicloe, wife of Charles IV., this girl became intoxicated with the flattery by which she was surrounded because of her beauty and her wit, when of a sudden the same words that converted the great Arsenius, "Fuge, Tace, Quiesce,"* fell upon her ear. The arrival of St. Jane Frances in Lorraine at the moment (1626) was propitious, and the young Court favourite made no delay in answering the call. With mingled feelings of joy at the thought of the great sacrifice, and of dread of what it entailed, she offered herself to the Saint. Soon after the arrival of Mademoiselle de Haraucourt at the Visitation of Pont-a-Mousson, the flower of the younger ladies of the Court, captivated by her example, followed her there, where, regardless of the opinion of the world, they led a life hidden with God. After seven years of solitude and prayer, Sister Bonne Marie was sent to help Mother P. J. Favrot in the reform of the Penitentiary at Nancy, and she obtained leave to found there a Convent of her own Order, with the holy desire to perpetuate in this town, where she feared to have so much offended in the past, a homage of unceasing reparation.

The Princes of Lorraine, and the Court, cherished and protected the new foundation, but soon after, the horrors of the Swedish war and the consequent departure of the Princess, left the little Community in a most pitiable state of destitution. Elected Superior at this critical time, Sister Bonne Marie, by the heroism of her faith, wrought wonders equal to those of great miracle-workers amongst the Saints. When no longer Superior, this holy Nun, by the force of her example, was the life and soul of her Convent at Nancy, as she had been the joy and support of Mother Favrot at Pont-a-Mousson. She died February 26th, 1666. (_Année Sainte_, Vol. II).

* Fly, be silent and be at peace.

XCIV. _To Sister Paule Jéronyme de Monthoux, Sister Deposed,[A] at Blois._

Vive [+] Jésus!

ANNECY, 1633.
MY DEAREST DAUGHTER,

Your letter by which I see that you are in the midst of suffering fills me with compassion. However, the Superior[B] being such as she is, I do not think it desirable to remove you at present, for your absence would, I fear, make matters worse.

You ought to follow faithfully the attraction you mention in your last letter of wishing to live in profound humility in order to imitate more perfectly the divine Saviour who was subject not only to His Father but to His children, to His creatures. As you know, they did not treat Him well, but with infinite contempt and opprobium, and all this suffering He bore without complaint. If, then, you have the courage to suffer in humility, sweetness, patience, silence, all that presents itself to you, I most truly believe that by so doing you will become holy, that your service will be agreeable to the divine Majesty, will work great good to the Institute, and in particular to your own house.

These little things you mention to me, that the Mother does not wash the dishes, and does not sweep, I should take no notice of, except to bring them to her notice just once in a casual way and humbly. But when you remark important things, tell her of them with gentleness and affection, and try to win her heart, for if you once gain that you can do as you will with her. Neglect nothing that you think could further this end. With my pen as with my whole heart I beseech you to do all you possibly can to remedy this evil. You see how it is, beloved daughter; the older Sisters do not like to be the fault-finders. I gather this from their letters, and I see also that they fail in humility and respect towards the Mother. Certainly when a Sister, whoever she may be, is in charge as Mother, the same obedience and respect should be given to her as to her predecessor. To act otherwise is to prove that we have no virtue and that we do not, as is our duty, regard God in the creature. So should it be when she is in office. And when she is no longer Superior let us cherish her as a sister, and keeping ourselves in humility, meddle as little as possible with anything. If it is requisite to admonish it ought to be done with such respect and charity that no harm can come of it. In a word, as you would wish that others should act towards you if you were Superior, so do you to them. I assure you, dearest daughter, it grieves me more than I can tell you when I know that the newly elected Mothers and the Sisters deposed are not in harmony; for it is clear as noon-day that this comes from a want of humility. Wherever such a misfortune exists it is the ruin of peace and of the observance of the Rule, and that house is no longer held in good esteem.

May God put His hand to this reformation. If I outlive my term of office I am resolved to keep myself so much in the background, and so ignorant of the affairs of the house that I can give umbrage to no one. Should I see wrong I shall certainly speak of it, but with all possible gentleness and humility, and having done so, if it is not put right I shall hold my tongue until the [Ecclesiastical] Superior's visit, then I shall simply represent the matter without exaggeration to him. To conclude, dearest daughter, do everything God suggests to you for the good of your Convent and for peace. Charity remedies all things. I am writing a long letter to the (Mother) Superior. Receive all I say as coming from a heart that only desires your good, and is entirely,

Yours, etc.

FOOTNOTES:

[A] In the Visitation Order the former Superior upon the election of her successor is called "Sister Deposed."

[B] Mother Marie Michel Gervain was not re-elected.

XCV. _To M. Noël Brulart, the Commander de Sillery._[A]

Vive [+] Jésus!

[Date not given.]

Now see, my most dear Brother, how you have fallen into the state to which I always feared your great fervour would reduce you. And yet you say that you fear to flatter yourself and are not sufficiently on your guard against your own cowardliness. My true Father, for the love of God make no such reflections: for believe me all these little apprehensions that you are not doing enough are not half so pleasing to God as would be your submission in accepting the relief you require both for body and mind. God only wants your heart. Our uselessness and powerlessness when lovingly accepted through reverence and devotion to His most holy will are more agreeable to Him than if we were perpetually doing violence to ourselves by great works of penance. Indeed, as you know, it is the height of perfection to will in regard to ourselves as God wills. And since He has given you a delicate constitution He wishes you to take care of it, so do not want to exact from it what He in His gentleness does not ask. A mild and tranquil inaction is what He requires of you, resting near Him, without paying any attention whatsoever either to the suggestions of your understanding or the movements of your will, unless it be to say some words of love, fidelity, and simple acquiescence offered gently and tranquilly without effort, and without desire to feel consolation or satisfaction in them. This practised with peace and repose of spirit will be very agreeable to God, more so, I think, than anything else you could do. Bear this state then, letting it take the place of the excessive application of mind which has reduced you to your present condition. Just one word more. Believe me, if instead of the four or five hours which you spend every day on your knees you would spend one hour--that is a quarter of an hour after rising, another in preparation for holy Mass, the same in thanksgiving, and one short quarter for the evening examen--that should be quite sufficient. Try for the love of God, by repose of body and mind, and by taking plenty of good nourishing food, to regain your former strength. If I did not feel it my duty to make this request I should not be writing to you so soon. And I trust through your goodness and all your fatherliness towards us that, for our consolation, you will not overlook anything which you feel may help towards your recovery, or that you think will make you stronger in the future. I have not written to our charming and lovable dearest daughter,[B] because she does not know of your illness.

A word to the good mother, who, though we write seldom to each other, I know to be so dear to you in Our Lord.

I pray God in His mercy to preserve you for many years for the service of His glory and the happiness of our Congregation. Amen.

I am, Sir,
Yours, etc.

FOOTNOTES:

[A] Noël Brulart, Commander of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem (better known in the correspondence of St. Jane Frances as the Commander de Sillery), after a brilliant career at Court, where as Ambassador to the courts of Spain and Rome he displayed all the pride and splendour that his great revenues enabled him to gratify, fell under the influence of St. Vincent de Paul, and the Visitation Nuns, by whom he was excited to a higher ambition, and in 1632, in the fifty-fourth year of his age, giving up his worldly career, became a Priest and consecrated his wealth to relieving the unfortunate and furthering the interests of religion. A generous benefactor to the Visitation Order, amongst many other gifts he built the Church of the first monastery of Paris (designed by Mansard), where he was buried. It is now, alas! the Protestant temple of the Rue St. Antoine, near the Bastille. Commander de Sillery closed a life of rare sanctity on the 26th Sep., 1640, in the sixty-third year of his age. The above letter is taken from the "Lettres de S^{te} Jeanne Françoise Frémoit de Chantal." Tournei edition. J. Casterman, 1848.

[B] Presumably Mother Marie Jacqueline Favre.

XCVI. _To the Countess de Toulonjon, at Alonne._

Vive [+] Jésus!

ANNECY, 1634.

I see by your letter that you are in great grief, and it touches me deeply. There is no doubt about it, your troubles are great, and viewed in this world's judgement they are of a very distressing nature. But look up, above these low and wretched passing things, to that blessed eternity in which is to be found great and endless consolation, and you will be glad that those for whom you mourn are in the happy possession of it, and a sweet peace will fill your heart amidst the vicissitudes of this mortal life. Ah! when shall we give a little reflection to these truths of faith? When shall we, dearest daughter, relish the sweetness of the divine will? When shall we see in all that happens to us the good pleasure of God? Whether He sends prosperity or adversity, He intends all equally for our greater good, and gives all with a love which to us is incomprehensible. But, miserable creatures that we are, we turn into poison the remedies meant for our cure. Let us not do this any more, rather let us lovingly submit like obedient children and co-operate with the designs of our heavenly Father, whose only aim in sending us affliction is to unite us more intimately to Himself. If we so act, He will be all to us, He will take the place of brother, son, husband, mother, of all things. Take courage from these strengthening thoughts. I pray Our Lord to give you a knowledge of the rich treasures which He, in His goodness, shuts up in the afflictions He sends us.

XCVII. _Extract from a letter to M. Noël Brulart, the Commander de Sillery, at Paris._[A]

Vive [+] Jésus!

ANNECY, 1634.

The state of your mind, which you narrate with so much simplicity, is incomparably better and safer than if you were overflowing with consolations and sensible love of God. This interior peace, this stability in God, these lights, which although slight, transient, and devoid of definite reasoning, yet retain the soul in the state in which God has placed her, are all infallible marks that He reigns in you, and give great hope that His goodness desires to lead you in a wholly intellectual way to a state of great purity and simplicity; hence you should, I think, my dearest brother, seek no other devotion than looking unto God purely and simply, and letting Him accomplish His will in you. This Divine Saviour being the only object of your affections and desires, the solitary pleasure of your heart, all that He will accomplish in you will be for His greater glory, and for your own sanctification. Be, then, as content to be powerless, idle, dry, and arid before God, as if you were actively at work, and in the enjoyment of His gifts of devotion and contentment. As all consists in union with God one state ought to be as pleasing to you as another. Age and health no longer permitting you to be active, you will apparently have to spend the remainder of your days in this heavenly exercise by which your mind will be renewed. So will you be uninterruptedly employed in the love and repose of God, and I believe that the fruit which will result therefrom will enrich your soul, give glory to His divine Majesty, and even edification to your neighbour, for this salutary exercise teaches contempt of all earthly things, and is a great proof to the world of the true piety and happiness that are to be so completely found in God.

FOOTNOTE:

[A] Taken from the "Life of Noël Brulart de Sillery," Paris, at the Monastery of the Visitation of Holy Mary, Rue d'Enfer-Saint-Michel, 72. 1843.

XCVIII. _To the Countess de Toulonjon._

Vive [+] Jésus!

1634.

You wish, my very dear daughter, to have in writing my desires in your regard. Here they are.[A] The strongest longing I have is that you should live as a true Christian widow, modest in dress, reserved in action, and above all in conversation. On this account you must avoid having to do with vain and worldly young men. If you do otherwise, my dearest daughter, although by the grace of God I hold your virtue to be unapproachable and feel surer of it than of my own, it might easily be sullied, and your conduct would surely be criticised when it became known that you receive such persons and take pleasure in their society. I beseech of you, trust me in this. Your honour and my own and my peace of mind are involved. I know well that there is no living in this world without some sharing in the pleasures it offers, but, believe me, you will never find stable enjoyment save in God, in virtue, and in a just and reasonable attention to the education of your children, to the management of their affairs, and to the care of your household. If you seek it elsewhere you will have a thousand tribulations of heart and mind. Well do I know this. I would not have you refuse the lawful pleasure that is to be found in the upright conversation of the virtuous and in their visits, although in the circumstances in which God has placed you it would be desirable to receive visitors but rarely. In a word, dearest child, for God's glory, for the love and reverence you owe to the memory of your dear husband, for the preservation of your good name, and the edification of your daughter, who, without doubt, models herself upon you, you must keep your inclinations a little in check, submitting them to God, to reason, to your own well-being and to that of your children. You must also bear in mind what is due and becoming to your birth and your condition and to the comfort of your neighbours. You will be greatly helped in this by faithfully following the little practices of devotion of which I have spoken to you, and which I will now again set down.

Upon awakening in the morning, turn your thoughts to God present everywhere, and place your heart and your whole being in the hands of His goodness. Then think briefly on the good that it will be in your power to do that day, and the evil you should avoid, above all on that defect to which you are most subject, resolving by the grace of God to do good and avoid evil. Having risen from bed, kneel on your bed, or elsewhere, and adore God from the depths of your soul, thanking His goodness for all the graces and benefits that He has bestowed upon you, for a moment's reflection will show you how you are surrounded by His mercies and what a special care He has had of you. This thought ought indeed to touch your heart, which offer Him anew with your resolutions, affections, thoughts, words and works of that day, in union with that sacred offering which our divine Saviour made of Himself upon the tree of the cross, and ask Him for His holy grace and assistance to guide you through the day. Beg afterwards for His holy blessing with that of the Blessed Virgin, of your good angel and your holy patrons, saluting them by a simple inclination of the head and an interior act of reverence. All this can be done in the space of two Paters and Aves. Next, do not waste time over your toilette. As far as possible assist at holy Mass every day as attentively and devoutly as you can by using such holy considerations as are taught in Philothea.[B] If you cannot be present at Mass hear it spiritually as the same book teaches. Philothea ought to be your book of predilection and your spiritual guide. Either during holy Mass, if you cannot give other time, or at some other hour, withdraw a little into some quiet place every morning, and make about a quarter of an hour's prayer from your heart, placing yourself in God's presence, or at His sacred feet, or at those of the most holy Virgin, as a daughter before her father or her dear mother, and converse with the divine Majesty in humble, filial confidence. Do this either by reflecting on some mystery of Faith, or in accordance with some need you may have, or as your mind suggests. Conclude all by an act of great desire of loving and pleasing God, renewing your holy resolutions and invoking His grace. Let your chief care be to do everything with purity of intention, and often offer up your actions to God by holy affections, frequently calling to mind His goodness as He will suggest or your own heart will dictate.

Read every day for a quarter or half an hour some spiritual book, preferably Philothea. Before supper, either walking about or retiring apart, place yourself in the hands of God by some holy aspirations. Before going to bed examine your conscience and, prostrate before God, adore, thank, and invoke Him, offering Him your soul. If you are able, add the Litany of Our Lady, your attendants making the responses. Communicate at least on each first Sunday of the month and on the chief feasts, such as those of Our Lord, and our Lady, and the feast of St. Joseph, to whom I wish you to be devout.

Try to subdue your passions and bring them and your inclinations under the law of reason and of the holy will of God: otherwise you will never have anything but trouble and uneasiness of soul. God permits or sends to His predestined children, for their good and as a means of bringing them to His glorious beatitude, the afflictions and contradictions of this life. My dearest daughter, if you are so happy as sweetly and patiently to accept all that He sends, then be assured you will begin to taste even here on earth something of the delights of the blessed eternity of glory. But for this you must serve God willingly and love Him supremely, seeking His pleasure, choosing His divine will through holy obedience in preference to your own will, desires, or inclinations.

May God in His sweet goodness grant you this grace, dearest daughter; I unceasingly implore it of Him from my heart, which is that of one who loves you as her own with her entire capacity for loving. Amen.

FOOTNOTES:

[A] These counsels had been given verbally by St. Jane Frances to Madame de Toulonjon at the time of her sojourn at Annecy, where she came to pass the first months of her widowhood, and the Saint at the request of her daughter wrote them down for her so that she might be able often to read them over, and thus more faithfully adhere to her mother's pious recommendations.

[B] "The Introduction to a Devout Life," by St. Francis de Sales, Chapter XIV. of the second part.

XCIX. _To Sister Marie Aimée de Rabutin,[A] Mistress of Novices at Annecy._

Vive [+] Jésus!

PARIS, 1635.
DAUGHTER DEAR,

You attribute everything to your negligence! Accept the good that comes to you, and when God withdraws Himself do not run after Him. You are always doing His will provided you keep yourself under His hand without desiring anything whatsoever save to do His will. These doubts against Faith that you tell me of He permits so that you may make frequent acts of this virtue. For you see, my daughter, He only sends temptations to souls whom He intends to raise to high perfection. All the doubts and fears lest you may have consented come from the evil spirit. Pay no heed to them, unless to say, "Get thee behind me, Satan, for I am at peace in God."

FOOTNOTES:

[A] Marie Aimée de Rabutin possessed all the caustic wit for which the de Rabutins were distinguished, and had no other thought than of pleasure and of her independence, until St. Jane Frances won her to Christ. "Make haste, my daughter," she said to her, "for God is the enemy of delay." From the entrance of Mademoiselle de Rabutin into the Monastery of Annecy (1624) her fervour was without bounds, and were it not for obedience her austerities would have shortened her life. When she was elected Superior at Thonon St. Jane Frances said to the outsister who came to fetch her: "Make the most of the time your new Superior rules you, for you have never had and perhaps never will have her equal." She governed several monasteries and died in 1678. Her praises are summed up in these words of St. Jane Frances: "When once Mother Marie Aimée returns to Annecy she must not be taken away again, for although she is my relative, I cannot help saying that she has always been a living rule and a model of perfect observance." (Archives of the Visitation, Annecy.)

C. _To M. Noël Brulart, Commander de Sillery, at Paris._

Vive [+] Jésus!

VALENCE,
_2nd July, 1636._
MY MOST HONOURED, BELOVED, AND DEAREST FATHER,

I certainly have no wish to delay in answering your kind and cordial letter, which gives such a lucid account of the finale of this wicked affair[A], and above all of the good odour of those little servants of the Lord, our Sisters of the Faubourg, and of the reparation made to them. Oh! how good God is! and how prompt in coming by ways which confound the prudence of the worldly-wise to the succour of the innocent. For the greatness of His mercies may He be for ever blessed! You must have been deeply moved in the goodness of your heart on witnessing such a marked and fatherly interposition of Providence in this grave crisis. Truly happy are the souls who repose entirely in the pitying and loving bosom of this heavenly Father. You cannot think what this grace has wrought in my heart towards God, whom we can never sufficiently thank for it, and towards you, my very dear Father, for the incomparable assistance which you have given these poor daughters of mine. It is quite impossible to express to you what I feel, and always shall feel, for the succour and the support in all our necessities which God has given us through you is a priceless treasure from which we draw both spiritual and temporal profit. May the sweet Saviour bless you with His richest graces and recompense you with His divine love. My poor Sisters needed this experience so that they might learn to trust themselves entirely to your paternal care. They have written to me expressing their gratitude and begging of me to help them to return you fitting thanks. It is a sweet Providence, I cannot but think, that has permitted the evil act of that miserable man, so that by means of it a more complete union should be established between our two monasteries (of Paris), and that Our Lord should have made use of you as the bond of union, for they themselves recognize this and write of it to me. God be blessed! This story deserves to be recorded for posterity. But if it is possible I should be glad to know every circumstance of it in detail, for from certain things that have been written to me, it seems as if this man took the money to invest it for the benefit of our Sisters. I want to know the truth about this, and for what object it was confided to him. My Sister, the Superior of the Faubourg, tells me that on Sunday evening when I had said adieu to her, M. de Lamoignon took fifty-four thousand francs of it to buy an office for his son. I am asking Sister to write to me about this matter, for you must not trouble to do so....

We have visited our houses of Pont-Saint-Esprit, Avignon, Montpellier, Arles, Aix, and Marseilles, where certainly everything is blessed, and in all of which the observance is kept with great exactitude. It is most consoling to see on all sides how the Sisters love and esteem their vocation. All these houses have excellent Superiors. When at Aix we saw those of Digne, Draguignan, Grasse, and Forcalquier. The four are invaluable Mothers capable of putting their hands to anything in which divine Providence may employ them, and of rendering all manner of good service to God and the Institute.

We also met at Aix the Superiors of Sisteron, Apt, and Toulon, humble and virtuous souls, but not possessing the useful talents of the first four. In returning from Provence I stopped at our house of Crest, where I again found very good Sisters with a young Mother of thirty, but of a capable mind, judicious and zealous. She keeps straight to the grand road of the Rule, "for fear," she says, "of going astray." She gave me great satisfaction. Now I am at Valence, where it appears to me the community is feeling somewhat the effects of having had young Superiors for eight years in succession; nevertheless they keep to the exterior observance and manifest an ardent desire to profit by our stay. I have not yet spoken with them, but I intend to do so. The Superior is good, gentle, capable, and willing, but is wanting in experience; this, please God, will come. These Sisters are in need of one who is firm and experienced. I hope, as next year will be that of their election, that God will look after them in this matter according to their needs.

Pardon my bad writing, but I forget half I wish to say. We went from Marseilles to Sainte-Baume, a place of great devotion.

Always your very humble, obedient, and obliged daughter, and servant in Our Lord.

FOOTNOTE:

[A] We quote the following extract from the "History of the Foundation of the Visitation Order": "A person of good social position had, it is said, borrowed a very large sum of money from the Second monastery of the Visitation at Paris, promising immediately to send a written acknowledgement of this loan, and to repay it at the end of a fortnight. But upon receiving the money he at once absconded. Informed of his departure, Mother Marie Agnes Le Roy took active steps to recover the money, which was the entire capital of her community. The immediate result of her inquiries was that the affair became public, and the friends of the accused, who were very numerous, all took his part and spread the grossest calumnies against the victims of his treachery. But God taking charge of their defence providentially brought back to Paris the culprit, who thus fell into the hands of those who were seeking him. He made restitution, in so far as to acknowledge with confusion that he had taken the money, intending to speculate with it, but he appears to have been unable to restore to the Convent the entire sum."

The Nuns claimed no other punishment for him than the avowal of his discreditable conduct.

CI. _To Mother Marie Agnes Le Roy, Superior of the Second Monastery of Paris._

Vive [+] Jésus!

VALENCE, 1636.
MY WELL-BELOVED AND DEAREST DAUGHTER,

For this indeed you are to me in so peculiar and intimate a way that no dearer term can I add to it, and no other feeling than this loving one could my heart entertain towards you, seeing the way in which you look upon the true and solid lights and affections of heart that God has given you. My daughter, I am quite enchanted with your letter.[A] I cannot keep myself from kissing it and pressing it to my heart, for every word of it from beginning to end has deeply moved me. I shall carefully treasure it. Nothing else have I to say, my true daughter, if not that you ought, in order fully and worthily to correspond with such graces, to keep your heart firmly set on God, and casting out all that is not He, jealously and faithfully preserve the rare treasure which the divine Goodness has confided to your hands. Spread the good odour all you can in the hearts of your daughters, and may everyone who comes in contact with you feel that the virtues of the crucified and despised Saviour go out from you. Recommend my heart with your own to Him and let them be as one in His divine love.

FOOTNOTE:

[A] This letter, which so charmed St. Jane Frances, contained an account of the intimate feelings of Mother Marie Agnes Le Roy, when she found herself under the calumny spoken of in the preceding letter to the Commander de Sillery. To quote from her letter: "It seems to me," she says, "that it is a particular grace to have been chosen to bear this humiliation. Our Lord is so good that He gives me very great pleasure and contentment in it, because it shows His special love for me, and seeing that it has all happened to imprint in my heart the spirit of lowliness and humility I am greatly consoled and incited to redouble my little efforts to procure Him glory....

"Ah, my dear mother, how wise such occurrences make us, and what fruit they bear!" (History of the Foundation of the Second Monastery of Paris.)

CII. _To Sister Anne Louise de Marin de Saint Michel, Superior at Forcalquier._

Vive [+] Jésus!

ANNECY,
_April 5th, 1637._
MY DEAREST DAUGHTER,

May our most gentle Saviour in His goodness fill our souls with the merits of His holy Passion! Alas! my daughter, if you knew me such as I really am you would not desire many years of life for me in this valley of tears, but rather that God in His merciful goodness should soon take me to Himself. Still less should you think that sanctity was ripe in me, for truly all I can discover within my soul is very great poverty and misery. To speak quite in confidence to you and to you alone: it has pleased the divine Goodness to deprive me of all light and consolation, and to let me be overwhelmed with darkness and affliction. In a word, I am she for whom our good Mother has asked you to pray, and I beseech you to do it with all the compassionate affection and the loving charity which God has put into your heart for me. For indeed, dearest daughter, I am in sore need of your prayers; no other desire am I conscious of save that God may hold me in His blessed hands and so keep me from offending Him. To do and suffer all, for and according to His good pleasure, is enough for me. I tell you all quite openly in order that you may speak of me to the _Heart_ of our divine Saviour, whom I bless and thank for the graces that He continues to bestow upon you, with the growth of that intimate realization of His divine presence. Oh, how precious, how glorious is this grace! Yet this gift of His presence is not the same as His presence in the divine Sacrament, where His Sacred Body and Soul and Divinity all in the most real sense dwell with us, and remain with us in our miserable tabernacles until the species is consumed. Nevertheless in the gift of the presence of God this eternal Truth remains in us by essence, by power, and by grace, and to be conscious of this is an exceptional favour. You will understand this better by reading the books that treat of it. In the "Treatise of Divine Love" I think you will find it admirably explained. What I now tell you I have learnt there, or heard in sermons. Oh! what a happiness for a soul to possess her God in peace, and to be possessed entirely by Him! I am surprised that what I say contents you and gives you peace, but it is because our good God makes all things work to good for those who love Him.

Once again I beseech of you to recommend me to His divine mercy, and I pray that in you He may perfect His rare graces. All you have to do is to leave yourself in the hands of this heavenly Workman, and to be very faithful in paying no heed to what passes in you, but always keep the eye of your mind fixed on God. Of a truth I desire myself to be very attentive to this point, but my mind is so restless that I am not able to do so, and this is a constant trouble to me. See how I give you all my confidence. Will you not also tell me your thoughts, and it will be a consolation and a profit to me, if God so wills. May He bless you and all your Sisters to whose devout prayers I recommend myself. Those amongst us are most blessed who long for the holy perfection of their vocation. Divine Providence when it sees well will increase their number, neither will it fail to provide all things necessary for the maintenance of those who leave themselves in its care and only think of conforming to its good pleasure.

Believe me, always yours entirely in our Lord. May He be blessed.

Palm Sunday. On this day Holy Church bids us sing,

"The Saviour comes in the multitude of His mercies."

May our souls eternally praise Him. Amen.

CIII. _To the Abbê de Vaux._[A]

Vive [+] Jésus!

ANNECY, 1637.
MY VERY DEAR AND VERY HON. BROTHER,

May the sacred love of our divine Saviour be our eternal life! The little preface or pretended excuse in your letter is not quite in keeping with the simple confidence with which we have resolved to treat each other, which I believe God desires and ratifies, and with the profession you make of wishing to live in the entire simplicity and candour of the Visitation spirit, which one certainly cannot but see in you. I bless God for it with all my heart, and know not how to thank Him for His infinite Goodness in having given such a friend to our Congregation, and such a support to the new plant which Providence has set in the garden of the church of Angers. Now I say all this straight out from my heart; will you not receive it, then, in this wise, my very dear brother, and unite with me in praising God, for to Him we owe it all. He is the sole author of all good things, hence should all glory be referred to Him. Your whole bearing with our Sisters is extremely pleasing to me. Sister Mary Euphrasia Turpin has a good heart, a fine intelligence, and loves the Rule, which I advise her closely to follow, above all in the guidance of her Novices. Will you not also give her this advice? You will find her pliant, open, and easy to convince.

We must let Mother Claire Madeleine de Pierre complete her three years,[B] and I hope by that time divine Providence will have provided a successor. It is a very serious matter in a new foundation when a superior is often ill, and cannot follow the common life. By seeking pretexts, without necessity, to dispense herself, however little, from the exercises, she does great harm to herself and her community. She who ought to be a model of good example to her Sisters. How miserable and dangerous is this false liberty. May God preserve us from it! What responsibility have not such superiors on their consciences, and what an account they will have to render, not only for their own faults but for those which have been committed in imitation of them, and for impeding their own perfection and that of those under their care. This is far-reaching, my dear brother, so speak of it occasionally, I beg of you. A true daughter of the Visitation is a great treasure--may God give us all the grace to become such. You do not tell me if the Sisters are still in your house. How good you are to them! I pray God to reward you with the glorious gift of His eternal City. To Him you owe much for having given you the heart and the generous soul you possess, wherein there is but the one desire, to serve Him. Go forward, dear brother, forward, always advancing and increasing in the purity and perfection of divine love, and may God give you the grace faithfully to correspond to the great favours He bestows upon you. This is, I know, your great wish, and I seem to see our Blessed Father looking down upon you as one of His most cherished children. God knows how I esteem you in His sight. But alas! my own poverty and misery are beyond description. May God diminish them for the sake of His glory. I trust to His Goodness and to the prayers that are offered for my needs....

There is no doubt that this difficulty of not being able to make considerations in prayer leads to a more simple form of prayer, and a soul thus led ought to adhere to this way to which God is undoubtedly calling her, however faint may be the call, and although the calm and facility of dwelling reverently before Him which it brings be but slight. Neither ought she to forsake it because of her indigent state nor because of her wanderings of mind, but remain patiently and tranquilly before Our Lord, not giving willing consent to distractions, but when worried by them just say from time to time words of submission, abandonment, confidence, and love of the divine will, and give up discoursing with the understanding; indeed it is useless to split our heads trying to do so, for it will be of no avail. The great secret of prayer is to follow our attraction and to go to it in good faith.

A soul who wishes to live in the presence of God should be very faithful to the practice of virtue, to great purity of heart, and to an unconditional surrender of herself to the divine will. When she sees herself walking in this way she need fear nothing, but if she has great consolations and facilities in prayer without the practice of these virtues, she certainly ought to fear. Truly this manner of prayer has in its simplicity a wonderful power of leading souls to a total despoliation of themselves. Yet they usually enjoy neither relish nor sensible devotion.

Yours, etc.

FOOTNOTES:

[A] Guy Lanier Abbé de Vaux not only put his own house at the disposal of the Sisters foundresses of the Visitation at Angers, but continued in after years to give them constant proofs of his paternal affection. He was one of the most virtuous ecclesiastics of the seventeenth century.

[B] Each election in the Visitation Monasteries is for a period of three years.

CIV. _To a great Servant of God._

Vive [+] Jésus!

ANNECY,
_December, 1637._
MY VERY DEAR MOTHER,

May Our Lord fill our souls with the consolations and with the merits of His most holy Nativity.

It is about a month since I received your letter of November 9th in which I read your true goodness and loving care of me in my never-ending trials. However, by the grace of God they are somewhat less acute than when I last wrote. At that time Our Lord had sent me a great sorrow in the death of the virtuous Mother (de Châtel), who is a serious loss to me. It seems as if God wishes to deprive me of all help both of nature and of grace. This our Blessed Father prophecied to me before I was a Religious. With all my heart I adore the most holy will of God, and the only good I desire is its complete fulfilment. May I have the grace never to resist it. If it is perfectly wrought out in me how happy I shall be. Pray for this, dearest Mother, I beg of you. Strange to say, when writing to you I can never altogether keep back my tears, though otherwise I rarely weep, unless perchance when I reflect upon those precious virtues[A] of which I feel deprived, and thoughts against them rise up within me that are like daggers to my heart. Yet I am conscious that these divine treasures exist, but where I know not, and it seems to me that I do at least desire them and would willingly suffer anything in order to have the enjoyment of them. My mind pictures untold delights for souls who possess them: were I to dwell on this thought I should be parched up with sorrow, because I care for nothing in comparison with them. Could I be so fortunate as to die for Holy Church, nay, even for the least article of our Faith, how happy I should be; for, thank God, there is no point that I doubt about, though it seems to me that I am destitute of all faith.

To tell you further, dearest Mother, shortly after my last letter to you it pleased the divine Goodness somewhat to relieve me of the great oppression and desolation from which I was then suffering, by giving me a sensible feeling of the divine presence. I have already told you that I have never been altogether without some slight and almost imperceptible feeling of the presence of God, by which in the midst of a storm of troubles and temptations my spirit never wholly loses its tranquility, and as long as I maintain myself in that presence my soul is calm notwithstanding the piteous struggle. When it first pleased our Lord to give me some relief in the terrible temptations under which I laboured for so many years after I made my Vow,[B] I received the grace of a simple consciousness of His presence at prayer, and remaining in it I used to surrender myself up to Him and become absorbed and at rest in Him. This favour has not been withdrawn from me, notwithstanding that by my infidelities I have often hindered it; yielding to apprehensions that I should be useless in this state, and, wanting to do something on my own part, I used to spoil all. I am still often subject to this same fear, not, however, when at prayer, but at other exercises; I am always wanting to make acts, or to do something, and yet I feel that by so doing I am taking myself from my centre--that this looking straight at God alone is the only remedy for me, the sole relief in all the troubles, temptations, and accidents of life. If I followed my attraction, I should certainly never seek any other way than this, for when I think to fortify my soul by reflections and discourses, or by acts of resignation, for all of which I have to do violence to self, I only succeed in exposing myself to fresh troubles and temptations, and finding therein nought but dryness and dissatisfaction, I have perforce to return to this simple surrender to God. Apparently He wishes thus to show me that He desires on this subject a total cutting off of the activities and workings of my mind, so that His activity and not mine should undertake the care of all. Mayhap He requires this of me not only on the subject of Faith but on all others as well, for in every trouble and in every spiritual exercise to look at Him is all that He seems to want of me, and the more unwaveringly I do so the better I find myself, and the quicker my troubles pass. But the activity of my mind is such that I am always in need of comfort and encouragement. Alas! my dearest Father often spoke to me of this. Yet recalling the past, I see that my sufferings at that time were not the troubles I now endure. Then it was only my distracted prayers and such-like trifles that troubled and sometimes deceived me, for which I am not sorry, as there was no real danger; God was there, and I had only to keep myself steadfast to Him. But in my present trials I am as one always on the edge of a precipice.

Our late Mother (Péronne de Châtel) was an immense help to me, for she taught me to walk with simplicity, firmly and fearlessly in the presence of God, and that sufficed for all. The more completely I am stript of all sentiment, all relish, all repose in God, the more do I seem to gain strength and peace of soul, and the more clearly do I see that there is nothing to lean upon but God alone, purely, and simply. One of our Sisters[C] is drawn by this absolute detachment to a degree that it is almost impossible to surpass, and our good Mother (de Châtel) told me that God gave this Sister to me as an example to follow. She wrote at the request of our late Mother an account of her interior state to which I have added in detail. She is a soul of great virtue and her detachment is marvellous. Speaking of this, some days ago, Our Lord gave me a light so vivid and set it before me in a manner so luminous that I saw without a shadow of doubt that I must no longer cast my eyes upon myself about anything whatsoever, nor even question my Beloved, but in all simplicity and repose become absorbed in Him. Now since this day of alleviation it seems to me that I have kept myself more continuously in God's presence, and I have but seldom had those violent temptations--only two or three times.

This is, I think, all that I can give myself time to say at present. If I have not expressed myself well to this distinguished servant of God you will not fail to understand me and will tell me what he says.

Yours, etc.

FOOTNOTES:

[A] The following extract from a letter of St. Francis to Mme. de Chantal, March 28th, 1612, tells us what these virtues were: he says, "But let us come to the interior trial which you write to me about. It is in reality a certain insensibility which deprives you of the enjoyment not only of consolations and inspirations but also of faith, hope, and charity. You have them all the time, and in a very good condition, but you do not enjoy them: in fact you are like an infant whose guardian takes away from him the administration of all his goods in such sort that, while in reality all is his, yet he handles and seems to possess no more than what he requires for living, and as St. Paul says in this, 'He differeth nothing from a servant though he be lord of all things.' In the same way, my dear daughter, God does not want you to have the management of your faith, your hope, or of your charity, nor to enjoy them except just to live, and to use them on occasions of pure necessity."

[B] On September 2nd, 1604, Saint Jane Frances made a vow of perpetual chastity and of obedience to St. Francis de Sales, from this time until her death she suffered from temptations against Faith in varying intensity. On Oct. 4th of this same year (1604), St. Francis wrote to her, "You ask a remedy for the temptations against faith which assail you. Never argue with them, but do as the children of Israel, who threw the bones of the Paschal Lamb into the fire without attempting to break them," and again: "Oh, my daughter, it is a good sign when the enemy urges so vehemently from without, it is a sign he is not within."

[C] Sister Anne Marie Rosset.

CV. _To Mother Marie Aimée de Rabutin, Superior at Thonon._

Vive [+] Jésus!

ANNECY,
_October 15th, 1639._
MY DEAREST DAUGHTER,