Chapter VIII: Part 8

May God be always blessed in all things and may He be particularly blessed for the good health you tell me you enjoy, and for the care you take to do all that is prescribed to keep you well. I am sending you a box of lozenges. Take them as directed besides the other remedies. I beg of you to take them regularly, for they are sweet, not unpleasant, and very inexpensive. Do not, I beseech of you, undertake any extra fasting nor abstain more than you can easily manage. Continue cheerfully to make use of the little alleviations that are settled for you, and any others that your weakness may require, just as you would see that others did. Drink your wine, at least half your portion, for your wine-cups are very small.[A] Neither rise earlier nor go to bed later than the others, nor undertake any laborious work, for I know your health would not stand it. Take the discipline only on Fridays. Possess your spirit in peace and calm, and pass gently through this miserable life, not taking too much to heart the faults of your sisters, nor their little ways of worrying you. Do your best amongst them, and leave the rest to God. Pray, and get prayers, that it may please God to turn the miseries and calamities of this world to His glory and to the salvation of His people, and do not forget me. If you would like me to write to Sister J. Antoine I will do so. However, she must be kept to the promises she made to me--tell her that I have spoken to you about them and have asked you to let me know how she is going on. May God be your support. Blessed be He and His holy Mother. Amen.

FOOTNOTE:

[A] These wine-cups held about two small glasses.

CVI. _To St. Vincent de Paul at Paris._

ON THE ARRIVAL OF THE LAZARIST FATHERS AT ANNECY.

Vive [+] Jésus!

ANNECY, 1640.
MY VERY DEAR FATHER,

Praised be our divine Saviour who for His great glory and the salvation of many souls has brought your dear children happily here. Their coming is a subject of thanksgiving to Our Lord from everyone, but most of all from the Bishop of Geneva and myself, to whom it is an unbounded consolation. We look upon them as our true brothers, with whom, in simple openheartedness and confidence we are as one, and they too feel this. I have had a conversation with them, and truly they speak as if they were daughters of the Visitation. All are full of goodness and candour. The third and the fifth need a little help to get out of themselves. I shall tell their Superior, M. Escarts, of it. He is a Saint, and a man truly equal to his charge. I have given them each a practice of virtue. With God's help, for our mutual consolation and to obey you, I will always lovingly continue so to do, for indeed, my dear Father, there is much to speak of to these dear souls. The good Father N. has manifested his own difficulties to me with the utmost simplicity. He has an upright heart and a good judgement, but it will be difficult for him to persevere. I have begged of him to put aside all thought of either leaving or staying, and to apply himself in good earnest to do God's work, leaving himself trustfully to His Providence. I wish he could settle down, as he is a soul of great promise. In fact they are all charming and have already given great edification in this town during the three or four days that they have been here. Their spirit is very like that of my dear and good Father.

CVII. _To Sister Claire-Marie-Françoise de Cusance[A] at Gray._

Vive [+] Jésus!

ANNECY, 1640.
MY DEAREST DAUGHTER,

Your letter fills me with tender compassion, but it also gives me very real comfort, seeing how joyfully God is enabling you to make your passage through this life to Him. You will love and adore Him in an eternity of glory, for this is the only good that is worth setting our hearts upon. Here we are all regretting your absence, and envying you your happiness, but our regret and our envy are more than balanced by our gratitude to God who is taking you so mercifully to Himself. Oh! how hard and long is this life for those who yearn to be with Him! You must do, my daughter, as your good Mother desires about your state of health.

Most earnestly do I beg of you to ask God that I may live and die in His grace and according to His good pleasure. Do not refuse me this favour, and when you see Him do not forget to speak to Him about me. Be kind to me in this.

I remain,
Yours affectionately in His love. Amen

FOOTNOTE:

[A] This religious belonged to the ancient family of the Counts of Berghen, Champlitte, and Belvoir. At the age of thirteen, upon the foundation of the Monastery of Champlitte, she was taken there and given the title of Foundress. Her arrival was the signal for a great ovation. Cannons boomed forth their welcome, while the Magistrates harangued, and the people cheered her, acclaiming the great and good deeds of her ancestors. In this wise did the child enter into her new life of poverty, obedience, and chastity. Soon after her entrance the war between France and Spain obliged the Community to leave Champlitte for the little town of Gray. Here fresh trials awaited it; the plague broke out, and so awful were its ravages that the town was soon a veritable sepulchre. Yet none of the terrors that surrounded her shook the resolution of the brave child. Full of confidence in God she remained calm and joyful in the midst of unheard-of privations.

The fame of her courage and her virtue went abroad and even before her profession she was the object of public veneration, for the people loved her and claimed her as their own heroine. At the age of sixteen, Sister Claire-Marie-Françoise de Cusance made her solemn vows and became the Saint Stanislaus Kostka of the Visitation. She died two years after her profession, having spent those eighteen years of life more like an angel than a woman, and having enjoyed many supernatural communications. No sooner was her death known, than the Mayor ordered all the bells of the town of Gray to be tolled, on which the inhabitants at once announced their intention of assisting at the obsequies with torch-lights to honour not so much her birth as her high virtue. The Visitation Monastery had not as yet a cemetery of their own, so the religious of the Annunciation, at their urgent request were given the holy remains, which for some days they exposed to public veneration. Numerous were the graces obtained during those days by the devout inhabitants through the mediation of the holy nun. Her portrait was circulated in Flanders where [like Soeur Thérèse of Lisieux in our day] she was venerated, though not yet on the Altars of the Church. Fourteen days after the obsequies had been celebrated a religious of the Annunciation wrote to the Mother Superior of the Visitation at Gray. "This dear deceased is still quite beautiful and her body quite flexible, the veins are to be seen in her person as in a living body, which proves to us that it was truly the temple of a pure and angelic soul. Several persons have noticed a fragrant perfume exhaling from the coffin, and others have received extraordinary graces and interior illumination when praying beside it." (Taken from Vol. IX. of the "Lives of the Sisters of the Visitation.")

CVIII. _To Sister Jeanne Benigne Gojos,[A] Lay Sister at Turin._

Vive [+] Jésus!

ANNECY, 1640.
MY DAUGHTER MOST DEAR,

Your few words explaining your interior occupation have made your soul as clear to me as if it lay open before mine eyes. All that passes within you and without you is God's own work.

Regarding your interior life, my advice is: Give God a free hand to do as He likes, while you look on in loving simplicity. And as to the exterior: Practise virtue by making faithful use from moment to moment of the opportunities provided by divine Providence. But it is superfluous for me to offer advice, as the heart that is governed by God needs no other guidance. Beseech of Him in His goodness, my dear daughter, to accomplish in us His holy will, without let or hindrance on our part.

Yours, etc.

FOOTNOTE:

[A] Sister Jeanne Benigne Gojos died at Turin, in the odour of sanctity, November 5th, 1692. Her life was written under the title of "The Charm of Divine Love," and it possesses all the beauty of true mysticism. It is hoped that one day she may be raised to the Altars of the Church. St. Jane Frances said of her: "From the day of her profession she seemed no longer to be on earth."

CIX. _To the Sister Louise-Angélique de la Fayette,[A] at the First Monastery of Paris._

Vive [+] Jésus!

ANNECY, 1641.
MY DEAREST DAUGHTER,

Though not personally acquainted with you, none the less do I know and 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..."