[A] This letter is taken from "Sainte Jeanne-Françoise Frémyot de Chantal: Sa Vie et ses Œuvres," Vol. II.
[B] The treatise on the Love of God.
Vive ✠ Jésus!
Annecy, 1625.
My dearest Daughter,
The wings of this little butterfly that thrusts itself out into the light before its time need to be clipped; otherwise it will come to destruction. And in like manner, my daughter, as soon as you perceive your mind taking these high flights you must bring it down to the foot of the crucifix by a profound but gentle act of humility, holding yourself there all confused and abashed. Your doing this will put an end to the trouble. Walk simply, my daughter, and you will walk happily. Crush self-love, stamp it out; and with it self-esteem. Let true humility take its place, that humility which always and in all circumstances aims at oblivion and at being under the feet of all. This lesson is a difficult one, but God invites you to the practice of it. Follow His will and His example and He will lead you on until you attain that perfection to which His Providence has called you. Strive to keep your thoughts off yourself, and never scrutinize what is passing within you. Let this truth dwell in your heart and have it always before your mind that whatever little good there may be in you is from God, and that therefore you have no right to take pride in it, nor to think any the better of yourself because of it. Remember that of yourself you are mere nothingness, possessing only the abjection of your sins and of your countless imperfections. And bearing this in mind, welcome contempt and all that kills pride. Make use for this end of that thought of yours that the Sisters may very justly think you to be full of self-love and self-esteem, or of any other such humiliating reflection. Desire to be employed in low and abject things. Not that you should seek them, but that you be always disposed willingly to accept them. Beg your good Mother to help you to acquire this dear virtue of humility, without, however, asking for anything in particular; for to choose would spoil everything. If you do all this you will find the source of true life, and if you do it not, you will never have any peace nor be able to correspond to your vocation and to the designs of God over you. I beseech His Goodness to grant you this precious grace.
Yours, etc.
Vive ✠ Jésus!
Chambéry, 1625.
Not as soon as I thought, my dearest daughter, shall we have the 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.
[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.
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!
[A] Sister Anne Catherine de Sautereau was a native of Grenoble.
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.
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.
[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.
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.
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.
When at Lyons he gave me the good and solid reasons on which he had formed his final resolve to leave us under the authority of their Lordships the prelates. He added, with a deep and humble sense of confidence: "Jesus Christ will be your Head and your Protector—the happiness of your Congregation will not depend on being placed under the government of one Superior, but on the fidelity of each Sister individually, and of all together, to unite themselves to God by an exact and punctual observance." These are very consoling and striking words, full of faith as they are. I am aware that they are in the Book of Customs, yet I feel impelled to quote them again here, for I should like to write them in a hundred places, and above all in the depths of your hearts. We should look upon them as the last will and testament of our holy Founder, and by faithful practice keep them inviolably. In them we shall find our happiness and the one and only means of preserving untarnished the spirit of our Institute, which is a spirit strong and finely tempered. By means of them shall we also learn how to hide ourselves and how to dwell in peace in the paternal bosom of our good God, humbly trusting that these his words will produce deeds. So we must not be anxious, no matter what happens to us, but remain ever tranquil, striving with the assistance of divine grace not to philosophize on what may never come about. For our Blessed Father said to me: "To maintain our Congregation we may search in vain amongst human means for any better way than our Rule."
He likewise told me that he intended to put things still more plainly, so as to secure that unity and conformity amongst the monasteries and that spirit of humility, with all of which God had already so abundantly blessed them; for he longed above all things that they should continue as they are. He ordered me to see that, to the permissions for foundations given by the Bishops, the article on "Foundations" which is in the Book of Customs should be added. The principal exterior means that he judged suitable for keeping up union was conformity to and correspondence with Annecy in everything regarding the complete observance received from him. "Although," he said, "it is established in a small town, it has nevertheless been the will of divine Providence that the germ of the Congregation of the Visitation should be formed there, and there receive its law and foundations." Wherefore the other monasteries of the Visitation are always to acknowledge the house of Annecy as their mother and source, and maintain with it the closest union of charity, conforming themselves entirely to it, having particular intercourse with it, and referring to it in order to be instructed in the doubts and difficulties which may arise in practising the Rule and Customs. Such, I assure you with entire truthfulness, was his express wish, and he informed me of it in a manner full of graciousness and wisdom. Conformity to his wishes, and likewise the happiness which this monastery possesses in being the depository of his holy body, will always induce the other houses to keep up an affectionate union with us here. And as he asked this on your parts so did he desire that Annecy should make you all a return of unstinted service, giving both materially and of its members with a great zeal and a large-hearted affection, while keeping up the observance even to the most minute regulations conscientiously and exactly, so that here it may be always found practised in its pristine vigour and integrity.
I must not omit to repeat these words of his, also said to me at Lyons: "It is by a special providence of God that the Jesuit Fathers have so great an affection and charity for us. We should value this and return it, holding them in singular respect and giving them our confidence, for they will be a great help to us. It is not, however, necessary so to attach ourselves to their Order as to lose our liberty, for this we must jealously guard. Neither should it prevent us from union with other Orders with which we ought to keep in touch, for our Congregation should have a universal spirit"; and again: "I do not mean that those who counsel our Sisters are to change their exercises or their manner of carrying them out, for there must be no change, and in this they must be firm."
Such is almost word for word what I learned from his lips, and to know his will is sufficient, I feel assured, in the goodness of your hearts, to render you docile to it. For me, it but remains to urge you to this, not only exteriorly, but what is of far more consequence, interiorly, in the spirit, to be cordial, gentle, humble, artless, poor with a poverty which keeps us to a holy medium in everything, avoiding superfluities and all that savours of ostentation. To all this I affectionately entreat you with all the earnestness of which I am capable. I cannot truly bring my letter to a close without congratulating this dear convent of Annecy on the privileges and graces with which eternal Providence has been pleased to favour it in rendering it lovable and worthy of respect to all the other houses, for where will true daughters of this Order be found who hold it not in high esteem and who envy it not its privileges, above all that of being the dear guardians of the sacred body of its Founder?—verily, a most precious grace, for which it ought unceasingly to offer the sacrifice of praise to the divine Majesty. But, my very dear daughters, what, think you, ought to be this sacrifice of praise in thanksgiving for so great a benefit? None other surely than the constant and persevering offering of a very exact and holy observance to all contained in the Institute, so that it will always there be found practised in its perfect vigour and integrity. See, my dear daughters, to what our birthright obliges us.
Let us then remain very humble, very poor in our own esteem, and in holy fear before God, showing our appreciation of the dignity conferred upon us not by esteeming ourselves above others, which would but turn to harm the priceless gifts we possess, but rather by being the most humble, the most lowly, the most faithful of all.
May God grant us this grace! Amen.
May I venture to add a very humble prayer to our Sisters the Superiors, that they will keep in mind this word of the Rule: "Let us be before God under the feet of all our Sisters"? Ah! my God, if we treat them so, if we love our Sisters with a truly maternal love, which is solicitous, vigilant, zealous for the welfare of its children; if we govern them not according to our own views we shall draw upon our family all manner of blessings. Let them feel that you have a mother's heart and solicitude for them, keeping their minds tranquil and contented, and you can do what you like with them.
All I have said above, very dear Sisters, I have said solely moved by love and desire. I reiterate it all with the most emphatic and tender entreaties from the depth of my heart. All our happiness is shut up in it. We are obliged to it by vow. It is our way of perfection of which we shall have to render an account at the hour of death. Think well on this.
I pray the divine Goodness, through the intercession of His Holy Mother and of our Blessed Father, to pour on you all the abundant treasures of His grace, so that generously and cheerfully you may continue to walk on this road, gaining by it the fullness of all perfection in this life and in the next the prize of a blessed eternity.
Pardon the great length of this letter and its confidences, and obtain from the divine Mercy eternal salvation for her who wishes you God's best graces in abundance and who is, with unbounded affection,
Devotedly yours.
[A] Saint Jane Frances originally intended this letter to serve as a Preface to the Book of Customs, but deeming that she had spoken with too much authority therein, and also in order not to give any pretext for the calumnies of those who accused her of desiring to pose as General of her Order, the holy foundress kept back its publication, and never in her lifetime gave it to the Institute. Amongst her sisters she would not accept any other title than that of Eldest Daughter of the Family.
Vive ✠ Jésus!
Annecy, 1626.
My very dear Daughter,
God has indeed favoured you in giving you His holy light and strength to extricate yourself from the dangerous temptation against your good, virtuous Mother. It is the devil's doing, in the hope of upsetting you both by disuniting you. God be blessed who has delivered you. Take great care never to fall into it again and keep invariably united to your written Rule, and to the living rule which is your Superior. For it may be that God will permit you to be under a very imperfect Superior, and, if so, endure it. The spirit of God is there for you, and think of nothing save that. Most assuredly, if faithful you will never come to grief by this road.
Yes, of course, dearest daughter, your timidity comes from self-love. For the love of God, master your inclination and live as the Rule tells us, according to reason and to the will of God. If you yourself do not make up your mind to this, there is no way of helping you. You can be told what you ought to do, but no one can do it but yourself. Be brave then. God requires this of you. He calls you to a high perfection, and your true way, the solitary road by which you can attain it, is by corresponding faithfully to the exact observance of the Institute, and this with a holy fervour of spirit, humbly, sweetly and simply. It consoles me to hear that you have cut short your introspections, and that you are more tranquil in the desire for your advancement, this eagerness comes from nothing but self-love. Be watchful against it always, I beg of you, and accustom yourself to regard the will of God in all things and to unite yourself to it. There is nothing changed in the ceremonial. You can take as you think fit from the Book of Customs and the Spiritual Directory for the instruction of your Novices, whom I affectionately salute, and you also whom my soul cherishes with a special and cordial love. I beseech of you to be cordial and generous.
Vive ✠ Jésus!
Annecy, 1626.
I have an intense longing for news of you, as I cannot but feel anxious about this pain you are suffering. If I could but ease it by bearing it in my own body! God so willing, what a relief it would be to me, for my heart is sore at the thought of you. Yet, believe me, my dearest Son, this suffering is sent for the profit of your soul. Bear it then as sweetly and as patiently as you can. It will help to win heaven for you. Lift up your heart often to that blessed country. The happiness that awaits us there is eternal, while the sorrows of this life soon pass away. And I beseech you, my own beloved Son, since your condition obliges you to row on the tempestuous sea of this world, try never to swallow its waters, but drink rather of those of Divine grace, turning in all your needs with a loving, filial trust to that source of mercy. Love above all else, and fear to displease, the God of sovereign goodness who alone can make you happy both here and hereafter. That you may possess in abundance His most precious graces is the abiding wish of her who with all her heart loves and cherishes you, her own special one.
Your good Mother.
Vive ✠ Jésus!
Annecy, 1627.
May blessings of every description be bestowed upon my very dear son and beloved daughter for this new year and for always, so that after having lived long and happily together here on earth they may continue in the enjoyment of one another in eternal glory. This is my wish of wishes for you, dearest son, and for that most charming little wife whom God has given you and whom I love so tenderly for your sake. I long for news as to the health of both of you and of the dear little daughter,[A] whom may God also make altogether His own if it please Him.
I still look forward to visiting you next summer, as Mother de Châtel, who is Superior here (at Annecy), desires me to go to Orleans, and you are so near that I hope to be able to see you and your little family. This consolation I promise myself with the help of divine Providence which I unceasingly invoke for you, that it may lead you securely through all the miseries and temptations of this wretched life, beset as it is with occasions of separating us from God's holy fear and love. My beloved son, never put a foot outside the safe keeping of this love and fear. Think of the eternal life to which we are all journeying and of the instability of this one, which is but a roadway on which we pass from one sorrow to another. In the name of God let us so live here that we may live together eternally in everlasting happiness and glory. This desire consumes the heart of your unworthy Mother, who loves you beyond words.
[A] Marie de Chantal, afterwards Madame de Sévigné.
Vive ✠ Jésus!
Annecy,
12th January, 1627.
Sir,
I bless God with all my heart for the good news you give me of your happy marriage and of the complete recovery of my son. Indeed, I am allied to your honourable family by so many obligations and so close an affection that I cannot but share in a large measure all the good and evil fortune that befalls you; therefore have I every reason, seeing you so happy in this marriage, to rejoice with you and to congratulate your family. Thanking God, as I do with all my heart, for this great blessing, I beg of Him in His infinite goodness to spread an abundance of graces upon your union and to give you many prosperous years. Such, Sir, are the wishes of my heart for you and for your wife, whom I pray to believe me to be her very humble servant.
Always your very
humble and affectionate servant.
Vive ✠ Jésus!
Annecy, 1627.
My dearest Daughter,
May God in His infinite goodness recompense you by an abundance of spiritual and temporal blessings for the loss you have sustained in the death of a son,[A] tidings of which have reached me. I know that you will have received this visitation of God with a patient and loving submission to His good pleasure, for in this valley of tears we must expect many afflictions and but few consolations. Keep lifting up your thoughts to Eternal Life, where alone is to be found true repose. Into it cast all your heart and all your hopes, and teach the little one (Gabrielle[B]) this lesson while she is still young.