Selected Letters of Saint Jane Frances de Chantal. Saint Jeanne-Françoise de Chantal
done such things while walking about, or when in bed"; but do not say: "To-day, or at such an hour, I have done such a thing." It is not necessary to be so explicit, but simply say, "I have done or seen such a thing," and have no scruple in calling all your good aspirations and thoughts prayer, for they are prayer, and so, for the matter of that, are all our actions when done to please God. It is enough to salute your good Angel morning and evening. Attention to the presence of God and of Our Lady includes all, for the blessed Spirits are engulphed in the abyss of the Divinity, and it is more perfect to walk simply. When a novice says to you, "What are you thinking of?" answer frankly, "I am thinking of God," without saying (if it is not so), I was thinking of the Passion, and the like, for no doubt to mention a particular subject (if we were not thinking of it) would be an untruth. Say simply, "I was thinking of Our Lord," and you might, for example, add, "My God, how happy we should be if we could always have the Holy Passion or the Nativity before our eyes." This gives edification enough. I see nothing else to say.
Oh! but yes; just a word for my Little One. I beg of you, my dearest Sister, not to trouble about what you feel or do not feel—this I say once for all. Serve Our Lord as it pleases Him, and while He keeps you in the desert serve Him there with good courage. He made His dear Israelites spend forty years there, accomplishing a journey that they could have made in forty days. Take courage then, and be satisfied with saying, and being able to say, though without relish, "I wish to live wholly for God and never to offend Him;" and when you stumble, as is sure to happen (be it a hundred times a day), rise up again by an act of confidence. Do likewise towards your neighbour, be content with having the desire to love him, or desiring to desire it, and to procure for him all possible good, and, opportunity given, minister gently to him.
In short take bravely the road in which God leads you—it is a safe one, although you may not have all the light and satisfaction you would like; but it is quite time to abandon to Our Lord all these plans and desires, and to walk blindly, as divine Providence wills, believing that it will lead you aright. Now, adieu. Our good M. Michel (Favre) will tell you all the news. Needless to say, I recommend him to you, for I am extremely fond of him. He is our dear brother and child: entirely devoted to us. Thousands of cordial messages to those most dear daughters of my heart, and special messages to whom you know, and to all, for indeed I most truly love them all.
Adieu, my beloved daughters.
XVI.
To Mother M. J. Favre.
Vive ✠ Jésus!
Annecy, 1616.
My very dear Daughter,
Your letter deeply touches me. May God give us genuine humility, sweetness, and submission, for with these virtues there is truth, but without them usually deception and no sure dependence. No need to consult about this good woman, she must be put out, for a thousand reasons. Unless God give you light to the contrary, beware of acting on any human reasons put forward by her relations. You must drink the chalice, my daughter, and bear with contempt for the sake of exact observance. But act, I pray you, in this matter with gentleness and consideration, saying nothing that might cause any trouble to this poor woman.[A]
As to Mlle. N., we only have knowledge of her in so far as to be able to say that we fear her becoming very dejected from her melancholy and unstable temperament. However, you will have to receive her for a first trial and to tell her frankly that she will be obliged to undergo at least four months' probation in the house before she receives the habit. As to the condition she wishes to lay down of being always with you after her profession, it is not to be heard of. She must not claim to make arrangements on becoming a Religious, as if she was purchasing a farm-house; therefore, should there be no conditions in her contract, and no reserves, the only thing she can reserve to herself is the resolution never to do her own will, and to live peaceably and humbly in the Congregation. I beg of you, my true daughter, maintain a gentle and a humble, a generous and a joyous heart in the midst of the bustle of affairs, for this God requires of you.
You are right in thinking our Sisters de Châtel and de Blonay are two pearls of virtue. They have not a little obliged me in so candidly opening their hearts to you. I never doubted but that they would do so, and I am sure you will always receive consolation and support from them. Gently encourage the dear Cadette[B] to be more expansive and open-hearted with the sisters. She can do it if she look humbly unto God and overcome herself. I beg of her to teach her novices to see the advantage of correction, and to love it. They ought to aspire to great purity of life and become familiar in their communications with their divine Spouse. I shall not write to them now; it suffices that we two, whom God has so intimately united, confer with one another. God bless you, my child, I am very glad to know the state of your heart. Keep it one with God in fidelity to the Rule and a stranger to all unprofitable things; for, my true daughter, God has appointed you for my succour and to carry with me the burden which He Himself has laid upon me. Do not say that you are inconsolable on account of our separation. I assure you that I write much more to you than I tell our sisters here. We do not see one another it is true, but that is all, and I think a little corporal absence renders you more present to the mind than if you were present. In everything else we never make any difference between you and our Sisters here, if it be not that you are more loved and more carefully instructed. Now pity yourself no more, since Jesus Christ is the privileged bond that unites us.
Yours, etc.
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