Letter 266. To M. de Palierne

Sir,—The Bishop of Geneva’s chaplain has informed me of the opposition at Moulins? to the foundation of one of our houses at Nevers. Verily, Sir, lam deeply concerned at such turmoil. And to whom, after God and His holy Mother, can I turnif not to you, Sir? I implore of you, through the love you bear the Son of God and His Blessed Mother, to pacify and calm this storm. All the zeal, all the piety, all the affection you have ever felt for his Lordship of Geneva, as well as for this little Institute which God has willed to form by the means of that worthy prelate, employ it all for this end.

Alack! alack! His divine Majesty knows that with all my soul I lay at His feet every special interest of our own, but, that the good odour these little monasteries are accustomed to yield to His glory, that that should be affected, oh God, how I feel it! and yet, thanks to His divine goodness, I have not lost, in it all, a sense of peace.

1M. de Palierne, Treasurer-General of France, great protector and benefactor of the Moulins community.

F

Willingly would I annihilate myself could I thereby help to repair this loss; and so I redouble my entreaties to you, Sir, who have always honoured us with your sincere affection. I beseech you from my heart, in the name of God, to give a good hand to this affair. What do they say?—that it is only a question of money, and what is that? If Madame du Tertre wishes to give more to Moulins than to Nevers, for God’s sake let her do so. We are indifferent, loving equally all our houses, and the dear lady knows well that to have given it to Nevers was entirely her own proposal. As she is now influenced by other considerations and inclinations, let her follow them. But see, I beg of you, that it is so done as not to entail any further dispute or lawsuit. And allow me, Sir, to say, prompted by the confidence I feel in you, that since Madame du Tertre has so kindly, legitimately, and freely given ten thousand francs to the house of Nevers, it seems to me she ought to leave it there, with the condition that when she needs change of air she may be allowed to reside in that house. And as regards the twenty thousand francs, since she desires to help Moulins she can give it there. In this way methinks the matter could be arranged for the glory of God and our consolation. I very humbly pray you, Sir, to be the peacemaker in this affair. What disturbances have not the true servants of God to put up with! and when self-interest is allowed to mix itself up with our projects what suffering it causes! But may the glory be to God, and may His sovereign will be in all things and everywhere accomplished, for therein is our peace found. You, Sir, for whom I have so great an esteem, will not disappoint me in what I expect of you, but will throw yourself unreservedly into this business. I hope they will believe what you tell them, and trust the arrangement to you, so that this commotion may soon die out. Ah! I rely upon you, because of your love of God and of the sweet memory you must have of the affection of his Lordship of Geneva. If it is desirable to change the superior, will you also see to this? I think it will be necessary, as they are so exasperated against the present one; and then whatever obedience settles ought to be accepted, for it is the will of God. She who has been sent to you [Sister P. J. de Monthoux] is a very capable and true servant of God.

I enclose a few lines to Madame la Maréchale, committing it to your prudence to give it to her or not, and also to Madame duTertre. I will not repeat what I say to you, Sir, feeling sure that you will communicate the contents of this letter to her, for being unwell I cannot write much. How relieved I feel now that I have put this business into God’s and your hands! Yes, Sir, on the part of God and His holy Mother, to whom we have the honour of belonging, I hand it over to you, and I am persuaded that in your great kindness you will even give a thought to my trouble about it, for my only wish is that we may serve God purely, humbly, sweetly, and with a singular love of poverty.

May Jesus our good Saviour fill you with blessings and guide you in this affair. I remain with entire affection, Sir, your very humble and obedient servant in Our Lord.

P.S,—Oblige me, Sir, by conveying this packet to our sisters. I wrote to you lately begging of you to be always the father of this house. Once more I very humbly ask this of you. Saluting your wife, whose very humble servant I am, and your good mother Madame de Mosdiére.¹

Footnotes

1. The friends of this monastery opposed themselves to the departure of _ Mother de Bréchard for Nevers, where she was sent by St. Francis de Sales. Upon this Madame du Tertre withdrew the promise she had made in favour of the new foundation, and wished to recover the money she had given it, in order to transfer it to Moulins, where she desired to secure .for herself the privileges of a foundress. In consequence a great discussion arose between the protectors of the two monasteries, ↩