Letter 344. To St. Francis de Sales

Vive > Jésus!

Verily it is a long time, my best of Fathers, since I have had news of you! Is it that you want to mortify me? Oh! but I am quite satisfied with whatever pleases you, for you are a real and very dear Father to me. At last we are here in our new quarters, with, thank God, the approval and satisfaction of all the neighbourhood. This change of place has not, I assure you, been without extreme opposition and that from a quarter we by no means expected, although Our Lord always gave me confidence that all would quiet down, as it did through His grace, for all this upheaval had no foundation; yet three or four hours before starting we hardly knew where we were. We were not known to the Vicars-General, and we were obliged to prove our right and the authorisation of the Curé of Saint Jacques, which, by good fortune, we had in correct form in writing; for here things are done in another fashion than elsewhere. Indeed, I have never come across such people. Thanks to Our Lord and His Blessed Mother we are now in peace with all; our house paid for, fitted up, and all our affairs happily concluded. In a fortnight I hope to hand over the government to the assistant,! so as to put her into the way of things. Assuredly, and may the glory be to God! this

There is a little dissatisfaction at our departure, but the expectation of a speedy return will calm it. However, the Marquise de says it would be much better if I could remain here for the winter. When I told her my little reasons—that, for the good of the Institute, I considered it necessary to spend some time near you; that our houses were very keen for my return, thinking to profit thereby; that to me it appeared better to do this than to stay here, where they have a more capable and virtuous Superior than I; and that we had a foundation to make —she replied: ‘ These are better reasons than mine, which are only founded on prudence; the matter well merits the consideration of the Bishop of Geneva. Ask him about it.’ + I promised her to do so, and now ask you without more ado, my best of Fathers, notwithstanding my great repugnance to it: a repugnance which is, however, only in the inferior part of my soul, for, by the grace of God, I think I wish, and that with a very absolute will, that whatever is most for God’s glory may come about. Besides, in my mind I feel no repugnance, so that if I thought God wished me to stay here I would say so quite frankly; but truly, when I see the reasons on one side and on the other, I am indifferent save to do God’s will and what you command me. So here I am ready, through His grace, for whatever you please. But I must just say this: I do not apprehend any great difficulty in travelling during the winter, for we shall frequently break the journey, and it will be a good thing to stop two or three weeks at Bourges, at Nevers, and at Moulins, especially at these two latter places. But is it not perhaps presumption in me to think that I can be of use to them? You are my Father and my Judge, and by the grace of God you can order what you think best. You will then please to command me.

How fortunate are those two good Israelites to see my only, true, dear and best of Fathers! Certainly, if I am delayed here I shall stay with all the greater zest, as, for me, it will be a great sacrifice to offer to God; greater than you can imagine, for methinks if either of us die without my making my confession once more to you I shall be liable to many scruples and much uneasiness. But I have already told Our Lord quite tranquilly that in obeying His holy will I do not wish to consider myself at all. Yet I trust that in His mercy He will grant me the grace once more to make a good review of my conscience to you in person. It is not that I have anything of importance since you left here, and it may be a temptation. You can judge that, for I have nothing new, unless, indeed, in regard to my charge, in which I believe that I commit many faults through imprudence, want of charity, of zeal, of care, and of good example. Yet I neither confess nor think of correcting myself of any faults save those particular ones of which Iam conscious. That, however, does not make me uneasy. But I hope one day to look thoroughly into all this with you; meanwhile I keep myself in peace.

You have no news, say you, tosend me? Eh! can you draw no words from your heart forme? It is a long time since [have had anything. Good Jesus! what a consolation it will be to speak some day heart to heart! May the divine Saviour grant me this grace, and in the meantime may He make you purely and simply entirely His own. Your very humble, etc.¹²

Footnotes

1. Sister Anne Catherine de Beaumont. house is satisfactory both in spiritual and temporal matters, and is greatly loved and esteemed. ↩

2. The Saint did not leave Paris without difficulty. A great number of distinguished persons who wished to keep her, and her sisters, extremely regretted her proposed departure. Sister Anne Catherine de Beaumont took upon herself to interpret their wishes, and, writing to St. Francis, besought him to permit the ardently desired prolongation of her stay. The Founder made this gracious reply: ‘Ah! if God had ordained that we should always be together, what a pleasant thing it would be! but how could it be managed? Our mountains were they Paris would spoil it and obstruct the course of the Seine, and were Paris in the midst of our mountains our valleys would starve. If we live according to the will of God in this place of pilgrimage we shall one day, or rather, for ever, throughout the blessed eternity to which we aspire, be present one to another.’—Unpublished History of the Foundation of the First Monastery of the Visitation of Paris. ↩