Letter 354. To the same

My very dear Lord and best of Fathers,—What are you doing and what is going on in our poor little country?

I own that I am very anxious and sometimes strange emotions take hold of me in regard to it. May our good God preserve you and reduce His enemies to obedience to His divine will. I send you some letters of the dear daughter of Port Royal. She does indeed deserve compassion, for amidst contradictions her desires grow infinitely stronger. In short, one can say anything to her and follow one’s own judgment in treating with her; it is but throwing oil on the fire of her ardent desire. If she is to be turned aside from her design, you alone can do it, for (as she has once more written to me) at one word from you she will abandon it with absolute peace of mind; but all the rest of the world together could not induce her to give it up. She tells me also that there is within her an inconceivable, inexpressible something that makes her feel God calls her to the Visitation. I have this same feeling, but, for love of God, my true Father, tell me frankly what you feel about it, for, if you speak quite plainly, being the only one who has authority to do so, as in your hands she has placed herself unreservedly, it will, I hope, bring all the others round. Just tell me if you think it is the will of God that she should leave; for, as to the difficulties of her getting away, I do not make much account of them. They assure her, and the Bishop of Nantes told me again yesterday, that her vows are null; so she is free in conscience to leave. Nothing remains then save to know which will be most conducive to the glory of God: to remain where she is, notwithstanding her feelings, her interior attractions, and her firm conviction that the help of obedience is a necessity to her (and I consider it her greatest need), or that she should come here, where, apparently, there are a thousand advantages for her. I cannot refrain from adding that God has so manifestly given her our special spirit that I believe He has done so in order that she may glorify Him by her services throughout the whole Institute. So must I satisfy my heart by once more telling you all its sentiments. Let me, I beseech of you, have your opinion upon this matter as soon as you possibly can. The good Bishop of Nantes is absolutely devoted to the Institute; I dare not tell you what he said to me about

LETTER OF SAINT FRANCIS DE SALES 95 you. To speak and think of you with admiration is a joy to him. He appeared annoyed at being obliged to leave without having seen you, and at not having taken advantage of the time when you were last here; but in all that he has only himself to blame, for not making up his mind. He is a holy and innocent soul.

This town is greatly afflicted by the continual losses which are every day occurring of the best, the bravest, the honestest of its manhood of all conditions. One sees nothing but mourning. They fear the town may be set on fire. Order is maintained as well as can be, and constant watch is kept on all sides, while fervent prayer is everywhere being offered up for this end. I hope God will avert such a misfortune.

I write in such haste that I have not time to think of what I want to say to you. The only thing that occurs to my mind is to ask you if you intended that we should use silver spoons for the community, or only for the sick. I understood that it was only for the Infirmary. My best of Fathers, may God fill your dear soul and mine with His most holy love. Eh! but it is a long time since you have said anything to me of that dear soul. I am going next week to look into the soul you have here. May Our Lord have pity and give me light and strength to serve Him more faithfully and be of more use to Him. I salute very humbly the Bishop of Chalcédoine, our good friends everywhere whom you know, and our poor sisters.

My very dear Lord, you know that I am yours in the grace of God. May He be eternally blessed. Amen.

St. Francis de Sales to Pere Etienne Binet, S.J. Annecy. My Reverend Father,—Thank you a thousand times for the trouble you have taken in writing tome. In reply I will tell you that when at Paris I never would acquiesce in Madame de Port Royal’s desire to leave the Order in which she had so usefully lived up to that time, and certainly I did not bring away with me any idea that she was going to pursue it. But one after another I received letters from her containing the strongest remonstrances, by which she endeavoured to prove to me that her ideas were reasonable and tried to incline me to favour them. I avoided encouraging her proposition and only threw cold water upon it, feeling opposed to it, until about eighteen months later a person of great consideration! wrote to me in such a manner that I thought it only right not to make myself the supreme judge in this matter, but to leave the final decision to the outcome of events. I then abstained from advising her one way or the other, and wrote telling her that, as my words and letters did not bring peace to her heart, she could have her petition brought forward: that if His Holiness was pleased to accede to it, it would be a reasonable sign that her desire was in accordance with the will of God, for the matter being, of its nature, difficult, could not succeed without the divine assistance: that if, on the other hand, His Holiness refused it, there would be nothing left save to humble herself and tranquillise her heart. This, my Reverend Father, is all, up to this, that I have done in the matter. I saw indeed that this demand is of a very exceptional character, but I likewise saw that it came from a very exceptional soul. I saw, too, the tendency this soul has to command, but I likewise saw that it was to crush this tendency that she wished to bind herself by obedience. I saw that she was a woman, but I likewise saw that she is more than a woman in her power of commanding and governing, and that she might find her blessedness in obeying. As to its being to the interests of the Visitation, truly, my Reverend Father, I declare before God and your Reverence that I had no such thought, or if I had, it was so slight that I have no remembrance of having had it. I acknowledge that I have a particular affection for the Institution of the Visitation, but Madame de Chantal, your dear daughter and mine, will tell you that, on that account, I would not wish to turn from her true vocation the most excellent and the most renowned person in the world, even though, in the Visitation, she might become 1 Mother de Chantal.

a canonised saint. I rejoice when God leads good subjects to us, but I never employ either word or artifice to attract anyone, however holy she may be, save only by my feeble prayers to God. The inconstancy of maidens is a thing to be feared, but we cannot forestall it. Yet it is equalled by the constancy of this one, which augurs favourably.

My God! my Father, how our old friendship makes my soul feel at home with yours and pour itself out to you— however, I am saying too much—I have yielded to the advice of others, but I will willingly adopt the opinion of those who take the trouble to go into this matter; above all will I take your opinion, which I very affectionately await and will receive with appreciation.

I remain always,

My Reverend Father, Your very humble and very affectionate brother and servant, FRANCIS, BISHOP OF GENEVA.

November 9, 1621, Annecy. To R. P. Stephen Binet, Superior of the Professed House of St. Louis of Paris.

(Geuvres de St. Francois de Sales, letter 1848, vol. xx. Edition complet. Lyon, Paris: Emmanuel Vite, 1918.)¹²³

Footnotes

1. Marie Lhuillier, widow of Claude Marcel, Seigneur of Villeneuvele-Roi and sister of Mother Héléne Angélique, was for some time under the direction of St. Francis de Sales. Following his advice she founded the Daughters of the Cross for the instruction of youth, and in 1643 she gave her house of Vaugirard to M. Olier for the foundation of the seminary of Saint Sulpice. She died a holy death in 1650. ↩

2. Louis de Sales succeeded to this title on the death of his brother Bernard. ↩

3. Janus Knight of Malta, another brother of St. Francis de Sales. ↩