Letter 478. To Mother Jeanne Charlotte de Bréchard

Vive > Jésus!

Your letter, dearest daughter, truly makes me shudder. I marvel at the greatness of your cross; yet at the same time I am in adoration of Him who permits all this, that, as He suffered innocently every kind of bitterness and contempt, the revilings and the outcries of the people against Him, so you, likewise, may suffer innocently. And not only was all this suffering in His sacred body, but in His divine soul as well. Let us try to imitate, beloved daughter, the sweetness and patience with which He bore all. Let us dearly love this little morsel of the Cross; it will, I am confident, draw down great blessings upon your house. For that heart of yours, which has so long cherished suffering,

[No date.]

will make good use of this storm. He who sends you such great toil of body and of mind will give you strength to endure and to draw from out your grievous corporal infirmities the fruit He has destined for you.¹

Footnotes

1. Mother de Bréchard and her companions, having stayed some time at the monastery of Montferrand, returned to Riom in order to hasten the projected foundation in that town. Notwithstanding the express orders of Queen Maria de Médici, the magistrates continued their opposition to this foundation, and the little community were obliged to retire to a hired house, where during several months they were subject to the most painful contradictions. ↩