Letter 1595. To Mother Marie Aimée de Rabutin

My very dear Daughter,—I was half inclined to be vexed with you upon reading the first lines of your letter, and seeing how you always find something in yourself about which to worry and wear out your mind, and even to intimidate it, if you could. Of a truth, if God did not in His goodness favour you with so many graces and such holy lights you would have a big fall. I have always exhorted you to look away from yourself. Do this I beg of you, and look unto our good God who is so kind to you, for, I tell you, I would rather have you as you are than if you had ecstasies. Always follow very simply the attraction of our gracious and sovereign Master and keep up joy of spirit and courage, never under any pretext giving way to weariness or apprehension.

Be careful in no way to injure your health, and do this from a sense of obedience. I salute our dear sisters and thank God for the progress they are making in His love. Let them be fervent in this, and I pray Him to assist them with His grace and to fill them with His pure love. Salute for me all our dear ladies. May God counsel and bless them.

To the same} 1638.

Vive > Jésus!

My very dear Daughter,—Your good heart dictates your wish that I should speak quite openly and simply to you, and my confidence in you bids me do so just as Our Lord may be pleased to guide my pen.

First then, my dear daughter, by means of fidelity to

LETTER TO MOTHER M. A. DE RABUTIN 297

Take great care of the sick; this is important, as it likewise is that you yourself take freely what you need, and in this be guided by Sister Marie Augustine, to whom we have committed the care of your health; do not allow the sisters to fuss about you. Have an eye to everything in the house, but give a holy liberty to the sisters in their charges, as the Rule prescribes.

See that business affairs and the account books are kept strictly in accordance with the regulations. I am telling you everything pell-mell, as it comes to my mind, for great is my desire that you should do much for the glory of God. I know that formerly persons from outside were entertained freely at the convent. This is a matter in which you ought to be very reserved; and do not permit the sisters to speak of worldly news and of their families at recreation. Recreation ought to be a joyous time, as our holy Rule says; no corrections should be made during it, unless of necessity. Our Rule teaches us absolutely all that is needed for the good guidance of the Superior in regard to the happiness of her house.

Give your daughters full confidence to open their hearts to you, and whatever they may say never show surprise; rather comfort them always and let them go from you consoled and encouraged to virtue. If they tell you some uncharitable thought they may have had about you, let them see that you are grateful for their confidence in telling you, and bid them not trouble about it, nor dwell on it, but just disregard it.

Now, my dearest daughter, see what your good heart has drawn from mine, for my heart loves you most cordially and sincerely, and with full trust. Take upon you joyously and bravely the charge to which God has called you. I beseech His goodness to keep you under His divine protection and to fill your soul with His purest love. I remain, etc.

Recommend me most affectionately to your dear companion; be kind and confiding to her,so that she may abide in consolation.

Your very humble and unworthy sister and servant in Our Lord, SISTER JANE FRANCES FREMYOT, of the Visitation of Holy Mary.

LETTER TO MOTHER JOLY DE LA ROCHE 299

To Mother Claude Agnes Joly de la Roche. Vive >& Jésus!

Go forward bravely, my dearest daughter, in the path wherein the sovereign Will bids you walk. Do faithfully that to which it has called you. Be humble: put full trust in Him who employs you. Depend absolutely on His guidance and on His divine Providence. Let no contradiction surprise you; receiving everything from the hand of God, maintain your soul and your whole being in peace and tranquillity whatever worry may take place. Under no pretext whatsoever let either word or act betray that you feel it. Beware of admitting any spirit foreign to ours, however good in itself it may be. Nourish yourself and your dear daughters on the bread which Our Lord has given in such abundant measure to our houses.—I mean to say, adhere, with all your strength, to the observance of the Rules, Constitutions and Conferences of his Lordship. Be prudent and reserved in your conversations with those outside, not becoming familiar with them, nor making friends of them for yourself, but for the house. Be ever gentle, gracious and religious in your bearing towards all. But with the sisters, oh! my dearest daughter, be the very essence of gentleness, kindness, suavity and cordiality. Show them confidence, openness and esteem, lovingly respecting them. I pray God to hold you by His hand that you may walk securely in His way. May His holy Mother be your protectress and your consolation, and may His Angels, to whom He has committed you, be your guardians and defenders. Amen. I remain ever inseparably united to you. Use me freely and confidently, for God has given me to you. May He be eternally blessed!

To a Superior

I believe, my dear Sister, that if those who are in charge as superiors digested well and practised faithfully the advice given in their Rules and Constitutions, their government would be profitable and happy: nevertheless, since you wish it, I will tell you quite simply what comes to my mind and seems most suitable for you and for those who govern our monasteries.

First: be quite certain, my dearest sister, that there is no better method of succeeding happily in your government and guidance than that of keeping yourself closely united to God by faithfully observing what is set down in the Constitution for the Superior; for without good example your remonstrance will be fruitless. We cannot give to others what is lacking to ourselves. Be then very zealous for your own perfection and closely adhere to God, so that by example you may entice your sisters to their duty. Thus will they love and esteem you and gather strength to imitate you; for religious are extremely clear-sighted in reference to the virtues and the defects of their superior, and if they do not see her practise real virtue, above all that of true simplicity in her prudence, they will not give her the respect that is her due. If they detect any finesse their hearts close up, but finding her frank, cordial, and simple, they make her the same trustful return.

Assure yourself, my dear sister, that the chief duty of your office is to govern souls whom the Son of God has redeemed with His Precious Blood. Not to govern as a great lady and mistress, but as a mother and instructress of the spouses and servants of God. Treat them with respect and individual devotedness, purely for God, equally, without making distinctions; look for no recompense save the privilege and the happiness of rendering so distinguished a service to the divine Majesty.

Do not by any unnecessary arrangements put new burdens upon the sisters, but encourage them to bear sweetly

• Taken from Vie et Guvres de Ste. Chantal, vol. iii, p. 324.

Sr. JANE FRANCES FrEMYor br CHANTAL loundress of the Order of the Visitation

LETTER! TO. A: SUPERIOR 301 those to which they are bound by the law of God and the Church, for such should hold the first rank in our houses, after which come those of the Institute voluntarily undertaken for His love.

In all their difficulties earnestly recommend the sisters to look upon the divine Saviour in His sufferings, and thus they will find strength and courage to bear with their own little troubles and to imitate Him in His virtues. We must weigh well those words of the Constitution: ‘ The sisters should be nourished with a strong and generous devotion.’

Shyness very often smothers the spirit of devotion and robs it of spiritual alacrity, making small matters burdensome. Hence should we lead the sisters to nobility of action and deter them from following the dictates of self-love, which are all cowardly and mean-spirited. Impress deeply upon them the maxim that what 1s not God should be nothing to them, and endeavour, according to the dispositions of each one, to divest her of everything save Him, so that she may be solely dependent on the divine will, and on obedience, without haggling or shuffling when opportunities present themselves of practising virtue and of uniting their souls with God. Such is the true spirit of the Visitation.

Do your best to gain the hearts of your sisters by kindness. Treat with them freely, cordially, trustfully, and should they lack confidence in you or affection for you, never let them see that you are aware of it, or that you mistrust them in any way, for this at once distresses their mind and makes them lose confidence; whereas the sense of being trusted lays them under the greatest obligation. Promote, I beg of you, as much as is in your power, a broad and holy freedom amongst the sisters one with another and with yourself; and in your intercourse with them show the same liberty of spirit, for nothing warps a mind more than putting it under constraint.

Let there be seen in your guidance a careful charity and such a solicitude for their spiritual and temporal necessities as may encourage them to apply to you confidently in all their needs; so that they may know that they have, in their Superior, a true mother and a faithful friend; one who sees that nothing is wanting to them for body or soul, and who hides from other eyes their little infirmities and defects, and supports them cordially without growing tired or weary. In a word, my dear sister, so act that they may think they could not please you better than by coming to you with absolute trust. By giving such an impression, you will be spared many a complaint and murmur, and will emancipate them from those anxieties and reflections upon self in which weak souls indulge, and you will be able to govern them as you like. This is also a great means of maintaining peace of mind and contentment and of making souls love their vocation—the great good of religious life. . . . Our Blessed Father said that superiors practise much charity by allowing sisters to talk out all their troubles without hurrying them or showing any weariness at their tedious ways, although sometimes it may be that their troubles are only silly little things; for it relieves them and disposes them to receive profitably advice that may be afterwards given them. Little things are as great a burden to little souls as great troubles are to great ones. In a word, you ought to keep your daughters as much one with you as possible by the best means in your power. But this union should be one of pure charity and not of any human attachment. Should such, however, occur, imperceptibly lead those so inclined to an utter detachment and to an appreciation of the happiness of depending upon God alone. For it is a mistake to think that you can cure such evils by coldness and rebuffs, which only lead to aversion and to fretting, from whence spring other disorders, especially with minds that are weak.

Foster great union and mutual esteem amongst the sisters. This you can do efficaciously by showing that you are pleased with and appreciate what they say and do; but betray no special preference. Be the same towards all; for I tell you that unless a sister has attained to a very high state of perfection, however good she may be under that level, she will not live contentedly if she does not think that her Superior loves her and holds her in good esteem. She ought, if possible, to be freed of this imperfection—for it is

LETTER TO A SUPERIOR 303 an imperfection; but patience is necessary, and I know that in this matter what I say is true. This belief about her Superior helps her and gives a certain cheerfulness which carries her light-heartedly through all sorts of difficulties. It is quite certain that our nature cannot long subsist without some contentment and satisfaction, until it is entirely mortified. As the sisters have given up what they possessed in this way in the world, they ought to find it now in the friendship and confidence of their Mother and in the sweet society of their sisters; not finding it there, they will seek it elsewhere and for their own advantage, which will not be that of the house.

When you correct, see that your words and manner brace and encourage to good; hence all sharp and hard words should be avoided, and whatever may vex or hurt the feelings, slacken energy in the practice of virtue, or lessen the confidence and esteem that the Superior should command... .

Believe me, it is not well to become so tender and sensitive of the feelings of our sisters as to desire that they should have amongst them no tiresome or bad-humoured characters. Being tied by solemn vows, the shortest way is gently to put up with them, for, do what we can, there will be found in all communities, however small, some characters that are troublesome. God permits this to exercise the virtue both of the Superior and of the sisters.

As to the time of recreation, we should spend it in our Blessed Father’s spirit. He was really holy, I assure you, and his sanctity did not deprive him of the spirit of joy, nor prevent him from laughing heartily when there was occasion. The spirit of God leads to gaiety. Make merry with your sisters at recreation, and be content provided they keep it according to the Rule. We superiors, who spend part of the day in the parlour and attending to business, may very well like to be recollected when we ought to be recreating, but poor sisters who have not stirred from the choir or their cells need to divert their minds.

My dear sister, no duty of your charge is so difficult as that of correction, for if it is not suitably done and in the true spirit of charity it does no good at all. Marvellous sweetness, ingenuity, and charity are needed for the management of pusillanimous minds in order to make them pliable to their duty. Our Blessed Father told us that there 1s nothing, short of being lost, that we should not do for the good and consolation of our neighbour. So that if we lose or forego something on his account the divine Goodness will make it well up to us. On such occasions we should always invoke the assistance of Our Lord, and never forget that we ought to have the heart of a mother. Our Blessed Father once wrote: ‘It is a very hard thing to feel oneself snubbed and mortified at every turn. However, a gentle and charitable mother can skilfully administer bitter pills with the milk of holy friendship.’ I do not mean that you should flatter, coax, or use words of affection, perpetually letting drop expressions of endearment. No, but what I mean is that you must be gentle and affable, loving your daughters with a wise maternal love—the true enlightenment of the Holy Spirit. With equableness of soul and sweet tranquillity of heart keep in peace amidst the bustle and multitude of affairs, for each one expects from a superior good example allied to kindly cheerfulness. When you happen to do something that annoys or disedifies another, if it is a matter of great importance, excuse yourself, saying that your intention was not bad, if this isso. But as to slight things entailing no results, do not excuse yourself, yet always on such occasions observe great gentleness and tranquillity of spirit. If indeed your lower nature is uneasy and revolts, let not that worry you, but strive to keep yourself in peace amidst war and to relish repose in the midst of labour. Superiors ought to be extremely discreet and reticent, so that the sisters’ shortcomings may not get known outside, to whomever it may be; nor should they allow their daughters to be reproved from without, unless in case of real necessity and after having done all that was possible for their amendment, for, usually, it exasperates rather than cures the evil. Experience will teach the value of this advice. The remedies that are applied within the cloister are the best. Gently get all the good you can out of each spirit, for sisters are not of equal capacity, and yet the same measure is often demanded of them. This brings much trouble to both mothers and daughters, for though everyone should observe the common way of exterior observance, the same adaptability for interior guidance is not given to all, nor the capability of equal perfection. Ignorance on this point causes much trouble. Be then, I beg of you, careful to lead each soul according to her ability and her attraction, as much in the ways of prayer as in everything else. This is the chief means of keeping our sisters in that holy and most desirable liberty of spirit which is so useful to religious souls, and without which they cannot advance. The understanding of this truth is essential for superiors.

It is not well to correct severely or frequently, nor for slight and unimportant failings, for this breeds negligence and hinders necessary corrections from taking effect. Besides, it causes melancholy, not only in her who is corrected but likewise in the sisters. In order to avoid this, while maintaining exact observance, the reader at table should sometimes give penances proportioned to the faults committed and to the capacity of her who fails... .

Once more, my dear daughter—and this is of great importance—let us gain the affection of our daughters by love, so that they may confide in us. What they tell in private about their imperfections, as to a kind mother, we should never reproach them with before others. Be open and frank with all, but more especially with those who have told you their little weaknesses, lest they think that you despise {hem.;

Foresee their needs so that nothing be wanting to them for body or soul. Be affable to all and belittle no one, however imperfect she may be: for if God is patient, why should not we be patient? In a word, live and converse with all so that each one may think in her heart that it is she whom you love the best.

Maintain devotion amongst your daughters, for on that depends their good. Be neither like those soft mothers who spoil their children nor like the hot-headed ones who are forever finding fault. All your daughters cannot soar to x the same perfection: some fly high, some low, others moderately. Help each according to her capacity. In your direction keep to these two maxims: The spiritual exercises should be practised faithfully, and the letter of the Rule should be vivified by the spirit. ... Employ the sisters in the charges of the house according to the gifts God has given them, and not according to their fancy. If your manner of government is praised, return thanks to God, to whom the glory belongs, and humble yourself before Him. If you are blamed, humble yourself equally; and if you have done wrong, correct yourself. If not, thank God for having given you an opportunity of suffering, and look upon it as certain that if you are humble, gentle, and devout, you do enough.

As to temporal things, neither be too parsimonious nor too lavish. If you are poor, manage carefully and keep your house out of debt. If you are rich, act correspondingly with discretion and charity. But above all, whatever your financial state, see that the sick and the infirm do not suffer, except in cases where there is no remedy for their malady. Take care that you are more rigid with yourself than with others; I do not mean in regard to bodily infirmities, for you yourself being your nearest neighbour, you should exercise charity towards her, otherwise you will make your daughters anxious: but here I refer rather to the petty miseries of the human mind. The longer I live the more I see how necessary sweetness is in order to find entrance into the hearts of others, to keep oneself there, and to entice souls to do their duty without pressure. For, after all, our sisters are the sheep of Our Lord, and in leading them He allows you to touch them with the crook, but not to hurt them: that belongs to the Master. Be compassionate about faults that are only of frailty and not of malice. Remember that you are not governing angels, but fragile human beings, and think over what you yourself can do, so as not to ask more of them than you could undertake.

When it pleases Our Lord to favour a soul with extraordinary graces, it is well at the beginning to test her carefully, for His goodness will not deprive her of such graces, although she may be bidden to turn aside from them. On the contrary, her submission but increases them, and it is an accepted fact that the gifts of God produce true and solid virtue. But if the soul does not correspond by the practice of virtue, God will not continue His favours.

As to the reception of subjects, I ought to have the tongue of our Blessed Father to make you understand the gravity and the consequences of admitting them. First of all, it should be made quite clear to those who aspire to religious life that our Congregation is a school of self-denial, of entire surrender of the human will and of mortification of the senses; that there is no use in deceiving oneself in thinking to come into a monastery to have greater repose than in the world—on the contrary, make them thoroughly understand that our only motive for assembling here is to labour diligently at uprooting our evil habits, inclinations, and concupiscences, and to acquire virtues. Do not fear to repeat to each one who aspires to our manner of life that you receive her only in order to instruct her, or teach her by example and advice to crucify the flesh by an entire renunciation of all that can flatter it, so that all the appetites of the senses, passions, humours, aversions, and self-will may be henceforth subject to the law of God and to the rules of the Institute.

When it comes to receiving a novice for profession, what wisdom, prudence, and discernment is not demanded of a superior! Those who fail in sincerity on this subject [when giving their opinions in chapter] ought to do great penance, for the truth must be spoken out. The Superior possesses, almost always, the power of accepting or rejecting the subject... . It is the Superior’s duty to cultivate souls, to sow and plant the desire of virtue, as much by her good example as by her continual encouragement; but she must await in all patience and humility till God gives the growth and the fruit.

The principal means of advancement for the soul is prayer, and for this reason the sisters should be encouraged in it, and the attraction and guidance of God in each soul carefully noted, so as to help them to walk faithfully therein without turning aside: for very often we spoil by our meddling guidance the action of God, in the simple following of which consists the profit and repose of the soul.

I say in the ‘ Answers’ that I find the almost universal attraction of the daughters of the Visitation is to a very simple presence of God by a complete surrendering of themselves to holy Providence—I need not have said almost, for truly I see that all those who apply themselves from the beginning to prayer as they ought, who do their duty in mortifying themselves and in practising virtue, end there. Many are attracted to it from the first, and, for us, that we may reach our end and the perfect union of our souls with Him, it seems as if God used only this way. In brief, I maintain that this manner of prayer is essential to our little Congregation, and it is so great a gift from God that it calls for our boundless gratitude... .

. . . Superiors should be very careful not to turn their sisters away from this path—much communication with those outside has this effect, for it is impossible not to be influenced by those for whom they have so great an esteem; and then they would want to make the other sisters do alike, which at last would destroy the guidance of God and the spirit of our vocation. Let us, I beg of you, beware of such a disaster coming about... .

If the Superior is not experienced in certain kinds of prayer, and some sisters of the community are—for, thank God, our houses are not without such—she ought to make the sister who consults her speak to these experienced sisters; and this will be found to be more profitable than consulting those outside, unless it be some one well versed in the matter. In a word, they must be helped to put their minds at ease in the way wherein God wishes them to walk —a way of complete detachment, lost to all things but . God, from whence proceeds that true and holy liberty of spirit that makes souls walk above themselves and above all created things.

I speak of this particularly because of the extreme compassion I have felt upon coming across some virtuous souls who were in very great embarrassment and trouble of mind

LETTER TO A SUPERIOR 309 from not being understood and assisted. In short, one ought not to have any doubts about the prayer of pure souls who apply themselves to the practice of virtue and of the Rules. God takes care of their prayer while they are striving to please Him by perfecting themselves in accordance with the true observance and by detachment from all things.

To sum it all up, recall the words of our Blessed Father. ‘You superiors,’ he said, ‘ you are the mothers, the nurses, the ladies-in-waiting of the spouses of the great King. What a reward will you not receive if you do your part with the devotion God requires of you! And as you hold the place of the good God in the guidance of souls, you should conform yourselves jealously to His designs, observe His ways and firmly support his attraction in each one, helping her to follow it with humility and submission. For this end, let the fire which the divine Saviour cast upon earth be ever on your lips and in your words. He desires to see it consume entirely the exterior man and reform the interior, making hearts altogether pure, strong, loving, simple, and firmly resolved to bear the trials that, in order to sanctify, purify, and perfect them, grace will supply in their favour. And, so as to encourage these dear souls to run in the way of the Spouse, let them have a glimpse of the crowns promised to faithfulness and the glorious rewards reserved for those who conquer themselves.’

Thus it seems to me that a superior who is a true daughter of our Blessed Father ought to have her eyes continually set on the adorable Master. For He has committed to her charge a portion of His flock, that with Him she may labour to render these souls worthy of being His spouses, and teach them to look only upon His divine eyes, and let go, little by little, the thoughts nature suggests to them, so that they may think, act, and work in Him, by Him, and for Him alone. Labour then humbly, faithfully, simply, bravely at this holy work. No distraction will ever be hurtful to you if you keep close to the good Saviour who has given you this charge and is therefore bound to support you with His strong arm in all difficult occasions; provided, however, that with all your might you correspond by a humble and filial trust in His goodness.

As to the parlour . . . without doubt a rigid, austere, dry, too serious, and too cold exterior ought to be entirely banished from amongst us, as likewise should be a manner too free, too familiar, too gay, and too easy of intercourse, for this latter savours of levity and indiscretion, and is unbecoming in a religious, especially when discoursing with persons of whom we have but slight knowledge. We must, then, as I have just said, keep to our Rule, and those who adapt themselves the most perfectly to it will be the most pleasing to God and to our Blessed Father.

As to our deportment, it ought to be, as Constitution XXIII directs, of a modest, humble, and lowly but gentle and moderate gravity. Our Blessed Father said that we should have the gravity of princesses, being, as we are, the spouses of the Son of God, but it must be a gravity free from affectation. .. .

As to those outside seeing the community in the parlour, and our easily allowing communication with them, and such like: I do not approve of it—great discretion must be used in these matters, above all as regards communication, for we should know persons well, and our motive should be one of utility and profit to the house, before we treat them confidentially in regard to things that pass in our houses. Because if such persons are not extremely loyal, devoted, and spiritual—and this one can hardly find out in a passing visit—it will come about that if you speak to them of the particular virtues of your sisters they will think that you are full of vanity, and if you communicate some of their defects they will go away with a bad impression of your house. Be very careful and prudent also about forming friendships and giving special confidences from which arise constant letters, frequent affected expressions of cordiality, accompanied by trifling tokens of goodwill and little pious presents. God preserve us from such traffic! Oh, my daughter, let us keep our minds and our affections further away from this kind of thing than heaven is from earth! I need not, thank God, allude to the harm that would

LETTER TO A SUPERIOR 311 come of it, for no one, to my knowledge, in our Order is affected with this malady; but, believe me, we should fly from the very shadow of it with holy horror. .. .

The elected Superior should treat with cordial respect the sister Déposée, whoever she may be, and let the sisters see that she does, making use of her advice and counsel, as the Rule says. But she should more markedly treat in this way those who have been the sister foundresses, they who have had the chief burden and anxiety to bear. She should not domineer over them, nor humble nor mortify them, above all in public, unless they do something quite out of the way, though this is allowable in regard to other sisters. As far as possible let her follow the usages of her predecessor, respecting and approving of her manner of governing, and although there may be some reason for doing so, she should refrain from censuring or picking holes in it. It is presumption to think our way better than that of others, and to wish to exalt ourselves and show that we know better than those who preceded us is a fault against charity. In order not to prejudice this virtue, a humble, sincere, and upright soul will cover up with all possible care the defects which may have been committed by her predecessor, and with such prudent charity imperceptibly repair them that they will not be perceived. Thus shall we keep to our great rule to do nothing to others that we would not wish done to ourselves. If she sees the sisters respect the sister Déposée as they ought to do, let her not show any aversion or jealousy, and when they desire sometimes to speak to her she ought to give this permission with great freedom and charity so that neither the sisters nor the Déposée may feel constrained. But if the sisters fail to render her [the Déposée] their duty, she should reprove them; for, believe me, nothing so much displeases God as sins of ingratitude and forgetfulness of the kindness and blessings which they receive from a good and charitable superior.

Those who are deposed from the charge of superior should be the model of every virtue, letting it be seen that in commanding they have learnt the good lesson they had taught of obedience and submission. By taking the lowest

S12 SAINT JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL rank, as the Rule directs, they are reminded to keep themselves in great humility, but a sweet and gentle humility without awkwardness or constraint, comporting themselves with a holy liberty amidst the sisters and even with the superior, though with very great respect... .

The Déposée ought to divest her mind of the cares of government and leave it, as she is obliged, to her whom God has put in her place, neither desiring nor seeking to know anything whatever about the affairs of the house save such as the superior may wish to communicate to her. Nor should she by her manner or in any other way disapprove of or censure the conduct of the superior. When she sees advice is needed she ought to give it frankly. Let her be on her guard not to draw the sisters to herself, but rather always to their Mother, showing no desire to speak with them, inducing them not to ask this permission unless when the superior herself, for some good reason, wishes it. With great diligence she should take advantage of the time God has given her to attend to herself and her own perfection. . . .

In conclusion, I say to you, my very dear sister, and to all those who govern our houses, that the welfare and the preservation of our Congregation in the simplicity and integrity of its spirit depend on the care and fidelity of superiors, as our Blessed Father so often said. This is why you ought, with zeal and watchfulness, to observe all the laws, regulations and customs of the Institute, without omitting anything however trivial, and see that those under your care do likewise. Under no pretext let any novelty be introduced into the house of which you have charge, nor permit anything to be done ever so little contrary to the customs in use amongst us, nor allow any explanation to be given to the Rules of the Institute other than those in practice. It is not without reason nor without apprehension that I say this, for only too many are ready to overthrow even the Scriptures and the best-established things by faulty explanations. In the name of God let us not allow ourselves to be dragged down this precipice. . . .

Keenly desire the preservation of the conformity and union which God has established between the monasteries.

LETTER TO A SUPERIOR 313

Educate your sisters to love it and communicate to them anything you hear that may console, edify and incite them to pray for the houses. Of such importance and value is this union that it should be cultivated by superiors with a most cordial and charitable zeal, so that no misunderstanding, coldness, or aversion may ever be seen amongst us. Even when we have reason for dissatisfaction with houses or superiors let us not show it by word or act. Do not, above all, complain about it to any secular, whoever he may be, for besides giving disedification this would ruin the good esteem in which our house is held and wound the hearts of our sisters. To these latter we ought, in all confidence, to mention the little subjects of complaint, and they should try humbly and charitably to satisfy us, by a legitimate excuse or by a frank and humble avowal of their fault, accompanied with such genuine and heartfelt satisfaction as they can give—then, on either side all must be forgotten and the frankness and confidence between us no whit diminished. God will bless those who act in this way.

To conclude, let us hold so firmly to the practice of what we have received that amidst all our many monasteries no diversity may ever be seen. And having but one heart and one single soul, as the Rule enjoins, unity of spirit and conformity of observance may be so conspicuous that we shall all seem to have been formed and trained in one same monastery, and all ever recognised as true daughters of our Blessed Father.

I remember this great Saint and dear Father of our souls told us at his first conference that nothing is so profitable to souls as the milk of their Mother. So, dearest sister, I pray you devoutly feed the souls of your sisters, and your own, as much as possible on his writings, and practise steadfastly his doctrine and maxims—ior they are the same as those laid down for us by the Son of God Our Saviour—while retrenching the curiosity of the human spirit which takes pleasure in new things and would divert us from the practice of our observances. So shall we preserve the spirit God has given us, for which we ought to have a great and holy jealousy.

May God bestow it upon us in its fullness, so that no foreign spirit may ever kill the treasure that divine Providence has given us. Amen.¹²³

Footnotes

1. These counsels were given to Mother M. A. de Rabutin on her election as Superior at Thonon.—Cuvres de Sainte Chantal, vol. ili, p. 310. prayer, to holy recollection, and to observance, keep your soul always in peace and joy. Love your daughters dearly and in all sweetness bear with them; yet without tolerating any slackness. Continually renew them in spirit and gently and cordially encourage them to their duty, showing them that your motive in so doing is desire for their advancement. Take great care never to let words of satire? escape you in correction, so that your speech may ever be seasoned with discretion and devotion such as becomes a religious. Do not lightly rebuke for slight faults, nor with severity, unless rarely, especially when it is only about material things, as breakages and such-like clumsiness. Be not preoccupied with your feelings, and still less allow them to master you, and this as much for the good of your own soul and your own health as for the edification of your sisters. Let your chief care be to cultivate their interior life, Jeading them with a strong hand to prayer, to recollection, to the mortification of their passions and inclinations, and teach them to practise faithfully what the ‘ Directory’ teaches; to do all for God and to receive from His holy hand all that will happen to them. Dependence on divine Providence, conformity in all things to the holy will of God, is the characteristic virtue of the Visitation. Do not easily dispense the sisters from being present at the Community exercises, and guard them from all attachment to exterior things and from overburdening themselves or being overburdened by too much business or work. The chief study of our life should be to please God and to observe the Rules. Be present as much as you can at the Community exercises, and when ill do not permit your daughters, in order to be with you, to be absent from them, unless one sister who may be required to look after you. ↩

2. Mother M. A. de Rabutin inherited the caustic wit that distinguished the race of Rabutin. ↩

3. The above was written by the Saint in a little book still preserved at the Visitation of Rennes, of which monastery Mother Claude Agnes was the first Superior. She had previously founded the monastery of Orleans. This book contains other instructions of the Saint in the handwriting of Mother Claude Agnes.—Cwures de Sainte Chantal, Vol. iii, p. 323. ↩