Letter 1705. To Mother Anne Catherine de Beaumont

My good and dearest Sister, . .. It will be a great mortification to me if the Vicar-General puts you out of office before you have completed your time, for your house cannot afford to lose several months of your government which God is rendering so profitable to it. I hope Our Lord will guide all, and that you will not be deposed until next year.

I am very glad that little Vibo has permission from her parents to make a trial of our life, and that she so much desires it; but be sure not to give her the habit until she has completed her fifteenth year. Sometimes these long trials weary girls and their courage flags. However, she is in good hands, being in yours, dearest daughter. You know better than I what will be best for her, and I have no anxiety about her. It is only right to keep a watchful eye on the little lay-sister postulant. You must not, however, give her the habit before the other for fear of discouraging the former; besides, it is only right that lay sisters should have a somewhat longer time of trial.

As to little Anselme, when I saw her I thought her charming. As she is old enough and of good will, there is nothing, I think, to delay her getting the habit, and it will hearten the others.

I am very glad the Vicar-General has given permission for Madame N. to enter the house. How happy she will be if she can give up this idea of marrying again. To live peaceably with you as a benefactress will certainly be of profit to her soul, and a great benefit to your house. Recommend the matter to God, as He alone has power to touch hearts and kindle in them holy desires and good resolutions.

As to Madame Blanc, truly, dearest daughter, you will do well to let her go out as little as possible, for she has a tongue that wags quickly, not through malice, I think, but by nature. As for thinking of keeping her in the house to give her the habit, I assure you that to me it seems that for this God would have to work a miracle. For the present we must have patience, and when you are settled and better accommodated you can give her something and let her live elsewhere. I always think this arrangement better than taxing a house with a character that may bring trouble on it; for nothing is so desirable as repose and peace in the house of Our Lord.

You may imagine how I am worried about our good sisters of Turin. We can get no news of them. But they say that, although the town is taken, the churches and convents will be looked after: an arrangement worthy of the piety of Christian hearts. So are we in the hands of Our Bord. 12.6

. . . The good Vicar-General did indeed take you by surprise; minds in your part of the world are suspicious. But I feel sure, now that he has found all in such good order, he will not do it again; and really, dearest daughter, it would be no great harm if some houses were taken by surprise: things would not be found there in such perfect order as when one knows the day the Visitor is due. At any rate, your alarm did not last long, and resulted in edification to the ecclesiastical superior, and in giving him more confidence in you, and more esteem for you.

You will oblige me greatly by patiently putting up with poor Sister Your gentleness and kind motherly love will, please God, win her back to the good way in which I saw her walk formerly. To think of her always makes me sad and compassionate. Daughter, my soul has an incomparable love for yours, and I feel that you return my affection. May God be blessed, and may He keep us within His Heart.