Letter 1723. To Mother Barbe Mane Bouvart

Superior at Le Mans. [Annecy] 25 August [1640]. Vive > Jésus!

My very dear and good Daughter,—I return thanks to divine Providence that our good sisters have chosen you, but I am not surprised that you are distressed at their choice. Yet the tranquil and humble acceptance of whatever the holy will of God ordains, however contrary it may be to our own wishes and to the consolation we ourselves look for, must rise above all else. I say this because you tell me that the attention that you give to the guidance of souls, so that you may do them no harm, takes away from you all the sweet grace of serenity and is a strain upon your mind. As to serenity, my dear daughter, it ought to be found in doing God’s will; but as to this absorbing application of mind in the guidance of others, it will be detrimental to yourself and will not help to make others progress in virtue. Let whole-hearted confidence in God be the keynote of your government. Minister to your little flock in peace and carefulness with great fidelity, then leave the success to the divine Goodness, who alone can bring forth fruit. All your solicitude and all your anxiety is of no use, above all in the work of guiding souls.

Your Constitution will teach you admirably all that is necessary in order to govern in the spirit of God and to the entire satisfaction of your community. Yes, indeed, my good and dear Sister M. Anastase [Pavillon] will be to you a strong and willing support. You can speak to her without scruple and consult her about anything you like. She is so virtuous and so upright that there is nothing to fear. When the sisters Déposées possess the characteristic virtues and the spirit of the Institute, they can be freely had recourse to for counsel and comfort. Truly, my dearest daughter, young superiors have special need of support from those who have preceded them, as on many occasions they know not, from want of experience, how best to act. Nevertheless, I would not in a general way give this counsel of telling every little thing to the Déposée; but yours, as I have said, is such a one that you ought to treat her trustfully and frankly, feeling absolutely certain that what you confide to her will remain in her heart as if it had never left your own.

What you say about not receiving subjects because they seek éclat which you do not possess ought, dearest daughter, to be a source of joy to you. Keep yourself hidden lovingly under the broad shadow of your insignificance and lowliness. That such should be our condition was our Blessed Father’s great desire. He wished us to be fervent lovers of low estate. For this he gave us the holy precept, To speak always in a humble manner of our Congregation: that is to say, without extravagant praise, without comparison with other Orders; but certainly we may very well say that Our Lord gave our Blessed Father great light as to the true and solid religious perfection he was to establish in his Institute. But he would not have us say that its perfection surpassed that of other Orders. What he says in his ‘ Conferences ’ and what is in the ‘ Answers ’ fully explains how it ought to be practised. Observe it well, I beseech you.

This brings me to the last point of your letter, where you mention that Sister M. Anastase works miracles. Note first: true humility does not set down as miraculous the succour God gives us in the daily events of life; and, secondly, if it pleases His infinite goodness to work things evidently miraculous by means of this dear sister, it must not, during her lifetime, be divulged outside, nor even made much of within [the convent]. She is truly a soul full of grace and virtue, and you cannot do better than keep yourself very humbly and cordially united to her— without, however, giving her such a multitude of charges as she already has. Unless in cases of real necessity, I very much desire that, at least for the first year [after her deposition], the Déposée should have no other charge than that of counsellor, because the Rule specifies it for the mothers Déposées in order to give them more leisure and an opportunity for keeping themselves near to God and entering fully into themselves after the burden of their charge.

I very sincerely and affectionately salute dear Sister M. Anastase. Beg of her to recommend me to the divine Goodness.

To Monseigneur Octave de Bellegarde, Archbishop of Sens. Vive > Jésus!

My Lord, our very dear and honoured Father,—What a long time it seems since I have had the honour of writing to you! Meanwhile I have received your valued book, which was sent to me without telling me that it was yours. Why I do not know; but when I read it I thought to myself that your spirit breathed therein, for our modern writers lack, for the most part, its unction and solidity. The subject is a most useful one, and ought to be studied. God grant that those who are engaged in the guidance of souls may take it to heart. Only yesterday I learnt from our sister the Superior of Montargis that you are the author, which to me, my very dear Father, enhances its value. So far I have only read the first part, but I will read and reread it, and, please God, with profit. My affectionate thanks for the beautiful and devotional picture you have been pleased to send me. May the sovereign Majesty whom it represents and His most holy Mother be for all eternity favourable to you, and may this devout and sweet picture, which will often meet my eyes, purify my heart of its defects, so that my desire for your preservation and your growth in the pure love of God may find easier access to His divine goodness.

Our two good sisters the Superiors of Montargis and of Melun write about the election which ought to take place in their little houses this coming year. I have given them the names of some sisters whom I think suitable, and referred them to your Lordship’s judgment for those that they say they can propose from their own communities. I have a great desire that these dear souls should give glory to God by the faithful observance of their Institute, and consolation to your fatherly heart, from which they receive so much spiritual and temporal help. May God give them the grace to do so.

And so our good Commander has left us, happily and holily they tell me. From so good a life one could not but expect such a death, and I cannot feel a doubt but that our good God will amply reward him for all his charities and the good works done for His glory, by means of which Paradise will be enriched with many souls. He established in this diocese a mission of priests who work in the villages, and with marvellous results. And we are under great obligations to him for his charities to many of our houses. May God repay him by an increase of glory!

Excuse, my very dear Father, my bad writing; it is because this good Father is in such a hurry to depart that he does not leave me time to think of what I want to say. Your kindness will be pleased to bear with me, and to give me your blessing, for with all my heart and with great respect I am, my Lord, your very humble, obedient, and unworthy daughter, etc.