Letter 1786. To Mother Marie Elisabeth Guérard

To Mother Marie Elisabeth Guérard, Superior of the First Monastery of Lyons. [Annecy] 29 May, 1641. Vive > Jésus!

My dearest Daughter,—I send you the letters for our sisters of Provence, which I have been asked to address to you. It is evident, from their praise of your exactitude in conveying their letters, that you have been kind and cordial to them. I assure you it was a consolation and a relief to me to hear this. Continue always, I beg of you, willingly to do them and me this good service. To be negligent in sending letters for our houses, especially for this house from which advice is usually asked, is a great disloyalty and a want of charity.

I must congratulate you heartily on what you tell me of your parlours having never been less frequented than now, and that it is no pleasure to go there. Oh, my daughter most dear, this is something good to hear! Truly constant parlour-visiting is more dangerous than can be imagined; it is incredible how the good odour of religious houses evaporates through it, and how it dissipates the interior spirit. We must indeed go there when duty, charity, usefulness, or sweet condescension demand it, and, when there, be gentle, suave, cordial, but never constrained.

As to what you say of the young lady who has come to stay with you being somewhat influenced in her vocation by human considerations, I tell you this, my daughter, God makes use sometimes of trials and disappointments to draw souls from the world, and, as she has not presented herself to be a religious, but a secular benefactress, although it would be desirable that her intentions were so pure as to have no other motive than the love of God, nevertheless, if she has otherwise good qualities of mind, it isnot necessary to make many considerations as for those who are going to be professed. Before concluding, I must beg of you to have a Mass said and prayers offered for the soul of the late Archbishop of Bourges, my only brother, whom it pleased God to take to Himself on the 13th of this month. His end was very happy. Pray earnestly that I may be ready to make my last journey when the dear Saviour wills. Iam eighteen months older than the dear deceased, and see how well I am. God grant that every moment of my life may be to His glory!

There is nothing else to say, except that you ought to unite with me in blessing God that our dear sisters have, after much resistance, agreed to the decree of our worthy prelate to depose me, so that I may have a little more time to look after my soul and to correspond with our houses, who with such goodness address themselves to me. We have elected our dear Mother Marie Aimée de Blonay, and expect her to-day. She will, I hope, be consoled in the service of this community, for it is very virtuous. I salute your beloved sisters and conjure them each day to renew their desire of being humble and faithful to God.