Letters 115–121

Letter 115

To a Priest of the Congregation of Jesus and Mary. On the death of

Father Peter Jourdan, (1)which occurred on December 27, 1 6 6 1

[December 1661]

May the divine will be our guide in all things, and our sole comfort in all our afflictions.

Here is one which is very painful to me and has caused me unwonted sorrow: it is the death of our most kind and lovable brother, Father Jourdan. But it is only just, my dear brother, that God be the master and that His most adorable will prevail over ours. If I indulged my feelings, I should cry aloud with grief and tears: "Doth bitter death separate in this manner?" (2) But when I consider the most holy, wise and bountiful will of God, I cry out from the depths of my heart: "Yea, Father; for so hath it seemed good in thy sight."'(3) (1). Father Jourdan (1608-1661), priest of the diocese of Coutances in Normandy, was one of the first five companions of St. John Eudes. For eighteen years he labored in the Caen Seminary and on the missions. St. John Eudes had great confidence in his wisdom and prudence as a spiritual director and entrusted to his guidance the soul of Madame de Budos, abbess of the Monastery of the Holy Trinity at Caen. Cf. Les Fleurs de la Congregation de Jésus et Marie, Vol. 1, P. 13 (2). I Kings 15, 32 (3). Matt 11, 26.

Letter 116

Permission Granted to Father Peter de Sesseval (1)for the Foreign Missions.

[1661]

From John Eudes, missionary priest, the superior of the Congregation of Jesus and Mary, greetings to whom it may concern:

According to information given us by our beloved brother, Peter Sesseval, a missionary priest of our Congregation, an almost countless number of souls are being lost in the kingdom of China and neighboring countries because of a shortage of evangelical laborers to help snatch them from perdition and place them on the road to salvation. He has, in consequence thereof, conceived a very ardent desire to join several other ecclesiastics who are about to set out for these regions, but, because he wishes to do nothing without the perfection of perfect obedience to the superiors whom God has placed over him, he has entreated us to look with favor upon this project and to give it our approval and consent.

After having carefully recommended the matter to God and contacted some of the heads of our Congregation, and being desirous of cooperating in such a holy work for which, with the help of divine grace, we should willingly sacrifice a hundred thousand lives if we had as many, we did and do now consent most willingly by these presents that the aforesaid Peter Sesseval carry out his pious and praiseworthy desire, in our knowledge of his piety, prudence, ability, and other virtues and good qualities which God has given him.

Yes, my dearest brother, with all our hearts we approve of your holy undertaking for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

Go then in the name of the Blessed Trinity, to make It known and adored in places where It i s neither known nor adored. (1). Father Peter de Sesseval (1632-1663) was stationed at the Rouen Seminary when he was requested by His Lordship Francis de la Palue, Bishop of Heliopolis, to labor in the mission fields of China. Despite the shortage of priests in the Congregation of Jesus and Mary, St. John Eudes granted permission to Father de Sasseval to accompany the Bishop of Heliopolis. Father de Sasseval died on December 8, 1663 before reaching his destination. Cf. Les Fleurs de la Congrégation de Jésus et Marie, Vol. 1, p. 18.

Go in the name of Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, to bring to souls the fruits of His precious blood which He shed for them.

Go under the protection and in the safe-keeping of the Blessed Virgin Mary, to imbue those hearts with the respect and veneration due her, and under the guidance of blessed St. Joseph, St. Gabriel, your guardian angel, and the holy apostles of the places where you are going, to work with them for the salvation of lost and abandoned souls.

Go in the name and on behalf of our little Congregation, to accomplish in China and the other places where Providence directs you what we should like to do throughout the whole world, even to the shedding of our last drop of blood: destroy Satan's tyranny there and establish the kingdom of God.

But remember that, because this work is entirely an apostolic mission, you must have avery pure intention of seeking therein only the glory of God, and a most profound humility and mistrust of self, boundless confidence in His infinite goodness, complete submission to His most adorable will and that of the prelates placed over you in His stead, unconquerable patience in your labors, an ardent zeal for the salvation of souls, and a most sincere charity toward other ecclesiastics, particularly the religious of the holy Society of Jesus, with whom we importune you always to live in perfect union and understanding. Meditate frequently on these virtues, earnestly ask God for them, and try to practise them faithfully. May God in His goodness deign to grant you them in their perfection, together~r with all the other graces necessary and expedient to accomplish perfectly His most holy will, and to conduct yourself everywhere both as a true missionary of the Congregation of Jesus and Mary, and as a true child of their most amiable Heart.

May Jesus and Mary grant you their holy blessing for that purpose. May it remain always with you and precede, accompany and follow you everywhere and in all things.

With this wish do we pronounce over you, in the name of Jesus and Mary, and in the sacred love of their most charitable Heart, these precious words of Holy Mother Church: Nos cum Prole pia benedicat Virgo Maria.

Letter 117

To Madame Blouet de Camilly. On various subjects. Contemplated

establishment of the Congregation of Jesus and Mary in Paris

Paris, January 3, 1662 J. M. J.

My very dear and good daughter:

May the divine will be our guide in all things, and our sole comfort in all our afflictions.

This is a sorrow which is most painful to me and causes me extraordinary sorrow; (1) but I adore, bless and love with all my heart the most adorable and amiable will of my God, which should be infinitely dearer and more precious to us than all the lives of men and angels, if they were ours.

The condition of our dear brother, Father Blouet, is still another grief which weighs heavily upon me. I urge him to do all he can to improve his health; but, my dear daughter, be careful, too, not to physic him too much for fear of injuring his stomach, which is somewhat delicate.

When I see Mr. La Haguais,(2) I will not fail to tell him what you want, though I do not think that is necessary, becaused believe he is not giving it the least thought, unless he has changed his mind since I saw him about two or three weeks ago. I do not often see him, since it is quite a distance from here to his house, with the days being extremely short now and the roads bad. But please do not think, my dear good daughter, that I tell him everything you write me. No, I can assure you that I tell him nothing except the things you want me to tell him, or those you have already told him yourself i n your letters. Know once and for all, dearest daughter, that your interests mean more to me, and always will, than those of anyone else whomsoever.

Excuse me, my good daughter; I do think about returning, and every (1). Allusion to the death of Father Jourdan. See Letter 115. (2). See Letter 61, note z.

day I importune God to take me away from this place which wearies me exceedingly, but I am here on very important business for the general good of our Congregation. It concerns not only an establishment in Paris,(3) but something else of even greater importance which will, however, soon be concluded. I hope that Lent will not find me still in Paris.

My most humble and affectionate greetings to the family in general and each member individually, particularly to Mr. de Camilly,(4) whom I thank with all my heart for his kind and beautiful letter. To him and all the others I wish every manner of blessings for the New Year and all the years to follow, and afterwards the blessed eternal years.

I am, in the sacred love of the most holy Heart of Jesus and Mary, my very dear and good daughter, Devotedly yours, JOHN EUDES, missionary priest. (3). An establishment at Mont Valérien Was being considered at that time, but this project did not materialize. Cf. Boulay, op. cit., VOL 3, P. 376. (4). Reference is made here to Mr. Augustine de Camilly, her third son.

Letter 118

To Mother Margaret Frances Patin. On her negotiations in Rome

[Beginning of 1662) J. M. J.

My dearest Mother:

May the divine will be our guide in all things.

I received a letter this week from Father Boniface, who writes me that your cause i s constantly gaining favor, thank God, and that this is the time to redouble your prayers, for the affair, he says, is now coming to a head.

He also writes that he has been informed that the rate of exchange, that is to say, what must be paid to bring money into Rome, will soon be increased by five per cent; thus, instead of ten francs per hundred, the fee will amount to fifteen. This is because of the large sums of money

it will be necessary to take out of Paris when the Ambassador and Cardinal de Retz,(1) who will soon leave here for Rome, arrive there. Hence he will soon be out of funds, since he now has but about a hundred crowns. His expenses come to about ten crowns a month, and his room costs three crowns, not counting laundry, fuel and candles. Upon his arrival in Rome he had to spend more than a hundred crowns on clothing and linen, for he left here with badly worn garments, fearing that he might be robbed along the way. He said that wearing apparel is very expensive in Rome and of poor quality, making it necessary for him to buy serge garments for the winter, but that he still needs a summerweight cassock and cloak, which will cost twenty crowns. It is impossible for him, he writes, as active as he is, to keep himself in clothing on less than sixty or eighty crowns a year. He says, too, that it will cost him a great deal to have several papers copied, and much more besides for presents that he is obliged to give to various persons, for one gets nowhere in that country without them. Lastly, he writes that I shall be amazed when he shows me his accounts.

That is what his letter says, and he is a very sincere and truthful man ,who would spend no money except on necessities. We are very fortunate to have found someone so generous with his time and efforts, which are considerable, for he is working very hard in your interests, sparing no trouble or endeavor, and he is doing nothing else except that. Therefore I am asking you, my dearest Mother, to give the order that money be provided to send him.

I wrote you that I sent him five hundred livres in September, and that it cost me fifty livres more to have them delivered. Since I had the money then, and he had written me that he needed it, I did not wish to importune you at that time. If I had more, I should send it to him as gladly as I did the other time, confident that you would repay me, but I have none. Please get some, therefore, and send it to me as soon as possible, for the rate of exchange will soon be higher; then too, I shall be here only a short time. Without it, my dearest Mother, your business would come to a standstill, and Father Boniface would have to abandon it at that point. After so much effort and expense, we must not leave i t in mid-air. One should not complain about money where (1). Paul de Gondi, Archbishop of Paris from 1654 to 1662.

the affairs of God are concerned. If you have none, you should borrow it or take it out of your revenues. Do not send less than four or five hundred livres; it will cost far more for the Bulls, and you shall receive an account of everything. Do this as soon as possible, my dearest Mother, if you please.

My most cordial greetings to all our dear Sisters. I remain most sincerely, my dearest Mother, Devotedly yours, JOHN EUDES, missionary priest.

P. S. Here is a Collect for the Office and Mass of your Blessed Father(2) which Mother de Monçon~on sent me for you to keep. It was composed by our Holy Father the Pope(3). (2). St. Francis de Sales, beatified by Pope Alexander VII on December 28, 1661. In the decree of beatification the Pope observes that he celebrated the Mass of the new Blessed with a Collect which served also for the Office. The rest of the Mass and Office was taken from the Common of a Confessor Bishop. (3). AIexander VII (1655-1667)

Letter 119

To Mother Margaret Frances Patin. The Saint urges her to supply

Father Boniface with the money needed in working to obtain the ap

probation of the Order from Rome

[Beginning of 1662] J. M. J.

My dearest Mother:

May the divine will be our guide in all things.

If I yielded to purely human sentiments, your illness would move me deeply, but, aside from hoping that Our Lord will restore your health, I am obliged by the sight of His most adorable will to say but one thing: "Yea, Father: for so bath it seemed good in thy sight." (1)

I beseech you, my dearest Mother, to take a little better care of your (1). Mart. 11, 26.

health, and to accept the doctor's judgment in all things that can contribute to your recovery.

But on what account, my dear Mother, do you write me what you have done concerning your undertaking? Do you wish to abandon it, now that it is so far advanced and progressing so well? Do you think that anything can be accomplished in Rome without money, or that Father Boniface can live there and support himself without it? Is it not enough that he is giving you his time and efforts? I have assured you, and do assure you again, that he is a most virtuous ecclesiastic, a very good man, who undertook this business solely because of his zeal for the glory of God and the salvation Of Souls, and purely through charity, since he has a means of support without it. Do you take me for a liar and a cheat? Do you believe that he is squandering your money, or rather mine? Should you like to repay all his efforts in such coin?

But you say that your close friends are astonished that a man should be so long in Rome to transact your business, and business such as that. Would to God that these friends of yours might consent to replace Father Boniface! They would see how things are done in Rome, and how the smallest transactions consume both time and patience. Remember, my dear Mother, that if Father Boniface had pushed this matter too vigorously before he was in possession of the last affidavits that were sent him, he would have failed irreparably, because without them our cause would have been rejected a second time, after which all hope would have had to be abandoned.

Remember, too, you and your good friends, that this is one of the most difficult affairs that can be dealt with in Rome. First of all, those in Rome look upon our institute as an innovation, and consequently as one of the most important and complex things that can be discussed there. Secondly, they see that it is an Order and a Community composed of virtuous women who are to devote themselves to the direction and guidance of girls and women of low morals. This situation creates a difficulty which no one has yet been able to surmount in Rome, because it is believed there that it i s impossible for virtuous women to associate with these others without real danger to their own morals. And to show you that no one has thus far been able to overcome this objection, you must know that the Sisters of Refuge at Nancy, who have

houses also at Avignon, Dijon and Rouen, have not yet succeeded in obtaining Bulls from our Holy Father the Pope, despite all their efforts; and yet, their affair is not so difficult as ours because, i n the first place, their Community is composed of penitent women who are not in any danger from their contact with the penitents, as virtuous women might be; and secondly, they have been received and approved at Avignon by the papal legate. And nevertheless, they still have not been accorded approbation from Rome, although they have a man there who has been working on it for them longer than Father Boniface has been there, and he is a very influential person who is highly esteemed i n Rome. Father Boniface talked things over with him, and he writes me that this man agrees with him and has decided to await the outcome of your affair to see what course it takes and what comes of it, so that afterwards he may act accordingly in advancing the cause of the Sisters of Nancy. Thereupon I wrote to Father Boniface that I was very pleased that this gentleman had taken this resolution; for, i f his business had come up for consideration before ours, it would have met either with success o r failure. If the latter had happened, there would no longer have been any hope for our cause; but had i t been successful, and then yours had been proposed later, you would have been obliged to join the other Sisters and adopt their Rules. You can judge from all this, therefore, that a transaction like yours is not so simple as your close friends seem to think it is.

But there is still a third thing that makes it very difficult, which is that your cause has already been once rejected.

Please tell all these things to your friends, and they will change their mind, or else they are not good friends of your house.

Tell them also, and believe it yourself, my dearest Mother, for it is true-tell them that they should not, in a matter of consequence like this, form groundless judgments that are prejudicial to the charity we owe our neighbor, lest they mortally offend God. I have already told you repeatedly, and I say it again, that Father Boniface has no interests in Rome except yours. So true is this that I even refrained from asking him to procure indulgences for us, or anything else whatsoever, in order not to distract him in the least or make it possible for you to say that he was handling other affairs besides your own.

Should he remain even a day longer in Rome after the negotiations are accomplished, rest assured that it will not be at your expense, and that he will render you a strict account of your money, together with that which I sent him for you. Do not wait for me, however, to forward more money to him. And if you fail to send him any, understand that, when he has spent the remainder of what he still has, to the exclusion of what he will need for the return trip, he will abandon your cause and leave Rome, and thus it will have come to nothing. All your efforts on behalf of the house of Our Lady of Charity will have been nullified, for without Bulls from our Holy Father the Pope it will not be possible for it to subsist, because the very first Sister who is tempted against her vocation will easily be persuaded that her vows are invalid, since her Community lacks the Pope's approval. Then she will withdraw, the whole structure will collapse, and the blame will be attributed, before God and man, to good Mother Margaret Patin, who would not furnish what was necessary to obtain the Bulls of approbation.

0 my dear Mother, the saints have never spared money when it was needed for the affairs of God. You were able to procure enough to purchase the Old Bank House, for which you had aliking , although you did not actually need it. Would you stint money now for something which will be the very foundation of your Community, and without which it cannot subsist? In God's name, my dearest Mother, lay aside your mistrust and ill-founded suspicions as something unworthy of such a saint as Mother Patin, and do not listen to these good friends of whom you write me, to the extent that you do not believe a word of what is said to you by one who has more esteem and affection for you, and more zeal for the good of your house, than anyone else in the world.

It is he who remains, in the sacred love of the most Holy Heart of Jesus and Mary, my dearest Mother,

Letters and Short Works 191

Letter 120

To Mother Margaret Frances Patin. Renewed entreaties to persuade her

to supply Father Boniface with the money he needed.( 1 )

[March 1662] J. M. J.

My dear good Mother:

May the divine will be our guide in all things.

I give infinite thanks to Our Lord and His most Holy Mother for your improved health. I implore them to preserve and strengthen it, and to make you entirely well and holy for their glory and the sanctification of the most cherished house of their divine charity.

Many thanks to you, too, my dearest Mother, for the consolation you afford me in writing that you have received my little niece; but I am amazed that I was not informed sooner, either by you o r others, of something I had been wanting for such a long time.

In this I am comforted; but allow me to tell you, my dearest Mother, that it grieves me exceedingly to see you abandon your transaction in Rome, just when it is progressing so well. I also received a letter this week from Father Boniface to the effect that it looks very favorable indeed. You inform me that you cannot send any money, that you have no assurance that the cause will succeed. Is it possible that Mother Patin, who is so virtuous and reasonable, should make such a proposal? Do you wish to deal with Father Boniface, who has made such a long trip and is going to so much trouble for us, through mere charity, as if you were a money-agent? Do you want him to return to you what he will have spent for his necessities while in your service? If you were employing him as a valet, he would not have to do that. Is it not enough that he has promised to render you an exact account of his expenses ?

You say that I wrote you that divine Providence would provide. That (1). This letter was written from Paris during the week preceding the consecration of His Lordship Francis de Nesmond, Bishop of Bayeux, which took place in Paris on March 19, 1662.

192- Letters and Short Works

is true, but are you implying that I am obliged by these words to furnish the money needed? If I had it, I should gladly advance it for that purpose; but I have already contributed to it all that I had, besides having borrowed a considerable sum. It is quite true that I have spent more than six hundred livres in this transaction, including the money I had as well as what I borrowed. Nevertheless, if you guaranteed to repay me, I would see if I could borrow more. But you would have to send me your written assurance of this in Thursday's or Friday's mail, at the latest, for, God willing, I shall soon leave here. But I shall not be immediately i n Caen, for I am stopping off a few days in Rouen and Lisieux. If you allow me to leave here without sending me any mandate in this matter, what will become of it? And what about Father Boniface, to whom I shall be obliged to write, before m y departure, that you wish to send him nothing except instructions to drop the whole matter and return? And how shall we answer to Our Lord and His most Holy Mother for having thus abandoned their project-a project so vital to their service and the salvation of souls? Do not cast the blame on anyone else, my dearest Mother, for I am quite certain that the whole thing depends on you.

In God's name, my good Mother, do not economize in a thing which is the very foundation of the House of Our Lady of Charity. You have worked and suffered so much for it up to this time, and without it the house is in obvious danger of ruin. If you have no money, send me a written promise to repay it to me, and I will do everything in my power to raise it.

Most cordial greetings to all our dear sisters. I am with all sincerity, my dear good Mother, Devotedly yours, JOHN EUDES, missionary priest.

P. S. I recommend that you and your dear daughters pray for his Lordship of Bayeux, who will be consecrated next Sunday.

Letter 121

To Father John de Longeval,(1) Priest of the Seminary of Rouen. On the

Archbishop's manifestations of his satisfaction with that seminary

Paris, March 10, 1662 Wherever he goes, the Archbishop speaks of the work accomplished by the Rouen seminary, and his enormous satisfaction in the modesty and piety so visibly reflected in the faces of those on whom he conferred Holy Orders in Pontoise.(2)

It is a source of great joy to me to witness the blessing that God is pleased to bestow on the labors of my dear brethren; may He be eternally blessed for it!

Oh, how pleasing is this work to Our Lord and His most Holy Mother! What happiness i t affords the angels and saints! How wonderful are the benefits accruing from it to the Church! How many souls will be saved through this means! What gratitude do we owe the goodness of God for having chosen us, unworthy as we are, for such a holy task-the most necessary, worthy and fruitful of all the tasks in God's Church! Blessed are they who persevere in such a holy work and ignore the sensibilities of a corrupt nature which seeks only its own satisfaction. Blessed are they who renounce the case that self-love craves, that they may labor in imitation and for love of our divine Master, Who never enjoyed rest in this world and Whose whole happiness consisted in doing the most holy will of His Father. Blessed arc they who labor with Him, for soon their work shall be finished and they shall enjoy eternal rest with Him. Therefore: "In doing good, let us not fail. For in due time we shall reap, not failing." (3) (1). Father de Longeval's name is mentioned in a letter written to Father Mannoury, Superior of the Lisieux College, in 1656. (See Letter 58) Father de Longeval succeeded Father Mannoury in 1 6 6 2 as Superior at Lisieux. Cf. Boulay, Op. cit., VOL 4, P. 11. No other details could be found in the reference books on the Congregation of Jesus and Mary. (2). A town about 22 miles north of Versailles. (3). Gal. 6, 9.