Letters 1–5

Letter 1

Co libera ion.

GOD'S ways are pleasant and satisfying to those who seek them in love. I am very thankful, sir, for the manner in which you have received my letter. God is certainly working in you, making you thus desire to know the truth, and to bo assisted in your efforts. I ask nothing better than to help you. The more you do for God, the more He will do for you; and every step you advance in the right road will fill your heart with fresh peace and consolation. That very perfection of which people are so much afraid, for fear it should be an irksome restraint, is only perfection in so far as it increases the will to do right. And in proportion as our work increases, weariness and tedium disappear; for one is never wearied of doing that which one likes to do. When one does an irksome thing out of strong love, that love softens the hardship, and makes one willing to suffer. One would not be relieved by any shortcoming of that love; it is rather a pleasure to sacrifice one's-self to the beloved object. And so the nearer we approach to perfection, the more we are satisfied to follow that />«. s/. L.—n A

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TO ONE SEEKING CONGEES/ON what we shall say to him, but it comes forth without premeditation; we can keep nothing back; — even if we have nothing special to say, we like to be with him. Oh, how much easier it is to love than to fear! Fear constrains, fetters, perplexes one; but love persuades, comforts, inspirits, expands the soul, and makes one desire what is good for its own sake. It is true that one always needs a fear of the judgment of God as a counterpoise to the passions. " My flesh trembleth for fear of Thee." * May my whole body be filled with Thy fear, O Lord. But if we begin with a fear which subdues the flesh, we must reach on to that love which comforts the soul. How good and faithful a Friend you will find in God, if you will but form a sincere, stedfast friendship with Him!

If you resolve to give yourself heartily to God, the main point is to mistrust self after the many experiences you have had of your own fragility, and at once to renounce all society which is liable to cause you to. relapse. If you desire to love God, why should you seek to spend your life in the friendship of those who do not love Him, or who despise His Love? Why not be content with the society of such as love Him, and who will help to confirm your love for Him?

I do not ask you to break off entirely from all your friends, or all those with whom circumstances bring you into connection. But it is rather a question of close intercourse with those who help to soil the character, and almost unconsciously drag you down in spite of all your good resolutions.

which we love. What more would you ask than to be always satisfied, and never to bear any cross save one which is more acceptable than the contrary pleasures? But you will never find such satisfaction while yielding to your passions, nor will it ever fail you when you are earnestly seeking God. It is true that this satisfaction is not always a sensible and lively one, such as we experience in worldly pleasures; but nevertheless it is very real, and far superior to any the world can give; and that because sinners always crave that which they have not, while those who are moved by the love of God desire merely that which they have. Their peace may sometimes be dry, and even tinged with bitterness, but yet it is more grateful to the soul than the excitement of passion. It is a peace which makes a man at one with himself, a peace never broken or disturbed save by unfaithfulness. And so the less a man is unfaithful, the more he enjoys this blessed peace. As the world cannot give such, neither can it take this peace away. If you do not believe this, try it. " Taste and see how gracious the Lord is." * You cannot do better than so arrange your time as to read a short time every day, with some brief meditation, reviewing your weak points, considering your duties, seeking God, and acquiring the habit of familiar intercourse with Him. Happy will you be if you learn what it is to find love an occupation. It is no use to ask what those who love God do with Him. There is no difficulty in spending our time with a friend we love; our heart is always ready to open to him; we do not study

TO ONE SEEKING CONVERSION what we shall say to him, but it comes forth without premeditation; we can keep nothing back; — even if we have nothing special to say, we like to be with him. Oh, how much easier it is to love than to fear! Fear constrains, fetters, perplexes one; but love persuades, comforts, inspirits, expands the soul, and makes one desire what is good for its own sake. It is true that one always needs a fear of the judgment of God as a counterpoise to the passions. " My flesh trembleth for fear of Thee." ' May my whole body be filled with Thy fear, O Lord. But if we begin with a fear which subdues the flesh, we must reach on to that love which comforts the soul. How good and faithful a Friend you will And in God, if you will but form a sincere, stedfast friendship with Him!

' It is a question of diminishing frequent intercourse with vain women, who only study to please; and all other society which excites a taste for pleasure, tends to throw contempt on piety, and encourages a perilous dissipation. Such society is most harmful even to men who are established in good ways, and naturally much more to a man who is only taking his first steps in a right direction, and whose naturally easy disposition inclines him to go wrong. Moreover, you ought to take yourself to task for your long- continued shortcomings, and the abuse of grace of which you have been guilty. God has waited for you, sought, invited, urged, one may almost say forced, you to return to Him; is it not fair that you in your turn should wait for Him? Ought you not to mortify your tastes and restrain your habits of life, especially with respect to what is dangerous? Ought you not stedfastly to repent of past sins? and should not your repentance bear fruit in humiliation and selfrestraint as to contagious society? ''He that loveth danger shall perish therein," the wise man says.' Cost what it may, you must avoid the occasions of sin. We are bound by the law of Jesus Christ to cut off a hand or pluck out an eye if they offend; ' that is, if they are a snare or stumblingblock to us.

I grant that you ought not to lay bare to the public the workings of a. conversion which might call forth malicious gossip; true religion never requires such demonstrations. Two things are enough: (i) Never to set a bad example, and there-

REAL CONVERSION by never to be ashamed of Jesus Christ and His Gospel; (2) to do whatever a real love of God requires without affectation or display. In compliance with the first rule, you must attend Church services with all due reverence; and in whatever society you may find yourself, you must never flatter vice or take part in loose, unseemly conversation. In compliance whh the second rule, your study, prayers, confessions, communions, and other good works, should be private. By this means you will avoid the spiteful criticism of the world without yielding to false shame or temporising timidity, which would soon drag you back into the torrent of sin. The most important step to take is quietly to withdraw from all amusements which you may have special reasons to dread, and to confine yourself to the society of a few select persons who think as you desire to think for the rest of your life.

Letter 2

You may think me indiscreet, sir, but I cannot use £.ny reserve with you, although I have not the honour of knowing you; for what has been told me of your mental condition so greatly touches me, as to carry me beyond all ordinary rules. ... It will be a great pleasure to me to receive you for a few days, but meanwhile I cannot refrain from telling you that we must needs yield to God when He urges us to let Him reign within us. Did you deliberate so much when the world sought to seduce you through its passions and pleasures? did you hesitate or resist so much? Did you resist evil as stoutly as you resist what is good? When it is a question of going astray, being corrupted, lost; of acting against the inmost consciousness of heart and reason by indulging vanity or sensual pleasure, •we are not so afraid of " going too far: " we choose, we yield unreservedly. But when the question is to believe that we, who did not make ourselves^ were made by an All-wise, All-powerful Hand — to acknowledge that we owe all to Him from Whom we received all, and Who made us for Himself; then, forsooth, we begin to hesitate, to deliberate, to foster subtle doubts as to the simplest, plainest matters; we are afraid of being credulous, we mistrust our own feelings, we shift our ground, we fear to give too much to Him for Whom nothing can be too much, though we never gave Him anything yet; we are actually ashamed of ceasing to be ungrateful, and of letting the world see that we want to serve Him; — in a word, we are as timid, shrinking, and shy about what is good, as we were bold and unhesitatingly decided concerning what is evil.

All I would ask of you, sir, is simply now to follow the leadings of your inmost heart towards what is good, as you once followed those of your worldly passions towards evil. Whenever you will examine the foundation of your religion, you will easily perceive that there is nothing substantial to be said against it, and that those who oppose it do so only to evade the rules of holy living, rejecting God out of self-seeking. But in all honesty, is it

'** to be so broad on behalf of self, and so narrow

REAL CONVERSION where God is concerned? Do men need so much deliberation to find out that He has made us, not for ourselves, but for Himself? And what do we risk in serving Him? We should go on doing whatever is right and innocent as hitherto; we should have much the same duties to fulfil, and the same troubles to bear patiently; but in addition we should have the infinite consolation of loving that which is above all worthy of our love, of toiling and suffering to please a true and perfect Friend, Who takes heed of everything, however small, and Who rewards all sacrifice a hundredfold, even in this life, by the peace with which He fills the heart. And lastly, we must add the prospect of an eternal and blessed life, in comparison with which all here is but as a slow death.

Do not argue. Either listen to your own heart, in which God, so long forgotten, is now speaking lovingly, notwithstanding pist unfaithfulness; or consult such friends as you know to be rightminded and sincere. Ask them what they find God's service to be; whether they repent having pledged themselves to it, and whether they think they were too credulous or too bold in their conversion 1 They, like you, were in the world: ask whether they regret having forsaken it, and whether the intoxication of Babylon is sweeter than the peace of Sion? No, indeed: whatever crosses may attend the Christian's life, he need never lose that blessed peace of heart through which one accepts every suffering, desiring no happiness which God denies. Can the world give as much? You can tell. Are men of the world always satisfied with everything that comes to them, content without all they have not? Do they do all out of love and with their heart?

What are you afraid of? Of leaving that which will soon leave you, which is, indeed, already slipping away from you, which can never fill your heart, which turns to deadly weariness, and involves a hollow void, a secret self-reproach; which is worthless even while it dazzles?

What are you afraid of? Of following too much goodness; of finding a too-loving God; of being drawn by an attraction which is stronger than self, or the charms of this poor world?

What are you afraid of? Of becoming too humble, too detached, too pure, too true, too reasonable, too grateful to your Father Which is in Heaven? I pray you, be afraid of nothing so much as of this false fear — this foolish, worldly wisdom which hesitates between God and self, between vice and virtue, between gratitude and ingratitude, between life and death.

You know by practical experience what it is to waste away for lack of an inner life fed by love. A man becomes lifeless and without heart directly that he is without the indescribable something which sustains, upholds, renews him hour by hour. All that which the mad lovers of this world say i;i their frenzy is literally true after a fashion. To be without love is not to live, and to love feebly is rather waste than growth. All the wildest passions by which men are led away are but true love which has strayed from its rightful sphere. God made us to live through Him and His Love. We were

REAL CONVERSION 9 born to be fed and consumed by that love, like as a torch is wasted while it gives forth light. This is the blessed flame of life which God has kindled in the bottom of our heart; all other life is mere death. We must love.

But then, what will you love? That which does not really love you, which is not loveable, which you can no more grasp than a shadow? What will you love in the world? Men who are jealous, and fume with vile envy if you are satisfied? What will you love? Hearts as hypocritical in things of this world as the devout are accused of being in religious things? What will you love? A worldly dignity which may slip from you, and can give you no real comfort if you obtain it? What will you love? The esteem of a blind world, each separate member of which you despise? What will you love? This body of clay which fetters our reason, and subjects the soul to present sickness and approaching death? What then? Will you love nothing? Will you drag on a lifeless existence rather than love God Who loves you, Who seeks your love, and would have you to be wholly His, only that He may give Himself wholly to you? Do you fear that you should lack aught, possessing such a treasure? Do you not believe that the Infinite God can fill and satisfy your heart? Put not your trust in yourself, or in anything created; it is all a mere nothing, which can never satisfy the heart of man, made as it is for God. But never mistrust Him Who contains every good thing in Himself, and Who mercifully fills you with disgust for all else, in order to bring you forcibly back to Himself, lO ## Letter 3

Although I have not heard from you, I can neither forget you, nor let go the privilege you granted me. Bear with me, then, I intreat you, while I set before you how guilty you will be in God's sight if you resist the plain truth, and keen perception thereof which God has given you. It would be resisting His Holy Spirit. You can have no doubt of the worthlessness of the world, its incapacity to make you happy, and the delusiveness of all its flattering promises. You know, what the Creator's rights over His creature are, and how far more inexcusable ingratitude towards Him is than towards mere earthly friends. You feel what God is through all His wonderful works, and by the grace with which He fills those who truly love Him. What have you to set against such strong motives, save the love of independence and natural indocility which are at the root of your irresolution? Tou shrink from bearing a yoke, and that is the real leaven of the incredulity you hold up to yourself. You try to persuade yourself that you do not believe enough, and that so doubting, you cannot take up any step in the path of religion without temerity, and a risk of speedy backsliding. But it is no real doubt as to the truth of Christianity which causes this irresolution; on the contrary, it is your irresolution which snatches at this pretext in order to delay doing what the natural man shrinks ^rom. People exaggerate their doubts to them-

TO ONE IRRESOLUTE II selves in order to be dispensed from action, from sacrificing a worthless independence to which self clings jealously.

Honestly, what substantial defined difficulties have you to bring forward? Nothing save the dread of restraint, and of leading a dull, tiresome life; save the fear lest you be led on further than you wish to go in the paths of perfection. It is just because you &re learning to value religion, to feel its due claims, and to see the sacrifices it inspires, that you are frightened, and shrink from giving yourself up to it. But, let me tell you, you do not yet know the attractive, happy side of religion. You see what it takes away, but you do not see what it gives: you exaggerate its sacrifices without perceiving its consolations. No indeed, it leaves no void in the heart; it will only draw you to that which you will learn to prefer to all that has so long enthralled you. If the world never exacted anything but what your heart could accept lovingly, would it not be a better master than it is } But God will take heed for you, wait for you, prepare you, give you the will before He asks you to act. If He restrains your corrupt inclinations, He will, in His Love, give you a taste for truth and goodness which will be stronger than all your lawless tastes. What do you expect? That He should work miracles to convince you? No miracle would conquer this irresolution of a selflove which fears to be sacrificed. What do you want? Never-ending arguments, while all the time you know in your conscience what God's claims are? Arguments will never heal the wound in your heart. You argue not in order to come to a con- elusion and act, but that you may have more excuse for doubting and delay. You deserve that God should leave you to yourself as a punishment for your prolonged resistance; but He loves you better than you know how to love yourself. He pursues you in mercy, and disturbs your heart in order to conquer it. Surrender to Him, and put an end to this dangerous indecision. Such a seeming suspension between two sides is, in truth, adhering to the wrong side; and this assumed deliberation, which never ends, is the secret though disguised determination of a heart ruled by self-love, and seeking to evade discipline. You have argued too much already. If you still have any genuine, weighty difficulties, put them down clearly in writing, and we will go carefully into them together; if, on the contrary, you have only a confused sense of doubt, springing from reluctance to be bound by the rule of faith, why delay your submission? Silence your intellect Need we wonder if the Infinite exceeds our weak, narrow minds? Would you measure God and His mysteries by your vision? Would He be infinite if you could measure Him and fathom His depths?

Do justice to yourself, you will soon do justice to Him. Humble yourself, mistrust yourself, be lowly in your own eyes; realise the dulness of your mind, and the weakness of your heart. Instead of sitting in judgment on God, let Him judge you, and confess that you greatly need His ruling. There is no greatness so real as this inward lowliness which knows its own measure; no argument so sensible as an honest confession of our own want of sense.

DIFFICULTIES OF A MAN OF THE WORLD 1 3

Nothing is worthy of God save a meek consciousness on man's part of his mental weakness, and a readiness to put aside his false lights. Nothing so enlightened as a humble soul; — when once it sees its own darkness, it will soon perceive the truth. Excuse my indiscretion, it is the result of your confidence.

Letter 4

I PITY. . . very much, and quite understand that his position is a very trying one. He is beginning to turn to God, but is as yet very weak. He is obliged to fight against all his tastes, inclinations, habits, and even against sundry strong passions. His 'natural temperament is easy, and keen after pleasure: he is accustomed to continued dissipation, while he has almost as much to contend against from without as from within. He is surrounded by temptations and bad examples; all he sees leads him to evil, all he hears suggests it. He is removed from everything that might be good in the way of example or advice; and all this is a sore trial for beginners. Nevertheless, I must own that I cannot think it would be following the order of God's Providence for him to throw up his office hastily without heeding ordinary rules and consideration for others. If he is stedfast in reading, in prayer, in frequenting the Sacraments, in watching over himself with care, in shunning dissipation as far as his duties will allow, I believe God will take care of him, and not let him be tempted beyond his strength. The events which God brings about through His love are generally prepared by an imperceptible and gentle providential course, which leads on so naturally that things seem to happen of themselves. There must be nothing strained or out of order: it is better to wait awhile and open the door with the key, than to force the lock in our impatience. If it is God*s Will for. . . to retire, His Hand will point out the way. Meanwhile God will keep those who give themselves up to Him; He will hide them under the shadow of His Wings. A man of high position and exalted office, intellectual, clever, and well versed in the ways of the world, ought not, afier a certain age, to find it so difficult to follow a well-regulated, earnest life, as a young man whom every one feels at liberty to tease might do. But this must not be his chief stay: he must trust solely in God, and fear nothing so much as his own weakness. I should advise him to take every precaution against the dangers of his position, but not to give it lip hastily. He should be on his guard lest he deceive himself: it may be that he is really aiming less to escape from what perils his soul than to attain an easier, more congenial life. Perhaps he is not so much striving to avoid sin, as the annoyances, worries, fatigue, and constraint of his actual condition. Such a tendency is very natural, and self-love frequently persuades us that we are acting for conscience' sake, when it is itself the mainspring of our determination. For my part, I believe God does not require so unusual a proceeding, and that seemliness forbids it: at all events, let him wait till the winter. Meanwhile, if

TO AN OFFICER 15 he is faithful to God, He will bear him up that he hurt not his foot against a stone.

Oh, how compassionate and comforting God is to tho.se who go to Him with hearty confidence in their troubles! Men are hard, critical, harsh^ never more than half- tolerant; but God bears with all, is pitiful to all. His Goodness, His Patience and Indulgence, are boundless. I pray with all my heart that He may supply our friend's every need.

Letter 5

tB^o an Officer.

Here you are on the eve of war, and on the scene where it will probably begin. I implore the God of peace to reunite all Christians, and grant us peace. I also pray for your preservation; by which I mean not only that of the body, but the soul, and I am sure that you join your hearty prayers to mine for that. The contagion of bad example is not less dangerous to the soul than the risks of war are to your mortal life. All we see and hear is a risk to the soul, and may wound it mortally, unless God renders it invulnerable; and it is by prayer that you must win this protection. Prayer, in its turn, needs to be sustained by reading Holy Scripture;, for our meditations, if they are to be worth anything, should be the fruit, not of our own thoughts, but of God's.

If you have leisure to study the Books of Joshua, Judges, Kings, Judith, and the Maccabees, you will, be interested to trace the God of Hosts triumphing t over the pride of His foes, and guiding those that trust in Him with His Hand. These writings will show you that courage which is founded on faith, and teach you how to sanctify war. You will find examples of warriors who were faithful, humble, modest; who made ready to fight in prayer. You too must look to God as the Chieftain of your army, the Strength of your csmip, your Buckler. " The Lord is mybuckler,** King David said (Ps. xviii. i). Be strong, and fight the battle of the Lord. If you are stedfast in overcoming the world and your own passions, which are your direct foes, He will help you. to conquer all the rest, and you will be able to say with David, "Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me.'' May God day by day fill you more and more with such a spirit of faith and trust.

VL ta:o an flDfficer.'

You have forgotten me, sir, but it is impossible for me to forget you. Something in my heart continually recalls you, and makes me want to hear of you, as I have most especially felt during the campaign and its perils. Your forgetfulness only makes me feel the more. The friendship you showed me once is of a kind never to be forgotten; and when I recall some of our conversations, my

' It seems probable that the soldier to whom this and the followinf^ letters to XXI. were addressed was the Marquis Jules Armaud CoIbert.de Blainville, a brother of the Duchesse de BeauviUiers.

TO AN OFFICER 1/ eyes are filled with tears. I trust that you remember how pleasant and hearty they were. Have you found anything since then more acceptable than God? Have the truths which then satisfied you failed.^ Is the pure light of the kingdom of God quenched? Has the world's nothingness acquired some fresh value? Is that v/hich was but a wretched dream not still the same? Is the God to Whom you poured out your soul, and Who filled you then with a peace beyond all earthly ken, no longer to be loved? Has the eternal beauty, ever so fresh to pure eyes, no longer charms for you? Is that source of heavenly joy, of unmarred happiness, which springs from the Father of Mercies and God of Consolation, dried up? No, for He has filled me with an urgent desire, to recall you to Him. I cannot resist it: for long I have hesitated, and said to myself that I should only worry you. Even as I began this letter, I laid down a limit of discretion to myself; but after the first few words, my heart burst its bounds. Even should you not answer, or should think me absurd, I could not cease to speak sorrowfully to God of you, when unable to speak to you yourself any more. Once more, sir, forgive me if I exceed all due limits. I know it as well as you, but I feel irresistibly urged: God has not forgotten you, since He stirs up so eager a desire for your salvation in me.

What does He ask of you, save to be happy? Have you not realised that one is happy in loving Him? Have you not felt that there is no other real happiness, whatever excitement may be found in sensual pleasures, apart from Him? Since, then,

1 you know where to find the Fountain of Life, and have of old drunk thereof, why would you seek foul, earthly cisterns? Bright, happy days, lighted up by the soft rays of loving mercy, when will ye return? When will it be given me to see this child of God reclaimed by His powerful Hand, filled with His favour, and the blessings of His holy Feast; causing joy in Heaven, despising earth, and acquiring an inexhaustible fund of humility and fervour from his experience of human frailty?

I am not dictating what you should do. God will Himself make that plain to you according to your needs, so long as you hearken inwardly to Him, and despise boldly that which is despicable. Do whatever you will, only love God, and let His Love, revived in your heart, be your guide. I have often thanked Him for having shielded you amid the perils of this campaign, in which your soul was even more exposed to risk than your body. Many a time I have trembled for you: put an end to my fears, and fill my heart with gladness. None can possibly be greater than to find myself once more with you in the house of God, united in heart and soul, looking together to one glorious hope, and the Coming of our Great God, Who will fill us with the flood of His pure delights. Your ears are not yet closed to the sublime language of truth, your heart is made to feel its charms. " Taste and see " the pleasant bread daily spread for us at our Father's table. Why have you forsaken it? WitK such support, who can fear that anything else will be lacking? Even if you do not feel strong enough o regain the happy position where you were, at

TO AN OFFICER 19 least answer me, at least do not shun me. I know what it is to be weak; I am a thousand times weaker than you. It is very profitable to have realised what one is; but do not add to that weakness, which is inseparable from human nature, an estrangement from the means of strength. You.shall regulate our intercourse; I will only speak to -you of such things as you are willing to hear. I will keep God's secret in my heart, and shall be always, with unchanging affection and regard, etc.

Chapter 1 of 14