Letter XXXI. To a Eeligious Sister

The Saint tells her what nosegay she can give to her guardian angel, her heavenly Valentine or Cavalier; he exhorts her to patience in the difficulty of teaching a self-mlled little girl.

You ask me, my dear daughter, what bouquet you can give to your Valentine. It should be made of some little acts of virtue which you should practise expressly for the sake of this heavenly Valentine; and at the end of the morning's meditation you shall offer it to him that he may consecrate it to your dear Beloved. You can also sometimes gather some from the garden of Olives, or from the mount of Calvary — I mean those bouquets of myrrh of your St. Ber nard — and beg your heavenly Valentine to receive them from your heart, and to praise God for them, which is as if he spread abroad their perfume; for you can neither smell his divine flowers worthily enough, nor highly enough extol their sweetness.

Again you can ask him, this dear Valentine, that he also would take this bouquet and let you smell it from his hand, and also that he would give you some other in exchange; that he would give you scented gloves, covering your hands with works of charity and humility, and bracelets of coral and chains of pearls. In such way should you have loving tendernesses with these blessed knights of the King of Glory.

I think it was St. Thomas Aquinas that you drew for the month, the greatest Doctor that ever was; he was a virgin, and the sweetest humblest soul that could be conceived.

But let us speak a little of this heart of my dear daughter. If it were in front of an army of enemies would it not do wonders, since the sight and presence of a troublesome and ill-behaved little girl troubles her so greatly? But do not distress yourself, my dear daughter. There is no annoyance so great as the annoyance which is composed of many trifling, but pressing and continual, worries. Our Lord permits us to fail in these little occasions, that we may humble ourselves, and may know that if we have overcome

LET. XXXIIL] Further Letters Outside Visitation. 347 certain great temptations it has not been by our strength, but by the assistance of his divine goodness.

I see well that through these little troubles there are very many chances of exercising the love or acceptance of our own objections. For what will be said of a daughter who has not made this little girl get on, not trained her well nor given her good manners? And then what will our sisters say to see that for the smallest disagreeableness that a creature causes us we get ruffled, we bemoan ourselves, we grumble.

There is no help for it, my dear daughter; St. Athanasius's good woman would have bought this state of things for gold; but my daughter is not so ambitious; she would rather have the occasion removed from her, than try to make good out of it. Well, let us betake ourselves to humility, and for the little time that this exercise will last try to bear it in the presence of God, and to love this poor little thing for the love of him who has so loved her that he has died for her. Do not correct her, if you can help it, in anger; take cheerfully the pain she gives you, and believe me to be, yours entirely, &c.