Letter XXV. To a Superioress of the Visitation. on the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin

7th September 1616.

I LIVE in hope, my most dear daughter, that if my ingratitude close not Paradise to me, I shall one day enjoy by complacency that eternal glory in the enjoyment of which you will delight, after having holily borne the cross in this life, which Our Saviour has imposed upon you in the charge of serving him faith fully in your own person, and in the person of the many dear sisters, whom he wishes to be your daughters in him.

I salute them, these most dear daughters, in the love of the most holy Virgin, on whose cradle I invite them to throw flowers every morning during this holy octave; holy anxieties to imitate her, thoughts of serving her for ever, and above all lilies and roses of purity and ardent charity, with violets of most sacred and desirable humility and simplicity.