Letter II. To a Benedictine Nun

On trust in God and resignation to his will in our employ ments: how far rash judgment is a grievous sin: how to act when a venial sin is forgotten in confession.

zoth, January 1612.

IT will never happen to me, my dear sister, my daughter, to forget your heart, which mine will perpetually love in Our Lord. I see by your letter that you do not sufficiently lean on holy divine Providence. My dear daughter, if it took away your good sister, which we may hope will not happen so soon, you would not on this account cease to be under the protection of this best eternal Father, who would cover you with his wings. We should be miserable, my daughter, if we only established our trust in God by means of the creatures whom we love; and moreover, my dear sister, we are not to form to ourselves useless fears. It will be quite enough to receive the evils which come upon us from time to time, without anticipating them by the imagination.

As for the office you hold, it is a temptation not to have for it the love which is required, for the time in which you fill it; on the contrary I should wish, and God would wish, that you should exercise it cheerfully and lovingly; and by this means he would take care of the desire which you have of being relieved, and would give it effect in its time. For take notice once for all that we must never be unsubmissive even with one of our wills, but when something happens against our inclination we must accept it heartily, although we would heartily desire that it were not so: and when Our Lord sees that we are thus yielding he condescends to our intentions. I will write to your sister that she must make you do the serving like the others, for that is good.

When thoughts arise in us to the disadvantage of others, and we do not put them away promptly, but delay some little upon them, provided that we do not make a complete judgment, saying within ourselves, it is really so, this is not a mortal sin; nor even if we should say absolutely, it is so, provided that it is not in a matter of importance. For when that for which we judge our neighbour is not a grave thing, or when we

LET. ii.] Further Letters Outside Visitation. 269 do not judge absolutely, it is only a venial sin; and the same for omitting some verse of the Office or some ceremony — there is only venial sin. And when the remembrance of such a fault comes to us after confession, it is not required to return to our confessor in order to approach communion; indeed it is good not to return, but to reserve the matter to be told in the next following confession, and to tell it if you remember it.

As long as your sister has not chosen to receive your pension there is no fault of yours; but it will be well that she should manage it. My dearest sister, you must not lose courage even if you do not so faith fully practise the resolutions you make: you must strengthen your heart and so come to the execution of them. Persevere then, my dear sister, my daughter, and cease not to call upon God or to trust in him, and he will make you abound in his benedictions; thus do I beg him to do, by the merit of his Passion,~and the intercession of his Mother and of St. Frances.* Our sweet Saviour be with you then, my dear sister, my daughter, and I am, entirely in him, your very humble servant.

The good Mother de Chantal, who is ill, but as I hope without danger, salutes you with all her heart. I recommend her to your prayers, and myself also, my dear sister, my daughter. Adieu.

• The sister of the Abbess of Puits d'Orbe (see p. 32) was named Fran9oise. It seems clear that this letter was written to her. [Tr.]