Letter V. To a Young Lady

On perfection.

Mademoiselle, — I received by my brother one of your letters, which makes me praise God for having given some light to your mind: but if it is not yet

Letters to Young Ladies. y altogether detached, you must not be astonished. Spiritual as well as corporal fevers are generally followed by some returns of the feeling of illness, which are useful to the person who is getting better for many reasons; but particularly because they consume the remains of peccant humours which had caused the malady, so that there may not remain a trace of them; and because they remind us of the evil past, to make us fear the relapse which we might bring on by too much liberty and license, if the old feelings, like threats, did not keep us on our guard with ourselves, until our health is perfectly restored.

But, my good daughter, as you have half got out of those terrible paths which you have had to travel, I think you should now take a little rest, and consider the vanity of the human spirit, how prone it is to entangle and embarrass itself in itself.

For I am sure you will remark that those interior troubles you have suffered have been caused by a great multitude of considerations and desires produced by a great eagerness to attain some imaginary perfection. I mean that your imagination had formed for you an ideal of absolute perfection, to which your will wished to lift itself; but frightened by this great difficulty, or rather impossibility, it remained in dangerous travail, unable to bring forth, to the great danger of the child. Then it multiplied useless desires which, like great buzzing drones, devoured the honey of the hive, and the true and good desires remained deprived of all consolation. So now take a little breath, rest a little;

and by the consideration of dangers escaped, avert those which might come afterwards. Suspect all those desires which, according to the general opinion of good people, cannot come to effect: such as the desires of a certain Christian perfection which can be imagined but not practised, in which many take lessons, but which no one realizes in action.

Know that the virtue of patience is the one which most assures us of perfection; and if we must have patience with others, so we must with ourselves. Those who aspire to the pure love of God have not so much need of patience with others as with themselves. We must suffer our imperfection in order to have perfection; I say suffer, not love or pet: humility feeds on this suffering.

The truth must be told; we are poor creatures; and can only just get on: but God who is infinitely good is content with our little services, and pleased with the preparation of our heart.

I will tell you what is meant by this preparation of heart? According to the Holy Text, God is greater than our heart, and our heart is greater than all the world. Now, when our heart, by itself, in its meditation, prepares the service it will render to God — that is, when it makes its plans for serving God, honouring him, serving our neighbour, mortifying the interior and exterior senses, and similar good resolutions,— at such times it does wonders, it makes preparations and gets ready its actions for an eminent degree of admirable perfection. All this preparation

Letters to Young Ladies.

cb is indeed nowise proportioned to the greatness of God, ■who is infinitely greater than our heart; but still this preparation is generally greater than the world, than our strength, than our exterior actions.

A soul which considers the greatness of God, his immense goodness and dignity, cannot satisfy herself in making great and marvellous preparations for him. She prepares him a flesh mortified beyond rebellion, an attention at prayer without distraction, a sweetness in conversation with no bitterness, a humility with no outbreak of vanity.

All this is very good, here are good preparations. And still more would be required to serve God according to our duty: but at the end of this we must find some one to do it: for when it comes to practice we stop short, and perceive that these perfections can neither be so grand in us nor so absolute. We can mortify the flesh, but not so perfectly that there shall be no rebellion: our attention will often be broken by distractions, and so on. And must we, for this, trouble, worry, excite ourselves? Certainly not.

Are we to apply a world of desires to excite ourselves to arrive at this miracle of perfection? No. We may indeed make simple wishes that show our gratitude. I may say: Ah! why am T not as fervent as the Seraphim, in order better to serve and praise my God! but I should not occupy myself with forming desires, as if I must in this world attain that exquisite perfection. I must not say: I wish it; I will try to get it; and if I cannot reach it, I will be vexed.

io St. Francis de Sales.

I do not mean to say that we are not to put ourselves in that direction; but we are not to desire to get there in one day, that is, in one day of this mortality: for this desire would torment us, and for nothing. To advance well we must apply ourselves to make good way in the road nearest to us, and to do the first day's journey. We must not busy curselves with wanting to do the last, but remember that we are to do and work out the first.

I will give you this word, and keep it well: sometimes we so much occupy ourselves with being good angels that we neglect being good men and women. Our imperfection must accompany us to our coffin, we cannot move without touching earth. We are not to lie or wallow there, but still we are not to think of flying: for we are but little chicks, and have not our wings yet. We are dying little by little; so we are to make our imperfections die with us day by day: dear imperfections, which make us acknowledge our misery, exercise us in humility, contempt of self, patience, diligence; and in spite of which God regards the preparation of our hearts, which is perfect.

I know not if I am writing to the purpose, but it has come to my heart to say this to you, as I think that a part of your past trouble has come from this — that you have made great preparations, and then, seeiug that the results were very small, and strength insufficient to put in practice these desires, these plans, these ideas, you have had certain heartbursts, impatiences, disquietudes and troubles; then have followed distrusts, languors, depressions, or failings of heart: well, if it is so, be very good for the future.

Let us go by land, since the high sea makes our head turn, and gives us retchings. Let us keep at our Lord's feet, with St. Magdalen, whose feast we are celebrating: let us practise certain little virtues proper for our littleness. Little pedler, little pack. These are the virtues which are more exercised in going down, than in going up, and therefore they are suitable to our legs: patience, bearing with our neighbour, submission, humility, sweetness of temper, affability, toleration of our imperfection, and such little virtues as these. I do not say that we are not to mount by prayer, but step by step.

I recommend to you holy simplicity: look before you, and regard not those dangers which you see afar off. As you say, they seem to you armies, and they are only willow-branches, and while you are looking at them you may make some false step. Let us have a firm and general intention of serving God all our life, and with all our heart: beyond that let us have no solicitude for the morrow* let us only think of doing well to-day; when to-morrow arrives it will be called in its turn to-day, and then we will think of it. We must here again have a great confidence and acquiescence in the providence of God; we must make provision of manna for each day and no more, and we must not doubt that God will rain more to-

• Matt. vi. 34.

morrow, and after to-morrow, and all the days of our pilgrimage.

I extremely approve the advice of Father N., that you take a director into whose arms you may be able sweetly to lay your spirit. It will be your happiness to have no other than the sweet Jesus, who, as he wishes us not to despise the service of his ministers when we can have it, so when that is wanting supplies for all: — but only in that extremity, so that if you are reduced to that you will find it out.

What I wrote to you was not to keep you from communicating to me by letters, or speaking with me about your soul, which is tenderly dear and well-beloved to me. It was to extinguish the ardour of the confidence you had in me, who, through my inefficiency and your distance from me, can be to you but very little use, though very affectionate and very devoted in Jesus Christ. Write to me then with confidence, and doubt not at all that I will answer faithfully.

I have put at the bottom of the letter what you want, that it may be for you alone. Pray hard for me, I beg you. It is incredible how pressed down and oppressed I am by this great and difficult charge. This charity you owe me by the laws of our alliance, and 1 pay you back by the continual memory which I keep of you at the altar in my feeble prayers. Blessed be our Lord. I beg him to be your heart, your soul, your life; and I am your servant, &c.