Letter XII. To Madame de Chantal

We must work with courage at our salvation and perfection, whether in consolations or in tribulations. — What abjection is; its difference from humility. — Action which parents should take with regard to the vocation of their children. — Advice on temptations. — God wishes to he loved rather than feared.

May God assist me, my dearest daughter, to answer properly your letter of the 9th July. I greatly desire to do so; but I foresee clearly I shall not have leisure enough to arrange my thoughts; it will be much if I can express them.

You are right, my child, speak with me frankly, as with me, that is with a soul which God, of his sovereign authority, has made all yours.

You begin to put your hand to the work a little, you tell me. Ah! my God, what a great consolation for me! Do this always; always put hand to work a little; spin every day some little, either in the day, by the light of interior influences and brightness, or in the night, by the light of the lamp, in helplessness and sterility.

The Wise Man praises the valiant woman because: Her fingers have taken hold of the spindle* I willingly say to you something on this word. Your distaff is the heap of your desires; spin each day a little, draw out your plans into execution and you will certainly do well. But beware of eager haste; for you would twist your thread into knots, and stop your spindle. Let us always be moving; how slowly soever we advance, we shall make plenty of way.

Your helplessnesses hurt you much, for, say you, they keep you from entering into yourself and approaching God. This is wrong, without doubt; God leaves them in us for his glory and our great benefit. He wants our misery to be the throne of his mercy, and our power lessness the seat of his all-power. Where did God place the Divine strength which he gave to Samson but in his hair, the weakest place in * Prov. xxxi. 19.

him? Let me no more hear these words from a daughter who would serve her God according to his Divine pleasure, and not according to sensible taste and attraction. Although he should kill me, says Job, yet will I trust in him* No, my child, these helplessnesses do not hinder you from entering into yourself, though they do hinder you from taking complacency in yourself.

We are always wanting this and that; and, though we may have our sweet Jesus on our breast, we are not content; yet this is all we can desire. One thing is necessary for us, which is to be with him.

Tell me, my dear child, you know well that at the birth of our Lord the shepherds heard the angelic and divine hymns of those heavenly spirits, — the Scripture says so; yet it is not said that our Lady and St. Joseph, who were the closest to the child, heard the voice of the angels, or saw that miraculous light; on the contrary, instead of hearing these angels sing they heard the child weep, and saw, by a little light borrowed from some wretched lamp, the eyes of this Divine child all filled with tears, and faint under the rigour of the cold. Well, I ask you, in good sooth, would you not have chosen to be in the stable, dark and filled with the cries of the little baby, rather than to be with the shepherds, thrilling with joy and delight in the sweetness of this heavenly music, and the beauty of this admirable light?

Lord, said St. Peter, it is good for us to be here,f * Job xiii. 15. f Mat. xvii. 4.

to see the Transfiguration; and this is the day on which it is celebrated in the Church, the 6th August; but your Abbess (the Blessed Virgin) is not there, but only on Mount Calvary, where she sees nought but the dead, but nails, thorns, helplessness, darkness, abandonment, and dereliction.

I have said enough, my child, and more than I wished, on a subject already so much discussed between us: no more, I beg you. Love God crucified amid darkness; stay near him; say; 1/ is good for me to be here: let us make here three tabernacles, one to our Lord, another to our Lady, the other to St. John. Three crosses, and no more; take your stand by that of the Son, or that of the Mother, your Abbess, or that of the disciple; everywhere you will be well received with the other daughters of your order, who are there all round about.

Love your abjection. But, you will say, what does this mean, love your abjection? for my understanding is dark, and powerless for any good. Well, my child, that is just the thing, if you remain humble, tranquil, gentle, confiding amid this darkness and powerlessness; if you do not grow impatient, do not excite yourself, do not distress yourself, on this account; but with good heart, I do not say gaily, but I do say sincerely and firmly, embrace this cross, and stay in this darkness, then you love your own abjection.

My child, in Latin, abjection is called humility and humility abjection, so that when our Lady says: Because he hath had regard to the humility of his handmaid* she means, because he hath had regard to my abjection and vileness. Still there is some difference between humility and abjection, in that humility is the acknowledgment of one's abjection. Now the highest point of humility is not only to know one's abjection, but to love it; and it is this to which I. have exhorted you.

In order that I may make myself better understood, know that amongst the evils that we suffer, there are evils abject, and evils honourable; many accept the honourable ones, few the abject.

Example: look at that Capuchin, in rags, and starved with cold; everybody honours his torn habit, and has compassion on his suffering; look at a poor artisan, a poor scholar, a poor widow, who is in the same state; they are laughed at, and their poverty is abject.

A religious suffers patiently a rebuke from his superior, everybody calls this mortification and obedience: a gentleman will suffer such for the love of God, it will be called cowardice; here is an abject virtue, suffering despised. One man has a cancer on his arm, another on his face: the one hides it, and only has the evil; the other cannot hide it, and with the evil he has the contempt and abjection. Now, I am saying that we must love not only the evil, but also the abjection.

Further, there are abject virtues and honourable virtues. Ordinarily patience, gentleness, mortifica- * Luke i. 48.

tion, simplicity, are, among seculars, abject virtues: to give alms, to be courteous, to be prudent, are honourable virtues.

Of the actions of one same virtue some may be abject, others honourable. To give alms and to pardon injuries, are actions of charity; the first is honourable, and the other is abject in the eyes of the world.

I am ill among people who make it a burden to them: here is an abjection joined with the evil. Young married ladies of the world, seeing me in the fashion of a true widow, say that I act the devote, and seeing me laugh, though modestly, they say that I still wish to be sought after; they cannot believe but that I want more honour and rank than I have, that I do not love my vocation without regret: all these are points of abjection. Here are some of another kind.

We go, my sisters and I, to visit the sick; my sisters send me off to visit the more miserable; this is an abjection, according to the world; they send me to visit the less miserable, this is an abjection, according to God; for the latter is the less worthy before God, and the other before the world. Now, I will love the one and the other as the occasion comes. Going to the more miserable, I will say it is quite true that I am worthless. Going to the less miserable: it is very right, for I do not desire to make the holier visit.

I commit some folly, it makes me abject, good; I slip down, and get into a violent passion; I am grieved at the offence to God, and very glad that this should show me vile, abject and wretched.

At the same time, my child, take good heed of what I am going to say to you. Although we may love the abjection which follows from the evil, still we must not neglect to remedy the evil. I will do what I can not to have the cancer in the face; but if I have it, I will love the abjection of it. And in matter of sin again, we must keep to this rule. I have committed some fault; I am grieved at it, though I embrace with good heart the abjection which follows therefrom; and if one could be separated from the other, I would dearly cherish the abjection, and would take away the evil and sin.

Again, we must have regard to charity, which requires sometimes that we remove the abjection for the edification of our neighbour; but in that case, we must take it away from the eyes of our neighbour, who would take scandal at it, but not from our own heart, which is edified by it. / have chosen, says the prophet, to be abject in the house of God, rather than to dwell in the tents of sinners*

In fine, my child, you want to know which are the best abjections. I will tell you that they are those which we have not chosen, and which are less agreeable to us; or, to say better, those to which we have not much inclination; or, to speak out, those of our vocation and profession.

How, for example, would this married woman choose

• Ps. lxxxiii. 12.

U every sort of abjections rather than those of the married state; this religious obey anybody but her superior; and I — how I would suffer rather to be domineered over by a superior in religion, than by a father-in-law at home.*

I say that to each one his own abjection is the best, and our choosing takes fromus a great part of our virtues. Who will grant me the grace greatly to love our abjection, my dear child? Only he, who so loved his that he willed to die to preserve it. I have said enough.

Finding yourself absorbed in the hope and idea of entering religion, you are afraid of having gone against obedience; yet no, I had not told you to have no hope and no thought of it, but simply not to occupy yourself with it; for it is a certain thing that there is nothing which so much hinders us from perfecting ourselves in our profession as to aspire to another; for instead of working in the field where we are, we send our oxen with the plough into our neighbour's field, where, however, we shall not be able to make harvest this year. All this is a loss of time: and it is impossible that keeping our thoughts and our hopes in another place, we should properly strengthen our heart to acquire the virtues required in the place where we are. No, my child, never did Jacob love Lia properly so long as he wanted Rachel. Cherish this maxim, for it is very true.

But, look, I do not say that we may not think and

• Madame de Chantal lived with her father-in-law, and had much to suffer from his ways and humours.

hope; but I say that we must not occupy ourselves with it, or employ much of our thoughts therein. We are allowed to look towards the place we want to get to, but on condition we always look straight in front of us. Trust me, the Israelites could never sing in Babylon, because they were thinking of their country; and for my part, I wish that we should sing everywhere.

But you ask me to tell you whether I do not think that one day you may quit, entirely and for ever, everything of this world for our God; and you ask me not to hide from you, but to leave you this dear hope. O sweet Jesus! what shall I say to you, my dear child? His all-goodness knows that I have very often thought on this subject, and that I have implored his grace in the holy sacrifice and elsewhere, and not only that, but I have employed in it the devotion and the prayers of better people than I am. And what have I learnt up to this? That one day, my daughter, you are to quit all, that is, (for I want you to understand just what I mean) I have learnt that I am one day to counsel you to quit all. I say all: but whether this shall be to enter religion, is a great matter; I have not yet arrived at a conclusion on this, I am still in doubt, and see nothing before my eyes which persuades me to desire it. Understand properly, for the love of God: I do not say no, but I say that my spirit has not yet been able to find ground for saying yes. I will beseech our Lord more and more, that he may give me more light on this subject, that

I may be able clearly to see the yes, if it is more for his glory, or the no, if it is more to his good pleasure.

And let me tell you that in this inquiry I have in such way placed myself in the indifference of my own will to seek the will of God, that never have I done it so perfectly; and still the yes has never been able to stay in my heart, so that up to now I could not say it or pronounce it: and the no, on the contrary, has always been there with a great deal of steadfastness.

But because this point is of great importance, and there is nothing which urges us, give me yet some leisure and time to pray more, and get prayers for this intention, and further, I must, before forming my resolution, talk to you at leisure; this will be next year, God aiding; and after all this, I would still not wish you, in this point, to take a fall resolution on my opinion, unless you have a great tranquillity and interior correspondence in it. I will detail it to you at full length, when the time comes; and if it does not give you interior repose, we will take the advice of some one else, to whom God will perhaps more clearly communicate his good pleasure.

I do not see that it is necessary to hurry, and meantime you can yourself think about it, without making it an occupation, or losing time about it. Although, as I said, up to now the idea (avis) of seeing you in religion has not been able to take its place in my mind, yet I am not entirely resolved about it, and if I were quite resolved, still I should not like to oppose or prefer my opinion, either to your inclinations, if they were strong in this particular subject (for everywhere else I will keep my word to you to conduct you according to my judgment and not according to your desire,) or to the counsel of some spiritual person which we might take.

Remain, my child, quite resigned in the hands of our Lord: give him the rest of your years, and beseech him to employ them in the kind of life that will be most agreeable to him. Do not preoccupy your mind with vain promises of tranquillity, of self-satisfaction, of merit; but present your heart to your spouse, quite empty of all affections except his chaste love; and beg him to fill it purely and simply with the movements, desires and wills which are in his, that your heart, like a mother-pearl, may conceive nothing save the dew of heaven, and not waters of this world; and you will see that God will aid you and that we shall do well both in the choice and in the execution.

As to our little ones, I approve that you should prepare a place for them in monasteries, provided that God prepares in their heart a place for a monastery: that is, I approve that you should have them brought up in monasteries, with the intention of leaving them there, on two conditions; the one, that the monasteries be good and reformed, and make profession of the interior life: the other, that when the time of their profession arrives, which is not before sixteen years, it be faithfully ascertained if they are willing to make it with devotion and good-will; for if they have not an affection for it, it would be a great sacrilege to enclose them in it.

We see how hard young persons received against their will find it to accommodate themselves and devote themselves to the religious life. They ought to be placed there with gentle and sweet inspirations. If they stay there so, they will be very happy; and their mother also, for having planted them in the gardens of the spouse, who will water them with a hundred thousand heavenly graces. Make then this arrangement for them; I am quite of this opinion.

But as to our Aimee,# inasmuch as she wishes to stay in the whirlwind and tempest of the world, you must, without doubt, with a care a hundred times greater, make her safe in true virtue and piety; you must furnish her barque much more completely with all the gear required against the wind and the storm; you must plant deeply in her mind the true fear of God, and bring her up in the holiest practices of devotion.

And as for our C. B.,t I am sure that Monseigneur his uncle, will have more care in the education of his little soul than in that of his exterior. If it were another uncle, I would tell you to keep the care of him yourself, that the treasure of innocence may not be lost. And do not fail to instil into his spirit gracious and sweet odours of devotion, and often to

• The eldest daughter.

f Celse-Benigne, the son. The uncle is Monseigneur Fremiot, Archbishop of Bourges.

recommend to his uncle the feeding of his soul. God will do with him as he pleases, and to this men must accommodate themselves.

I can say no more to you concerning the apprehension you have of your trouble, nor the fear you have of impatiences in suffering it. Did I not say to you, the first time I spoke to you of your soul, that you applied your consideration too much to any trouble or temptation that may arise; that you must look at it only in a large way; that women, and men also, sometimes, make too much reflection on their troubles; and that this entangles thoughts and fears, and desires, in one another, till the soul finds itself so much embarrassed that it cannot get free from them?

Do you remember M. N., how his soul was entangled and mazed with vain fears at the end of the Lent, and how hurtful it was to him? I beseech you for the honour of God, my child, be not afraid of God, for he does not wish to do you any harm: love him strongly, for he wishes to do you much good. Walk quite simply in the shelter of our resolutions, and reject as cruel temptations the reflections which you make on your troubles.

What can I say to stop this flow of thoughts in your heart? Do not give way to anxiety about healing it, for this anxiety makes it worse. Do not force yourself to conquer your temptations, for these efforts will strengthen them; despise them, do not occupy yourself with them. Represent to your imagination Jesus Christ crucified, in your arms and on your breast, and say a hundred times, kissing his side; here is my hope, here is the living fountain of my happiness, this is the heart of my soul, the soul of my heart: never shall anything separate me from his love; I hold him, and -will not let him go, till he has put me in a state of safety. Say to him often: What have I upon earth, and what do I desire in heaven, but you, O my Jesus? You are the God of my heart and my portion for ever.* Why do you fear, my child? Hear our Lord, who cries to Abraham, and to you also: Fear not, I am thy helper. f "What do you seek upon earth, save God? and you have him. Remain firm in your resolution. Keep yourself in the barque where I have placed you, and the storm may come; as Jesus lives you shall not perish: he will sleep, but in time and place he will awake to restore calm to you. Our St. Peter, says the Scripture, seeing the storm, which was very fierce, was afraid; and as soon as ever he became afraid, he began to sink and drown, at which he cried: O Lord, save me. X And our Lord took him by the hand, and said to him: Man of little faith, why didst thou doubt? Regard this holy Apostle, he walks dry foot on the waters; the waves and the wind could not make him sink, but the fear of the wind and the waves makes him perish if his master rescue him not.

Fear is a greater evil than the evil itself. O daughter of little faith, what do you fear? No, fear not; you walk on the sea, amid the winds and the

• Ps. lxxii. 25. \ Gen. xv. 1. + Matt. viii. 25.

waves, but it is with Jesus. What is there to fear? But if fear seizes you, cry loudly: 0 Lord, save me. He will give you his haud: clasp it tight, and go joyously on. In short, do not philosophize about your trouble, do not turn in upon yourself, go straight on. No, God could not lose you, so long as you live iu your resolution not to lose him. Let the world turn upside down, let everything be in darkness, in smoke, in uproar, — God is with us; and if God dwelleth in darkness, and on the Mount of Sinai, all smoking, and covered with the thunders, with lightnings and noises, shall we not be well near him?

I must tell you a word about myself, for you love me as yourself. We have had these fifteen days a very great jubilee, which will be throughout the world, on the commencement of the Pope's* administration, and the war of Hungary. This has kept me occupied, though consoled by receiving many general confessions and changes of conscience; then there is the sea of my ordinary occupations, amid which, (I say it to you) I live in full repose of heart, resolved to employ myself henceforth faithfully and earnestly for the glory of my God, first in myself, and then in all that is under ray charge. My people begin to love me tenderly, and this consoles me.

All your friends in this part are well, and honour you with quite a special love.

Live, live, my dear child, live all in God, and fear not death, the good Jesus is all ours; let us be * Paul V.

entirely his. Our most honoured Lady, our Abbess, has given him to us; let us keep him well; courage, my child. I am entirely yours, and more than yours.