Letter XVII. To Madame de Chantal

Considerations on the Feast of the Conception of the Holy Virgin, and on a Cojoe which he had received.

O truly this cope is lovely in the extreme, which the dearest mother that lives sends to her dearest father: for it is all in the name of Jesus and of Mary, and represents perfectly the heaven of the blessed where Jesus is the sun, and Mary the moon, a luminary present to all the stars of this heavenly abode; for Jesus there is all to all; and there is no star in this heavenly day in which he is not reflected as in a mirror; and the double phi's * signify, as capital letters, philotheyf and philanthropy, love of God and love of our neighbour; and the ss closed, with their arrows, which ascend on one side and descend on the other, show the exercise of these Divine loves, one of which ascends to God, and makes philotheists; the other descends to our neighbour, and makes philanthropists, both being the one good of charity, which makes us true servants of the Divine Majesty. Over all flows out the Holy Spirit, and makes appear a great variety of flowers and all sorts of virtues.

Blessed be for ever the dear hand of the mother who was able so skilfully to make so beautiful a work. May her hand be fit to do strong things, and equally to manage the spindle. % May it be adorned with the ring of fidelity, and her arm with the bracelet of charity; may the right hand of the Saviour be for ever joined to it, and may it appear full in the day of judgment; may the heart which animates it be ever clothed with Jesus, with Mary, with philothey, philanthropy, sanctity; with stars, with flying darts of heavenly love, and with all sorts of flowering virtues; may the Holy Spirit shine on it always. Good-night, my very dear daughter, my mother.

But I must say jthis further. It is written of the strong woman that all her people have double

• Letters of the Greek alphabet which some ornament on the cope resembled.

f To coin a word. J Prov. xxxi.

244- SV. Francis de Sales.

vestments;* one, I think, for ths feasts, the other for working days; and here I am clothed with an admirable cope for feasts; a lovely cope, and of Easter colour, and also with a robe for every day, of the colour of the robe which our Saviour wore on the Mount of the Passion. May God our Lord clothe you with his passion and with his glory!

I will do for your daughter of St. Catherine all I can; and believe me I will do it with all the more sweetness because you wish it. For I have an extreme sweetness in doing your will. Alas! what a heart should we have to do that of the most loved Creator, since we have so much for the creature loved and united to us in him!

Yes, my dearest mother, put your soul quite into the hands of our dear Mistress, who will be conceived this night in the commemoration we make of her, and I will ask it from her; for, my dear mother, I am quite resolved to have no heart but what she gives me, this sweet Mother of hearts, this Mother of holy love, this Mother of the heart of hearts. Ah! God, what a great desire have I to keep my eyes on this beautiful star of our voyage! Good-by, my dearest mother, be all joyous on the occasion of this coming feast. May Jesus be our heart. Amen.

• Prov. xxxi.