Letter 41. To a Married Lady

Aprils, i6ii.

.. • • N. WAS quite right to go to the Carmelites, for it seemed to be for God's Glory, but since the Superiors send her away, she must believe that though God accepts her attempt. He wills her to serve Him elsewhere, and she will do wrong if, after the first disappointment, she does not become calm and resolve firmly to live to God in some other way. There are various roads to Heaven, and so long as the fear of God is our guide, it matters not much by which we travel, although some may be more desirable than others, when we have a choice. I do not see why you should be distressed about this matter. You placed the poor girl in that holy place of refuge out of charity, but if it is not God's Will that she should abide there, it is not your fault You must acquiesce in what His Sovereign Providence orders. He is not obliged to consult our wants and wishes. God will provide a home for N, in which she can serve

Him, either through consolation or tribulation, as He sees fit... The Carmelites are quite right not to receive a person who is not calculated to obser^e their rule.

My dear daughter, the little annoyance to which you have given way on this occasion ought to be a warning to you that self-love is alive and strong in your heart, and that you must keep a careful watch lest it become your master. May God in His Goodness never let it be so, but may He ever reign in us, over us, against us, and for us, with the strength of His Holy Love.

I:*37.] XLIII.