Letter 78. To Madame De Chantal

Annecy, Dec, 13, 1619.

.... The other day, as I made mention of S. Joseph during Mass, I bethought me of his perfect q^mness when he found himself, as it seemed, deceived in his espoused wife. And so I commended these good gentlemen and their minds and tongues to him, that if it might be, they may acquire some of his meekness and charity. Then, too, it came upon me how in all that perplexity Our Lady said nothing, made no self-defence, and was not dismayed, and then God made it all plain; so I commended this present trouble to her, and resolved that I would be silent. One gains nothing by going forth to encounter the winds and the waves, rather one is apt to be covered with foam! Indeed, my dear Mother, you must not be so sensitive about me. You must be willing to hear me censured; if I do not deserve it for one thing I do for another. The Mother of Him Who deserved nought save infinite adoration did not proffer one word when He was overwhelmed with reproach and shame. “Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness^ sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.” Dear Mother, you are too sensitive in what concerns me. Am I only, of all the world, to be exempt from reproach? I can assure you that nothing in this matter has pained me so much as to see how it pained you. Be calm, and the God of peace will be with you, and will ‘‘tread the lion and the adder under His Feet.’’ Nothing will disturb our peace if we are His true servants. My dear Mother, depend upon it there is a great deal of self-love in the wish to be loved by everybody, and esteemed by everybody. •.. Many remembrances to Soeur Marie Anastasie. She is a little Jacobite,* for the Lord has touched her in His Love, but I trust she will go better along the path of perfection with her lameness than she would have done without it I salute our new novice, and all who are my dear Sisters and daughters in the Lord.... •