Letter 84. To Mademoiselle De Frouville

Annecy, Au^. 9, 1620.

It is an imspeakable delight to me, my dear daughter, to see the heavenly working of the Holy Spirit in your heart, as testified by your resolute, generous renunciation of the world. Tj'his is true supernatural wisdom, my child, and shares the spirit which moved oui Lady to “ rise up and go into the hill country.” Such readiness to do God’s Will is a powerful means of obtaining great and wondrous graces for the fulfilment of any good work. You, my dear daughter, after the first severe shock to your heart, of tearing away its natural inclinations and tempers, have found comfort and peace in the resting-place you have chosen, wherein to sing ceaseless praises to your Saviour and Creator.

Letten. p

Dear child, I would have you often raise your thoughts to the eternal reward which awaits you in Heaven, for having acted thus. It is all as nothing (and I know you feel this), when compared with your duty, or with the everlasting reward held out to you by God. What are all the trifles which we despise and forsake for His Sake but poor little pretences of liberty, more binding in reality than His chains? ceaseless anxieties, empty longings, never to be gratified, which disturb the mind with endless fears and cares, and make life restless and imsatisfied. Yet it has pleased God that whosoever will forsake these mere fleeting trifles and vain delights should receive in exchange eternal happiness; a bliss in which, to love Him ever more and more, will be to the soul one ceaseless flood of joy.

In truth, dear daughter, I should not have ventured to bid you trample down your feelings, your fears, and anxieties and repugnances, if I had not fully believed that the Heavenly Bridegroom, of His great Goodness, would give you strength and courage to maintain His cause against natural likings. And now, my child, you have quietly died to the world and the world is dead to you. This is but a part of yom: sacrifice; you have yet to be a victim — ^you have to tear self from out your heart, cutting off and rooting up all the little failings left by nature and the world's training; and then you must bum all that remains of self-love upon the altar, until your whole soul is consumed with the flames of Divine Love. But, my very dear child, this is not to be done in a day. He Who graciously enabled you to make the first step will enable you to go on; His is a Father's Hand, and He will either lead you unconsciously to yourself, or He will give you that constancy and joy which He gave to the saint we commemorate to day (S. Laurence). Therefore, fear nothing; ‘‘lam confident that He Which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ." * Only “ be faithful in a f(?w things, and He will make thee ruler over many things."

You promise that, if it is allowed, you will write me a history of your blessed Retreat, and I can promise you that it will be allowed, and that I shall greatly delight to receive your report May God be ever blessed, praised, and glorified, my very dear child. In Him and for Him, I am in all sincerity, yours, &c.

Your good Carthusian imcle will rejoice when he hears that you have become a Religious*

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SP/J^/TC/AL LETTERS OF

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