Chapter V

Continues speaking of confessors: of the importance of their being learned and how we should behave towards them.¹

1. Advantages of consulting more than one confessor. 2. One priest cannot know everything. 3. Difficulties of guiding souls. 4. No one may usurp the authority of the Prioress.

1. May God in His mercy prevent any one in this house from experiencing this trouble, or being reduced to such misery both of soul and body. I hope it may never happen that the Prioress and confessor are such fast friends that no one dare complain of the one to the other. Hence comes the temptation to omit confessing grave sins for fear lest the unfortunate culprit should get into trouble. God help us! What mischief the devil works in this way; how many a soul he may entrap, and how dear their miserable reserve and regard for honour costs people! Having no other director to consult, they imagine that they are preserving religious observance and the reputation of their monastery. Thus Satan schemes to ensnare souls whom he could entrap in no other way. If the poor nuns ask for another confessor they are told at once that this would destroy all religious discipline, and if he should be a priest of another Order, though as holy as St. Jerome, to speak to him is said to be an affront to the whole of their own Order. Thank God, my daughters, for the liberty you are allowed in this matter, for, though you cannot consult a large number of priests, there are some with whom you may confer besides your ordinary confessors and who can give you the requisite light.² For the love of our Lord, I beg the Superior to maintain this holy liberty, and to get permanent leave from the Bishop or Provincial,³ for the nuns to have, besides their ordinary confessors, learned priests to whom they may all speak and open their souls,⁴ especially if their own confessors, though holy, are not great scholars. God forbid that the religious should be directed entirely by one priest if he is ill-instructed, however saintly his spirit may appear, and perhaps may be in reality. Learning gives great light on all points; it is combined with holiness in some men. The greater favours our Lord shows you in prayer, the more need is there that you should be well informed about your devotions, prayer, and all your other duties.

2. You know that the foundation of all must be a good conscience; you ought to make every effort to free yourselves even from venial sin and to do what is most perfect. One would suppose any confessor knew this; however, it is not the case. I had to consult one on matters of conscience who had gone through a whole course of theology, and he did me much harm by telling me certain matters were of no consequence.⁵ Not that he intended to deceive me, nor had he any motive for doing so, but he knew no better: I have since met with two or three like him. Everything depends on our having light to keep the law of God perfectly; on this basis prayer rests solidly; without this strong foundation the whole building is out of the perpendicular. There is need, then, for the nuns to consult men who are both spiritual and learned.⁶ If the confessor cannot lay claim to all this, let them occasionally see some one else: if they are forbidden to confess to any one but their regular confessor, let them seek counsel about their souls from such persons as I mentioned. I dare go further and say that the sisters should sometimes go to some other priest, even if their confessor possesses all these qualities, for he may be mistaken and it would not do for all to be misled by him. Nothing, however, must be done against obedience. Matters can always be arranged, and it is worth any trouble to help one soul — how much more to help a number?

3. All this is said to the Prioress whom I again entreat, for the love of God, to give the sisters this consolation since there are no comforts here except for the soul: God leads people by different ways and the same confessor may not understand them all. I assure you there will always be holy persons ready to guide and to console you if you live as you ought, however poor you may be. God, Who sustains your bodies and supplies them with food, will incite some one with the good will to enlighten your souls, and to bring a remedy for this evil which I fear more than any others. When tempted by the devil to levity or to mislead you on any point the confessor will be more wary and circumspect in his conduct if he knows you will consult some other priest. If the evil one is stopped this entrance into the convent, I trust in God that he will never get in at all. Therefore, for the love of our Lord, I beg the Bishop for the time being to leave liberty on this point to the nuns, who will always be his most obedient children, and, when good and learned priests can be found, not to withdraw the permission. These will soon be known in a little town like this. Even though they may have other confessors, let the Bishop permit the sisters to confess to them and to consult them on spiritual matters. I know this is expedient for many reasons and that any drawbacks it may possess are as nothing compared with the serious, hidden, and well-nigh irreparable harm that may otherwise be done. In convents good observance tends to decline quickly if not preserved with great care: evil customs, once begun, are most difficult to eradicate; they soon grow into habits, and the imperfections become a second nature to us.

4. I have both seen and heard of what I have been speaking and have consulted experienced, learned, and holy men who have considered what is best calculated to advance perfection in this house. Among the many dangers which beset us everywhere in this life, we shall find it safest for no Vicar⁷ to be at liberty to go in or out of the convent or to give such leave to others, nor to give any order: neither shall any confessor hold such power. They are to watch over the religious observance and piety of the house, and its interior and exterior well-being, in order to acquaint the Superior with any fault they may detect, but are not to be superiors themselves. As I said, there are grave reasons why this should be the most prudent regulation. Let the chaplain, if he is fit, be the usual confessor, but when it is clearly needful for a nun's soul she may go to confession to such priests as I have mentioned who are authorised by the Bishop. If his lordship can trust the Prioress in this matter, let him leave it to her discretion. As the community is small, it will not take much time. This is our practice at the present day, not merely by my advice but by that of the prelate under whose obedience we live, as for many reasons we are not subject to the Order. The Bishop, Don Alvaro de Mendoza,⁸ is of a noble family, a great servant of God, and highly favourable to all religious observance and holiness. He is a well-wisher of this house, both in spiritual and temporal matters, and esteems it very highly, desiring that the nuns should attain great perfection. Therefore I do not think that our Lord would permit him to be mistaken, as his only object is the glory of God. He assembled a number of men of learning, piety, and experience, who, together with myself, miserable as I am, after much prayer came to this decision. It is but reasonable that the future Superiors should, by the grace of God, observe this most important decree. It has been resolved on with careful deliberation by holy men, after fervently begging the Almighty to show them what was for the best; which this regulation most certainly is, as far as can at present be known. May God be pleased to promote its observance as may be most to His glory. Amen.