Letter 173. To Mother Mary of S. Joseph, Toledo, March 2, 1577

Thanks for presents. The widow with the gold ingots. The prayer and conjessions of the sisters. The ' vejamen' letter,

JESUS !

May the grace of the Holy Spirit be with your

Reverence, my daughter.

WHEN you send me such good news and such beautiful presents, I might well write you a long letter — at least it would give me great pleasure, but I sent you one yesterday and the number of letters I have been obliged to write this winter has so weakened my head that I have suffered severely. I am much better, still I rarely write myself as I am told that is the only way to complete the cure.

Oh! How delighted I was with the charming things you sent me for the administrator! You would not believe what trouble he takes for the nuns at Malagon and how he devotes himself to me. You must not suppose that it cost him little trouble to bring the thing to a satisfaftory ending, for there have been a thousand difficulties with the workmen. I gave him the small reliquary; both were pretty, though the large one is best, especially since we have repaired it. As I told you, the glass was broken when it came, but we have replaced it with a very good one. The foot was bent, but we have strengthened it with an iron support. Such accidents always occur. I also presented him with the small goblet: I mean the metal cup which is the daintiest I ever saw. Although he wears serge, I do not see much harm in his drinking from such a graceful little tankard. I gave him the flask of perfumes just as it came, with which he was greatly pleased. He is a man of position. And then, some of your presents from Seville went to gladden your house at Malagon. The nuns would not let me give the administrator the bottle of orange-flower water, because it revives the Mother Prioress and even does me good, and we had none here. Of

' Mary uf St. Joseph, who had been professed at Malagon, had belonged to the household of Luisa de la Cerda, which is the reason she so often gave presents to that lady.

your chanty, ask the m(Hher of the Portuguese for a little and send it here, for it was on that condition that I gave the rest to Mai agon.

Oh, how glad I am that you have paid for part of your convent! Still, we must not rejoice too much until the postulant is professed.' Doubtless, if she is not, God will give us the money from elsewhere. Let all of you beg Him to cure my head. I sent word by the courier to-day that an account was to be sent me of what, at least to a certain extent, caused its injury.

I am very pleased with your kind of prayer. It is no lack of humility to recognize that you have reached that state and that God grants you such a favour as long as you realize, as you do, that it is His gift and does not come from yourself. This God makes the soul understand when the prayer comes from Him. I thank Him heartily for your being in such good health and will get you the presents for which you ask. Pray God to make me such that He may hear my prayers. I approve of Beatriz' prayer, but as far as possible, stop such things being talked about. Such matters depend greatly upon the prioress. San Jerónimo never said a word on the subjedl in her letter, for the prioress checked her at once and scolded her, so that she kept silence. You remember that when I was at Seville, she was reserved about it. I do not know whether we were right in letting her leave us. God grant it may turn out well! Imagine what would have happened if the others had found the paper the Prioress discovered. What a thing it would have

' The widow with the gold ingots.

been! God forgive him who bade the sister write it! Our Father wished me to write to San Jerónimo very severely on the subjed:. Read the enclosed and send it to her if you approve of it. You are quite right in forbidding the matter to be mentioned to any one.

The Prioress of Veas writes telling me that her nuns make their confessions to one priest to whom they speak of nothing but their sins, so that he hears the whole community in half an hour; she adds that this plan ought to be observed everywhere. The sisters are perfedily contented and greatly attached to their Prioress as they treat of their soul with her. Your Reverence may tell your daughters to write to me for direñion, as I have had some experience, for why should they search for others who perhaps have had less than I ? This would be more advisable in your part of the country than in any other.

Will you tell Sister San Francisco to make that sister eat meat after Lent and not to allow her to fast. I should like to know what she means by the great strength that she says God gives her, as she does not explain it. How tiresome it is! She gives way to tears before the other nuns and they see her continually writing. Take away what she writes and send it to me. Give her no hopes of speaking about it to anv one except to our Father, for these communications with others have ruined her. Believe me, this language is less understood at Seville than your Reverence thinks. However, if she were to discuss the matter in confession with Father Acosta, no harm could come of it, though I well know that it would be less advisable for her than for any of the others.

You are right in allowing a certain latitude to the community at Paterna, although it would have been best to begin only with what you intended to establish, for in these reforms, if people obtain one thing they want by their outcries they at once imagine they will get the rest. It is wise of you to counsel their performing their duties in common.

I did not give either your letters or the reliquary to Doña Luisa for she has been away and only returned yesterday. I am waiting until she has done all her visiting. Pray for her and Doña Yomar for they have many trials.

As I am writing this letter by snatches, I do not know whether I have forgotten to answer any of your questions. They are taking you the bolts which are the same as we have for the grille of our choir; there seems no need for them to be more highly polished. I foresee that you will not be pleased with them, but put up with them like the sisters here, who do not consider themselves less refined than you. These little bolts are the best thing; 1 do not understand what locks you want. The crucifixes are being made; I exped: they will cost a ducat each. All the nuns ask for your prayers and Isabel is delighted with the sweetmeats and serge. May God reward you! I have very good clothes for myself. Do you think I do not mind being unable to send you anything in return? I do indeed. The sterility of this place is extraordinary.

except for quinces in their season; but you grow far better at Seville. The sisters were greatly pleased with the spices and the catamaca!' They would not let me send any away as I very much wanted to because many of our nuns were in great need of what you gave us.

I enclose the answers to the questions I asked my brother. The competitors had arranged to send the essays to St. Joseph's for the nuns to judge. But the bishop was there at the time and told them to forward the themes to me to censor, although my head was so exhausted that I could hardly read them. Will you show them to the Father Prior and Nicolas. Explain the matter to them, but do not let them read the censure until they have seen the answers. Then, if you can, return the essays, as our Father would enjoy them. They came to me from Avila on their way to him, although it was not the dired: road for the muleteer.

I send you a letter my brother wrote me. He has spoken of the favours God shows him in many others but this one has come to hand. I think you will be glad to read it since you like him very much. Tear it up when you have read it. And now abide with God, for I can never finish when I begin writing to you and it harms my head. May His Majesty make a saint of you for me.

They have just delivered me a letter from our Father at Malaga, dated a fortnight ago, at least, fifteen days to-morrow. He is well, glory be to God !

To-day is March 2. Remember me to all our fathers and let me know about Fray Bartolomés health.

Your Reverence's servant, Teresa de Jesus. You ought to be grateful to me for writing to you with my own hand, for I have not done as much even for St. Joseph's. I wrote to you and our Father yesterday by the courier; that is why I send this by some one else.