Letter 217. To Mother Mary of St. Joseph, Prioress of Seville, Avila, March 28, 1578

Sister San Francisco. Postulants. Advice and messages for the nuns.

Jesus be with you, my daughter, and give vou and all your daughters as happy an Easter as I ask from Him!

IT was a great comfort to me to know that you are all well. I am as usual ; my arm is in a very bad state and so is my head; I do not know what Office they are reciting. Doubtless it is best for me.

I should be very glad if I could write you a long letter full of affectionate messages for every one. Will your Reverence give them for me, especially to Sister San Francisco, whose letters have given us great pleasure. Her office of prioress has shown us her good qualities. O Jesus ! how lonely I feel at being so far away from you! May He unite us in eternity, for I comfort myself with the thought that all is passing quicklv.

I am amused at what you say about the defeats inFray Bartolome's sisters, which would be unbearable, even if the candidates could buy the house with their dowries. On no account take either of them

Vol. HI. 6 if they have not their wits about them; it is against our Constitutions and an incurable evil. The other girl of thirteen is very young; the mind is constantly changing at that age. You will know what is best: believe me I wish for whatever is to your advantage.

Before I forget it, I must say that I do not approve of those sisters' writing an account of their prayer: there are many drawbacks to it that I should like to explain. Setting aside the time it wastes, it curtails liberty of soul and may even lead to imagining what did not take place. I will tell our Father if I do not forget; otherwise, you must do so. If what occurs is important, it is never forgotten : if it is forgotten, it was not worth writing down. It will suffice if they speak to our Father about what they remember when they see him. When the sisters have scruples, let them tell them to your Reverence, for if they feel confidence in you, I think God will give you light to guide them. I lay such stress on this because I know the objections to thinking over what to write, and how the devil encourages such things. If the matter is really serious, your Reverence may write it down without letting the nuns know. If I had taken notice of the things San Jeronimo told me, she would never have stopped: though some of them seemed to me certainly genuine,! said nothing. Believe me, the best course is to thank God for giving them to us, and when they are withdrawn I should humble myself, by which the soul is sure to benefit.

What Sister Eliseo' says is right, but not being so learned a woman as she Is, I do not know who those Assyrians are. Remember me very kindly to Sister Eliseo of whom I am extremely fond; also to Sister Beatriz and her mother. I am glad to hear from you about the latter and to receive your good news about all the community. God forgive those friars for treating us so badly ! You must not believe all that you hear at Seville. They give us more hopeful news here, which rejoices us, though in obscurity' as Mother Isabel de San Francisco says.

Besides my broken arm, I have suffered severely with my heart for several days. Will you send me a little orange-flower water, packed so that the flask does not get broken in transit. I should have asked for it sooner had I not feared such an accident. The agua de angeles was so delicious that I felt scrupulous about using it and gave it to the chapel where it did honour on my behalf to the glorious Saint Joseph.

Give very kind messages from me to the Prior of las Cuevas (for I am very fond of that saint) also to Father Garci-Alvarez and to my Gabriela. (Our Mother certainly has some reason for calling her my Gabriela'). I should almost envy you the joy

Lisbon. She was distinguished by her zeal for strict observance. Ines so dislilced being put into any office that, on hearing she was to be made prioress, she prayed that she might die before the election and her petition was granted. {(Euvres, tv. 38).

of living with her but for our deep love for one another and that I know the same mutual affedlion exists between your Reverence and your daughters. What need is there for Mother Isabel de San Francisco to tell us this? If she had been sent to Seville solely to praise you and your nuns up to the skies, her journey would have been well spent. But wherever your Reverence may be, my Mother, you will always be praised. Blessed be He who gave you such rich gifts which you employ so well. I commend myself to the prayers of my Mother San Francisco — I can say no more — and to all the others, especially Sister San Jeronimo. Teresa commends herself to yours. Senor Lorenzo de Cepeda is well. I hope, my Mother, that you will be able to decipher this letter for as the writing-implement is bad and the hurry great, what can the result be?

To-day is Friday of the Cross.'

Do not send more than a small quantity of orange-flower water until we see how it travels. Yours,

Teresa de Jesus.

The secretary is Isabel de San Pablo, the servant of your Reverence and all your community.

My Mother, I have just remembered having heard that you have some large and beautiful pidiures at Seville, which Father Julian de Avila praised very highly. Our Mother told me to ask you for one of St. Paul. Will your Reverence send