Letter 237. To Father Gracian, Madrid, Avila, August 24, 1578

Death of the king of Portugal. The necessity of urging upon the Nuncio and others the establishment of a separate province for the Discalced. The Count de Tendilla. The fesuits and Father Mariano.

JESUS!

May the grace of the Holy Spirit be with your

Paternity, my Father !

WE were delighted with the letter Pedro brought, so full of bright hopes for the future which seem certain to be realized. May our Lord dispose of matters as tends most to His service ! However, until I know that Paul has had an interview with Mathusalen and how it has passed off, I shall not be free from anxiety. If your Paternity should hear of it, have the kindness to write an account of it to me.

I was deeply grieved at the news of the death of such a Catholic king as that of Portugal and angry with those who let him incur such great home : you need some comforts after your trials. I wish the Count de Tendilla would accompany you on your first visit to the Nuncio. Should the latter grant you pardon, you will be completely exculpated from all the slanders brought against you. I feel certain that if some influential person were to plead for Fray John with the Nuncio, were he only entreated to inquire into the father's character and the injustice of his imprisonment, Sega would at once order that he should be sent to one of his own houses. I do not know by what mischance it is that nobody remembers that saint. The Princess of Eboli would intercede for him if Father Mariano stated the case to her.

The fathers of the Society are very anxious that Father Mariano should come to Avila at once, as they are in great need of his help. If, without much inconvenience, he can be spared from Madrid, I beg your Paternity to have the charity to send him here, as these fathers have been asking for him for a long while and are writing to the Nuncio for permission. He would be with you again in five or six days, as a day or a few hours would suffice here. I beg you not to forget this amidst all your other business. It is fortunate that you are able to charge him with this commission, for, though it seems unimportant, the fathers consider his help absolutely indispensable.

I do not know how we can repay Don Diego in return for his great charity; heaven must recompense him. Give him my kindest greetings and tell him I entreat him not to forsake you until he has found you a safe refuge for I am terrified at all these highway murders. May God in His divine loving-kindness prote(ft your Paternity. I commend myself to the prayers of Doila Juana; remember me kindly to the secretary and the sefioras. I sincerely hope we shall not give them such trouble in future.

You must know that the Father General has written to Dona Quiteria, as you will see by the enclosed letter. God forgive those who have told him such falsehoods against us! If His Majesty should grant us the favour of being constituted as a separate province, it would be well to send some of our fathers to him at once, as I believe we should eventually become his favourites. Let us be His Majesty's favourites and then, come what may ! xMay He proted: your Paternity for us. Amen.

The bell is ringing for Matins, so I will only say that the prioress and sisters are well and feel much consoled. They and my brother ask your prayers and are pleased with the way our affairs are progressing. My greatest pleasure is that this detestable Visitation, which cost us so dear, is done with, and that your Paternity has no more to do with it as I have long desired. Yet I cannot but fear lest so great a blessing should not last long.

To-day is August 24. Your Paternity's unworthy servant and daughter, Teresa de Jesus.

• Father Gracian's mother and his brother Tomas.

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Prefatory note.

This fragment of an unpublished letter must have been part of the large volume of letters from St. Teresa to D. Roque de Huerta, which Yepes says were in his possession. At his death, in 1 6 1 3, as Bishop of Tarazona, they were nearly all dispersed and lost. A photo of the autograph of this fragment (which is kept at the Franciscan convent de la Concepcion, Madrid), was published by P. Fidel Fita in the Boletin de la Real Academia de la Historia, January, 191 1. He believed that it was written on Aug. 24, 1578, and that the first sheet, now missing, contained an account of the crisis of the Reform which Roque cut off and probably sent to the Count de Tendilla. While Rubeo was alive, St. Teresa would have liked Father Gracian to go to Rome to explain and settle matters with him.

TO ROQUE DE HUERTA, MADRID

Avila, August 24, 1578 Dangers of Father Gracian.

. . . Your Honour must not feel anxious, for our Lord will bring things right when you least expedl it. I feel, and I have felt, greater anxiety as to whether our Father has put himself into the hands of the Nuncio; for I would very much rather he cast himself into the hands of God and faced the dangers of the journey to Rome, and that he should be one of those who go there. Perhaps I do not understand what I am talking about.

For charity's sake let me know all that happens at once, as we are greatly concerned about it.

Tell me how Fray Antonio is: I was very sorry about him, for they were heavy blows for one so ill and weak to bear. He is a saint and God treats him accordingly.

The Count's letter was a great comfort to me, for I believe that God has chosen him for our deliverer. I enclose the answer, which is of the utmost importance. If he is at Madrid, will you give it into his hands yourself; if not, send it by a special messenger — but remember that on no account must it be lost.

Your Honour's unworthy servant, Teresa de Jesus.

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Prefatory note»

SegAj who had excommunicated Father Gracian at Valladolid, now sent him an order to show his powers as commissary. The king and the theologians whom he consulted, advised Father Gracian not to comply until Sega had shown his own powers. After a short stay at Madrid, Father Gracian went to the priory at Pastrana. While he was there, the Nuncio's deputies, Augustin Suarez and Coria, came to present the Brief and receive the submission of Father Gracian, Fray Antonio, Mariano, and the community. At first the friars, relying upon the royal provisions, determined to resist, but Father Gracian first consulted a holy lay brother accredited with supernatural discernment who told him that if the Discalced submitted to Sega as the representative of the Holy See, the Pope would grant them a separate province. Father Gracian followed his advice, showing the royal provisions to the Visitors as a proof that his compliance was voluntary, and returned to Madrid. There he gave his documents to the Royal Council and went to the king. Philip, indignant at his provisions having been set aside, left the Discalced to their fate, telling Father Gracian to call on the Nuncio and learn his wishes. Sega refused to see him until the documents of the Visitation, etc. had been transferred to himself.