Letter (number unidentified). To Mother Mary of St. Joseph, Prioress of Seville, A Vila, during the year 1578

The Saint begs her to bear patiently with the chaplain Garci Alvarez.

. . . For love of our Lord, I entreat you, daughter, to suffer and be silent, and not to consent to that Father's being dismissed, even though he should give you more trouble and annoyance than he has already, as his faults do not amount to an offence against God. I cannot endure that we should show ingratitude to one who has done us good. I remember how, when people tried to cheat us about a house they were selling us, he showed us how we were being tricked, and I can never forget this service and what trouble he saved us. He has always seemed to me to serve God sincerely and to be well-intentioned. I know very well that gratitude is no perfection in me — it must be my nature, for a sardine would bribe me.