Chapter XVIII

Of the Foundation of St Joseph's at Salamanca, in 1570. Weighty counsels for Prioresses.

When those two foundations were accomplished, I returned to the city of Toledo, where I remained some months, until the aforementioned house was bought and all could be left in order. While I was attending to this, a Rector of the Company of Jesus wrote to me from Salamanca telling me, and giving his reasons, that it would be a good thing to have, a convent of our nuns there. Although the great poverty of the place¹ had kept me from founding a monastery in poverty there, yet I considered that so is Avila poor, and yet we had never wanted there, nor do I believe that God will allow His sevan ts to want. And our needs being so modest, with the fewness of the nuns, and their helping to support themselves by the labours of their hands, I determined to make the foundation: and I betook myself from Toledo to Avila, and thence I sought to obtain the licence from the Bishop of Salamanca². When the Father Rector told him about our Order, and that the foundation would be to God's service, he behaved so well as to give it at once.

It seemed to me that, having the Ordinary's licence, I had the convent founded, so easy did it appear. So I sought at once to rent a house, and a lady whom I knew let me have one. There were difficulties, because it was not the time for hiring houses, and some students were occupying it: but she got them to agree to give it up as soon as whoever was to come into it arrived there. They did not know what it was to be taken for: for I took the greatest care that nothing should be known until we had taken possession, because I know by experience what the devil does to hinder one of these convents. And although in this instance God did not permit him to hinder it at the beginning, because it pleased Him that the house should be founded, yet the troubles and opposition which we have since gone through have been so great that even now they are not altogether overcome, although at the time I am writing the house has been founded some years. So I believe God is greatly pleased with it, since the devil cannot bear it.

Well, having the licence, and being sure of the house, and trusting in God's mercy — for there was no one there to help me in any way, and much to be done in preparing the house -I started for Salamanca, taking with me only one companion, in order to go with greater secrecy: because I found it was better not to bring the Sisters until possession was taken; for I had learned a lesson from what had befallen me at Medina del Campo, having found myself in great difficulties there.

Because, if there should be any obstacles, nobody but myself would have to go through the difficulty, with no more than one nun, without whom I could not go. We arrived on the Eve of All Saints, having travelled a good piece of the way on the preceding night in bitter cold, and having slept at a village, I being very unwell.

I do not set down in these foundations the great hardships of the journeys, with cold, with heat of the sun, with snow for it happened once to us to have it snow the whole day long — sometimes with losing our way, sometimes with great sicknesses and fevers. For, glory be to God, it is only my usual lot to be in poor health; but I saw clearly that our Lord used to give me strength. Because it has sometimes happened to me, when a foundation was on hand, to find myself in such sicknesses and pains that I was greatly distressed, for even in my cell I seemed not to be fit for anything but bed. And I would turn me to our Lord, complaining to His Majesty and saying, How could He desire me to do what I was not able to do? And then His Majesty gave strength to do it, although with difficulty; and with the zeal with which He filled me, and the anxiety, I seemed to forget myself.

So far as I remember, I never refrained from founding for fear of the trouble, although I had a great dislike to the journeys, especially the long ones; but when I had once set out, I thought little of them, seeing in Whose service they were undertaken, and considering that in that house the Lord would be praised, and the Blessed Sacrament would be there. To see one church more is a peculiar joy to me, when I call to mind the many which the Lutherans are doing away with. I do not know how any trouble, however great, can be feared, in consideration of so great a benefit to Christendom: for although many of us do not recognize Jesus Christ, very God and very Man, to be, as He is, in the Blessed Sacrament in many places; to us who do so, it must be a great joy. Certainly it often is so to me in chapel, when I see souls so pure as these engaged in praising God: for their purity cannot fail to be perceived in many ways, such as their obedience, and the happiness which it gives them to be in such strict enclosure and solitude, and their rejoicing when some opportunity of mortification presents itself. When the Lord gives the most grace to the Prioresses to practise them in this, I see the greatest happiness; and it is the case that the Prioresses sooner weary of giving them mortifications than they of obeying, for they never can have enough of it.

Although it is not connected with the story of the foundation of which I have begun to speak, some considerations on this subject of mortification present themselves to me, and it may be, my daughters, that they will be useful to the Prioresses; so, in order not to forget it, I will put them down here. For as there are different talents and virtues in the Superiors, so they seek to guide their nuns by these different ways. The one who is very ascetic will think anything which she commands in order to bend the will an easy thing, as it would be to herself, and yet perhaps it may do the Sisters a great deal of harm. This we must bear well in mind, that what we ourselves should feel harsh, we must not lay upon others. Discretion is a great matter in ruling, and in our Houses it is very needful; I may say, more so than in others, because the Sisters have to give a stricter account to the Prioress, both as regards internal and external matters.

Other Prioresses who are very spiritually minded would like to have nothing but praying. Indeed, the Lord leads souls by different ways. But the Prioresses must remember that they are not set there to choose the way according to their own taste, but to guide the nuns by the way of their Rule and Constitution, although they themselves may have to do violence to themselves, and would rather pursue another course.

I was once in one of these Houses with a Prioress who was very ascetic and guided all the nuns in that way. On one occasion the whole convent had to take the discipline during the seven penitential Psalms with prayers, and other things of the same sort. So does it befall them, if the Prioress is engrossed in prayer, although it is not the time of prayer, but after Matins, that then she keeps the whole convent, when it would be much better for them to go to bed again. If, as I say, she thinks much of mortifications, everything has to be kept up to the mark; and these little sheep of the Virgin are silent like so many little lambs, and certainly it rouses in me great emotion and shame, and is sometimes a great trial: for the Sisters do not notice it, because they are occupied entirely with God; but I fear for their health, and I would have them only to fulfil the Rule, which is plenty for them to accomplish; and that anything beyond this should be mildly done.

This matter of mortifications is specially important, and, for the love of our Lord, let the Prioresses look to it: for in these Houses discretion is a very important thing, and the consideration of each one's ability; and if the Prioresses do not walk very carefully in these matters, instead of doing the Sisters good, they will do them great harm and bring them into disquiet. They have to remember that this matter of mortifications is not of obligation: this is the first thing they have to consider; and although it is very necessary if the soul is to gain liberty and high perfection, yet this is not accomplished in a short time; but they ought to keep helping each one little by little, according to the measure of understanding and spirituality which God gives to each.

Probably they may think that understanding is not necessary for this. They are mistaken; for there are some who have much ado first to come to the understanding of perfection and also of the spirit of our Rule; and afterwards perhaps these will become the most saintly: because at first they did not know when it was right to exculpate themselves, and when not, and other small points which, when they understand them, they will perhaps carry out with ease. But if they are not able to understand them, they will not even see that these things belong to their perfection; which is worse. There is in one of these Houses a nun who is one of the greatest servants of God there is in them, so far as I can judge, great in spirituality, and in the graces which His Majesty bestows on her, humble and given to penance: yet she cannot succeed in understanding some points in the Constitutions. Our accusing each other of Faults in Chapter seems to her uncharitable, and she says that she cannot say anything against the Sisters. And there are other things of this kind which I could relate of some other Sisters who are great servants of God; who in other matters, as I see, could give odds to Sisters who understand these things very well.

And the Prioress must not think that she understands souls straight off: let her leave this to God, Who alone is able to comprehend them: but let her seek to lead each one in the way in which His Majesty leads her, always provided that she does not fail in obedience or in the more essential points of the Rule and Constitutions. That one of the eleven thousand virgins who hid herself did not fail to be a saint and a martyr, but rather suffered more, perhaps, than the other virgins, in coming afterwards all alone to offer herself for martyrdom.

Well, now, to return to mortifications. Sometimes the Prioress commands a Sister, to mortify her, something which, though small in itself, is serious to her: and suppose she does it, it leaves her so troubled and upset that it would have been better not to have commanded it. Let the Prioress at once take warning by this not to attempt to make her perfect by main force; but let her conceal her own views and go on little by little until the Lord works in her soul, lest that which she does to perfect her should only cause her disquiet and bring misery to her spirit, which is a very terrible thing; while she might be a very good nun without that particular perfection. And when she sees what the others do, little by little she will come to do the samef as we often have seen: and even if not, she will be saved without that virtue. For I know one of them who all her life has had great virtues and has served our Lord many years already, and in many ways; and yet she often has such imperfections and wrong feelings that she can do nothing with herself, and she knows it and mourns over it with me. I think God lets her fall into those faults without sin — for there is no sin in them — that she may humble herself and may have something to shew her that she is not altogether perfect. So, as some will bear great mortifications, and the greater the happier they will be, because the Lord has given to their souls strength to conquer their will; so others cannot bear even little ones, and to impose them would be like loading a child with two bushels of corn: not only could he not carry them, but would break down and fall to the ground. So, my daughters (to the Prioresses I am speaking), forgive me: for it is the things which I have seen some do which have made me enlarge so much on this point.

Another thing I could impress upon you, and it is very important, that, although it should be only as a test of obedience, you should not command anything which, if it were done, might be a venial sin — and I have known of some things which would have been mortal sins if they had done them: at least the Sisters themselves might perhaps have been saved as having done them in their simplicity; but not the Prioress. For there is nothing she tells them which they do not immediately carry out. And as they hear and read of the things which the Saints in the desert did, so all things whatsoever seem right to them when commanded them, at least right that they should do them. Moreover let the Sisters be instructed that anything which would be a mortal sin if done not in obedience, they cannot do in obedience, except it were such a thing as omitting to hear mass or to keep Church fasts; for the Prioress may have good reasons for such as these. But throwing themselves into a well and things of that sort are wrong to do, because nobody has a right to think that God will perform a miracle for her as He has done for the Saints. There are plenty of things by which perfect obedience can be trained: and I would commend anything which keeps off from these dangers.

Once when a Sister at Malagon asked leave to take the discipline, the Prioress (no doubt others had been asking the same) said, " Let me alone." When she went on begging, she said, "Go along³, let me alone." The Sister with great simplicity went and walked for some hours, until a Sister asked her, Why was she walking so much? — or some such words — and she said that she had been told to do it. At that moment the bell rang for Matins, and when the Prioress asked why she had not come, the other Sister told her what had taken place.

So it is necessary, as I said before, for Prioresses to be very careful with souls, having charge of those whom they see to be so obedient, and to take care what they do.

To another Prioress a nun went to shew her one of those very large worms, telling her to look how pretty it was, and the Prioress said joking, Then let her eat it. She went off and fried it very well. The cook asked her, Why she was frying it? and she said, To eat it: and so she meant to do; while this was very far from the Prioress' intention: and it might have done her much harm. It pleases me the more that the nuns should possess this virtue of obedience to an extreme degree, because I have a special love of it: and so I have done all I could that they might have it: but it would have been of little use if the Lord had not of His great mercy given grace to all the Sisters in common to desire it. May it please His Majesty still to increase it.

Footnotes

1. This remark of Theresa's is very striking. The bull of Pope Alexander IV, authorizing the university, gives a very different account. But the multitude of convents, colleges, hospitals, parochial foundations^ chapelries, and entailed charges had left hardly a yard of land in private hands. Agriculture and trades had disappeared, people got their living by teaching, and morals were corrupted. St Theresa, being a daughter of Avila, hardly 20 leagues from Salamanca, could not have been ignorant of the difficulties and straits which such and such convents were beginning to experience; since, though much was given in alms, it came to little for each. For the rest, the city and country are by no means poor, but among the richest in Spain. ↩

2. The Bishop was Don Pedro Gonzalez de Mendoza, son of the Duke del Infantado. He was appointed by Philip II, and consecrated in 1560. He took part in the Council of Trent. He was Bishop of Salamanca 14 years. Three other convents besides St Theresa's were founded there in his time. ↩

3. [Lit. "Go and walk." Tr.] ↩