CIX. To the Sister Louise-Angélique de la Fayette,[A] at the First Monastery of Paris.
London Visitation Nuns (Harrow translation
CIX. To the Sister Louise-Angélique de la Fayette,[A] at the First Monastery of Paris.
Vive ✠ Jésus!
Annecy, 1641.
My dearest Daughter,
Though not personally acquainted with you, none the less do I know and dearly love you. Your letter shows me quite clearly the state of your mind, and the source of your trouble and embarrassment. It comes from your over-eagerness in seeking to arrive at the perfection you desire, instead of patiently and submissively awaiting the will of Him who alone can give it to you. Now if you wish truly to acquire the spirit of your vocation you will have to correct this fault, and carry out whatever instructions are given you, gently and faithfully, repressing your desires and your thoughts in order, in God's good time, to become a true Visitation nun. I think, if I am not mistaken, that you are not content simply to make acts requisite for your training in perfection, but you want to feel and be conscious that you have made them. This satisfaction you should give up, and content yourself with saying to God without sensible feeling: "I wish with all my heart to perform such and such practices of virtue for Thy good pleasure." Then perform them although with dryness and wish for nothing better than in this manner lovingly to serve Him. If you do this you will soon find yourself in possession of that calm and holy peace so necessary to souls who desire to live by the spirit, and not according to their own views and inclinations. Your repose and spiritual advancement depend, I can see, on these things. May God fill you with Himself and give you the grace to practice all that is taught you by her to whose guidance He has committed you.
I am affectionately yours.