XLVI. To Madame de la Fléchère.
London Visitation Nuns (Harrow translation
Vive ✠ Jésus!
Paris, 1621.
Madame, I pray that God may always be your strength, your love, and your hope, for in my littleness I have an incomparable affection for you. Eh! but your letters, dear, best of sisters, console me, and yet I truly feel with you who bear the burden of sharp and hidden sorrows. But after all, how happy we should be to suffer such things with only the eye of God to look upon them. Truly our crosses ought greatly to raise our courage, seeing that by them we attain to a union all secret with our sweet Master, the greatness of whose sufferings nor men nor angels can ever conceive. Take comfort in this thought when pain is at its height. Still, you ought not to conceal your pain from our Blessed Father (but I think you do not).
We can, it seems to me, so name him, as there is a worthy ecclesiastic here who calls him the true Father. I am sure, dearest sister, that each day he strives after a higher perfection. Happy they who have the example of his rare virtues before them, but far happier they who imitate them! God grant us the grace to be of this number, and may my weakness not hold me back. I shall be satisfied if I follow him a hundred steps behind. I am very glad that your sister has the comfort of staying with you and that your son is good. May God give him the grace to persevere, and may he root all vanity out of your daughter's heart. Mine is very extravagant. It is well that she has found such a good and prudent husband. When I see her I do my best to make her sensible and to show her her mistake. I recommend her to your prayers. My son is also most extravagant, but otherwise he is brave, loveable, and esteemed at court, where the King has given him a very honourable post for one so young. But all this is vanity. I value more your remembrance of him before God than all these dignities. He is always here, I mean with the court, or in his garrison. I trust to the prayers of our Blessed Father to save these children's souls, and that is all I care about.
Adieu, dearest Sister.