The Spiritual Confrerences of SFS

In which it is asked how and for what motive we should give our vote, either to those who are to lie admitted to Profession, or to those who are to be received into the Novitiate.

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Two things are requisite to make the giving of our vote to such persons right and fitting; the first, that it should be given to those who are truly called by God; the second, that they should possess the qualities necessary for our mode of life. As regards the first point—namely, that a subject should be really called by God to enter Religion — it must be understood that when I speak of such a calling and vocation, I am not alluding to that general vocation by which our Lord calls all men to Christianity, or to that of which it is said in the Gospel [Mt. 20:16; 22:14] that many are called but few are chosen. For God, Who desires to give to all eternal life [1 Tim. 2:4] gives to all the moans of attaining it, and therefore calls them to Christianity and has chosen them. Those who respond to this call, follow the attraction of God; the number of those who arrive at the end, however, is very small in comparison with those who are called.

But, speaking more particularly of the religious vocation, I say that many are, indeed, called by God into Religion; but there are few among them who maintain and persevere in their vocation. Many begin well, but are not faithful in corresponding to grace, nor persevering in the practice of that which is able to preserve their vocation and to render it true and secure [2 Pet. 1:10]. Again, there are others who are not actually called; but nevertheless, having come, their vocation has been made good and ratified by God. So it is often with those who enter Religion from a feeling of wretchedness and weariness of all things; for although such vocations do not seem good, yet some have been known to come in this way, and to have served God faithfully. Others, again, have been impelled to enter Religion by some disaster or misfortune which befell them in the world, or by some failure in health, or loss of personal beauty; and although these motives are not in themselves good, yet God makes use of them to call such persons. In truth, the ways of God are unsearchable and His judgments incomprehensible. [Rom. 11:33]. He is admirable in the very variety of vocations and in the means He makes use of to call His creatures to His service, all which means should be honoured and revered.

Now, in this great variety of vocations, it is naturally a very difficult thing to recognise those which are true. Nevertheless, in giving our vote, the first requisite is to know whether the portion proposed is truly called. How, then, with this diversity of vocations and the many different motives for entering Religion, can we distinguish the good from the bad? This is certainly a matter of great importance, and of extreme difficulty. We are not, however, entirely without means of testing the reality of a vocation. I will mention one amongst many, because I consider it to be the best of all. If a person shows a firm and persevering determi­nation to serve God in the manner and place to which His divine Majesty calls her, she gives the best proof we can have that she has a true vocation. Observe, however, that when I say a firm and persevering will to serve God, I do not say that from the very beginning she will behave in her vocation with such firmness and constancy that she will feel no repugnance, difficulty, or disgust in the discharge of the duties required by this vocation. No, I do not say that; still less that this firmness and con­stancy will be such as to exempt her from committing faults. Nor do I say that these virtues will make her so strong and firm that she will never falter or vary in what she has undertaken, which is to use all the means which can lead her on to per­fection. That is most certainly not what I mean, for all mortals are subject to passions, changes, and vicissitudes; we love one thing[1] today, and another tomorrow, and one day is never like another. It is not by these different emotions and feelings, then, that we must judge of the firmness and constancy of that good purpose which has been once formed. We must consider whether, amid all these varied emotions, the will remains firm and unchangeably resolved to cling to its good purpose; and whether in spite of all coldness and disgust, it is still deter­mined to persevere in the means prescribed for acquiring virtue. Thus you see that, in order to have signs of a good vocation, it is not necessary to possess visible constancy, but it must reign effectively in the higher will.

If, then, we desire to know whether God wishes us to enter Religion or not, we must not wait until He speaks to our senses, or until He sends an Angel from heaven to signify His will to us; still less is it necessary to have revelations on the subject. Neither are ten or twelve learned doctors of the Sorbonne wanted to examine us and find out whether the inspiration is good or bad, whether it, must be followed or not; but we must correspond to the first impulse and cultivate it, not troubling ourselves at all if, afterwards, any disgust or tepidity should come upon us; for if we always try to keep our will firm in desiring the good which has been shown to us, God will not fail to make all succeed and redound to His glory. Now, when I say this, I speak not only for you, but also for the aspirants who are in the world, for whom we certainly ought to care, helping them in their good intentions. When these good desires awaken in them in all the strength of their first fervour, nothing seems difficult to them - or, at least, every difficulty appears easy to surmount. But when they are shaken by vicissitudes, and when their good feelings no longer make themselves sensible to their lower nature, then at once they imagine that all is lost, and that all they had aimed at must be abandoned; they desire, and yet they do not desire; what they feel then is not sufficient to make them quit the world. "I desire," says one of these young girls, "to enter Religion, but I do not know whether it is the will of God that I should do so, and I am the more uncertain because the inspiration which I feel at this moment does not seem to me strong enough. It has been much stronger than it is at present, but as that strength did not last, I must believe that it was not a good inspiration."

Certainly, one meets with such souls, and I am not in the least surprised at their fits of disgust and tepidity; still less do I believe that, because of them, their vocation is not a true one. The only thing to be done is to be most careful to help them and teach them not to be astonished at these changes, encouraging them to remain firm amid all their varying moods. "Pay no attention to all that," I say to them. "Tell me, did you not feel in your heart an inspiration, or longing, after so great a good? " "Oh yes," they reply, "we certainly did; but it very soon passed away." "Yes," I rejoin, "the strength of the feeling, perhaps, but not in such a way that no affection of the kind was loft within you." "Oh no," they answer, "for we always feel some indescribable attraction drawing us in that direction; but what troubles us is, that it does not seem strong enough for such a resolution." I tell them, in reply, that they must not trouble themselves so much about those sensible affections, nor examine them so closely and minutely; that they are to be contented with that constancy of will which, amid all disturbances, never loses the love of its first intention; that they need only be careful to cultivate this sedulously, and to correspond well to this first stirring of the soul. "Do not trouble yourselves," I say, "as to the quarter from which this intention comes, for God has many ways of calling His servants into His service."

Sometimes He makes use of sermons, at other times of the reading of good books. There are those who have been called by hearing the holy words of the Gospels, like St. Francis and St. Anthony, whose vocations came to them when listening to these words:[2] Go, sell all that thou hast and give it to the poor, and follow Me [Mt. 19:21]; and, Whosoever will come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow Me [Mt. 14:24; Lk. 9:23].[3] Others have been called by weari­ness, disasters, and sorrows which came upon them in the world, and which led them to loathe and abandon it. Our Lord has often made use of such means to call many to His service, who otherwise would certainly never have entered it. For although God is Almighty, and can do whatever He wills, yet He does not will to deprive us of the liberty which He has once given us; and when He calls us to His service, He desires that we should come of our own free-will, and not through force or con­straint. For although some may seem to come to God as if out of disgust with the world, which has ill-used them, or on account of some labour and affliction which has tormented them, yet that does not prevent them from giving themselves to Him with free-will. Very often such persons succeed in serving God well, and become great saints; some­times greater even than those who entered Religion on account of a more evident vocation.

You may have read the story told by Flatus[4] of a gentleman[5], brave according to the world's estimate, who one day being gaily dressed, powdered and curled, and mounted on a richly caparisoned and high-mettled steed, was trying to show off before some ladies whom he wished to please. Suddenly his horse threw him into a mud-heap, from which he had to extricate himself all covered with dirt. The poor gentleman was so overwhelmed with shame and confusion at this accident, that, in a passion of anger, he instantly resolved to become a Religious, crying out: "O traitor world! Thou hast mocked me, but I will also make a mock of thee; thou hast played me this trick, but I will play thee another; for from henceforth I will have neither part nor lot with thee, and from this hour I resolve to become a Religious." He was, in fact, received into Religion, and lived a most holy life, although, as we see, his vocation had come through disgust.

There are many others whose motives have been even worse than this. I have learnt from a reliable source that a gentleman of our own times, brave both physically and morally, and of good birth, seeing some Capuchin Fathers pass by, said to his companions: "I should very much like to know how these barefooted fellows live, and to pay them a visit of three or four weeks; not with the least idea of staying with them always, but just that I may find out what they do, so as to be able after­wards all the better, with the rest of you, to turn them into ridicule." He made his plan accordingly, pursued it steadily, and at last succeeded in gaining admittance. But divine Providence, having made use of this means to withdraw him from the world, changed his bad aim and intention into a good one. He who had thought to entrap others was himself entrapped, for he had not stayed many days with these good friars before he was entirely con­verted. He persevered faithfully in his vocation, and became a great servant of God[6].

There are others, again, whose vocation is no better than this; such as those who enter Religion on account of some natural defect — lameness, imperfect sight, extreme ugliness, and so on; and the worst of this is that such people are often urged to take this step by their parents, who, when they have lame, one-eyed, or otherwise afflicted children, are disposed to leave them in some chimney corner, saying to each other: "This child will be of no use in the world; we must send him into Religion; we must get some benefice for him, that will relieve us of the burden of supporting him." The children, on their part, are willing to be taken where the parents please, hoping to live on the emoluments of the Church. Others, again, have a large family. "Well," they say, "the house must be cleared of some of these encumbrances; let us send the younger ones into Religion, so that the elder may have all we can give them and make a show in the world." But in cases like these also God often displays His great love and mercy, making use of such intentions which in themselves are so far from good, to form out of these poor creatures great servants of His divine Majesty. In this, as in all things, He is wonderful in His ways. Thus the divine Artificer delights in building beautiful edifices out of crooked and bent wood, which seems as if it were good for nothing. So it is with a person who knows very little, if anything, about carpentering; seeing some crooked wood in a car­penter's shop, he would be amazed to be told that it was intended for the making of some beautiful masterpiece. "If that is as you say," he would exclaim, "think how many times the plane must pass over it before it can be fit for such a work!" Well, generally speaking, divine Providence in the same way makes beautiful masterpieces out of these twisted and perverted intentions. Thus He calls and brings in to His Banquet the lame and the blind [Lk. 14:21] to show us that it avails little to have two eyes or two feet with which to journey to Paradise, that it would be far better to enter there having only one eye or leg or arm, than to have two and be lost [Mt. 18:8-9; Lk. 9:24]. Indeed, such people having come into Religion, they are often seen bringing forth abundant and good fruit, and persevering in their vocation.

There are others who have been well called, and yet have not persevered; who, having remained for a time in Religion, have then abandoned it. We have an example of this in Judas, whom we can never doubt was properly called, since Our Lord Himself chose him, and called him with His own divine lips[7] to the apostleship. How was it, then, that, being so clearly called, lie did not persevere in his vocation? Because he abused his liberty, and would not make use of the means provided by God to ensure his perseverance. Because, instead of embracing these means and using them to his profit, he abused and then rejected them, and so was lost. For it is quite certain that when God calls any one to a state of life, He binds Himself, in consequence, by His divine Providence, to furnish that person with all the aids required to become perfect in his vocation[8].

Now, when I say that Our Lord binds Himself, you must not think that in following our vocation it is we who oblige Almighty God to bind Himself, so to speak, for that is impossible; we cannot bind His infinite Majesty as we bind and force one another. No; it is God who binds Himself of His own will, urged and incited to do this by the bowels of His endless and boundless kindness and mercy [Lk. 1:78]. This is so absolutely true that, when I enter Religion, Our Lord obliges Himself to furnish me with all that is necessary to make me a good Religious. He does this not from any obligation, but out of His mercy and infinite goodness; just as a great king, levying troops for war, is bound out of prudence and foresight to arm them with weapons.

For what would be thought if ho sent them out to fight unarmed? If he did so, he would justly be taxed with great imprudence[9]. Now, the divine Majesty never fails in care or foresight. To make us believe this the more firmly, He has bound and pledged Himself so absolutely that we must never for a moment think there could be any failure on His part, when we do not do well.[10] Indeed, His liberality is so great that He gives these means of perfection even to those to whom He has not promised them, and to whom He has not pledged Himself, not having called them. Observe also that when I say that God pledges Himself to give to those whom He calls all the qualifications necessary to make them perfect in their vocation, I do not say that He gives them all at once, and the instant they enter Religion.

No, we must not think that on entering Religion we become perfect all at once; it is enough that we come to aim at perfection and to embrace the means of perfecting ourselves. To do this, it is necessary to have that firm and constant will of which we have spoken, and to embrace all the means likely to make us perfect in the vocation unto which we are called [1 Cor. 7:20; Eph. 4:1]. See, then, how secret and mysterious are the judgments of God! See how some who have entered Religion out of disgust, and almost in mockery, have nevertheless persevered in it; while others, again, though truly and rightly called, and beginning with great fervour, end badly and forsake all. It is, therefore, a very difficult thing to know whether a person is rightly called by God, so that you may give her your vote; for although she may appear fervent, yet perhaps she will not persevere; but that will be so much the worse for her. Do not refrain from giving her your vote if you see that she has a constant will to serve God and to perfect herself. If she is willing to receive the aids Our Lord will infallibly give her, she will persevere. And even if, after some years, she should cease to persevere, and so lose her soul, that is not your fault; it is her own.

So much for the first part of my remarks on the subject of recognising true vocations.

Take now the second, which deals with the conditions necessary for subjects to be received either as postulants, or later on as novices, or farther on still as professed nuns. I have hardly anything to say about the first reception. It in impossible to know much really about these persons, who come with so fair a show of virtue. Speak to them: they will do all you ask. They are like St. James and St. John, to whom Our Lord said: Can you drink the chalice of My Passion? They replied boldly and frankly that they could [Mt. 20:22], and the night of the Passion they forsook Him. So it, is with these persons: they say so many prayers, are so reverent in manner, show so much good­will, that it is difficult to refuse them. In fact, it, appears to me one need not give too much weight to this. Of course, this applies to their interior dispositions, for it is certainly very difficult to know what they are at that time, especially in the case of those who come from a distance. All you can do is to inform yourself as to who they are, and as to their temporal and external affairs, then open the door to them and put them through their first probation. If they are persons of the neighbour­hood, you may observe their ways, and by conver­sation with them, may find out something about their hidden selves; but this, even, is very difficult, because they always come making the best show possible.

Now, with regard to physical health or infirmity, not much attention need be paid to that, because our Houses may receive the weak and delicate as well as the strong and robust. They are, indeed, partly intended for such people; provided always that these infirmities are not so heavy as to make them quite incapable of observing the Rule and doing what their vocation requires. With that exception, I should never refuse them my vote, not even if they should be blind, or with one hand or arm, or even having only one leg, if only they had the other conditions requisite for this vocation. And let not human prudence here inquire: "Do you mean that if such afflicted people presented themselves, they must always be received? Supposing they were blind or sick, who would wait upon them?" Do not trouble yourselves at all about that; there will be no difficulty of that sort; leave it to divine Providence. It will furnish all that is necessary, calling in the strong to wait on the feeble. When infirm persons present themselves, say: "God be praised!" When the robust come: well, so much the better! In fact, bodily infirmities which do not hinder the observance of Rule ought not to be considered in your Houses. And this is what I wished to say concerning this first reception.

As regards the second point—namely, the recep­tion of a subject as a novice — I do not think there are any great difficulties. Still, more consideration ought to be given to this than to the first reception, for there are more opportunities of observing their dispositions, actions, and habits, and the passions which produce them. All that, however, ought not to prevent their admission as novices, provided they have a good will to amend, to submit to authority, and to make use of the remedies proper for their cure. And although they have great repugnance to these remedies, and may make a difficulty about taking them, that is unimportant as long as they do not give up the use of them. Medicines, we know, are always bitter to the taste, and it is impossible that they should be received as smilingly as if they were very appetising. Nevertheless, they do their work, and they do it best when taking them has cost an effort and a struggle. Just so it is with a subject of strong passions. Her temper is violent, and her failures in that respect, are many; but still, if in spite of that she desires to be cured, to be corrected, mortified, and to have the proper remedies administered, however much she may loathe taking them, we must not refuse her our vote, since she not only has the will to be cured, but also takes the remedies prescribed for that purpose, however much it may cost her to do so.

Then, again, there are persons who have been badly brought up and trained, who have a rough and coarse nature. There is certainly no doubt that they will have more trouble and difficulty, than those who are of a sweeter and more tractable dis­position. They will be more liable to commit faults than those who have been better brought up. Still, if in spite of these falls they want to be cured, and show a firm will and purpose to take remedies, how­ever impalatable, I would give them my vote. For these persons, after much labour, will bring forth abundant fruits in Religion, become great servants of God, and acquire a strong and solid virtue. Of this we are sure, knowing that the grace of God supplies what is lacking in nature, so that often where there is less help from nature, there is more from grace. We must not, therefore, refuse to receive into the Novitiate subjects who may have many bad habits, a rough and uncouth mind, and evidently strong passions[11], provided always that they wish to be cured. In fact, in order to receive a novice, nothing need be known excepting that she has a good will, and that she is resolved to accept the treatment imposed upon her for her cure, and to live in great submission. If this is so, I should give her my vote. That is all that I think need be said touching the second reception.

As for the third, the profession of a subject; this is a matter of great importance, and there are, I think, three things to be observed in regard to it. The first is, that subjects who are to be professed must be healthy — not physically, as I have already said, but in heart and mind — that is to say, they should have a heart well disposed to live in absolute submission and compliance. The second is, that they should have good intelligence, by which I do not mean those self-important intellects whose possessors are, generally speaking, vain, full of arrogance and self-sufficiency. Such minds, when in the world, were perfect storehouses of vanity, and they enter Religion not to humble themselves, but as if they wished to give lessons in philosophy and theology, desiring to guide and govern every one. When I speak of a good intelligence or mind, I mean a well-balanced, sensible one, neither too lofty nor too mean, for such minds, unconsciously to themselves, always do a great deal. They set themselves steadily to work to acquire and to practise solid virtues , they are tractable, and there is little difficulty in guiding them, because they are easily made to understand how good a thing it is to let ourselves be governed.

The third thing that must be observed is, whether the subject has laboured well during her year's Novitiate, whether she has suffered patiently and profited by the remedies which were given to her, whether she has carried out the resolutions she made on entering upon it to reform her bad temper and inclinations; for the year of her Novitiate was given to her for that purpose. If you see that she perseveres faithfully in her resolution, and that her will to do so is firm, constant, and abiding; if she sets herself steadily to reform and form herself according to the Rules and Constitutions; and that she desires, not by fits and starts, but continually, to do better, then that is a good sign, and a good reason for giving her your vote. And though, in spite of this perseverance, she still commits faults, and even great ones, that will not justify you in withholding your vote; for though it is true that, during the year of her Novitiate she ought to have striven to reform her manners and habits, this docs not mean that she must never fall again into any fault, or that at the end of that period she ought to be perfect. Look at the Sacred College of our Lord, the glorious Apostles; worthily as they had been called, and much as they had striven to reform their lives, how many faults they committed, not only in the first but also in the second and third year! All of them promised wonders, even to follow our Lord into prison and to death [Lk. 22:33]; but the night of the Passion, when the soldiers laid hands upon their good Master, all forsook Him [Mt. 24:56].[12] I wish you to under­stand from this that we ought not to reject a subject on account of her failures, if, in spite of them, she is firmly determined to improve and to make use of every means offered her for that purpose. Now I have said what I had to say touching the conditions necessary for those whom we desire to receive to Pro­fession, and also as to what should guide the sisters in giving their votes. And here I should finish my dis­course if I had not been asked some further questions.

In the first place, you inquire what should be done in the case of a person who is always disturbing herself about little matters, whose mind is often full of worry and anxiety, and who, when those fretting moods are upon her, shows no love at all for her vocation, although when they are past she promises to do wonders. It is perfectly certain that, so changeable a character is not fit for Religion. But does she, in spite of all this, desire to be cured? If not, she must be dismissed. "One does not know," you say, "whether this proceeds from a want of will to cure herself, or whether she really does not, understand what true virtue is. Well, if, after having thoroughly instilled into her mind what she must, do to amend, she does not do it, but remains incor­rigible, you must reject her; especially since her faults, as you say, do not then proceed from want of judgment, or from not being able to understand what true virtue is, still less from not knowing what, she ought to do for her amendment. No; they pro­ceed from a defect of will, from want of perseverance and constancy in making use of the means which she knows are required to cure her. Because of this, and of her failing to do better, though she may say sometimes that she will, I would not give her my vote.

You tell me, further, that there are some so tender-hearted and weak-spirited that they cannot take correction without being so upset as to make themselves ill. Well, if that is the case they must be rejected; for if they are sick, and yet refuse to be properly treated for their malady, it is clear that they are incorrigible, and give no hope of being cured. Indeed, as regards softness, either of mind or of body, it is one of the greatest possible hindrances to the religious life; and the greatest care must be taken not to receive those who are very deeply tainted with it, since they do not wish to be cured, and refuse to avail themselves of that which would heal them[13].

I am asked, in the second place, what is to be thought of a novice who shows by her words that she repents of having entered Religion? How is she to be judged? Without doubt, if she persists in this evident disgust for her vocation, and in regretting that she ever followed it, and if this distaste makes her careless and indifferent as to conforming herself to the spirit of Religion, she must be dismissed Still, you must always re­member that this state of mind may have come upon her simply as a temptation or trial. You may discover whether this is so or not by the profit which she does or does not derive from owning these thoughts of distaste and regret, and also from the way in which she receives the remedies offered her, whether she makes faithful use of them or not. For God never permits anything to come upon us as a trial or test of our virtue without desiring that we should profit by it; and this we always do when we are faithful in owning our faults, and are, as I have said, ready to believe and do with simplicity what we are told to do. This is the proof that the trial comes from God. If, however, you see that this person uses her private judgment, and that her will is perverted, and that her disgust towards her vocation is persistent, then the case is indeed a bad one, and almost past remedy, and she must be dismissed.[14]

You ask me, in the third place, if it is not a matter of consideration whether you should give your vote to one who is not cordial in her manner, or who does not behave alike to all the sisters, showing preference to one above another. Well, you must not be so strict about all those little things. You must remember that these prefer­ences and attachments are the last things we re­nounce, and that it takes time to reach the point when we have no inclination for one more than for another, and of so mortifying our affections that they make no outward show.[15] In this, however, as in other things, you must observe whether the sister is incorrigible or not.

"Then," you say, "supposing the feeling of the other sisters should be quite contrary to what we know about the matter, and supposing we are, as it were, inspired to mention something which we have discovered to the advantage of this particular sister, must we nevertheless refrain from telling it?" No; although the feeling of the others may be quite opposed to yours, and you may be alone in this opinion, express it, for it may help them to deter­mine what to do. The Holy Ghost presides over communities, and amid the variety of opinions, that mode of action is chosen which is judged to be the most likely to redound to His glory. As to your own wish that others should give their vote or not give it, and your inclination to give your own or to withhold it, all such wishes and inclinations must be despised and rejected like any other temptation.[16] But you must never, among the sisters, show your preferences or your antipathies in these matters.

Finally, with regard to any imperfections which subjects may bring with them from the world, this rule must be observed: if they are seen to amend, however much they still continue to commit faults, you must not reject them, for by their amendment they prove that they are not, incorrigible.[17]

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[1] one thing.—To-day we love humility, and exclaim, there­fore: "Ah! What a lovable virtue is humility! It is surely the most admirable and the most necessary of all!" And so that day we are bent upon trying with all our strength to acquire it. But on the morrow we shall be disgusted with it; or, at least, not prize or esteem it as we did yesterday. We shall say that it is certainly a very great virtue, but not the most lovable of all; and then it is really quite piteous to think of all the trouble that must be taken to acquire it, with such small results, or even none at all. See how changeable and inconstant we are! It is not, &c.

[2] Preaching, like a divine seed, is scattered over the soil of our hearts by the lips of the preacher; but God also makes use of other means. It is true that use is made of this particular means more than of any other for the conversion of heretics and infidels. And by the means of preachers, many have been so much touched as not only to become Christians, but even to obey the Voice of God, calling them to special vocations, such as that of the Religious life. This was the case with St. Nicholas of Tolentius, who, listening to the sermon of a good Father on the Martyrdom of St. Stephen, and hearing it said that the saint saw the heavens open, and the Son of God sitting at the right hand of His Father, was so deeply touched that he at once resolved to quit the world, and never rested till he became a Religious, and so good a one that he lived and died in the odour of sanctity. The instances of those who, like him, have been called to God by preaching, are almost innumerable. Others have been touched by the reading of good books, others by the holy words of the Gospel, like St. Francis and St. Anthony, whose, &c.

[3] and follow Me.—And many others quitted all, and in the most admirable manner did that which Our Lord commands us in these words to do. How many, too, have been called to God by the reading of good books? Truly, a countless multitude! Certain gentlemen, reading the Life of St. Anthony, were so much touched that they quitted at once the service of their earthly sovereign, to serve the King of Heaven. Among other books, Grenada's famous Sinner's Guide has been of service to many, inspiring them with a strong determination to quit the world and to enter Religion. It is, indeed, a most excellent book, full of admirable and inspiring thoughts. Several Re­ligious have told me that they have known many persons who, While reading this book of Grenada's, were called by God to quit the world, and I myself have spoken to numbers who nave assured me that they received their vocation through the perusal of this book.

You have no doubt read the Life of the Blessed Father Ignatius of Loyola, Founder and first Father of the Jesuits. It was the reading of good books that first inspired him. He was a gentleman of good family, a brave soldier, and stood high in the world's estimation. The beginning of his conversion was this. Being severely wounded in the thigh by an arquebuse, he was carried to his house that the wound might be dressed; and having to remain there for a long time until it should be properly healed, he grew very weary, and asked for some books on military subjects to amuse him. Instead of such, however, they brought him The Flowers of the Saints, not the one written by Father Rebadeneira, who was not born at that time, but other Flowers then existing; and, reading them, lie was bo much touched that he left all and resolved to become, a soldier of Jesus Christ. This resolution was so efficacious that he never rested until he had put it into execution, and he became a great servant of God.

There are many others who have been so heavily oppressed by misfortunes, reverses, distresses, that they have grown to hate a world which has perhaps mocked, betrayed, deceived, and wearied them, and they have therefore quitted it in disgust.

[4] Flatus, a Milanese Jesuit (1547-91). Three Books on the Excellence of the Religious State, in Latin by Hur. Platim, and translated into French by Philippe le Bel (Paris: M. Sonnius, MDCVIL, and edition).

[5] De Bono Status Religiosi, lib. III. c. xxxviii.

[6] of God.—Here is another example of the present day. The Reverend Father-General of the Feuillans {The venerable Jean de la Barriere, born at Saint-Céré, in le Quercy, in 1544, died at Rome in 1600}, who was certainly a great servant of God (I knew him and have heard his sermons), entered the service of God through a motive which was certainly not very good, since he seemed rather to seek his own honour and comfort than to obey the call of God; he bought his abbey — or, rather, his father bought it for him. And yet his vocation was so rectified and blessed by God, and he so reformed his life, that he became a mirror of virtue, reformed the Feuillans, and restored them to their pristine perfection.

[7] divine lips—when He said : I have chosen you, it is not you who have chosen Me, for no one can come to God unless he is called by Him. Draw me, says the spouse, and I will run after the odour of Thy perfumes, by which words she shows that she must be drawn in order to run. And certainly when Our Lord told His Apostles that He had chosen them, He was speaking of Judas as well as of the others. He was then dearly called, and Our Lord could not be mistaken in choosing him, for He had the discerning of spirits.

[8] in his vocation.—When God calls any one to Christianity, He binds Himself to provide him with all that is necessary In make a good Christian. In the same way, when He calls a mini to be a Priest or a Bishop, He binds Himself to give him all the graces required for that office. So too when He calls any one to be a Religious, He binds Himself to bestow on that person all that is needed for perfection in his vocation.

[9] imprudence—all the more because they went to him expecting him to furnish, them with all the weapons proper for their calling. But, finding that the prince had never given a thought to the arms and ammunition requisite for such an enterprise, he is at once judged worthy of derision.

[10] when we do not do well.—But observe, when I say that God is obliged to furnish all the aids requisite for those whom He calls into any vocation, I do not mean that He only gives them to those to whom He has promised them. Oh no, that would be a great mistake, for He has often given them, and still gives them, to those to whom He has not promised them and to whom He is not in the least degree bound. For example, here is a man whom God has not called to be either Priest or Bishop, and who, nevertheless, knowing that there is a benefice or a bishopric vacant, instantly hurries to Court, sets all who have credit with the King to work on his behalf, finally, through their intervention, obtains the post and is made Bishop. Now, God had not called him to be one, and is not therefore obliged to give him the qualifications necessary for a good Bishop, therefore He does not always give them. Yet, so great is the liberality of God that, even in such a case, He sometimes gives as though He were bound to give; while to those whom He has chosen, He never fails in His bounty. And what I say as to a Bishop, applies to all sorts of vocations whatever they may be. I would not have you imagine, however, that God obliges Himself to give all these qualifications in a moment. If it were so, Religious Orders would not be called as they are, and have been in all times, Hospitals. The Religious, too, are called by a Greek word which means healers, because they are in the hospital to heal one another, like the lepers of St. Bridget. You must not think that directly people enter Religion they become perfect, for, as I have often told you, we do not come into that state perfect, but that we may aim at perfection. And this Congregation is not, any more than any other, an assemblage of perfect persons, but of such as are aiming at and tending to perfection. It is a school to which people come to learn to be perfect, and in order to do this it is necessary to have a firm and constant purpose to embrace all those means of perfection which are offered by our vocation and the Order into which we are called. It is not the tearful, sighing, sad-faced people who are the best called; nor those who will not stir from the churches, who haunt the hospitals, or who begin with great fervour. We must not look to the tears of the weeping once, or listen to their sighs, or pay any attention to gestures and deportment, with a view to knowing who are rightly called; but rather consider who have good-will and a firm and constant, desire to be healed, and who labour therefore faithfully to recover their spiritual health. Neither must we regard as n mark of a good vocation those fervours which make people discontented with the duties of that vocation, and full of restless desires, vain and profitless for the most part, although apparently aiming at greater holiness of life; vain and profitless, I say, because while they are pleasing themselves by searching after what is often not at all perfect, they neglect what might have made them so in their own vocation. We have an example of this in a young Priest of the Oratory, who was so fervent that the manner of life of the Oratorian Fathers did not seem perfect enough to satisfy him, and he therefore thought that he must quit that life for a regular Religious Order. The good Father Philip Neri, who was his Superior, seeing this, conducted him there himself; but when he beheld him entering with so much fervour the place in which he knew by divine inspiration that he was not intended to be, the Saint began to weep most bitterly. These good Religious, imagining that he wept out of joy and thankfulness of heart, said: "Father, the consolation which you feel must indeed be great, but you would do better to moderate your tears; it would be more fitting to restrain them than to let them flow so abundantly." Thus blessed Philip Neri, however, illuminated by a light that was all-divine, replied: "Ah! It is not a feeling of consolation which makes me weep; I am shedding tears of compassion over this young man, who is abandoning one mode of life to take up another, in which he will never persevere, though he enters it with so much fervour." And it happened afterwards as the Saint had predicted.

[11] passions. Showing in their faces signs of strong passions; turning pale when they are frightened, flushing scarlet when anything is said to vex them, tears even starting to their eyes when they are annoyed. This should not prevent the giving our vote.

[12] all forsook Him. — And even the three most beloved by Our Lord, as it seems to me, and to whom He revealed His deepest secrets, taking them with Him to Mount Tabor and to the Garden of Olives — even those three, I say, who appeared to be the strongest and the most able to resist the assaults of their passions — were the very ones who committed the greatest faults. The glorious St. Peter, who was so fervent, how many did not he com­mit! Certainly his falls were grievous, yet Our Lord did not reject him on that account, because He knew that his purpose of amend­ment was firm and constant. He committed great faults in the first year of his Novitiate, but still greater in the second, and the greatest of all in the third, for then he denied his good Master and Saviour. His temperament was partly the cause of his committing greater and more frequent faults than the others. St. John, being of a gentler nature, was not so subject to these outbreaks; yet he too forsook his Master and fled with the others, though only, it is true, for a little time, and then returned never to quit Him again. St. James not only abandoned Him when death threatened Him, but did worse than the others, for he never came back to seek Him.

[13] deeply tainted.—Softness of the mind is infinitely more dangerous than that of the body, inasmuch as the mind, being the nobler part, the disease is more difficult to cure. If, then, she who is so tainted refuses to allow plasters to be applied to her wound, I should not give her my vote.

[14] As regards one who, as you tell me, laughs at everything that is said to her. You must ask her what she is laughing about? She says she does not know. Well then, neither do I. Nothing that is said to her appears to have any effect on her; she just goes on in the same way as before. But tell me, does she not profit at all by what is said to her, or amend her ways after correction? Does she still think more of her own judgment and opinion than of the direction given her? Is she in all this quite incorrigible? If so, I would not give her my vote; but if she wishes to amend and desires to be cured, I should in that case make no difficulty about giving it to her. But you go on to say, my dear daughter, that she has so high an opinion of her­self that she seems to think nothing of all that is said to her. Well, if she wishes to be a saint after a special and peculiar pattern, that is a different matter. Certainly, this kind of sanctity is always to be dreaded. If we wish to be true saints, we must follow the simple pattern set us by Our Lord and by Our Lady. Moreover, those who are really holy never know that they are, and the greatest saints are those who are the least ready to think themselves such. What are you saying, my dear daughter? You want to be told how, except through Superiors, you can possibly know the state of mind and disposi­tion of these individuals, so as to give them or not your vote with a good conscience. Well, you must carefully observe them; and then, too, you will learn a great deal from what is said of them in Chapter; for why are these Chapters held, if not that, by hearing the opinion of all the sisters, we may our­selves better determine what we ought to do? "She is so obstinate," you say, "in her own judgment, that she will soon be the same in her own will." But is she not open to correction in this? If she judges the actions of others, you must teach her to do so no longer, and to judge herself instead of others. And if she is keen in observing what is right for others but not for herself, alas! what would you have? These are the miseries of human nature. You must teach her to correct herself, and remind her that in reading the Rules and Constitutions she must attend to what concerns herself alone, for she must abso­lutely amend ...

[15] The great St. Paula, holy as she was, loved her husband and children so much that, at their death, who thought she must die herself of grief, so bitterly and continually did she weep, and so strong was the affection which bound her to them. Yet this did not prevent her being a great saint, and perfectly resigned to the will of God.

[16] temptation.—You are afraid that in expressing your feeling, which is contrary to that of the others, you may be mistaken in your own judgment. Pardon me, my dear daughter, it is not your own judgment; you must say simply and truthfully what God inspires you to say. Do you say, my daughter, that when a subject is told to do something, she answers that it is very hard to do it and to have to observe such a point of the Constitutions? Yes; but in spite of her saying this, does she cease to keep this rule which seems to her so hard? Because it is nothing to find a thing difficult to do, as long as one does not give up doing it; and sometimes people exaggerate their difficulties. You must pay more attention to what she does than to what she says. And you, my daughter, say that yon know some Religious who, although subjects have expressed the desire to go back into the world, feeling sure that they can never follow such a vocation, refuse them permission, making them wait till the tenth month of their Novitiate; then if they persist in their desire to leave they are dismissed, but if the desire passes away they are kept. All that is very well, but I should not keep them by force, if they wish to go out before that time, nor should I fix upon any special period for their dismissal; I should like you to have a little patience and son if this distaste will pass off. It is true that in such a case it in very difficult to discover their real state of mind, and you are quite right in asking if their Profession should not be delayed for a time. Yes, my daughter, that might be done, in order to understand them better.

You ask if, when you see subjects doing their work as eye-servants, and because they are only thinking about what the Superior or the Mistress will say about it, you are to take any notice of it. Well, it is sometimes good to do a thing for our Superior's sake, because we may in time go on further and do it purely for God. Speaking of this, I will tell you of a good woman who came to me the other day firmly resolved never to forgive a person who had offended her. At last, after much resistance, I succeeded in persuading her to yield; but she de­clared that she would only pardon her enemy for the love of me, not for the love of God; and I had great difficulty in making her unsay this. Now, those of whom you speak, who act, you say, only to please their Superiors, and more for one than for another, show that they are doing what they do for the creature rather than for the Creator; for if they did it for God, all Superiors would be the same to them. But never mind — their intention may be one day purified.

You ask, again, if you should receive as a subject one who is deaf, or who has some other similar infirmity. I have already told you that I should pay no attention whatever to physical infirmities—unless, indeed, they are very aggravated. It is true that deafness does render a person almost beyond the power of correction, because it is so difficult to make her understand what her fault is and in what way she should amend; but as for other infirmities, I should disregard them. Oh, my dear daughter, have I not already said: "If all people entered Religion, how could they be maintained?" So you say: "If we only receive the infirm, who will wait on them?" We must not be so cautious: God will call the strong to help the weak.

Ah, well! My dear daughter, it takes time to cure our passions and faulty inclinations, and so, if a sister should be in the habit of speaking in too flattering and fawning a manner, you must forgive her and, if possible, teach her to give up this habit And with regard to these failings, we must act as we do in confession. A man comes to me as a penitent and accuses himself of having blasphemed the name of God two hundred times. I say a great deal to him for his amendment, and seeing him full of goodwill in that respect, I give him absolution. He comes back to me after a time, saying: "I accuse myself of having blasphemed the name of God one hundred times." Most certainly I give him absolution, because I clearly see the amendment of this man, and I judge from it that he is not incorrigible.

[17] You say, if a person has nothing in her disposition and natural qualities to recommend her, and, in addition, is almost, continually in the Infirmary, should you not hesitate about, giving her your vote; seeing that, being always out of health, you have no opportunity of getting acquainted with her character and qualifications? To this I reply that if she has not the qualifications necessary for your vocation, you are quite right in your hesitation; but as regards her bodily infirmities, I should not pay too much attention to them — unless, indeed, they are such as to prevent her from observing the Rule. And as for the difficulty of finding out what her disposition is, certainly, in sickness, the character and temper of a person is more easily known than at any other time. And sickness is in itself it long probation.

Have you nothing more to say? What time is it? Have you said Compline? If not, when do you mean to say it? Go now, for I am afraid of breaking the Rules. Go, my dear daughters. I entreat Our Lord to bless you. May God fulfil all your desires and give you His holy peace. Amen.