The singular reply of the General of the Company of Jesus shall be given in full. Its curious worldly care for the worldly welfare of worldly people, its wonderful depth of spirituality for him who is spiritually minded, its complete grip of the subject, its polite piety, its discreet judgment, its personal humility, its impersonal dignity, its authoritative decision, its quaint gravity of form, stamp it as the work of a great and powerful mind. Padre Iñigo de Loyola wrote as follows: “MOST NOBLE LORD:— “It gave me great delight to hear of the resolution with which God in His Infinite Goodness has inspired you. Since we, who are on earth, are unable to render Him sufficient thanks for the favour which He has been pleased to show to our humble Company, in calling you to join it, I humbly beseech the angels and the saints who are now enjoying His Presence in heaven to supply our deficiency in this respect. I trust that Divine Providence will cause this decision of yours to be the means of effecting much good, not only in regard to your own soul, but to the souls of many others who may be led to follow your example. As for us who are already members of the Company, we shall strive to serve with increased devotion the Gracious Father, who has given us so skilled a labourer to aid in the work of cultivating the tender vine, which He has been pleased to entrust to my care, although I am in every respect unworthy of the office. In the name of the Lord, I therefore receive you at once as our brother, and shall henceforth regard you as such. Most truly can I promise to feel for you, now, and always, an affection proportioned to the large-hearted generosity with which you desire to enter the House of God, there to serve Him more perfectly. “With reference to your enquiries as to the time and manner of your entrance into the Company, I have laid the matter before God in prayer. It is my opinion that this change must be made with much caution and deliberation, in order that you may not leave any of your immediate duties unfulfilled; otherwise it may not prove to be A.M.D.G. (Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam—_To The Greater Glory Of God_; the motto of the Company of Jhesus.) You had better keep the affair a secret at present; at least as far as it is possible to do, striving meanwhile so to arrange things as to be free as soon as you can, and at liberty to carry out the plan you so ardently desire to execute for the love of our Lord.