Selected Letters of Saint Jane Frances de ChantalChantal, Jeanne-Françoise de, Saint
Religion
Selected Letters of Saint Jane Frances de Chantal
Chantal, Jeanne-Françoise de, Saint
Chantal, Jeanne-Françoise de, Saint, 1572-1641 -- Correspondence
Writing from Bourges, 1628, to Mother Favre, who had just been elected
Superior of the Second Monastery of Paris, St. Chantal says: "Your good
Father (St. Vincent de Paul), for whom I feel so much reverence and
affection, thanks me for the gift we have given him of you. This is, I
think, to forstall your being taken away. I shall see to it with the
Bishop of Geneva and with you yourself. What a rogue you are! But all
the more are you my truly loved daughter, for whom I have an
incomparable affection. I send my salutations to whoever you wish. God
be blessed!"
LXXX. _To Sister Anne Marguerite Clément at Orleans._
Vive [+] Jésus!
DIJON, 1628.
Yes, indeed, my dearest daughter, God should be all in all to you. The
one cherished good of the soul is to be alone with her God. Remain in
this state of simple detachment, loving and obeying Our Lord in the
person of your Superior and following blindly her guidance and her
commands. I know full well that you have given me your heart and that
God has lodged it in mine, and this is why I hope nothing may ever take
it thence. Through His grace we have been trained in the same spirit and
vocation in this world; may we continue together to love and praise the
supreme Beloved of our souls for all eternity. Since God has deprived
you of the power to use the intellectual faculties of your soul, do not
attempt to do so, but acquiesce in His good pleasure. Be as a child in
the arms of its nurse, letting God do just as He likes with you through
holy obedience, and try little by little to forget self. I do not think
there is any other means of securing stable peace of soul than the
giving oneself up absolutely, in order to be led and directed by
obedience.
Yours, etc.
LXXXI. _To Mother Catherine-Charlotte de Crémaux de la Grange._
Vive [+] Jésus!
ANNECY, 1629.
MY VERY DEAR DAUGHTER,
The good gentleman[A] who is making your foundation at Condrieu
manifests a great regard for it and much piety, courtesy, and humility
in the articles of his foundation which I have seen. Indeed it is but
reasonable to do all you can to please him. However, in regard to this
first proposition of naming those whom he wishes to be received without
a dowry, you must if possible arrange that the Sisters have the liberty
to choose the subjects, lest those he names may not be suitable. This is
an important point for the preservation of peace in our Institute, as
usually those who present subjects have such a strong desire to see them
received that, if they prove to have no vocations, the Sisters by
sending them away make for themselves enemies instead of friends: so
have a clear agreement on this point. It is quite necessary, in order
not to be constrained to take those who are found to be unsuitable. The
Book of Customs will afford light on this matter....
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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