Letter 124

From Quebec. To her son. 23 Oct. 1649.
Sometimes abuses slip into the lives of spiritual people. The gift of perseverance is precious. All the treasures of grace and holiness flow from the Heart of Jesus Christ.

My very dear son,

I have a spare moment, and I have a chance of giving it to you. A good honest young man is returning to France. He is brother of one of our servants who is going with him. You tell me you have seen nobody who has spoken to me since I came to this country. I sent for this man and I raised my veil in his presence so that he could tell you that he saw me and talked to me. His home is nine miles from Séez, and he has promised to see you and give you first hand news of me. He can describe our monastery and the developments in the rest of the country. If my other letters had not gone I’d have given them to him, he is sure to bring them safely. In my long letter I answered yours in general. I could not do more, there was so much pressing business and the ships came late and were in a hurry to leave.

I am grateful for the news of the nuns of Louviers, especially Mother Francis. We have here a converse sister who was a novice in a house founded by Mother Francis. She left it because of her vocation to Canada. She spoke so highly of that Mother, that to hear her accused of magic and witchcraft frightened us. That is why I asked you for news of them. I pray God to manifest the truth. It is horrible to see the abuses that have slipped in of late among several spiritual people. Not that I should like to harbour any suspicion about her but if it is God’s Will, to bring out the truth, so that, if she is innocent, His holy name may be Glorified and His servant consoled. If you hear anything you will let me know, for we must draw instruction from everything.

Two of our hospital sisters from Dieppe are returning to France. One came last year the other had been here for six years The first has contracted a serous illness that cannot be eased in this country; the other cannot get acclimatised without loss of health. Oh how precious a gift is perseverance! Pray God to give it to me, to my dear sisters, and that He send us death rather than the dishonour of looking back once we have put our hands to the plough, that is, if having consecrated ourselves to His service in this new Church, bedewed with the blood of his faithful servants, we go to seek an easier life, more appealing to nature.

Sr. St. Joseph is always in bad health, but always full of courage. Her mother and relatives are doing everything in their power to get her to return to France and the Ursulines in Tours spare no effort for the same end. But she has the same answer for all: she would rather live on the sagamite of the Indians and then die a thousand times if that were possible, than do anything so cowardly against her vocation and the fidelity she owes to God, merely to preserve a life that is so weak and fragile. Circumstances may arise when not only ourselves, but all the French will be forced to leave this country. In that case we bow our heads and submit to the orders of His Divine majesty. But we hope that He did not build this new Church in order to destroy it, our enemies threaten, they are powerful, but our God is more powerful.

My dear son let us live for our Jesus. May real holiness pour from the approaches to His Sacred heart into ours; for from this Sacred Heart flow all the treasures of grace and love that make us live with His life and love with His Spirit, by Him we persevere as children of God. Without Him we remain in ourselves, in our cowardice and inconsistency. Spiritually we live a sick life, and do not touch solid virtue with the tip of our finger. Ask this Divine Saviour to give me great fidelity in all He asks from me, for it seems to me, I want to be all His without reserve. I ask the same grace for you. Adieu, or rather let us visit each other in Jesus.

From Quebec. 23 October 1649.
p. 149-150.