Letter 135

From Quebec, to her son, September 13th 1651.
She speaks of the destruction and establishment of her Monastery.

My very dear son,

May Jesus be our all for Eternity. A little ship that arrived here has brought us letters from the sisters in Tours and they gave me news of you. It is returning at once and no other ship has appeared and it is already the 13th Sept. I won’t let it go without sending you proofs of my sincere affection and without news of us for fear you would hear it from other quarters. We did not die by the hand of the Iroquois but passed through fire in an unexpected accident that happened to our Monastery on the 30th December last and reduced it to ashes together with all our temporal goods. We ourselves escaped this horrible conflagration by a special act of Providence. I was the last out. The fire was above and below me and another fire following after. I escaped through the grille which one or two of our sisters had managed to break. Failing this I would have had to make my escape through a window which had not yet caught fire but was on the third story. A poor Indian woman escaped that way but the snow on which she fell was frozen and she was severely injured. I found my sisters almost naked on the snow. I will not tell you here all the details of the incident, just a short summary. Our friends have helped with habits, provisions and other necessities. They have even lent us money to rebuild the Monastery which has to begin from the foundations. It is 108 feet long and 28 wide. The parlours are 30 long and 24 wide. I leave you to judge if we have not had a hard blow. Our loss is estimated at 60,000 Iivres which the Providence of God had given us and now has taken away. We await it from Him because the debts we have contracted from the building are greater than our foundation money. You will probably say, as many of our friends do, that it would be better for us to go back to France rather than incur such great and hazardous expenses and everything here is uncertain on account of the Iroquois raids. The question was discussed by the leading people in the country. They have shown us the goodness of their hearts and the care with which they protect us. The conclusion was that we would not leave but would give God the service befitting our vocation, which thanks to Him is stronger than ever. For I must tell you my dear son, for the Glory of His Majesty, that we have received a great increase of grace and courage so that the more we are stripped of temporal goods the more grace abounds in us. This is only a word in passing. I’ll tell you in another letter the secret dispositions of my heart.

The decision to rebuild having been taken I was charged with the business of overseeing all and I had plenty of trouble and fatigue in the difficulties met with in a country covered with snow until May and in finding building materials and other necessities for such a big undertaking. Our elections followed and see the burdens laid on such weak shoulders in a country so poorly provided for and in the midst of such inconvenience. Don’t think however, my dear son that I lost heart; no. Once we began the building we leant on Divine Providence. Our foundation money provided only our subsistence. The rest, for building and helping our poor Indians Divine Providence has provided for and His arm is not shortened. If He has withdrawn a helping hand at one time he again stretches it out to overwhelm us with benefits. I hope He will strengthen me in the labours He wills me to undertake for His Glory. For myself I am only a poor imbecile and so His Glory will shine all the brighter.

Our building is up to roof level. They are at the chimneys and in eight days the roofing timbers will go on. If the ships had come from France we would be able to put on a spurt, borrowing the skilled labourers coming to our friends and if that happens we will be able to take up residence in four or six months. Otherwise it will be this time next year. It is surprising the cost of labour here. We have men employed at 45 to 55 sols a day and their keep. Our accident came unexpectedly and we were deprived of all that help. That’s why it’s so expensive because we had to send to France for men. These are usually hired for three years to suit us and them. Now there are days when we are paying 30 livres in wages. Four oxen are used to draw the wood and the sand. Stone is quarried on the spot, that is how we manage in this country. We have a little house at the end of our enclosure 30 feet long by 20 wide. We use it as parlour, living room, refectory, offices and everything else except school. We take our classes in a bark cabin. Before the burning we used to rent the little house but now we are very happy to have it. It is very convenient because we can oversee the building without leaving the enclosure. Pray for me my dear son that He may strengthen me and make me worthy to serve Him at the expense of my life and honour. This is the source of my glory and I sacrifice it to Him with all my heart. Would you believe that for the forty or fifty persons including our workmen we have only three batches of bread and no news of ships bringing provisions. I can only rejoice in everything His Paternal Goodness does. May he be blessed Eternally.

From Quebec. 13 Sept. 1657.
p. 164-165.