Letter 76

From Quebec. To her son. 2 August 1644
Her joy that God has called him to the order of St. Benedict. The vocation of other relatives of hers. The Iroquois persecution. Capture of Fr. Brissani. Escape of Fr. Jogues.

My dearest and beloved son,

Blessed be our good Jesus who has sent the ships safely back to us with the Rev. Fathers and our two dear sisters and all the help they sent us from old France. I also got your letters and what you sent. I am grateful to you for satisfying my desire, which was only to know the debt of gratitude I owe to God for sharing with you the way of the saints. May He be infinitely blessed by the angels and saints. For me it will be one of my continual exercises at the feet of His Majesty, to sing and praise His mercies. This is only a short note by the first. I did the same last year. I’ll write at greater length by the flagship. That is the safest way, and it will give me the opportunity of writing to your Superiors and those of Tiron.

What shall we render our Spouse, my dear son, in return for His wanting us for Himself? He has also called my niece N. by an extraordinary way. Our sisters who came this year told me of the wonderful generosity of this child in escaping from the hands of her would-be seducer, who had kidnapped her, but she will need greater generosity to overcome self. You know how she was brought up, and the great difference between her home life and the religious life. If she gave herself completely to the practice of solid virtue, she would turn out well, for she has excellent natural qualities. The letters tell me she wants to join me here. I would not wish it, for her good. Natural inclination is no proof of vocation. She should mortify herself for five or six years before assessing her desire, unless her Superiors, with more light from Heaven, decide otherwise. I hope to write to you at greater length about all this.

God has also converted one of our near relatives N. He was unruly, out at night, addicted to every evil, breaking his parents’ hearts, a spoiled only child. He had been dedicated to God before his birth, his parents were childless and he came through the intercession of St. Francis of Paola. At twenty he had forgotten God, the Church and the sacraments, but Divine Goodness touched him powerfully, and won his heart in spite of him. He went away and became a Minim, not knowing he was already vowed to St. Francis (of Paola). He is wonderfully fervent. So you see that God is drawing to His service the greater number of our relatives. May He be blessed forever.

Now that l know the times of your religious exercises, I shall be with you in them all, praising our Divine Master with you. With the Spirit as your guide, you have sufficient work to do in order to become holy. My dear son, be a worthy follower of those who have gone before you and do not fear to expend your life in the service of Him who has been so prodigal with His for your sake. When I will hear that this is true my joy will be complete. You are among so many saints who will help you on your way to heaven. I cannot tell you how I feel at God’s mercy in letting me participate in all the blessings of such a holy congregation. It is the cure He has given for my poverty and truly, I experience its effects.

Let me tell you something of the Church of the Son of God. The Iroquois persecutions have been intense, motivated more out of desire to kill and rob than anything else. This is their main reason. Nevertheless if they capture a Christian, they torture him because of his prayers which they think are a kind of magic bringing all sorts of evil upon them so that they want to rid the world of those who made use of these things. Father Jogues has suffered several martyrdoms throughout his whole body; but God has delivered him alive, bearing the marks of His Son’s livery.

Just recently, these barbarians have killed six of our French, of whom two have been struck with an axe, then burned and forced to eat their flesh. In addition they have captured a large number of Hurons and Algonquins. Last Easter they captured one of our Fathers, a Roman by birth, a truly apostolic man, of whom somebody in France prophesied what was to happen to him here. We still do not know what these barbarians have done to him and a young Frenchman whom he was taking with him to the Hurons Three Iroquois who have been captured alive have told us different things about this priest. This makes us fear that he has been treated like the others, especially since at that time Fr. Jogues, for whom they had great esteem but whom they were going to burn nevertheless, had been rescued. This priest yearned for this happiness in order to win martyrdom, but the Dutch to whom the French had appealed, took him while he was being forced to travel with these barbarians and made him get into their boat secretly; not that they loved this priest - they are heretics - but the Queen of France asked this of them. My other letters will tell you more about this.

Now these barbarians are in possession of the river, from about four leagues below Quebec to about sixty leagues beyond, in order to lie in wait for the French and the Indians. Our governor has just left with a number of soldiers in order to provide a way for these poor Hurons and Algonquins to pass, and most especially for the Fathers of the Mission who are going to the Hurons and the Nipisiriniens, and for whom the Iroquois wait persistently to seize them along with all their possessions and take them away into their own country.

Among the soldiers just come from France is a young man of good family, about twenty two years old, who has been touched by God to serve him in this country in the salvation of souls. You would be charmed to hear him speak and to see a young man who has been in command of armies in France with only contempt towards himself. He will be in charge of the soldiers who are going to spend the winter with the Hurons, accompanied by the Fathers of the Mission. He would like to go everywhere to win souls for Jesus Christ among these nations that have just been discovered and where our Fathers have still not been. He is going to study their language for this purpose. Pray for him my dear son.

Despite the persecutions, Christianity is spreading widely and faith is becoming more esteemed among the Hurons as well as here. Our Christians from Sillery have spent the winter in distant lands where they encountered many pagans who had never heard God or faith spoken of and had never seen any French men. They catechised them and prepared them for baptism. Fr. le Quen has been at Tadoussac where a number of tribes are to be found. In the spring he baptised a large number who are living a very exemplary life. Madame, our Foundress, after hearing reports of this, went to visit them, undaunted by fatigue, in her efforts to advance the glory of God. She has been for some time with a companion living in a little bark cabin with these converts. This winter we had living close to us the tribes of the Iroquois and Algonquins of the Isle. They have been instructed in our Chapel where many have been baptised. Our Lord thereby giving us a chance to render some small service in our field of work, God has kept us in good health. One of our boarders, convinced of the articles of our holy Faith, died in the frost. We had thought she might become a religious, for she would have been capable of it. But now she is dead, her book in her hands praying to God. We have several other courageous young girls. Offer them to Our God; they pray for you, my dear son.

Please offer my humble greeting to your Revd. Prior and to all the Revd. Fathers whom I dare ask to pray for this church and for our establishment in this Country and for my unworthy self. My dear son, let us love and serve our Master, our Exemplar, and our All. I see you in Him. Look for me there and we will find ourselves together in order to render our obedience, while waiting to see Him revealed and thus to enjoy Him in a purer fashion than is possible in this life. Adieu.

From Quebec. 2 August 1644
Kelly, Sr M. St. Dominic, O.S.U. Marie of the Incarnation 1599 - 1672 Correspondence, (translated from the French edition by Dom Guy Oury Monk of Solesmes), Irish Ursuline Union, 2000, p. 74 - 76.