Chronological Dictionary of Vincentian History

CHAPTER XV: Appendix II: Vincent de Paul Speaks to the Daughters of Charity 1654-1660

1654

143. In the beginning of the Company you will, with the abundant graces to be found in it, do more in three months than you would do in years at some future time (On How to Behave when Living Away From the Mother-House, January 1, 1654, II:269).

144. Make yourselves beloved by all by the example of a good life (On How to Behave when Living Away from the Mother-House, January 1, 1654, II:271).

145. All of us are of very little account (On Secret Pride, March 15, 1654, II:277).

146. Another sort of pride takes up its abode under a grey habit just as easily as under a more

elegant one (On Secret Pride, March 15, 1654, II:277).

147. Whoever mixes with the world, becomes worldly (On the Preservation of the Company, May 25, 1654, II:290).

148. Sisters, be on your guard lest the world’s attachment to you may not be caused by your attachment to it (On the Preservation of the Company., May 25, 1654, II:291).

149. When you neglect or despise [the Rule], we may bid good-bye to the Company, and although it may not be utterly annihilated, all that will be visible will be the bark of the tree and nothing more (On the Preservation of the Company, May 25, 1654, II:292).

150. The executioner of the Daughters of Charity is envy ... the opposite of charity is envy....As soon as envy enters your Company, it is finished (On Envy, June 24, 1654, II:301-302).

151. It is not the habit that makes you a Daughter of Charity, but the interior habit of the soul (On Envy, June 24, 1654, II:302).

152. The poor are your masters and you are their servants, and therefore you should have less than they have (On Envy, June 24, 1654, II:306).

153. The devil excites jealousy when good is done and virtue practiced and, if the deed cannot be found fault with, the intention is attacked, and it is regarded as impure and nothing but a caprice or a whim (On Envy, June 24, 1654:306).

154. True nobility and greatness consist in virtue (To Four Sisters who were Sent to Sedan, July 23, 1654, III:4).

155. The devil suggests leaving your vocation as something that is very useful and easy. He puts sauce on it to make it tasty. If he sees that a Sister does not fall in with his proposal, but rejects his first temptation, he will change the sauce... the devil always tempts under the appearance of good (On Temptations, August 24, 1654, III:14).

156. When one finds fault with what is done in the Mother-house, it tends to ruin the Company from top to bottom, to destroy it utterly (On Temptation, August 24, 1654, III:16).

157. Take great care not to fall into this sin [giving scandal] because you would be like spiders who convert the most beautiful flowers into poison..... you would convert honey into poison (On Scandal, October 9, 1654, III:28).

158. Those who listen to conversations against charity offend God just as much as those who indulge in them (On Scandal, October 9, 1654, III:29).

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1655

159. The Carmelite nuns and mortification. (On Mortification of the Senses and Passions, January 3, 1655, III:53). The Carmelite nuns and mortification in Spain (On the End of the Company [Common Rules, Article 1, 2, 3], October 18, 1655, III:108).

160. It is not enough to open our hearts to our Superiors; we should believe them and do what they say, because that is the chief thing; otherwise it will be of very little value (On Secretiveness, February 2, 1655, III:65).

161. Obedience is the real philosopher’s stone; everything it touches turns to gold (On Obedience, May 23,1655, III:72).

162. There are many Daughters of Charity who lose a great deal by their own fault! They serve the poor, they come and go, they wear themselves out and all for nothing, when they follow their own will (On Obedience, May 23, 1655, III:72-73).

163. O Senior Sisters, what do you do when your actions give the lie to you seniority (On Obedience, May 23, 1655, III:78).

164. Silence is a great help for conversing with God..... for the words of God do not mingle with the words and tumult of men (On Observance of the Rule, August 1, 1655, III:83).

165. The Daughters of Charity have their Rule which serves as wings with which to fly to God rather than a burden (On Fidelity to the Rules, August 8, 1655, III:85).

166. The Blessed Virgin speaks for those who have no tongue and who cannot speak for themselves (On Fidelity to the Rules, August 8, 1655, III:91).

167. Everything goes on happily in a house of the Company where the rules are observed (Explanation of the Common Rules, September 29, 1655, III:93).

168. You are bound, without making any exception of person or place, to be always prepared to practice charity (Explanation of the Common Rules, September 19, 1655, III:98).

169. The principal end for which God has called you and brought you together is to honor Our Lord Jesus Christ, your Patron (On the End of the Company, [Common Rules, Article 1, 2, 3], October 18, 1655, III:106).

170. You have given yourselves especially to God to live like good Christian women, to strive after the virtues proper to your end, to assist the sick poor (On the End of the Company, [Common Rules, Article 1, 2, 3], October 18, 1655, III:108) and to labor at all those things in which God has decided to employ you (On the End of the Company, [Common Rules, Article 1, 2, 3], October 18, 1655, III:111).

171. All your actions should be accompanied by the virtues of humility, charity and the imitation of Our Lord (On the End of the Company, [Common Rules, Article 1, 2, 3], October 18, 1655, III:1l2).

172. God demands the heart and then the work (On the End of the Company, [Common Rules, Article 1, 2, 3], October 18, 1655, III:1l4).

173. Hold the maxims of the world in horror and embrace those of Jesus Christ (On the Maxims of Jesus Christ and On Those of the World, [Common Rules, Article 4], November 2, 1655, III:120).

174. The religious state is most holy, but it does not follow that only those who embrace it sanctify themselves (On the Maxims of Jesus Christ and On Those of the World, [Common Rules, Article 4], November 2, 1655, III:125).

175. Well-regulated houses have a practice of never praising natural talents; only virtue is esteemed (On the Maxims of Jesus Christ and On Those of the World, [Common Rules, Article 4], November 2, 1655, III:128).

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1656

176. The first thing is to have no attachments, and the second is whenever a person has one to detach oneself (On Indifference, June 6, 1656, III:136).

177. One is an idolater from the very fact that one prefers a creature to God (On Indifference, June 6, 1656, III:147)

178. What grounds for humiliation when one reflects that one has committed an act of adultery and an act of idolatry as often as one prefers the creature to the Creator (On Indifference, June 6, 1656, III:154).

179. Sufferings are the lot of those who are good because by their virtue and fidelity they have rendered themselves worthy to make good use of them (On the Love of Physical and Moral Sufferings, [Common Rules, Article 6], July 23, 1656, III:157).

180. Patience is the virtue of the perfect (On the Love of Physical and Moral Sufferings, [Common Rules, Article 6], July 23, 1656, III:159).

181. [Sufferings] are the great hammer-blows which God showers down on a poor Daughter of Charity....and all these blows are simply intended to form a beautiful statue.... to fashion out of a Daughter of Charity a beautiful image, with a beautiful countenance that gives pleasure to God. [For this reason] hammer-blows are necessary (On the Love of Physical and Moral Sufferings, [Common Rules, Article 6], July 23, 1656, III:160).

182. You are like the weather-cocks that are set up on Churches; you will see them now facing toward the west, not toward the north; at one time toward the east and at another toward the south. Your life on earth is just like that. Today you want one thing; tomorrow you are disgusted with it and so you always have some worry or another to contend with (On the Love of Physical and Moral Sufferings, [Common Rules, Article 6], July 23, 1656, III:163).

183. Sloth is weariness for all that is divine, a disgust for virtue which causes the slothful not to love the opportunities of practicing it and for this reason sloth is the greatest of mortal sins (On the Love of Physical and Moral Sufferings, [Common Rules, Article 6], July 23, 1656, III:165).

184. Slothful souls are always murmuring and complaining; nothing will satisfy such persons (On the Love of Physical and Moral Sufferings, [Common Rules, Article 6], July 23, 1656, III:165).

185. A person who is not patient is troubled by the slightest little thing (On the Love of Physical and Moral Sufferings, [Common Rules, Article 6], July 23, 1656, III:166).

186. The key of the spiritual edifice of the Daughters of Charity lies in their doing well all that they are obliged to do (On the Love of Physical and Moral Sufferings, [Common Rules, Article 6], July 23, 1656, III:167).

187. Of all the rules, promptness to obey is the chief (On the Love of Physical and Moral Sufferings, [Common Rules, Article 6], July 23, 1656, III:168).

188. I have never heard that people ever asked to have the Carmelite Nuns in any city whatsoever. But as for you, there are the bishops asking for you because you profess to serve your neighbor (On the Love of Physical and Moral Sufferings, [Common Rules, Article 6], July 23, 1656, III:170).

189. Hoe can these Sisters put up charitably with the sick poor when they cannot put up with one another? How could they bring peace to the poor seeing that they are not at peace with themselves? (Instructions Given to Two Sisters who were Sent to La Fère, July 29, 1656, III:177).

190. Be very careful about the observance of your common rules, in so far as the service of the sick permits (Instructions Given to Two Sisters who were Sent to La Fère, July 29, 1656, III:177).

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191. It is absolutely essential for Daughters of Charity to be known as, and actually to be, persons who keep their accounts strictly (Instructions Given to Two Sisters who were Sent to La Fère, July 29, 1656, III:178).

192. Who would be so wretched as to take anything belonging to the poor.... not that there are not other crimes which might ruin this work, but that is the principal one. Oh! What a misfortune if anyone ever gave reason for people to say that the Daughters of Charity are robbers of the property of the poor, that they are wicked, that they want to seize hold of what belongs to the poor on the pretext of serving them...., that they are dishonest. Bid good-bye to the Company of Charity.... There you have the ruin of the Company (On Poverty, [Common Rules, Article 7], August 20, 1656, III:189-190).

193. To die to self, to live in a perpetual state of renunciation of the comforts and pleasures of life! Surely that is most difficult (On Poverty, [Common Rules, Article 7], August 20, 1656, III:190).

194. There are plenty of girls in Paris who, if they belonged to the Company, would do much better than you, and if they had found the pearl spoken of in the Gospel would have turned it to great profit (On the Jubilee, December 14, 1656, III:212).

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1657

195. If we are not better today than we were yesterday, we are worse (On the Obligation of Striving After Perfection, January 6, 1657, III:215).

196. Nature always tends to drag us down and the Catholic religion to lift us up (On the Obligation of Striving After Perfection, January 6, 1657, III:216).

197. One must labor unceasingly at self-mortification. Even if we had one foot in Paradise it would be necessary to work hard to get in the other foot, because the foot outside might pull back the one that is inside and ruin it (On the Obligation of Striving After Perfection, January 6, 1657, III:216).

198. A saint once said: the old can scarcely live much longer, but the young may die soon, as we have seen in the case of several of our Sisters who died young (On the Obligation of Striving After Perfection, January 6, 1657, III:222).

199. We desire to love those who love You but we suffer intensely when we see those who, through want of fidelity to what You have demanded of us, have lost their vocation (On the Obligation of Striving After Perfection, January 6, 1657, III:226).

200. I am deeply pained when I see a Sister leave. I would have given my life-blood to prevent her from going (On the Obligation of Striving After Perfection, January 6, 1657, III:226).

201. All that is good and all that is bad in a Community depends on the Superioress and her officers (On the Election of Officers, May 22, 1657, III:229).

202. Truly obedient persons are not satisfied with following out their superior’s orders; they go farther; they do what they believe is necessary according to her intention (On the Election of Officers, May 22, 1657, III:231-232).

203. [In elections] we should set aside our inclination and go straight to God, considering in His sight who has the greater number of qualities and vote for that person (On the Election of Officers, May 22, 1657, III:235).

204. A soul is not permitted to love anything whatsoever in preference to God. God is jealous of the love of His spouses and will not be satisfied with only half their love (On the Practice of Asking Nothing and Of Refusing Nothing, [Common Rules, Article 8], June 17, 1657, III:240).

205. You wonder what you should do to become true Daughters of Charity — observe this rule: practice all the virtues that go to make up your spirit, which are humility, simplicity and charity. That is the way to become really virtuous (On the Practice of Asking Nothing and Of Refusing Nothing, [Common Rules, Article 8], June 17, 1657, III:245).

206. Grant us the grace, O Lord, to begin, from this moment, that blessed life which the Saints enjoy in Heaven and which consists in having the same will and the same non-will as that of God (On the Practice of Asking Nothing and Of Refusing Nothing, [Common Rules, Article 8], June 17, 1657, III:250).

207. Who would have believed that the Daughters of Charity would be chosen by God to go to the army! Men go there to kill one another and you go there to give life (On the Use of Things Place at the Disposal of the Sisters, [Common Rules, Article 9], August 5, 1657, III:253).

208. It is impossible that virtue should not be spoken of wherever it appears (On the Use of Things Place at the Disposal of the Sisters, [Common Rules, Article 9], August 5, 1657, III:254).

209. For all that you possess does not belong to you but to the Community; and Superiors have a right to dispose of it as they judge most expedient (On the Use of Things Place at the Disposal of the Sisters, [Common Rules, Article 9], August 5, 1657, III:255).

210. As soon as we wish to dispose of anything according to our own will, we are no longer poor and, in the world, this is called theft (On the Use of Things Place at the Disposal of the Sisters, [Common Rules, Article 9], August 5, 1657, III:255).

211. If the Sisters look up on high, they see a cloud between God and themselves, and this causes them to say sorrowfully: My God would be my God but my unfaithfulness has deprived me of the pleasure of enjoying Him (On the Use of Things Place at the Disposal of the Sisters, [Common Rules, Article 9], August 5, 1657, III:264).

212. The time of the Daughters of Charity is not their own; they owe it to the poor and the practice of virtue (On the Rule of Not Inviting Externs to Meals Without Permission, [Common Rules, Article 11], September 8, 1657, III:284).

213. The poor are your masters, and mine also.. What great lords they are in Heaven! It is their prerogative to open its gates (On Serving the Sick on the Care of One’s Health, [Common Rules, Article 12-16], November 11, 1657, III:291-292).

214. Charity, if it is to be practiced perfectly, should always be accompanied by obedience; otherwise it is not charity (On Serving the Sick on the Care of One’s Health, [Common Rules, Article 12-16], November 11, 1657, III:297).

215. “Take the case of a sick man whom they would not allow me to admit, and who thinks that I was the cause; he shouts after me every time he sees me. What should I do?” “That may happen, but you must put up with it and submit to necessity.” “But if I pass him by ten times a day I shall always hear him abusing me.” “It does not matter, you should do nothing but tell your trouble to our good God who knows quite well with what intention you are acting” (On Serving the Sick on the Care of One’s Health, [Common Rules, Article 12-16], November 11, 1657, III:297).

216. Let us remember our station in life, and we shall see that we have good reason to thank God (On Serving the Sick on the Care of One’s Health, [Common Rules, Article 12-16], November 11, 1657, III:299).

217. This is what uniformity does: it promotes union (On Uniformity, [Common Rules, Article 17], November 15, 1657, III:306).

218. Perfection does not consist in the multiplicity of actions but in doing our actions well and in the spirit in which Our Lord performed all His actions (On Uniformity, [Common Rules, Article 17], November 15, 1657, III:309).

219. Your spirit is a spirit of charity which obliges you to wear yourselves out in the service of your neighbor (On Uniformity, [Common Rules, Article 17], November 15, 1657, III:311).

220. Our sisters should love their mother, which is their Order, more than any other... It would be a nice sight to see a Daughter of Charity wishing to live like a Nun and carry out exercises incompatible with the duties of her calling (On Uniformity, [Common Rules, Article 17], November 15, 1657, III:311-312).

221. Go first to the poor and help them; then if you can do other things, all right (On Uniformity, [Common Rules, Article 17], November 15, 1657, III:313).

222. Your rules should be looked on as canals through which Our Lord pours graces on His Spouses (On Uniformity, Chastity and Modesty, [Common Rules, Articles 17, 18, 19], November 18, 1657, IV:1).

223. This is humility: always to speak well of others and never of oneself (On Uniformity, Chastity and Modesty, [Common Rules, Articles 17, 18, 19], November 18, 1657, IV:5).

224. A person who does not fall in with the Community, who wishes to bend others to her will and who plays the part of a half-Superioress — such a person is unbearable (On Uniformity, Chastity and Modesty, [Common Rules, Articles 17, 18, 19], November 18, 1657, IV:6).

225. It may happen that the idea will occur to a Sister to make her prayer, as the Carmelites do, that is to say, to remain there before God and wait for what He may be pleased to send her.... That is good for the Carmelites but not for you (On Uniformity, Chastity and Modesty, [Common Rules, Articles 17, 18, 19], November 18, 1657, IV:7).

226. A poison exists between the sexes which is imperceptibly conveyed from one to the other (On Uniformity, Chastity and Modesty, [Common Rules, Articles 17, 18, 19], November 18, 1657, IV:13).

227. Your Company represents the Blessed Trinity (On Obedience, [Common Rules, Articles 20, 21, 22, and 23], December 2, 1657, IV: 18).

228. God who wishes to unite the two extremes, has ordained that Superiors should yield, as far as they can, to their inferiors (On Obedience, [Common Rules, Articles 20, 21, 22, and 23], December 2, 1657, IV: 19).

229. A truly obedient person always believes that when an order is given it is good (On Obedience, [Common Rules, Articles 20, 21, 22, and 23], December 2, 1657, IV: 21).

230. You shall submit yourselves to their orders and advice in all that is not sin or contrary to the rule (On Obedience, [Common Rules, Articles 20, 21, 22, and 23], December 2, 1657, IV: 26).

231. Let us bow our heads before God and condemn ourselves; let us confess that if we do not mortify ourselves, we shall die (On Mortification, Correspondence, Meals and Journeys, [Common Rules, Articles 24, 25, 26, and 27], December 9, 1657, IV:30).

232. The devil inclines us to seek after honors.... on the other hand, the spirit of Our Lord always seeks after self-abasement (On Mortification, Correspondence, Meals and Journeys, [Common Rules, Articles 24, 25, 26, and 27], December 9, 1657, IV:33). Nature may complain (On Mortification, Correspondence, Meals and Journeys, [Common Rules, Articles 24, 25, 26, and 27], December 9, 1657, IV:35).

233. It is necessary for a Superior to know everything that is going on if he/she is to rule the house wisely (On Mortification, Correspondence, Meals and Journeys, [Common Rules, Articles 24, 25, 26, and 27], December 9, 1657, IV:37).

234. You may well believe that all the good which accrues to the Company accrues to yourselves and springs from the observance of your rules (On Mortification, Correspondence, Meals and Journeys, [Common Rules, Articles 24, 25, 26, and 27], December 9, 1657, IV:39).

235. You must know that the greatest risk run by Daughters of Charity would be to fail in purity (On Visiting and on the Duty of Warning Superiors, [Common Rules, article 28 and 29], December 23, 1657. IV:44).

236. Daughters of Charity must make their room their cloister (On Visiting and on the Duty of Warning Superiors, [Common Rules, article 28 and 29], December 23, 1657, IV:45).

237. When there are persons in a Company who conceal the cancers in their souls, it is necessary that those who know of them should reveal them, otherwise the Company will perish (On Visiting and on the Duty of Warning Superiors, [Common Rules, article 28 and 29], December 23, 1657. IV:47).

238. An admonition should never be given from a feeling of aversion (On Visiting and on the Duty of Warning Superiors, [Common Rules, article 28 and 29], December 23, 1657. IV:50).

239. The men and women who wish to traverse the stormy sea of this world and attain the perfection which leads to Heaven, must of necessity be on board the ship of the Church and observe the law of God, if they are to cross over this sea (On Relations with Extern, On Murmuring and Detraction, [Common Rules, Articles 30, 31, and 32], December 30, 1657, IV:56).

240. Those who murmur in this way do not know the trouble involved in ruling (On Relations with Extern, On Murmuring and Detraction, [Common Rules, Articles 30, 31, and 32], December 30, 1657, IV:61).

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1658

241. I was once in a kingdom in which a member of a religious order asked a person for some news about the court and the latter replied: “What! Father, should religious meddle in the affairs of Kings? In this Kingdom, no one ever speaks about the king.” And because he is a sacred person, they have so much respect for all that concerns him that they never talk about him. Hence it comes that in this kingdom all are in union with the King and no one is allowed to say a word against his orders (Persons to Whom Temptations may be Mentioned; Relations with Externs; the Duty of Secrecy, [Common Rules, Articles 33, 34, and 35], January 6, 1658, IV:74).

242. Communication produces the same effect on the soul as letting blood does on the body when performed on persons who need it (Persons to Whom Temptations may be Mentioned; Relations with Externs; the Duty of Secrecy, [Common Rules, Articles 33, 34, and 35], January 6, 1658, IV:75).

243. The name “Daughter of Charity” is the name [that refers to] the love of God, of your neighbor, and of your Sisters (On Mutual Charity and the Duty of Reconciliation, [Common Rules, Articles 36 and 37], March 5, 1658, IV:88).

244. As long as you do what you can to rid yourselves of your aversions, to be friends with one another, and to manifest even more friendship for those for whom you feel more aversion... you will have the marks of a Daughter of Charity (On Mutual Charity and the Duty of Reconciliation, [Common Rules, Articles 36 and 37], March 5, 1658, IV:89).

245. God takes no account of your Confessions and Communions, not even of the service you render the poor, if it is not done by a soul united to them and its neighbor by charity (On Mutual Charity and the Duty of Reconciliation, [Common Rules, Articles 36 and 37], March 5, 1658, IV:93).

246. When you see the priest coming down to the foot of the altar, remember that it is to tell the people he is a miserable sinner (On Mutual Charity and the Duty of Reconciliation, [Common Rules, Articles 36 and 37], March 5, 1658, IV:93-94).

247. A Daughter of Charity who cherishes a certain coldness in her heart toward her neighbor and who does not go to the trouble of being reconciled is worse than the Turks (On Mutual Charity and the Duty of Reconciliation, [Common Rules, Articles 36 and 37], March 5, 1658, IV:95).

248. [Temptations should be resisted] as quickly as possible lest the evil grow greater, because it is just like oil spreading over a cloth (On Mutual Charity and the Duty of Reconciliation, [Common Rules, Articles 36 and 37], March 5, 1658, IV:96).

249. To be always united by the bond of charity and forbearance is to live as it were in a Paradise (On Courtesy and Forbearance, [Common Rules, Article 38], May 30, 1658, IV:104).

250. The Sister Servant and Superiors should not condescend in all things as, for instance, when there is a greater good to be done and one proposes to abandon it for a lesser good (On Courtesy and Forbearance, [Common Rules, Article 38], May 30, 1658, IV:107).

251. Cordiality is an impulse of the heart by which one Sister lets it be seen that she is very pleased to be with another (On Cordiality, Respect and Special Friendships, [Common Rules, Article 39 and 40], June 2, 1658, IV:111).

252. Cordiality is an effect of charity so that if charity were an apple, cordiality would be its color..... if charity were a tree, cordiality would be its leaves and fruit; if it were a fire, cordiality would be the flame (On Cordiality, Respect and Special Friendships, [Common Rules, Article 39 and 40], June 2, 1658, IV:112).

253. Respect has its source in the understanding for it proceeds from the knowledge of the value of a person (On Cordiality, Respect and Special Friendships, [Common Rules, Article 39 and 40], June 2, 1658, IV:115).

254. People who love one another by natural inclination.... are pests in the community. I am speaking from the knowledge I have of this subject (On Cordiality, Respect and Special Friendships, [Common Rules, Article 39 and 40], June 2, 1658, IV:118).

255. You have nothing to do but allow yourselves to be guided by Our Lord (On Confidence in Divine Providence, [Common Rules, Article 51], June 9, 1658, IV:127).

256. Most of you are daughters of peasants and working men..... all the Apostles were poor men.... what a grace, my Daughters, that God has willed to make use of the same sort of material which He employed for the salvation of the whole world to form your Company (On Confidence in Divine Providence, [Common Rules, Article 51], June 9, 1658, IV:129-130).

257. Sisters you have only to tell the confessor your sins; it is enough for you to confess them (On Confidence in Divine Providence, [Common Rules, Article 51], June 9, 1658, IV:134-135).

258. The perfection of a Daughter of Charity consists in this: to cleave to nothing but God (On Confidence in Divine Providence, [Common Rules, Article 51], June 9, 1658, IV:138).

259. If anyone wants to know who, among those who wear the habit and bear the name, are true Daughters of Charity, it is they who practice these four virtues: humility, charity, obedience and patience (On Humility, Charity, Obedience and Patience, [Common Rules, Article 42], July 14, 1658, IV:144).

260. As long as charity may be seen reigning among you, you will be a source of edification to others — for humility preserves charity (On Humility, Charity, Obedience and Patience, [Common Rules, Article 42], July 14, 1658, IV:147). You are certain that in all a Sister does by obedience she is conforming herself with the will of God (On Humility, Charity, Obedience and Patience, [Common Rules, Article 42], July 14, 1658, IV:149)

261. There is scarcely a moment in our lives that we do not need patience..... Yet if a Daughter of Charity is not really humble it is certain that vanity will soon gain possession of her poor soul, and, no longer possessing humility, she will no longer possess the virtues of patience and obedience. Poor Sister who for so many years practiced theses virtues, who was so patient that nothing could disturb her, who was so prompt to obey! Where is it all gone! People will say of her what is said of the great city of Carthage. Nothing now remains of it but ruins (On Humility, Charity, Obedience and Patience, [Common Rules, Article 42], July 14, 1658, IV:150-151).

262. Vices sometimes reach such a point that persons are worse after abandoning virtues than they were before they had begun to acquire them (On Humility, Charity, Obedience and Patience, [Common Rules, Article 42], July 14, 1658, IV:152).

263. When people yield to vice and reach a certain stage in it there is no longer any return. They become hardened to such a degree that they no longer trouble about anything (On Humility, Charity, Obedience and Patience, [Common Rules, Article 42], July 14, 1658, IV:152).

264. All your rules tend to make you good Christian women, good servants of God and good Daughters of Charity (On Fidelity to the Rule, [Common Rules, Article 43], July 21, 1658 IV:157).

265. Your rule should be understood in such a way that you should believe yourselves bound to keep them (On Fidelity to the Rule, [Common Rules, Article 43], July 21, 1658 IV:158).

266. All that is done in prayer is so pleasing to God that He then awaits you on account of it (On Fidelity to the Rule, [Common Rules, Article 43], July 21, 1658 IV:159).

267. I have always heard the pain involved in the observance of Rules compared to that of wearing a ring on one’s finger, to which one grows accustomed (On Fidelity to the Rule, [Common Rules, Article 43], July 21, 1658 IV:162).

268. You are going to make known to all, to Catholics, to heretics, and even to Jews, the goodness of God (An Instruction to Four Sisters who were Sent to Metz, August 26, 1658, IV:172).

269. Fervor is charity on fire and that is what you should have, because a Daughter without charity is just like a body without a soul (An Instruction to Four Sisters who were Sent to Metz, August 26, 1658, IV:174).

270. If saints are saints, it is because of their good deeds, and it is these good deeds that God sanctifies (On Rising, Prayer and the Angelus, [Order of Day, Article 1 and 2], [no date], IV:181).

271. Provided you have a good will, God will grant you the gift of prayer (On Rising, Prayer and the Angelus, [Order of Day, Article 1 and 2], [no date], IV:182).

272. Prayer is the ornament of the soul; and so not to make it is to deprive the soul of its ornament (On Rising, Prayer, Examen and Other Exercises, November 17, 1658, IV:198). The Method of Prayer according to Francis de Sales (On Rising, Prayer, Examen and Other Exercises, November 17, 1658, IV:199ff).

273. Charity is above all rules, and all things come back to that (On Rising, Prayer, Examen and Other Exercises, November 17, 1658, IV:206).

274. Are you resolved to keep your Rules well? If that be so, you are happy; but if not, I do not like to say you are unhappy, but at least you are less happy (On Rising, Prayer, Examen and Other Exercises, November 17, 1658, IV:206).

275. It would not be enough for a tree to say to its owner: “Master, I belong to you”; but it should say moreover: “and also all the fruit I bear” (On Rising, Prayer, Examen and Other Exercises, November 17, 1658, IV:109).

276. The less the mind is embarrassed by earthly things the more is it disposed to receive God’s light (On Rising, Prayer, Examen and Other Exercises, November 17, 1658, IV:211).

277. The principal thing is to work for one’s own perfection and, to fail in that is to be asleep (On the Duties of the Day, [Articles 8-15], Explanation of the Gospel of the Wise and Foolish Virgins --- Devotion to Saint Catherine, November 25, 1658, IV:223).

278. [The rosary] is your breviary (On the Rosary —Occupations on Sundays and Holidays, [Employment of the Day, Articles 16-17], December 8 1658, IV:229).

279. It is necessary to try and instruct you in the best way of teaching catechism to children (On the Rosary —Occupations on Sundays and Holidays, [Employment of the Day, Articles 16-17], December 8 1658, IV:230).

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1659

280. Here you are at a conference. This is the breast and the milk that you should suck.....Not indeed that it is not a good thing to listen when you can to sermons preached in other places (Catechism — Acts of Adoration on Leaving and Returning to the House — Fast and Abstinence — Confessions — Communions — Retreats — Conferences, [On the Duties of the Day, Articles 17-23], March 16, 1659, IV: 240-241).

281. If there is one degree of perfection for persons living in a Religious Order, Daughters of Charity need two (On the Perfection Required for Sisters in Parishes — Attachment to Confessors — The Monastery, Cell, Chapel, Cloister, Grille and Veil of Parish Sisters, [Rule of Parish Sisters, Article 1 and 2], August 24, 1659, IV:262).

282. We expected much from them, and yet they are worthless creatures; they are no good for anything; they keep the money of the poor (On the Perfection Required for Sisters in Parishes — Attachment to Confessors — The Monastery, Cell, Chapel, Cloister, Grille and Veil of Parish Sisters, [Rule of Parish Sisters, Article 1 and 2], August 24, 1659, IV:264)

283. We honored them as angels and they are only thieves (On the Perfection Required for Sisters in Parishes — Attachment to Confessors — The Monastery, Cell, Chapel, Cloister, Grille and Veil of Parish Sisters, [Rule of Parish Sisters, Article 1 and 2], August 24, 1659, IV:264).

284. Your monastery is the house of the sick and that in which yours Superioress resides. For a chapel, the parish church; for a cell, a rented room; for a cloister the streets of the city; for enclosure, obedience; for a grille, the fear of God; for a veil, holy modesty; the surety of your vocation, confidence in Divine Providence (On the Perfection Required for Sisters in Parishes — Attachment to Confessors — The Monastery, Cell, Chapel, Cloister, Grille and Veil of Parish Sisters, [Rule of Parish Sisters, Article 1 and 2], August 24, 1659, IV:2665-266).

285. If there are any in the world who need to be prudent, it is Daughters of Charity, because it is not so much a question of supplying earthen pots and clothes but of giving eternal salvation to poor souls. Provide then, for the need of the sick poor in such a way as never to neglect what is necessary for their corporal and spiritual needs (On Service of the Sick — The Virtues of Sister Barbara Angiboust, [Rules of Parish Sisters, Articles 6-17], November 11, 1659, IV:275).

286. If I were not a priest, I would still perhaps be tending swine as I once used to do (On Serving the Sick — Mademoiselle Le Gras is to be informed When a Sister is Ill — Care of Money Destined for the Poor — Summary of the Common Rules which more Especially Concern Sisters in Parishes, [Rules of Parish Sisters, Articles 11-18 and Appendix]. November 25, 1659, IV:284).

287. If we had to choose, we should love and seek out the poor who insult us rather than those who praise us (On Serving the Sick — Mademoiselle Le Gras is to be informed When a Sister is Ill — Care of Money Destined for the Poor — Summary of the Common Rules which more Especially Concern Sisters in Parishes, [Rules of Parish Sisters, Articles 11-18 and Appendix]. November 25, 1659, IV:284).

288. You have your mother, which is the Community (On Serving the Sick — Mademoiselle Le Gras is to be informed When a Sister is Ill — Care of Money Destined for the Poor — Summary of the Common Rules which more Especially Concern Sisters in Parishes, [Rules of Parish Sisters, Articles 11-18 and Appendix]. November 25, 1659, IV:289).

289. God bestows a greater blessing on a crown given in alms with a good heart than an abundance of great wealth that is not given with a good will (On Serving the Sick — Mademoiselle Le Gras is to be informed When a Sister is Ill — Care of Money Destined for the Poor — Summary of the Common Rules which more Especially Concern Sisters in Parishes, [Rules of Parish Sisters, Articles 11-18 and Appendix]. November 25, 1659, IV:289).

290. Daughters of Charity should be as supple as an osier in the hands of one who makes use of it. So then a Daughter of Charity who is not in this state of indifference, who is unwilling to let herself be placed wherever one pleases, is not as good as an osier and is not so pleasing to God because she is not as supple as an irrational object. Sister, what a shame it is to see a Sister full of objections (On Holy Indifference, December 8, 1659, IV:295).

291. Remove from me, my God, the desire to be a Servant or a Companion; take away all that, but give me the grace never to will save what you will (On Holy Indifference, December 14, 1659, IV:307).

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1660

292. Prudence consists in seeing the means, the times and the places when we should give admonitions and also how we should comport ourselves in all circumstances (On the Virtues of Louise de Marillac, July 3, 1660, IV:311).

293. You are the servants of the poor; that is the only title given to you in all the letters coming from both the Holy Father and the Parliament (On the Virtues of Louise de Marillac, July 3, 1660, IV:312).

294. [Louise de Marillac] always believed that the happiness of your Company lay in the poverty of your refectory (On the Virtues of Louise de Marillac, July 3, 1660, IV:313).

295. [Louise de Marillac] was a most interior spirit and her mind was much occupied with God (On the Virtues of Louise de Marillac, July 3, 1660, IV:314).

296. The entire welfare of the Company depends on those who hold office (On the Election of Officers, August 27, 1660, IV:334).

297. It is essential that those who hold office have their heads well screwed on (On the Election of Officers, August 27, 1660, IV:334).

298. We must have none of those who have not become true Daughters of Charity, who have maxims quite contrary to the spirit of the Company, who are resolved to hold fast to their own views and opinions. O Sisters, we must have none of these (On the Election of Officers, August 27, 1660, IV:335).

299. The Superior General of the Daughters should have good [common] sense (On the Election of Officers, August 27, 1660, IV:337).

300. You must take great care not to vote for those to whom you feel naturally more inclined. On the contrary, resolve to look at everything in God (On the Election of Officers, August 27, 1660, IV:338).

301. When God’s affairs are spread abroad, they are no longer God’s affairs (On the Election of Officers, August 27, 1660, IV:340).

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