she made a general confession to a very able man, who either wrote or spoke to me about it. Well, dear child, is it not a proof of God's Loving Care for her that He has taken her only a year after to Himself? Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. Yes, my dearest child, weep a little over your dead, even as our Lord wept over His beloved Lazarus. But let your tears be rather tears of holy tenderness than of bitter sorrow; such tears as Joseph wept for very love, rather than Esau's, which were called forth by excessive and bitter grief. These are times when, above all others, we need to accept our Dear Lord's Good Pleasure lovingly.

Ah, dear child, when shall we too reach that Home which waits us? Alas, we are on the eve of our own departure, and yet we mourn over those who are already gone! It is a bright hope for that dear soul that she had borne so many trials; having been crowned with thorns, we may believe that now she will receive the Crown of Life. Let her go, then; let your dear sister go, and enter upon her Eternal Rest in the Bosom of God's Mercy. I will tell you in all confidence, that although no man living ever loved more tenderly and deeper than I do, or felt parting from those I love more keenly, yet I hold this short, vain life to be so very worthless that I

...

never come back with more fervent love to God than after He has smitten me with such losses. Dear child, let us fix our thoughts in Heaven, and we shall rise above earthly sorrows. Your sister's "soul pleased the Lord, therefore He hasted to take her away." We cannot but hope that He did so to her great gain. Let us wait patiently till He calls us too. Dear child, look upon this world as merely the plank which serves us to pass into the better world. ever yours in Him Who became wholly ours when He died on the Tree of the Cross.

I am,

TO A FRIEND, WHO HAD LOST HIS BROTHER.

MY DEAR BROTHER,

For I would be such in the stead of him whom our Dear Lord has taken to be with Himself,-I hear that you continue to grieve sorely over this separation, which is indeed a most trying one to you. But this must not go on; for either you weep for him or for yourself. Now if you weep for him, why should you weep because he is in Paradise, where tears are wiped away for ever? And if you weep for yourself, does it not become at least selfishness?

I speak thus plainly because it seems as though you

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cared more for yourself than for his infinite happiness. Would you keep your brother away from Him "in Whom we live and move and have our being," so long as we accept His Holy Will and pleasure? Come and see us, and let us turn your sorrow into joy;" dwelling upon that blessedness which our dear brother now enjoys, never to lose. With such thoughts you too will be glad once more, the which I most heartily desire, and commend myself to your prayers. Ever most truly yours, &c.

CLVIII.

[The following letter was written partly by Madame de Chantal in the form of queries on subjects connected with her spiritual life, leaving blank spaces in which S. Francis de Sales wrote his replies.]

IN THE NAME of Jesus and Mary.

I. I will ask my dear lord' whether he approves of my renewing my vows and my general self-abandonment to God, every year, before him, begging him to point out whatever he thinks will touch me most closely, and enable me to make this self-renunciation more unreserved and more perfect, so that I may learn truly to say, "I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me." To this end I will ask my dear lord not

"Mon très cher seigneur."

to spare me, nor to allow me to make any reservation in things great or small; as also to appoint such exercises and daily practices as may be necessary, in order that my self-renunciation may be real and true.

Answer. I answer in our Lord's Name and that of our Lady, that it would be well, my dear daughter, for you to make the proposed renewal of your vows year by year, and that you should also renew your resolution to give yourself up absolutely into God's Hands. To this end I will not spare you, but you shall retrench all superfluous words concerning the love, however lawful, of all creatures, whether relations, country, home, even of your father; and so far as may be you shall control all prolonged thought concerning these matters, save when duty obliges you to attend to them, so that you may the better obey the words, "Hearken, O daughter, and consider, incline thine ear, forget also thine own people and thy father's house." Before dinner and supper, and at night, examine yourself whether, judging by what you are actually doing, you can say honestly, "I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.”

II. When my soul has taken up this position, is it not bound, as far as possible, to forget all things in order to seek a continual remembrance of God, and to place an entire, undivided trust in Him?

Ps. xlv. II.

Answer. Yes; you must strive to forget all that is not of and for God, and to remain in perfect trust beneath His Guidance.

III. Ought not the soul (especially in prayer) to strive to check all discursive movement, and instead of dwelling upon what it has done, or does, or may do, look to God Alone, thus purging itself from self, beholding God only, given up to His Will, and abiding at rest therein, without exercising either its own will or understanding? Even in good actions, or in faults, it seems to me that one should strive to remain passive, since the Lord puts such feelings as are needful into one's heart, and gives one such light as one requires; and this is better far than wandering about in quest of one's own imaginations. You will reply, Why then do I not so abide? But alas, that is my trouble. Whether I will or no, I do wander forth, and experience has taught me how much harm ensues; but I am not mistress of my own mind, which persists in travelling hither and thither without my consent. It is on this account that I would ask my dearest lord to help me through holy obedience to fix this wretched wanderer, for I think perhaps it would submit to an absolute command.

Answer. Since our Lord has for long past drawn you to this kind of prayer, teaching you how great the advantage is thereof, and the evil arising from