of S. Teresa of Jesus
of the Order of our Lady of Carmel
CHAPTER 12
Chapter 12 Contents
Treats
- Of The Life of a Nun
Called Beatriz of the Incarnation,
Whom Our Lord Brought
to the Same Convent
Her Life Having Been So Perfect
And Her Death Such
That It Is Only Right To Remember Her
[1]
1. Beatriz of the Incarnation. —
2. Her obedience and patience. —
3. Offers herself to suffer
for great criminals. —
4. Her sufferings. —
5. Her sweetness in suffering. —
6. Her mortified life. —
7. Her humility. —
8. Her contentment. —
9. Her last illness. —
10. Death. —
11. Burial.
|
CHAPTER 12
1. Beatriz of the Incarnation
1.
We had a nun in this monastery
whose name was Beatriz Onez, [2]
and
who was in some way related
to Dona Casilda.
She came some years before her,
and her spirit
filled all with amazement,
seeing what great things
our Lord was working in her.
The nuns and the prioress declare
that they never saw in her,
during her whole life here,
anything whatever
that might be regarded as an imperfection;
they never saw her change countenance,
but always cheerful and modest
— a certain sign of the inward gladness
of her heart.
There was no gloom in her silence,
for, though a very great observer of silence,
she was so in such a way
that nobody could call it singular.
She was
never heard to utter a word
with which fault could be found, [3]
nor known to have preferred
her own opinion.
She never made an excuse for herself,
though the prioress,
in order to try her,
would find fault with her for things
she had not done,
as is the custom in these houses
by way of mortification.
She
never complained of anything,
never of any of her sisters;
never by word or look
did she hurt the feelings of anybody
in all the duties she had to do,
nor did she ever give anybody reason
to think that there was
any imperfection in her,
nor was it possible to accuse her
in chapter of any shortcomings,
notwithstanding the very trifling nature
of the faults
which the correctors of faults there
say they have observed.
Her outward and inward tranquillity
in all circumstances was marvellous:
it had its source
in her ever thinking
of eternity, and
of the end
for which God has made us.
The praise of God was ever in her mouth, [4]
and she was always making thanksgivings;
In a word,
she was always in prayer.
2. Her obedience and patience. —
2.
As to obedience
she never failed in that,
but did whatever
she was commanded to do
readily, perfectly, and with joy.
Her love of her neighbour was very great,
for she used to say
that she would resign herself
to be cut into a thousand pieces
for any one,
on the condition
that he
did not lose his soul,
and
came to the fruition
of her brother, Jesus Christ:
for so she was wont to speak
of our Lord.
Her sufferings
— they were very grievous —
caused by fearful sickness,
of which I shall speak later on,
and her most distressing pains,
she bore most willingly and joyously,
as if they were
great consolations and delights.
Our Lord must have filled her soul with joy,
for in no other way was it possible,
so great was the joy
with which she bore them.
3. Offers herself to suffer
for great criminals. —
3.
It happened that certain persons,
for great offences,
were to be burnt in the city of Valladolid.
She must have known
that they were about to die
not so well prepared
as they should have been,
which caused her the most painful distress;
so she went in great trouble to our Lord,
and
- begged of Him most earnestly
the salvation of those souls, and
- offered in return
to suffer all her life long
every pain and torment
she could bear,
either in exchange
for that which they had deserved
or
for the securing their salvation,
for I do not remember distinctly
the words she used.
That very night
her first attack of fever came on,
and
she was always afterwards in pain
till she died.
The criminals made a good death,
which seems to show
that God heard her prayer.
4. Her sufferings. —
4.
Then an abscess formed,
which caused the most frightful suffering,
and
required for its endurance all the courage
with which our Lord had filled her soul.
It was an inward abscess,
and
the medicines
which they gave her
did her no good,
till,
in the good pleasure of our Lord,
it opened of itself
and
discharged the matter gathered within it;
this brought her some relief from pain.
In her eagerness to suffer
she was not satisfied with a little,
and accordingly,
on the feast of the Holy Cross,
while hearing a sermon,
this desire to suffer so grew upon her
that, the sermon over,
she threw herself, weeping abundantly,
on her bed;
and on being asked
what so distressed her,
begged her sisters to pray to God
to send her much suffering,
and she would then be happy.
5. Her sweetness in suffering. —
5.
To the prioress
she spoke of all her interior life,
and that was a consolation to her.
Throughout her whole illness, she
never gave any one
the least trouble in the world,
nor did she at any time
do anything
but according to the will
of the infirmarian,
even to the drinking a drop of water.
It is very common
for souls given to prayer
to wish for sufferings
when they have none,
but it is not common for many,
when they have them,
to bear them and be glad.
She was so worn
by her illness and
by the excessive pain
that she did not last long;
and there was also an abscess in the throat,
so that she could not swallow.
Some of the sisters were standing around her
when she said to the prioress,
who,
as it was her duty,
was comforting her and
encouraging her
to bear so much suffering,
- that she had no pain, and
- that she would not change places
with any of her sisters
who were strongest in health.
She kept her eyes
so fixed on our Lord,
for whom she was suffering,
that she kept her secret to herself
as much as she could,
in order that those who were about her
might not see how much
she had to bear;
and so,
unless when the pain was sharp,
she hardly complained at all.
She thought
there was nobody in the world
so worthless as herselt,
and accordingly,
so far as we could see,
her humility was great.
6. Her mortified life. —
6.
She had a very great pleasure
in speaking of the goodness of other people;
in mortifying herself
she was very severe;
in withdrawing from everything
that could give her any satisfaction
she used so much art
that nobody could have observed it
who did not watch her
with great attention.
She seemed as if she
neither lived with
nor conversed with creatures,
so lightly did she regard them;
for, whatever happened,
she bore it all with a calmness
that nobody ever saw disturbed.
So much so,
that one of the sisters told her
she resembled certain persons
whom the world thinks honourable,
who, if they were dying of hunger,
would rather do so
than that anybody should know it,
for the sisters could not believe
that she did not feel certain things,
though she never showed any signs
of doing so.
7. Her humility. —
7.
Whatever
work she had to do or
duties to discharge,
all was done for one end,
so that she lost the merit of none;
and so she used to say to the sisters,
'The most trifling things we do,
if we do it for the love of God,
is beyond all price;
we ought not to turn our eyes
in any direction
but for that, and to please Him.'
As she never meddled with anything
that was not part of her work,
so she saw nothing amiss in anybody,
but only in herself.
It distressed her so much
if anybody spoke well of her
that she was careful
never to praise anybody
who was present,
to avoid giving them pain.
8. Her contentment. —
8.
She never sought her own ease,
either by going into the garden
or in any created thing,
for it would have been a rudeness,
as she used to say,
to seek relief from the pains
which our Lord sent her;
so she never asked for anything,
but was always satisfied
with whatever was given her.
She used to say, also,
that it would have been a cross
rather to her
to take comfort
in anything
but God.
The fact is,
I sought for information about her
from those in the house,
and there was not one
who had ever observed anything in her
that did not savour
of a soul of high perfection.
9. Her last illness. —
9.
When the time was come
when our Lord was pleased
to take her out of this life
her sufferings grew,
and
she laboured
under so many diseases at once
that the mere sight
of her contentment under them,
drew the nuns often to visit her,
because it made them praise our Lord.
In particular the chaplain,
who was
the confessor of the monastery
and
a very great servant of God,
had a great wish to be present at her death;
he, having been her confessor,
looked upon her as a saint.
God was pleased
to grant him his desire,
for, as she was in the full possession
of her understanding,
having already received
the last anointing,
they sent for him to
absolve her and
help her to die,
if his services should be needed that night.
A little before nine o'clock,
when all the sisters were with her,
and he himself also,
all her sufferings ceased,
about a quarter of an hour before she died.
10. Death. —
10.
She then in great peace
lifted up her eyes;
there was a joyous expression in her face,
which seemed to shine,
while she herself was
as if gazing at something
that filled her with gladness,
for she smiled twice.
All the sisters around her
and the priest himself,
so great was the spiritual joy and delight
they then felt,
could only say
that they thought themselves in heaven.
In that joy I am speaking of,
with her eyes directed to heaven,
she drew her last breath,
looking like an angel;
for we may believe,
because of our faith and her life,
that God took her into His rest
in recompense of her earnest desires
to suffer for His sake. [5]
11. Burial.
11.
The chaplain declares,
and he has said so to many,
that at the moment
her body was laid in the tomb
he perceived a most powerful
and most sweet smell arising from it.
The sacristan sister also declares
that not one of the candles
that were burning
during the funeral rites and the burial
suffered the least diminution of the wax.
All this we may believe
of the mercy of God.
I spoke of it to a confessor of hers,
of the Society of Jesus,
to whom she had for many years
gone to confession, and
who had the care of her soul,
and he told mc
that there was nothing singular in it,
and
that it did not surprise him,
for he knew
that our Lord conversed much with her.
May it please His Majesty, my children,
to enable us to learn
how to profit by a companionship
good as hers was,
and that of many others
whom our Lord gives us in these houses !
Perhaps I may say
something about them,
in order that they
who are a little lukewarm
may do violence to themselves
and imitate them,
and that all of us may praise our Lord,
who thus makes His greatness shine forth
in a few poor weak women.
_________________
Foot Notes:
[1]
"The title of this chapter is apparently
in another hand."
___________________________
[2]
Dona Beatriz Onez was a native of Arroyo,
near Santa Gadea.
Her parents were connected with the family
of the Adelantado of Castille.
___________________________
[3]
Judith, viii. 28:
"Et non est in sermonibus tuis
ulla reprehensio.'"
"there is nothing to be reprehended
in your words"
___________________________
[4]
Ps. xxxiii. 2:
'Semper laus eius in ore meo.'
"I will bless the Lord at all times,
His praise shall be always in my mouth"
_______________________________
[5]
Beatriz of the Incarnation
— that was her name in religion -
made her profession in Valladolid,
17th September 1570,
and died, 5th May 1574.
The conventual register erroneously
says 1573.
Saint Teresa had occasion to complain
of the want of exactitude
of a relation of this remarkable life,
and therefore undertook to write it herself.
See Letter of 2nd November 1576.
|
End of Chapter 12
of the
Book of the Foundations
of S. Teresa of Jesus
of the Order of our Lady of Carmel
|
