of S. Teresa of Jesus
of the Order of our Lady of Carmel
CHAPTER 15
Chapter 15 Contents
Treats Of The Foundation
Of The Monastery
Of The Glorious S. Joseph
In The City Of Toledo, 1569
1. Martin Ramirez. —
2. Is persuaded to found a monastery. —
3. The Saint consents to found a house
in Toledo. —
4. Difficulties. —
5. She speaks to the governor of Toledo. —
6. Who gives his consent. —
7. Martin of the Cross and Andrada. —
8. Andrada finds a house. —
9. Of which the Saint takes possession. —
10. Preparation of the house. —
11. Troubles. —
12. Mass forbidden in the monastery. —
13. Poverty. —
14. Blessings of poverty. —
15. Pride of family. —
16. The Saint accepts in part
the conditions of Alvarez. —
17. The matter is settled.
|
Monastery at Toledo 1570
(The original site was founded
14 May 1569)
___________
CHAPTER 15
1. Martin Ramirez.
1.
In the city of Toledo
dwelt an honourable man,
a servant of God,
who was a merchant,
Martin Ramirez by name.
He would never marry,
but his life was that
of a very good Catholic,
he, being a man
of great truthfulness and honesty.
He added to his wealth
by lawful trade,
intending to do something with it
that should be most pleasing to our Lord.
He fell into a sickness
which was unto death.
2. Is persuaded to found a monastery.
2.
A Father of the Society of Jesus,
Paul Hernandez, [1]
- to whom I used to go for confession
when I was there making arrangements
for the foundation in Malagon, [2]
and
- who was very desirous to see
a monastery of our order
built there,
when he heard of his illness
went to speak to him, and
showed him
- that it would be a very great service
rendered to our Lord
if he founded the monastery,
- that he could establish in it
the chaplains and chapelries,
and
- that the solemnities and other observances
which he was resolved to institute
in one of the parishes of the city
could be kept in the monastery.
He was now so ill
that he saw he had not time enough
to arrange the matter,
so he left it all in the hands of his brother,
Alonso Alvarez Ramirez;
that done,
God took him to Himself.
He did very right,
for Alonso Alvarez
is a most discreet man,
fearing God,
upright, given to almsdeeds,
accessible to reason;
of him,
for I have had much to do with him,
I can say this
as an eyewitness in all truth.
3. The Saint consents to found a house
in Toledo. —
3.
When Martin Ramirez died
I was occupied in founding
the house in Valladolid,
and there received letters
from the Father Paul Hernandez
and Alonso Alvarez
giving an account of what had taken place:
they said in their letters [3]
that if I accepted the foundation
I was to hasten thither;
so I set out shortly
after the house was settled.
Arriving in Toledo [4]
on the eve of our Lady of the Incarnation,
I went to the house of Dona Lulsa,
the foundress of Malagon,
and in which I had been staying
at other times.
I was received with great joy,
for she has a great affection for me.
I had taken with me
two nuns as my companions
from S. Joseph's, Avila,
great servants of God;
a room, as usual, was given us at once,
wherein we lived
as if we were in a monastery.
I began forthwith to discuss the matter
with Alonso Alvarez
and
Diego Ortiz,
a son-in-law of his,
who, though a very good man
and a theologian,
was much more wedded
to his own opinion
than Alonso Alvarez ;
he did not yield so readily to reason.
They began by insisting
on many conditions
which I did not think right to grant.
4. Difficulties.
4.
We continued to discuss the arrangements,
and were looking for a house
to let in order to take possession;
none could be found fitted for the purpose,
though diligent search was made,
neither could I persuade the administrator
to give us his permission,
for at that time there was no archbishop, [5]
though the lady
in whose house we were staying
laboured much,
and also
a nobleman,
one of the canons of the church,
Don Pedro Manrique, [6]
son of the president of Castille,
who was and is
a very great servant of God,
for he is still living,
and, though not in good health,
entered the Society of Jesus
a few years after the foundation
of this house
to which he still belongs.
He was held in great respect in the city,
for he was a man of great sense and worth.
Nevertheless,
I could not get permission,
for when the administrator
was a little softened,
the members of the council were not. [7]
On the other hand,
Alonso Alvarez and myself could not agree,
owing to his son-in-law,
to whom he gave way too much;
at last we disagreed altogether. [8]
5. She speaks to the governor of Toledo. —
5.
I did not know what to do,
for I had come hither
for no other purpose but this,
and I saw it would cause much observation
if I went away
without making a foundation.
Nevertheless,
the refusal of the permission
distressed me more than everything else,
for I knew
that, once in possession of a house,
our Lord would provide,
as He has done in other places;
so I resolved to
speak to the administrator (governor),
and
went to a church near his house, [9]
and
sent to beg him
to have the goodness to speak to me.
It was now more than two months [10]
since we had begun to labour at this,
and matters every day
were becoming: worse.
I told him when I saw him
that it was a hard thing
(that) there should be women
desirous of living
in great austerity, perfection,
and retirement,
while persons
who did nothing of the kind,
but lived at their ease,
wished to hinder the doing
of those things
which are for the service of our Lord.
[11]
6. Who gives his consent. —
6.
I said this to him,
and much also besides,
with a certain firmness of purpose
with which our Lord inspired me.
His heart was so touched
that he gave me permission
before I left him.
I came away very happy.
I thought I had everything
while I had nothing,
for all the money I had
may have been three or four ducats;
with these
I bought
- two pictures on canvas,
because I had no picture whatever
to set on the altar,
- two straw mattresses, and a blanket.
There was no way of getting a house;
with Alonso Alvarez I had broken.
A friend of mine, a merchant in the city,
Alonso de Avila,
who never would marry,
occupied only in good works,
visiting the prisoners and
doing other good deeds,
and
who had told me not to distress myself
— he would find me a house,
fell ill.
A Franciscan friar,
Martin of the Cross,
a most holy man,
had arrived some days before this;
he remained some time,
and
when he went away
sent me a young man,
by name Andrada, [12]
whose confessions he heard;
he was not at all rich,
but very poor,
and him the friar had requested
to do whatever I told him.
One day,
when I was in church hearing mass,
the young man came
to speak to me and to tell me
what the holy man had said to him:
I was to rely
on his doing for me
everything that was in his power,
though he could help us
only in his own person.
I thanked him,
and
it amused me and my companions
to look at the help
the holy man had sent us,
for the young man's appearance
was not that of a person
with whom the Carmelite nuns
could converse.
7. Martin of the Cross and Andrada. —
7.
When 1 saw myself at last
in possession of the licence,
and without anybody to help me,
I knew
not what to do,
nor to whom I should apply
to find me a house,
I recollected the youth
whom Fray Martin of the Cross
had sent me,
and spoke of him to my companions.
They laughed at me,
and told me
to do nothing of the sort,
for it would end in nothing
but in making our affair public.
I would not listen to them,
because I was confident
- that, as he had been sent
by the servant of God,
there was some mystery in it, and
- that he would do something.
So I sent for him,
- told him what was going on
as a great secret,
and,
- charging him
to keep it as earnestly as I could,
- asked him to find a house
for our purpose:
I would give security tor the rent.
The good Alonso de Avila
was to be my surety,
who, as I said just now, had fallen ill.
The young man thought it
an easy thing to do,
and told me he would find me a house.
8. Andrada finds a house. —
8.
Early the next morning,
when I was hearing mass
in the Church of the Society of Jesus,
he came and spoke to me.
He told me
- he had found a house, and
- that he had the keys of it with him
— that we might go and see it;
and so we did.
It was so good
that we remained in it
nearly a year . [13]
Oftentimes when I think
of this foundation,
the ways of God amaze me:
for nearly three months
— at least, it was more than two,
I do not clearly remember —
such wealthy persons had been going
up and down Toledo
in search of a house,
and, as if there were no houses in the city,
had been able to find none;
but this young man came,
who was very poor,
and our Lord was pleased
he should find one forthwith;
then, when the monastery '
might have been founded
without trouble,
upon our agreeing with Alonso Alvarez,
He would not have it so,
but quite otherwise,
in order that the foundation might be laid
in poverty and trouble.
9. Of which the Saint takes possession.- —
9.
Then,
as we were satisfied with the house,
I ordered possession
to be taken at once
before anything could be done to it,
in order that there might be no hindrance.
Soon after Andrada came to tell me
- that the house would be left empty
that very day,
and
- that we might send in our furniture.
I told him there was little to send,
for we had nothing
but two straw mattresses and a blanket.
He must have been surprised.
My companions were vexed
at my saying it,
and asked me how I could do it,
for if he saw we were so poor
he would not help us.
I did not think of that,
and he did not think of it either,
for He
who had given him that good-will
would continue it to him
till he finished His work;
and so it was,
for he set about
arranging the house and
bringing in workmen
so earnestly
that I do not think
we were more in earnest than he.
We borrowed what is necessary
for saying mass,
and at nightfall, with a workman,
went to take possession,
having with us a little bell,
one of those rung at the elevation,
for we had no other,
and spent the whole of that night
in great fear, cleaning the house.
The only room for a church was one
the entrance into which
was from another house adjoining,
inhabited by some women,
and
which also the mistress thereof
had let to us.
10. Preparation of the house. —
And now,
when we had everything ready
and the dawn at hand
— we had not ventured to say anything
to the women,
lest they should make
our coming known —
we began to open the door,
which was to be in the wall
that divided the two houses,
and which opened
into a very small courtyard.
The women heard the noise,
and rose in terror from their beds;
we had a great deal of trouble
in soothing them,
and the time was come
for saying mass. [14]
for saying mass. [14]
Though they were violent
they did us no harm,
and when they saw what it was for
our Lord made them quiet. [15]
11. Troubles. —
11.
I saw afterwards
how hastily we had acted,
for then,
in the exaltation which comes from God,
we saw no difficulties.
When the owner of the house heard
that it had been made into a church
there was trouble,
for she was the wife of one
whose estate was entailed,
and great was the noise she made.
When she saw
that we would give a good price for it
if it suited us,
our Lord was pleased she should be quiet.
Again,
when the members of the council heard
that the monastery was founded
— they never would have given
their consent —
they
- were very angry, and
- went to the house of a dignitary
of the Church,
to whom I had made known
our plans as a secret,
and
- told him
what they were threatening to do.
As for the administrator,
he had occasion to take a journey
after he had granted the permission,
and was not in the city;
so they went with their story
to the dignitary I am speaking of,
astonished at such audacity
that a poor woman should
found a monastery
against their will.
He made answer
that he knew nothing about it,
and pacified them
as well as he could,
telling them
- that the thing had been done
in other places,
and
- that it could not have happened
without sufficient reasons.
12. Mass forbidden in the monastery. —
12.
Some days later
— I do not know how many —
they sent us an order
forbidding the celebration of mass
till we produced the licence
under which we were acting.
I answered most gently,
and said I should do
as they commanded me,
though I was not bound to obey them
in the matter;
and begged Don Pedro Manrique,
the nobleman I spoke of before
[See § 4, above. ]
to go and talk to them, and
show them our faculties.
He brought them over,
especially as the thing was done;
for if it had not been
so we should have had troubles. [16]
13. Poverty. —
13.
We were for some days
with no other furniture
but the two straw mattresses
and the blanket,
and on that first day
we had not even a withered leaf
to fry a sardine with,
when somebody,
I know not who he was,
moved by our Lord,
laid a faggot in the church
wherewith we helped ourselves.
At night it was cold, and we felt it,
though we covered ourselves
with the blankets
and
our cloaks of serge
which we wear over all;
these were serviceable to us.
It will be thought impossible
that we,
who were staying
in the house of a lady [17]
whose affection for me
was so great,
should have come in here
in such great poverty.
I do not know
how it was,
except that it was the will of God
we should learn by experience
the blessing of this virtue.
I did not ask her for anything,
for I hate to give trouble,
and she perhaps never thought of it,
for I owe her more
than she could give us.
14. Blessings of poverty. —
14.
To us [18]
it was a great blessing,
for the inward comfort and joy
we then felt
was such as to make me often ponder
on the treasures
which our Lord has laid up in virtues.
The poverty we were in
seemed to me
as the source of a sweet contemplation,
but it did not last long,
for Alonso Alvarez, himself ,
and others
provided for us soon,
and that in greater abundance
than we desired.
Certain it is
that my sadness thereupon
became so great
that I could not but regard myself
as one once possessed
of many gold trinkets
of which I was robbed
and left in poverty;
I was in pain
when my poverty was ended,
and so were my sisters,
and when I saw them sorrowing
I asked them what the matter was,
and they answered,
'What is the matter, Mother ?
We do not seem
to be poor any longer.'
15. Pride of family. —
15.
From that time forth
the desire of being very poor
grew within me,
and I felt a strength to enable me
to hold in contempt
the goods of this world,
seeing that
in the absence of them
grows interior good,
which, of a truth,
brings with it, fullness and rest.
During those days
in which I had to treat
of the foundation
with Alonso Alvarez,
many were the people
who
- thought I was doing wrong,
and
- told me so,
for they looked on his family
as neither great
nor noble,
though very good in its own place,
as I said before,
- saying that I should not want help
- saying that I should not want help
in so important a city as Toledo.
I did not pay much attention to this,
for,
thanks be to God,
I have always prized goodness
more than descent;
but so much was said
to the governor on the subject
that he gave his licence
on condition
that I made the foundation
as in other places.
16. The Saint accepts in part
the conditions of Alvarez. —
16.
I knew not what to do,
for the monastery was founded,
and they came again to treat about it. [19]
However, as the foundation was now made
I compromised the matter
by giving them the chancel,
(Blog note: chancel
The area around the altar of a church
for the clergy and sometimes the choir)
but in the monastery, itself ,
they were to have no rights,
as it is at present.
A great personage wished
to have the chancel,
and many were the opinions,
I (was) not knowing what to do.
It pleased our Lord
to give me light in the matter,
and so He said to me at once,
'How useless will birth and dignities be
before the judgment-seat of God ! '
And He gave me a severe rebuke
because I had listened to those
who spoke in this way,
for these were not matters
which those who despised the world
should think of. [20]
17. The matter is settled.
17.
These and many other considerations
made me ashamed of myself;
I resolved to conclude
the arrangements proposed
by giving them the chancel,
and I have never repented of it,
for we saw clearly
how scant were our means
for buying a house,
and by their help
we bought that
in which we are now living,
and
which is one of the good houses
of Toledo,
and cost 12,000 ducats:
and, as so many masses are said in it
and festivals kept,
it is a very great joy to the nuns,
and brings much joy to the people. [21]
If I had respected the vain opinions
of the world,
it would have been impossible,
so far as I can see,
to find so many advantages,
and it would have been
a wrong done to him
who did us the charity
with so much goodwill [22]
Foot Notes:
[1]
Paul Hernandez or Fernandez.
[See Rel. vii. 5. note 10. ]
Born in 1524 at Orcnse in Galicia,
he entered the Society of Jesus in 1552,
probably being already a priest.
During the first ten years
of his religious life
he filled various offices in different colleges;
in 1562 he was made rector
of that of Murcia;
four years later he was transferred to Toledo
in the quality of Father minister,
having charge of the household.
In 1569 he was called to Belmonte
as reader of Moral Theology;
in 1586 we find him at Granada,
and two years later he died at Murcia.
He had been consultor of the Holy Office
(the Inquisition) from 1570
till nearly the end of his life.
[ Oevres, iii. 196, n. i. ]
_________________________
[2]
This was in the year 1568,
and the Saint was in Toledo
in the beginning of that year.
_______________________
[3]
The Saint received the letters
probably in the beginning
of December, 1568,
for she signed powers of attorney
on the 7th
in favour of Father Hernandez
and the father rector of the society,
who were to do all things necessary
on her behalf.
Illness and the severity of the winter,
as well as the necessities
of the new foundation,
kept the Saint in Valladolid,
but on 21st February 1569,
she set out on the journey,
and on her way to Avila
made the visit to Duruelo
mentioned in the last chapter.
In the middle of March,
accompanied by the two nuns,
Isabel of S. Dominic and
Isabel of S. Paul,
both professed.
departed for Toledo with their chaplain,
Gonzalo de Aranda,
the priest whom the Saint spoke of
in ch. xxxvi. 18, of her Life
[ Refortna, bk. 11. ch. xxiii. 6].
_______________________
[4]
That is on the eve
of the Annunciation, 24th March.
__________________________
[5]
The Archbishop of Toledo,
the celebrated Dominican
Fray Bartolomeo Carranza,
who had accompanied Philip II to England
and had been confessor to Queen Mary,
who without his knowledge
and against his will
obtained for him in May 1557,
the archbishopric on the death
of Cardinal Don Juan Martinez Siliceo,
had become suspected of heresy
and was thrown into the prison
of the Holy Office at Valladolid in 1559,
where he remained until, in 1568,
Pope S. Pius V. taking the matter
out of the hands of the Spanish Inquisition
placed it in those
of the Holy Office in Rome.
There Carranza remained a prisoner
until 1576
when he was absolved and sent
to the monastery
of Santa Maria sopra Minerva
where he died within a fortnight.
The question of his innocence or guilt
has never been cleared up.
S. Teresa was therefore right in saying
' at tliat time there was no archbishop.'
___________________________
[6] (Don Pedro Manrique)
He was uncle
of Don Juan and Dona Casilda de Padilla,
of whom the Saint speaks
in ch. x. and xi.
De la Puente,
in his "Life of Baltasar Alvare"
says that he,
unwilling to give up his freedom
and the things of this world,
had resisted grace for some time,
but finally yielded
when he saw his nephew so courageous
in his abandonment of all things.
He entered the Society in 1573,
and died at Alcala 12th January 1577.
_____________________________
[7]
The council was originally a civil court,
but as the archbishop of Toledo
was powerful in it,
partly because of his dignity and
partly because
of his great territorial possessions,
in the end the council became
an ecclesiastical tribunal
(de la Fucnte).
The administrator at this time
was Don Gomez Tello Giron
[ Reforma, bk. ii. ch. xxiii. 8].
De Yepes calls him Licentiate
(bk. ii. ch. 22).
________________________
[8]
When the treaty was broken off,
the Saint declared,
now that this little idol, money,
has failed us,
we shall make a better bargain'
[ Reforma, ut supra).
_________________________
[9]
The Saint took with her the sisters
Isabel of S. Dominic
and
Isabel of S. Paul
[ Reforma, bk. ii. ch. xxiii. 8].
The interview took place on 8th May;
The administrator gained by his opposition,
for the Saint,
according to the depositions
of Sister Mary of S. Francis,
in the information taken at Alba
for the beatification,
invariably spoke well of him,
and
desired the nuns to make
special intercession for him
[ Fuente, vol. vi. p. 310, 10].
____________________________
[10]
Saint Teresa says
it was more than two months
since she had taken the first steps
towards securing the permission.
In fact, she had already written
on the subject
to Dona Luisa de la Cerda
on 13th December 1568.
___________________________
[11]
One day when S. Teresa was praying
in the church of San Clemente,
a woman who had accidentally
lost one of her wooden shoes
suspected her of having taken it,
and so with the other shoe
dealt her several heavy blows on the head.
Joining her companions,
the Saint said:
'God bless this good woman !
I had already enough headache
without that.'
[ Oeuvres, iii. 203, note. ]
__________________
[12]
Andrada is described
as a pobre estudiante.
After this his worldly estate changed:
He became wealthy,
married well and honourably, and
his descendants attribute their prosperity
to the service which he was able
to render the Saint
[ Reforma, bk. 11. ch. xxiii. 11].
_________________________
[13]
The house was situated
on the Plazuela del Barrio Nuevo,
near the church
of Nostra Senora del Transito.
It was temporarily fitted as a convent
at the small expenditure of 100 reales.
___________________
[14]
Fray Juan Gutierrez dc la Madalena,
prior of the Carmelites,
said the mass.
Later on he turned against the Saint;
he was elected provincial in 1576,
and as such was charged
with the execution of the decrees
of the General chapter of 1575
against the Reform;
he presided at the election of a prioress
at the Incarnation at Avila in 1577,
which resulted in the excommunication
of fifty-five nuns
who had recorded their votes
in favour of S. Teresa.
His office terminated on 15 Sept. 1579.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
— Dona Luisa de la Cerda
and her household were present,
with others drawn thither
by the unwonted ringing of a bell.
The Most Holy Sacrament was reserved,
and formal possession was taken,
it being the feast of S. Boniface,
14 May 1569
[ Reforma, bk. u. ch. xxiv. 1].
___________________________
[15]
The Saint gave them a little money,
and promised to find them another house
[ Ribera, ii. 14].
__________________________
[16]
Her old friend the Dominican,
Fray Vicente Baron,
took up her cause at the same time
[ Ribera, 11. ch. xiv]
______________________
[17]
Dona Luisa de la Cerda.
_____________________
[18]
The Saint sent for more nuns from Avila,
and there came from her old monastery
of the Incarnation
Dona Catalina Hiera,
Dona Juana Hiera,
two sisters,
Dona Antonia del Aguila, and
Isabel Suarez;
of these,
on account of
the severity of the rule,
or
the great poverty of the house,
Dona Juana Hiera alone remained,
who took the name of
Juana of the Holy Ghost.
From Malagon came
Anne of Jesus
and
Isabel of S. Joseph
[Reforma, bk. 11. ch. xxiv. 3].
_________________________
[19]
The family of Martin Ramirez,
mentioned in § 1.
_________________________
[20]
See Relation, iii. 1.
_________________________
[21]
A patent granted by Rubeo,
and dated Rome
24th September 1570,
authorised the Saint
to accept all the conditions
laid down by the family of Ramirez,
and contained in a Memorial
which had reached the General
on the 11th of the same month.
________________
[22]
The house bought with the money
of Alonso Ramirez
was in the ward of S. Nicholas,
opposite the Mint,
and was taken possession of in 1570:
but, as the charities founded by the family
proved a trouble and annoyance
to the nuns,
the monastery was removed
to the house of Alonso Franco,
near the Misericordia, in 1594:
that proved too small for the nuns,
and the Prioress Beatriz of Jesus,
niece of S. Teresa,
bought a house in the parish
of S. Leocadia,
near the Cambron gate,
the palace of the Dukes of Medina Celi,
where S. Teresa had been the guest
of Dona Luisa de la Cerda,
and transferred thither the community
in 1607, where it still remains.
The foundations of the Ramirez family
continued in their original site,
and were known as
the oratory of S. Joseph.
|
End of Chapter 15
of the
Book of the Foundations
of S. Teresa of Jesus
of the Order of our Lady of Carmel
|
