of S. Teresa of Jesus
of the Order of our Lady of Carmel
CHAPTER 16
Chapter 16 Contents
Of Certain Things That Took Place
In This Convent Of S. Joseph Of Toledo,
To The Honour And Glory Of God
1. Ann of the Mother of God. —
2. Resigns her possessions
before being professed. —
3. Obedience of the nuns. —
4. Austerities. —
5. Death of a nun. —
6. Peaceful death of Carmelites. —
7. Story of a gambler. —
8. Penitent in the hour of death.
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CHAPTER 16
1. Ann of the Mother of God.
1.
I have thought it well
to say something of the way
in which certain nuns laboured
in the service of our Lord,
in order that they
who shall come after them
may endeavour to imitate
these good beginnings.
Before the house was bought
there came in a nun,
Anne of the Mother of God, [1]
forty years of age,
who had spent her whole life
in the service of God;
and, though in her state and household
there was no want of comfort,
for she lived alone
and had property,
she chose rather the poverty
and obedience in the order,
and accordingly came to speak to me.
Her health was not strong,
but when I saw a soul
so good and
so determined
I looked on it as a good beginning
for the foundation,
and so I admitted her.
It pleased God
to give her
much better health
in her life of austerity and obedience
than she had
in the midst of her comforts,
and while she had her liberty.
2. Resigns her possessions
before being professed. —
2.
What excited my devotion,
and
why I speak of her here is this:
before she made her profession
she
- resigned all her possessions
— she was very rich —
and
- gave them as an alms to this house.
I was distressed about this,
and
refused my consent,
telling her
that perhaps
she might repent of it herself,
or
we might not admit her
to her profession,
and
that it was a dangerous thing to do,
though if it should so happen,
we should not send her away
without giving back
what she had given to us ;
but I wished to show her
the worst side of the case
for two reasons;
firstly, that there might be
no occasion for temptation;
and
secondly, to try her spirit the more.
Her answer was,
that if it should so happen
she would beg her bread
for the love of God,
and I could get no other answer from her.
She lived in the greatest happiness,
and her health was much better.
3. Obedience of the nuns. —
3. So mortified and obedient
were the nuns
that while I was there
I had to watch
what the prioress was saying,
for the sisters did what she told them,
though she might be speaking
without reflection.
One day, when looking at a pond
in the garden,
the prioress said to them,
'What will happen if I tell her '
— meaning a sister
who was standing close by —
'to throw herself in ?'
She had no sooner spoken thus
than the sister was in the water,
and so much wetted
that it was necessary to change her habit.
On another occasion
— I was present myselt —
the nuns were going to confession,
and the one who was waiting
for the other
to come out of the confessional
went up to the prioress and spoke to her;
the prioress said,
'Why,
What is this ?
Was that a good way to recollect herself.
[2]
Let her put her head in the well,
and there think of her sins.'
The sister understood
that she was to throw herself
into the well,
and made such haste to do so
that, if they had not quickly
gone after her,
she would have thrown herselt in,
thinking she was doing
the greatest service in the world to God.
4. Austerities. —
4.
I could tell other things
of the same kind,
showing their great mortification,
so much so
that it became necessary
for learned men
- to explain to them
wherein obedience consisted,
and
- to lay some restraints upon them,
for they were doing strange things,
and if it had not been
for their good intentions
their demerits would have outweighed
their merits.
And it was thus
not only in this monastery
— I happen to be speaking
of this alone now —
but in all;
so much is done
that I could wish
I were not concerned in them, [3]
that I might speak thereof
to the honour of our Lord
in His servants.
5. Death of a nun. —
5.
When I was there
one of the sisters [4]
became sick unto death.
When she had received the Sacraments,
and the last anointing
had been administered,
her peace and joy were so great
that we felt we could ask her
to recommend us
to God in heaven, and
to the saints
to whom we had a devotion,
as if she were only departing
for some other country.
Shortly before she died
I went in to remain with her,
having been before
the Most Holy Sacrament
to beg for her a good death
from our Lord.
And so, when I went in,
I saw our Lord
standing in the middle of the bed's head
with his arms a little extended,
as if protecting her.
He said to me [5]
that I might be certain
He would in the same way
protect all the nuns
who should die in these monasteries,
and
that they ought not to fear temptations
in the hour of death.
I was greatly
comforted and recollected,
and after a little while
I spoke to her,
when she said to me,
'Oh, mother,
what great things I have to see ! '
and thus she died as an angel.
6. Peaceful death of Carmelites. —
6.
I observed in some nuns
who died afterwards
a certain peace and quiet
which was like a trance
or the tranquillity of prayer,
with no signs of any temptation whatever.
I trust, therefore,
in the goodness of God,
that He will have compassion on us
in the hour of death,
through the merits
of His Son,
and
of His glorious Mother,
whose habit we wear.
Let us then, my daughters,
strive to become true Carmelites,
for the journey will soon be over;
and if we knew
the distress
that comes upon men at this time,
and
the cunning and deceit
with which Satan tempts them,
we should make much of this grace.
7. Story of a gambler. —
7.
I am now reminded of one thing
I should like to tell you,
for I knew the person,
and indeed he was somewhat of kin
to some of my kindred.
He was a great gambler,
and was not without some learning,
by means of which
the devil began to deceive him,
making him believe
that it was of no use whatever
to repent in the hour of death.
He maintained this so resolutely
that they could not persuade him
to make his confession;
all reasoning with him
was to no purpose,
and all the while
he was extremely sorry
and penitent for his wicked life.
But he would say,
why should he confess,
for he saw that he
was already damned ?
A Dominican friar,
a learned man and his confessor,
did nothing but reason with him,
but Satan suffested answers
so subtle that all was in vain.
8. Penitent in the hour of death.
8.
He remained in this state
for some days.
His confessor did not know
what to do,
but he and others must have prayed
very earnestly to our Lord,
for the sick man found mercy.
His disease,
being now very serious,
— a pain in the side —
the confessor came again,
and he may have brought with him
more arguments carefully considered
wherewith to answer him,
but he would not
have gained his cause
if our Lord had not had compassion
upon him
by softening his heart.
He sat up in his bed
as if he had not been ill,
and said,
'As you tell me
that my confession
may do me good,
well, then, I will make it,'
and sent for a clerk or notary,
I do not remember which,
and made a solemn oath
to abstain from play hereafter
and
to amend his life,
of which they were to be witnesses.
He made his confession most humbly,
and received the sacraments
with such devotion
that, as far as we can judge
according to our faith,
he was saved.
May it be
the good pleasure of our Lord,
my sisters,
that we may
live as true daughters
of the Virgin,
and
keep our rule,
that our Lord may show us the mercy
which He has promised us !
Amen.
________________
Foot Notes:
[1]
Ana de la Palma
was a wealthy widow,
and had been so for twenty years,
living a most holy life in her own house.
She was forty years old
when she entered the order,
and made her profession in Toledo,
15th November 1570,
and died the death of the just
in Cuerva, 2nd November 1610.
_____________________
[2]
As S. Teresa wrote first
'and spoke to me and I said to her . . . .'
it appears that in this case
she herself made this unfortunate remark.
She afterwards corrected the text as above.
_____________________
[3]
A very devout young lady,
whom Yepes knew,
wished to become a nun,
and, with the approbation of the Saint,
was on a given day
to enter the monastery.
But the evening before
she had something to say to S. Teresa,
and went to the monastery
to see her.
When she had finished
she said to the Saint
while taking leave,
'Mother, I will also bring my Bible.'
Bible, child?'
said the Saint with great earnestness.
'No, you shall not come here;
we do not want you or your Bible,
for we are ignorant women,
and do nothing but spin and obey.'
She was not received,
and by degrees,
giving way to her curiosity,
fell into the hands of the Inquisitors,
and had to make a public confession
of her faults
[ Yepes, bk. ii. ch. 21).
[Blog note:
Yepes -- Fray Diego de Yepes,
Vida de Santa Teresa,
Biography of St. Teresa
Madrid, 1615]
_______________________
[4]
Sister Petronila of S. Andrew
[ Reforma, bk. 11. ch. XXVI. #5 ].
She was a native of Toledo,
and made her profession
23rd March 1571.
[ Fuente, vol. vi. p. 71 ].
There are, however, chronological
difficulties which seem to make it
doubtful that she could have been
the nun referred to.
________________________
[5]
There is a painting
at the convent of Toledo
representing this scene.
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End of Chapter 16
of the
Book of the Foundations
of S. Teresa of Jesus
of the Order of our Lady of Carmel
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