of S. Teresa of Jesus
of the Order of our Lady of Carmel
CHAPTER 21 XXI
Chapter 21 Contents
Treats Of The Foundation
Of The Glorious S. Joseph Of Carmel
At Segovia.
Founded On The Feast Of S. Joseph, 1574
[1]
1. Our Lord bids the Saint
found another monastery. —
2. She asks the permission
of the visitor. —
3. Dona Ana de Jimena. —
4. The Saint takes possession. —
5. Antonio Gaytan. —
6. The nuns to be grateful. —
7. Conduct of the Vicar-General. —
8. The Saint has law-suits. —
9. Which she settles by paying money —
10. She returns to Avila. —
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CHAPTER 21
1. Our Lord bids the Saint
found another monastery.
1.
I have already said [2]
that after founding the monasteries
in Salamanca and in Alba,
but before the nuns of Salamanca
were settled in a house of their own,
I was sent by the father,
Fray Pedro Fernandez, [3]
then apostolic commissary,
to the monastery ot the Incarnation
in Avila for three years,
and that he,
seeing the distressed state
of the house in Salamanca,
sent me back to remove the nuns
into a house of their own. [4]
I was in prayer there one day
when our Lord commanded me
to go and make
a foundation in Segovia.
It seemed to me an impossibility,
because
- I could not go unless I was ordered,
and
- I had heard from the Father-Master.
Fray Pedro Fernandez,
the apostolic commissary,
that he did not wish me to make
any more foundations.
I saw at the same time
that, the three years
I had to stay in the Incarnation
not being ended,
he had good reasons for not desiring any.
While I was thinking of this,
our Lord bade me speak to him about it,
for he would give his consent.
2. She asks the permission of the visitor.
2.
I was in Salamanca at the time,
and wrote to the commissary
saying that he was aware
- (that) the most reverend father-general
had commanded me
never to fail to make foundations
wherever an opportunity occurred;
- that the bishop and city of Segovia [5]
had consented to admit
a monastery of our order,
which I would found
if he would order me;
- that I was informing him of the fact
for the satisfaction of my conscience,
and
- (that) whatever orders he might give
I should be safe and contented.
These, I believe, were the words I used,
or nearly so,
adding that I thought
it was for the service of God.
It was plainly the will of His Majesty,
for he ( Fray Pedro )
- commanded me at once
to make the foundation,
and
- gave his permission,
at which I was much astonished,
remembering
what I had heard him say on the subject.
From Salamanca I found means
to have a house hired for us, [6]
for since the foundations
in Toledo and Valladolid were made
I had felt it was better,
for many reasons,
- to take possession first,
and
- then look for a house of our own.
My chief reason was,
- that I had no money
wherewith to buy a house ;
- that, the monastery once founded,
our Lord would provide one forthwith;
and
- that a better site might be then selected.
3. Dona Ana de Jimena.
3.
There lived there a lady,
Dona Ana de Jimena,
who had been the wife of the heir
to an entailed estate.
She had visited me once in Avila,
and was a very great servant of God.
Her vocation had always been
that of a nun.
Accordingly,
when the monastery was established,
she came in
with a daughter of hers,
who had led a most pious life;
and for the trouble she had had
as wife and widow
our Lord repaid her twofold in religion.
The mother and daughter had always lived
most devoutly in the service of God.
This saintly lady took the house,
and
whatever she saw we needed,
whether for the church
or for ourselves,
that she provided,
and I had but little trouble in the matter.
But, that there might be no foundation made
without some trouble,
I was always unwell during the six months
I was there;
besides,
I had gone thither
inwardly ill at ease,
for my soul was
in very great dryness and darkness;
I had a fever upon me,
and loathed my food,
with many other bodily ailments
which for three months
oppressed me sorely. [7]
4. The Saint takes possession. —
4.
On the feast of S. Joseph,
the Most Holy Sacrament was reserved,
and, though I had the sanction
both of the bishop and of the city,
I would not enter
but in secret the night before. [8]
It was a long time now
since the sanction had been given,
and, as I was in the Incarnation,
having a superior
other than the most reverend
the father-general,
I had not been able to make the founda-
tion.
The bishop's permission who was there [9]
when the city asked it of him,
was a verbal one,
given to a nobleman,
Andres de Jimena,
who asked for it on our behalf.
He did not take the trouble
to have it in writing,
nor did I think
it was of any importance myself.
I made a mistake,
for the vicar-general,
when he heard
that a monastery had been founded,
- came at once in great wrath,
- refused to allow mass to be said
any more,
and
- sought to imprison him who had said it,
( said the Mass )
a barefooted friar [10]
who had come with the father
Julian of Avila,
and another servant of God
who had travelled with us,
Antonio Gaytan.
5. Antonio Gaytan. —
5.
This was a nobleman from Alba, [11]
who had once been very worldly,
but whom our Lord had called
some years since.
He so trampled on the world
that his whole soul was intent
on serving our Lord more and more.
I have said who he was
because I shall have to speak of him again
in giving an account
of the other foundations,
for he has helped me much,
and undertaken great labours for me:
if I were to speak of his goodness
I should not finish so soon.
What was of most service to us
was his mortification,
for even among the servants
who were with us there
was not one
who served us
in our necessities
as he did.
He is a man of much prayer,
and God has given him such graces
that what is annoying to others
he
- accepts with joy
and
- makes light of;
all the troubles
he had in these foundations
he regarded as nothing,
whereby it seems clear
that God called
him and Father Julian of Avila
to the work;
Father Julian, however,
had been with me
ever since the first monastery was founded.
Our Lord must have been pleased,
for the sake of such companions,
to prosper all my undertakings.
Their conversation on the journey
was about God,
for the instruction of those
who travelled with us
and
who met us on the road,
and thus did they serve His Majesty
in every way.
6. The nuns to be grateful. —
6.
It is only right, my daughters,
that those of you
who shall read the story
of these foundations
should know
how much you owe them,
that,
as they took so much pains,
having no interest of their own
in the matter,
to obtain for you the blessings
you possess
of living in these monasteries,
you may commend them to our Lord,
so that they may derive some advantage
from your prayers;
for if you knew
- the hardships they endured
night and day,
and
- how toilsome were the journeys
they made,
you would most willingly do so.
7. Conduct of the Vicar-General. —
7.
The vicar-general would not quit the church
without leaving a constable at the door,
I know not for what purpose.
It helped to frighten a little
those who were there:
as for myself,
I never cared much what might happen
after taking possession;
all my fear is before.
I sent for certain persons,
relatives of one of the sisters [12]
who was with me,
chief people in the place,
to speak to the vicar-general
and tell him
that I had had the sanction of the bishop.
He knew that well enough,
so he said later;
what he wanted was
to have been told of it before-hand;
that, I believe,
would have been much worse for us.
At last they settled with him
that he was to leave us
in possession of the monastery,
but he would not let us
have the Most Holy Sacrament.
8. The Saint has law-suits.
8.
That gave us no concern;
we remained there some months
till we bought a house, [13]
and with it, too, many lawsuits.
We had had one already
with the Franciscan friars
for another which we bought close by;
about another house we had to go to law
with the friars of the order
of our Lady of Mercy,
and
with the chapter,
which had a rent-charge on it,
O Jesus,
what it is to have to contend
against many minds !
When I thought everything was settled
we had to begin again;
it was not enough to give them
what they asked for
— some other inconvenience
came at once to light;
it seems nothing
when I speak of it,
but it was much to endure.
9. Which she settles by paying money
9.
A nephew of the bishop [14]
did all he could for us —
he was prior and canon of the church;
so also did the licentiate, Herrera,
a very great servant of God.
At last,
when we had paid money enough,
everything was settled.
Our lawsuit with the friars
of the order of Ransom
remained,
and it was necessary for us
to go with the utmost secrecy to our house.
When they saw us in possession,
which was a day or two
before Michaelmas,
they thought it better
to compromise the matter
for a sum of money.
The greatest anxiety
which these troubles occasioned me
was that it wanted
only seven or eight days to complete
my three years in the Incarnation. [15]
10. She returns to Avila.
10.
It pleased our Lord
that everything should be so well settled
as to leave nothing in dispute,
and two or three days afterwards
I went to the Incarnation.
Blessed for ever be His name
who has always been so good to me,
and
let all creatures praise Him !
Amen.
Foot Notes:
[1]
S. Teresa wrote 1573,
but Father Gratian corrected the date.
(1574)
___________
[2]
Ch. xix. 6.
___________
[3]
Fray Pedro Hernandez or Fernandez
y Orellana
of whom S. Teresa always speaks
with the greatest respect,
was a Dominican,
and had been provincial of his Order;
at this time, however,
he was prior of Talavera de la Reina.
S. Pius V,
by a bull of 20th August 1569,
nominated him,
for the term of four years,
visitor apostolic
of the Carmelites of Castille,
and Francisco Vargas,
also a Dominican, visitor
of those of Andalucia.
He made S. Teresa's acquaintance
at Avila in 1571,
and was so impressed by her
that he chose her for the post of prioress
of the convent of the Incarnation.
It is recorded of him
that he always travelled on foot;
while engaged in a visitation of friars
he was most punctual in observing their rule,
frequenting the choir,
keeping the fasts
and observing silence;
he never entered the enclosure
in convents of nuns
but spoke to the sisters in the parlour.
When the province of Discalced Carmelites
was established (22nd June 1580),
the Pope commissioned him to preside
over the constituent chapter,
but before it could be held,
he died at Salamanca, 22nd Oct. 1580.
[ Oeuvres, 111. 275, note. ]
_____________________
[4]
Ch. xix. 7.
_____________________
[5]
Don Diego de Covarrubias y Leyva
[ Ribera, iii. 2 ].
He was born in Toledo, 25th July 1512,
studied canon law in Salamanca
under the celebrated Navarre,
whom he speaks of
as praeceptor mens ornatissimus.
Martintis Azpilcueta
[ Relect. in C. Peccatum, par. 2, § 9];
and in 1543 was made
professor there of canon law;
bishop successively
of Ciudad Rodrigo,
of Segovia, and
of Cuenca,
in succession to Don Caspar de Quiroga,
the grand inquisitor,
who was made archbishop of Toledo.
The chronicler says he died in Madrid
when still bishop of Segovia,
27th September 1577,
being then sixty-five years of age.
He was a man of great learning
and greater piety.
Nine years after his death,
his body was found
not only incorrupt but fragrant
[ Reforma, bk. iv. ch. xxiv. 7 ].
________________
[6]
Dona Ana de Jimena,
widow of Francisco Barros de Bracamonte,
and her cousin,
Don Andres de Jimena,
hired the house
[ Reforma, bk. Hi. ch. xxvii. 2].
____________________
[7]
The Saint took with her from Salamanca
the nuns, Marina of Jesus
and Isabel of Jesus,
a sister of Andres de Jimena,
both natives of Segovia.
She passed through Alba,
where the duchess of Alba entertained her.
It is this visit she speaks of
in the Interior Castle, vi. M. ch. iv. 9.
From Alba de Tormes
she took with her Guiomar of Jesus,
thence she proceeded
to Medina del Campo and Avila,
where she remained both at
the Convent of the Incarnation
and that of S. Joseph
from which she took her cousin
Isabel of S. Paul,
who returned with the Saint
when the foundation had been completed.
[ Ribera, iii. 2 ].
____________________
[8]
The Saint and her companions
were lodged this night
in the house of Dona Ana de Jimena
[ Reforma, bk iii. ch. xxvii. 3].
____________________
[9]
The bishop was absent
when the Saint arrived in Segovia,
being detained in Madrid on business
as president of Castile
[ Reformn, bk. iii. ch. xxvii. 3].
________________________
[10]
This was none other
than S. John of the Cross
who had said the mass
[ Reforma, bk. iii. ch xxvii. 3].
Julian of Avila hid himself
under the staircase
[ Ribcra, iii. 2 ].
____________________
[11]
He seems to have left Segovia
when the Saint had obtained a house,
for Salamanca,
to which place the Saint sent him
a letter about the beginning of June.
He had first gone to Pastrana
to escort the nuns
from that house to Segovia,
whither they came
in the holy week of this year, 1574.
See ch. xvii. 15.
______________________
[12]
This was Isabel of Jesus
[ Reforma, bk. 111. ch. xxvii. 3].
____________________
[13]
Situated in the Calle Cmiongia nueva
near the cathedral.
It was bought from Diego Porrax.
Blog note:
Was this meant to read
"Calle Canongia nueva" ?
_____________________
[14]
This was Don Juan de Orosco y
Covarrubias dc Leyva,
afterwards bishop
of Girgenti and
later of Guadix,
where he died in 1610.
Going from the episcopal palace
to the cathedral
on the day S. Teresa took possession,
he saw the cross
over the door of the house,
and when he heard
it was a Carmelite monastery went in,
and, after praying a while,
asked permission to say mass.
It was granted,
and after mass he asked
to see the Saint;
she came with the sister
Isabel of S. Dominic, and
before he could make
any offer of his services,
she told him
- that God had brought him
to the house,
and
- that he was bound to help her,
for she was a cousin of his aunt,
Dona Maria de Tapia.
Don Juan
- helped the monastery
to the utmost of his power,
- heard the confessions
of the sisters,
and
- for some time was himself
their only chaplain.
The vicar- general did not spare
even the nephew of the bishop
when he found fault with S. Teresa,
and Ribera (iii. 2) says
he inveighed bitterly against him
for saying mass in the chapel.
Don Juan de Orosco
narrates the facts himself
in a letter dated Guadix, 20th May 1606,
and addressed to the Father
Alonso de Jesus Maria,
General of the Barefooted Carmelites.
The letter is published
by Don Vicente de la Fuente,
vol. vi, p. 206.
______________________
[15]
The three years ended
6th October 1574,
and the nuns,
who when she was sent
to rule over them
threatened to become rebellious,
were now so sorry to lose her
that they re-elected her.
The election, however,
was not unanimous,
and the Saint was unwilling to accept it.
The provincial then intervened,
and
the Saint returned
to her own monastery,
where she was elected prioress
[ Reforma, bk. in. ch. xxxi. 4].
Before leaving Segovia
she visited the Dominican convent
of Santa Cruz where
in the grotto formerly occupied
by S. Dominic
she had a marvellous vision of the Saint.
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End of Chapter 21
of the
Book of the Foundations
of S. Teresa of Jesus
of the Order of our Lady of Carmel
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