of S. Teresa of Jesus
of the Order of our Lady of Carmel
CHAPTER 27 XXVII
Chapter 27 Contents
Treats Of
- The Foundation In The City
Of Caravaca.
- The Blessed Sacrament Is Reserved
On New Year's Day
Of The Same Year 1576.
- It Bears The Title Of
The Glorious Saint Joseph
1. Caravaca. —
2. The Saint undertakes
the foundation. —
3. Difficulties. —
4. The final arrangements made. —
5. The lords of Caravaca claim
the jurisdiction over the monastery. —
6. The nuns intended for Caravaca. —
7. Sent out. —
8. Evils of melancholy. —
9. Nuns to guard against laxity. —
10. Exhortation to the nuns. —
11. No one to be refused
because she is poor. —
12. How nuns ought to dispose
of their wealth. —
13. The Saint confesses her integrity. —
14. And the hand of God. —
15. The hardships endured by the Saint. —
16. Her affection for the nuns. —
17. The monasteries founded
with the sanction of theGeneral. —
18. The foundations stopped. —
19. The Saint's joy. —
20. The Saint rejoiced in her troubles. —
21. Reasons of her writing. —
22. Interrupted and resumed. —
23. Ceases from writing. —
24. And asks for prayers.
|
CHAPTER 27
1. Caravaca.
1.
When I was in S. Joseph's, Avila,
about to depart
for the foundation in Veas,
of which I have spoken already [1]
with everything settled
except the immediate preparations
for the journey,
there came to me a special messenger
from a lady who lived in Caravaca,
called Dona Catalina, [2]
to tell me
that three young women,
after hearing a sermon
by a father of the Society of Jesus,
had come to her house,
determined never to quit it
till a monastery should be built
in that place.
It was an act
which they must have arranged
with that lady,
who is the person
who helped them in that foundation.
They were children of the greatest persons
in that town.
One was the daughter of Rodrigo de Moya,
a very great servant of God, and
a man of great prudence.
They had money enough among them
for a work like this.
They knew what our Lord had done
in the foundation of these monasteries,
having heard of them [3]
from the fathers of the Society of Jesus,
who always countenanced and helped us.
2. The Saint undertakes the foundation.
2.
When I saw
the earnestness and fervour of these souls,
who sent so far
for the order of our Lady,
my devotion was kindled,
and I felt a great wish
to further their good intention.
Having ascertained that the place
was near Veas,
I took with me more nuns
than I was in the habit of doing,
purposing to go thither
when the foundation in Veas
should be settled;
for, judging by the letters,
I thought we could not fail
in making the arrangement.
3. Difficulties.
3 .
But my plans were of little use,
for our Lord had decreed otherwise,
as I said in
the History of the Foundation of Seville.[4]
They had obtained permission
of the council of the orders,
but it was such
as made me give it up,
though I had resolved to go thither.
The truth is,
• that when I found out at Veas
◦ where the place was, [5]
◦ that it was so far away, and
◦ what a labour it would be
to visit the nuns,
and
• that superiors might take it amiss,
I was not very willing
to go and make that foundation.
However,
as I had raised certain expectations,
I begged the Father Julian of Avila
and Antonio Gaytan
to go and see how the matter stood,
and
to put an end to it
if they should think it right to do so.
They found it had been very much neglected,
not by those
who were to become nuns,
but by Dona Catalina,
who was the chief person concerned in it,
and
who lodged the young women
in a room by themselves,
as if they were already withdrawn
from the world.
4. The final arrangements made.
4.
The nuns were so earnest,
especially two of them
— I am speaking of those
who were to become nuns —
that they completely won over
Julian of Avila and Antonio Gaytan
— so much so
that they had the deeds drawn up
before they returned,
and came away leaving the nuns
in great joy.
They were so pleased themselves
with them and the Country
that they did nothing else
but say so,
at the same time admitting
the road was bad.
When I saw the matter settled [6]
but the licence delayed,
I sent back again the good Antonio Gaytan,
who, out of affection for me,
willingly undertook all this trouble.
He and Julian of Avila were very eager
about the foundation;
in truth, we must thank them
for this foundation,
for if they had not
gone thither and arranged it all
I could have done very little for it.
I told him to go and put up the turn
with the grating
where they were to take possession,
and
where the nuns were to remain
till they found a proper house.
He remained, therefore, many days there;
it was in the house of Rodrigo de Moya,
who, as I said before,
was the father of one of the young girls,
and who had given us a part of it.
He was there many days
exceedingly well pleased, busy with this.
5. The lords of Caravaca claim
the jurisdiction over the monastery.
5.
When they had obtained the licence,
and when I was about
setting out on my journey,
I heard that by one of the clauses thereof
- the house was to be subject
to the commandery,
and
- that the nuns were to yield
obedience to the knights. [7]
That I could not allow,
because it was to be a house
of the Order of Our Lady of Carmel,
and accordingly they applied
for another licence ;
and here, as in the case of Veas,
they could not get it.
But the king now reigning, Don Philip, [8]
was so good to me
that on my writing to him
he gave orders for the issuing
of the licence,
so ready is he to help those religious
who, he knows, keep their rule;
for when he had heard
of our way of living
in these monasteries, and
of our observance of the primitive rule,
he helped us in everything:
and so 1 earnestly beg of you,
my daughters,
always to make special intercessions
for his majesty,
as we are doing at present.
Then, as another application
had to be made for a licence,
I departed for Seville,
by order of the father-provincial, [9]
who was then as now,
the father-master, Fray Jerome Gratian
of the Mother of God,
as I said before;
and the poor children continued shut up
till the following New Year's Day.
It was in February
they had sent the message to Avila. [10
The licence now was very soon obtained,
but, as I was
so far away, and
in the midst of so much trouble myself,
[11]
I could not help them,
and was very sorry for them.
They wrote to me very often
in their great distress, and
I could not bear to keep them
in that state any longer.
6. The nuns intended for Caravaca.
6.
As it was impossible for me to go myself,
both because of the great distance
and
because this (Seville) foundation [12]
was not yet completely made,
the father-master Fray Jerome Gratian,
who, as I have said before,
was apostolic visitor at the time,
resolved that the nuns
who were intended for the foundation there,
and
who were then in S. Joseph's of Malagon,
should go thither,
though I could not go with them.
7. Sent out.
7.
I arranged that the prioress [13]
should be one,
who I was confident
would do exceedingly well,
for she is much better than I am.
Taking with them
whatever was necessary,
they departed with two of our fathers
of the barefooted Carmelites, [14]
for the father Julian of Avila
and Antonio Gaytan had for some days
previously returned to their homes,
and I did not like them to go with them,
because the place was so far off
and the weather so bad,
for it was now the end of December.
The nuns on their arrival were received
with great joy in the place,
particularly by those
who were shut up so closely.
The monastery was founded, and
the Most Holy Sacrament carried in
on the feast of the Name of Jesus, 1576.
[15]
Two of them took the habit at once;
the other was much given to melancholy,
and the evil must have been increased
by her confinement,
to say nothing of the closeness of it
and her penances;
it was settled
that she should return home
with one of her sisters. [16]
8. Evils of melancholy.
8.
Behold, my daughters,
the judgments of God, and
the obligation we are under to serve Him,
seeing that He has allowed us
to persevere and make our profession,
and
to dwell for ever in the house of God
as daughters of the Virgin,
His Majesty made use
of the goodwill of this lady and
of her property,
but, at the moment
when she was about to enter
on the fruition of that
which she had so much desired,
her strength failed her and
her low spirits prevailed,
on which, my children,
we often lay the blame
of our imperfections and caprices.
9. Nuns to guard against laxity.
9.
May His Majesty
- pour down His grace abundantly on us,
for then nothing will hinder us
from advancing ever more and more
in His service,
and also
- protect and defend us all,
so that what has been well begun,
as it has been his good pleasure
to have made a beginning
in such poor women as we are,
may not prove a failure
through our weakness.
I implore you in His name,
my sisters and my daughters,
- to pray to our Lord for this,
and
- let every one of those
who shall hereafter enter
look on herself
as if the primitive rule
of the order of the Virgin our Lady
had its beginning in her,
and
- never in any way consent
to any mitigation of it.
Consider
- that the door is opened
for very great laxity
by very little things,
and
- that the world may come in
before you are aware of it.
Remember
that what you possess in peace
has been wrought in poverty and toil;
and if you look deeply into it
you will see
- that most of these houses
were generally founded,
not by man,
but by the mighty hand of God,
and
- that His Majesty is most ready
to carry on the work He has begun
if we do not hinder Him.
Where do you think
a poor woman like myself,
under obedience,
without
a farthing in the world,
or
any one to help her,
found the means to do so great a work ?
My brother,
who helped in the foundation of Seville, had
some means,
courage, and
good dispositions wherewith to help us,
but he was then in the Indies,
10. Exhortation to the nuns.
10.
Behold, my daughters,
Behold the hand of God:
He did not honour me in this
because of my illustrious birth;
in whatever light you may look upon it,
you will find it to be His work.
It is not right
we should in any way impair it,
even were it to cost us
our life,
our good name, and
our peace;
still less when we have all these together,
for life is to live
- in such a way as not to be afraid
of death,
or
of anything that may happen
while it lasts,
- in the possession
of that continual joyfulness
which you now have all of you,
and
of this prosperity
that never can be greater,
consisting in the utter absence
of the fear of poverty,
or rather in the desire of it.
Then,
is there anything
with which you can compare
the peace wherein you live,
whether inward or outward ?
It is in your power to live and die in it
as you saw them die
who have died in these houses.
Then, if you always
pray God to further this work,
having no confidence in yourselves
— if you put your trust in Him,
and are courageous —
seeing that His Majesty loves it.
He will not withhold His mercy.
11. No one to be refused
because she is poor.
11.
Have no fear
that you will ever be in want of anything;
Never fail to receive those
who come to be nuns
merely because they are
without worldly goods,
- if they are virtuous,
- when you are satisfied
with their good desires
and their abilities,
and
- they come not simply
for a place to live in,
but rather to serve God
in greater perfection;
for God, on the other hand,
will give you that twofold
which you should have had with them.
I have had great experience in this.
His Majesty knows well
that, so far as I can remember,
I never failed to receive one
because she was poor,
provided I was pleased with her
in other respects.
They are my witnesses,
and they are many,
who have been received
simply for God,
as you know yourselves.
And I can assure you
that my joy was
not so great
when I received those
that brought much with them
as it was
when I received those
who came for God's sake alone:
on the contrary
I had fears about the former,
while those who were poor
cheered my spirit, and
gave me so much pleasure
as to make me weep for joy:
that is the truth.
Then,
if when we had to buy and build our houses,
He helped us also therein,
why should He not help us
now that we have wherewithal to live ?
Believe me, my daughters,
you will suffer loss there
where you think you are gaining.
12. How nuns ought to dispose
of their wealth.
12.
When one comes with means,
under no obligations
to bestow them on others,
who perhaps need them not,
it is right she should give them to you
by way of alms; [17]
I confess that
if she did otherwise
she would show but little affection for you.
Always, however, make her who comes
understand that she must act herein
as learned men shall advise her
for the grreater service of God,
for it would be a serious evil
if we claimed the property of anyone
that came to us for any other end
but that.
We make a much greater gain
— that is, we act
in much greater perfection —
when she does
that which is a duty to God,
than by receiving
anything she may bring with her,
for we all of us have no aim,
and God grant we may never have,
other than the service of His Majesty
in and by everything.
13. The Saint confesses her integrity. —
13.
Though I am, myself,
a wretched and wicked woman,
I say this to His honour and glory,
and that you may have joy
in the way wherein these His houses
have been founded
— never in treating about them,
never in the doing of anything
that had to be done in relation to them
even when I thought
I should not prosper with any of them
unless I turned aside
from my intention,
(never) would I in any way do,
nor have I done anything whatever,
if I but knew it,
that swerved by a hair's breadth
from the will of our Lord,
according to the directions
of my confessors,
who, since I have been thus employed
have always been, as you know,
very learned men and
great servants of God;
— I am speaking of these foundations —
and I do not remember
that I ever even thought
of following any other course.
14. And the hand of God.
14.
Perhaps I deceive myself
— I may have done much amiss
of which I am not aware,
and my imperfections
may be innumerable —
I am speaking about myself only
as I know myself;
our Lord who is the true judge, knows it;
and I, too, see very clearly
that the work was
not mine,
but God's,
not mine,
but God's,
Who willed it should be done;
and, as it was His own work,
He helped me,
and was thus gracious unto me.
I say this on purpose
that you, my children, may
- learn that you are
the more indebted to Him,
and
- know that the houses have been founded
without wronging anybody to this day.
Blessed be He Who
has done it all, and
quickened the charity of those
who have helped us !
May it please His Majesty to
protect us always, and
give us His grace,
that we may not be ungrateful
for such great mercies !
Amen.
15. The hardships endured by the Saint.
15.
You have seen already, my daughters,
that we had some hardships to bear,
but I believe that I have described
only the least of them,
for if they were to be recounted in detail
it would be very wearisome:
those
of the roads and missing them;
of rain and snow, and
more than all, my scanty health;
and once
— I know not
if I have spoken of it — [18]
it was our first day's journey
from Malagon to Veas
— I happened to be ill of a fever,
and in many other ways
at the same time,
so that when I
considered the length of the journey,
and
beheld the state I was in,
I thought of Elias, our father,
flying from the face of Jezabel,
and said,
'Lord, have I the strength to bear it ?
Look Thou to it.'
The truth is, that
when His Majesty saw I was weak
He delivered me on the instant
from the fever and the other illnesses;
and ever since,
whenever I call it to mind,
I have been thinking
that it happened so
because an ecclesiastic,
a servant of God,
came to me at the time;
and perhaps it was so;
at least I was delivered in a moment
from all my sufferings,
outward and inward.
16. Her affection for the nuns.
16.
When I had my health
I bore all my bodily toils with joy.
Then, I had not a little to bear
when I had to bear with,
as it was necessary
I should in every place,
- the tempers of many people,
and
- in leaving behind
my daughters and my sisters,
when I had to go away
from one place to another:
that was not, I may tell you,
the least of my crosses,
for I love them so much
— especially when I considered
that I might never see them again,
and
saw them sorrowing and weeping;
for, though they are detached
from everything else,
God has not given them
this kind of detachment,
perhaps that it might be
a greater anguish for me;
neither was I detached from them,
though I strove
to the utmost of my power
not to show it,
and even rebuked them;
but it was of no use,
for the love they have for me
is great and real,
as may be clearly seen in many ways.
17. The monasteries founded
with the sanction of the General.
17.
You have also heard
that these monasteries were founded
not only with the permission
of the most reverend our father-general,
but by an express precept or commandment
subsequently given.
This is not all,
for he wrote to me to say
of the foundation of each house
that it gave him the very greatest pleasure
when the foundations
I have spoken of
were made.
Certainly, the greatest relief to me
in all my troubles
was to see the joy they gave to him,
for I felt that I was pleasing our Lord
when I was pleasing him,
for he is my superior,
and,
besides, I have a great affection for him.
18. The foundations stopped.
18.
Either His Majesty was pleased
to give me some rest at last,
or Satan was vexed
because so many houses were founded
for the service of our Lord.
It is well known
that it was not the will
of our father-general,
for on my begging him,
a few years before,
not to order me to found any more houses
he wrote back
that he would not do so,
because his desire was
that I should found as many houses
as I had hairs on my head. [19]
Before I came away from Seville
there was brought to me
from the general chapter, [20]
which I think ought to
have highly considered
the Increase of the order,
a decree of the definitory enjoining me
not only to make no more foundations,
but also, on no account whatever,
to leave the house
I should choose to dwell in,
which was something like
sending me to prison, [21]
for there are no nuns
whom the provincial may not,
when necessary for the good of the order,
send from one place to another
— I mean,
from one monastery to another.
And the most grievous thing was this
— our father-general
was displeased with me,
certainly not with reason,
but on account of the reports of persons
who had given way to passion;
and this it was that gave me pain.
At the same time
two other and very grave charges
were brought against me,
but they were not true. [22]
19. The Saint's joy.
19.
I tell you, my sisters,
that you may behold
the compassion of our Lord,
and
that His Majesty ceases not
to defend those who desire to serve Him,
that this
not only did not distress me,
but gave me such unexpected joy
that I could not control it,
so that I am not surprised
at what King David did
before the ark of our Lord; [23]
I wished then to do nothing else,
for my joy was such
that I could not hide it.
What the reason was
I know not,
for in the other slanders and contradictions
nothing of the kind happened;
One at least of the charges
was most serious. [24]
The prohibition to make foundations,
if it had not been for the displeasure
of the most reverend general,
would have been a great comfort to me,
and what I often longed for was
that I might end my life in peace;
however, they
who obtained that prohibition
were not thinking of this,
for they thought they were causing me
the greatest affliction in the world;
they had probably other good intentions.
20. The Saint rejoiced in her troubles.
20.
Sometimes, too,
I had a joy
in the contradictions and reproaches
I met with
while employed
in making these foundations;
some persons were against me
with good intentions,
others had other reasons,
but I do not remember
that I ever felt so great a joy as this
in any trouble that befell me [25]
I confess that at any other time
any one of the three trials
that came upon me all at once
would have been trial enough for me.
I believe
that my chief source of joy lay in this
— I thought
that, as creatures thus repaid me,
I must have pleased my Creator,
for I know
that he
who will take his pleasure
in the things of earth
or
in the praise of men
will be greatly deceived,
to say nothing of the little
he may gain by it ;
men are
of one opinion today,
of another tomorrow;
that of which
they once speak well
they soon revile.
Blessed be Thou, my God and my Lord,
who never changest, never !
Amen.
Whosoever shall serve Thee to the end
shall live without end in Thy eternity.
21. Reasons of her writing.
21.
I began to write
the history of these foundations
at the commandment
of the Father-Master Ripalda
of the Society of Jesus,
as I said when I began;
He was then rector
of the college in Salamanca
and I used to confess to him.
Some of it I wrote
when I was sojourning there
in the monastery of the glorious S. Joseph,
in the year 1573.
I then refrained from writing
because of my many occupations,
and I would not go on with it
because I was not then confessing to him
— he had gone to another part
of the country —
and also
because it cost me
so much toll and labour to write,
though I look on my labour
as well bestowed
because always under obedience.
When I had made up my mind
to write no more
I was ordered to finish the work. [26]
by the father the commissary apostolic,
who is at present the Fray Jerome Gratian
of the Mother of God.
22. Interrupted and resumed.
22.
I told him how few opportunities
I had for writing,
and gave him other reasons
which suggested themselves to me
— for I spoke as one
whose obedience is miserable —
and that it was also a great burden
added to the others I had to bear;
nevertheless he commanded me
to finish it by degrees,
or when I could.
I have done so,
submitting myself in everything
to those who,
finding therein anything amiss,
shall blot it out,
because perhaps that which to me
appears very good
may be said badly.
23. Ceases from writing. —
23.
I finish today, the vigil of S. Eugenius,
14th November 1576,
in the monastery of S. Joseph, Toledo,
where I am staying
by the order of the commissary apostolic,
Fray Jerome Gratian of the Mother of God,
whom we now have
as the superior
of the barefooted Carmelites,
men and women,
of the primitive rule,
being at the same time
visitor of those who keep
the rule of the mitigation in Andalucia,
to the honour and glory
of Jesus Christ our Lord,
who reigneth and will reign for ever.
Amen.
24. And asks for prayers.
24.
I implore the sisters and brothers
who shall read this,
for the love of our Lord,
to pray to our Lord for me,
that He would have compassion upon me,
deliver me from the pains of purgatory,
and, if I shall merit an entrance thereinto,
let me have the fruition of Himself.
As you are not to see this so long as I live,
let me have some advantage
after I am dead
from the weariness of writing
and
from the great desire I had while writing
to be able to say something
that might be a comfort to you,
if it should be thought right
for you to read it. [27]
Foot Notes:
[1]
Ch. xxii.
_________________
[2]
Dona Catalina de Otalora
was the wife of the licentiate Munoz,
a member of the council of the Indies
and of the council of Castille.
The young ladies were
Dona Francisca de Sarjosa,
a cousin of Dona Catalina;
Dona Francisca de Moya *
and
Dona Francisca de Tauste
[ Ribera, iii. 7].
* The daughter of Don Rodrigo de Moya
was called
Dona Francisca de Cuellar,
as the daughters did not always
bear their father's name.
Her mother was Dona Luisa de Avila.
She was twenty-four years old
when she took the habit, in 1576,
professed in October 1577,
died in August 1605.
[ Fra Antonio of S. Joseph].
____________________
[3]
Tres doncellas nobles
[ Reforma, bk. iii. ch. xliv. i].
( Blog note -" three noble maidens")
When they went to live with Dona Catalina
they had not yet made up their mind
which order to choose.
Father Leiva, a Jesuit, spoke to them
of S. Teresa and her convents.
_____________________
[4]
Ch. xxiv. 2.
_____________________
[5]
Caravaca is in the old kingdom of Murcia,
and famous for a miraculous cross.
_____________________
[6]
The contract whereby the young ladies
bound themselves to contribute,
one 8,000,
another 1,000,
the third 2,500 and
the fourth 2,000 ducats,
bears the date of 10th March 1575.
[ Oeuvres, iv. 4.20 ]
____________________
[7]
The jurisdiction of Caravaca
was divided between
the knights and
the bishop of Cartagena,
at this time Don Gomez Tapeta;
but the Saint did not trouble the bishop,
and afterwards, when the vicar-gencral
of Don Gomez raised some difficulties
about the monastery, the Saint
wrote from Seville, 19th February 1576,
to Don Rodrigo de Moya,
to tell him that he need not be distressed
at the interference of the vicar-general.
The monastery was safe
(note of Fray Antonio
on Letter of 19th February 1576).
____________________
[8]
Philip II,
for five years king of England,
as husband of Mary the queen.
____________________
[9]
Fray Jerome was visitor apostolic
of the Carmelites of Andalucia,
and provincial of the barefooted Carmelites,
men and women, of the Reform
of S. Teresa in Castille and Andalucia,
by delegation of the nuncio,
who gave him the title of provincial
since 3rd August 1575.
This was a beginning of the separation
which afterwards took place
between the friars of the mitigation and
those of S. Teresa.
Of the latter
Fray Jerome was the first provincial,
but that election was made
4th March 1581
[Reforma, bk. iii. ch. xli. 2 ;
bk. v. ch. ix. 5].
____________________
[10]
The Saint was in Valladolid
4th January 1575,
on the point of starting for Avila,
where she intended to stay
but a day or two,
going thence to Toledo.
(See her letter to Don Teutonio,
of 6th January 1575).
She must therefore
have made a longer stay in Avila
than she intended
if the messenger of Dona Catalina
found her there in February 1575.
_____________________
[11]
This was the dispute between the old friars
and those of her reform.
(See below, § 18.)
___________________
[12]
Of Seville.
___________________
[13]
The Saint had first appointed
Mary of S. Joseph (Salazar)
prioress of Caravaca
but ultimately destined her for Seville
and chose Anne of S. Albert
(prioress) for Caravaca
who was sent from Seville,
where she was at this time,
and was to take with her from Malagon
the nuns whom the Saint had left there
for the foundation in Caravaca.
These were
Barbara of the Holy Ghost,
sub-prioress ;
Anne of the Incarnation,
Juana of S. Jerome, and
Catharine of the Assumption
[ Ribera, iii. 7].
Anne of S. Albert
was the daughter of
Juan de Avila
( Alonzo de Avila ? )
and
Ana de Salcedo,
born in Malagon, and
made her profession
in the monastery there in the year 1569.
There are three letters among those
of S. John of the Cross
addressed to her as Prioress of Caravaca,
and from the last of them
she seems to have been prioress in 1588.
She died in 1624.
___________________________
[14]
Father Ambrose of S. Peter,
sub-prior of Almodovar,
and another whose name is not on record.
They arrived 18th December 1575.
_________________
[15]
On the first day of the year,
which is that
of the Circumcision and
of the Name of Jesus,
under the patronage
of the glorious S. Joseph .
[ Reforma, bk. iii. ch. xliv. 2].
____________________
[16]
She put on the habit, however,
in about two or three months after this,
when Fray Jerome came to visit the house,
receiving it at his hands.
The names of the three were
Dona Francisca de Cuellar
(Frances of the Cross);
Dona Francisca de Tauste
(Frances of S. Joseph);
Dona Francisca de Sarjossa
(Frances of the Mother of God),
the first two made profession
27th October 1577,
while the third
who had for a while
abandoned her design,
made it 1st June 1578.
___________________
[17]
The Saint was always willing
to admit the poor in their poverty,
but she was inexorable with the wealthy
who attempted to
place their children in the monasteries
and retained their dowers.
In a letter to the prioress of Seville
of 26th September 1576
she forbids the reception
of Blanca of Jesus Maria
without her dower,
though she was the daughter
of Dona Leonor de Valera,
who had given alms to the house
when it was in distress.
The Saint says
that the father was a man
who would never give a farthing
if he could help it.
His greed may be the explanation
of his wife's conduct in employing others
to administer her alms.
[ See ch. xxv. i, note #1 ]
____________________
[18]
The Saint made no allusion to it.
See ch. xxii.
___________________
[19]
See letter of 4th October 1578,
addressed to F. Hernandez, S.J.
In that letter the Saint says,
'Our Father-General,
in a letter written to me
when I had begged him not to bid me
make any more foundations,
says that he wished me
to found as many monasteries
as I had hairs on my head.'
_______________
[20]
A general chapter of the order
was held in Piacenza
22nd May 1575, Whitsunday,
in which the general published
the brief of Gregory XIII
by which the powers of the Dominican
visitors were recalled.
At the same time a decree was made
for the suppression of the houses
in Andalucia which were founded
for the observance of the
primitive rule,
and Fray Jerome Tostado of Portugal
was appointed by the general
to execute the decree
[ Reforma, bk. iii. ch. xl. i, 5].
At this chapter
neither Castille nor Andalucia
were represented.
It had been decided in 1532
that owing to their smallness
the three provinces of
Castille, Andalucia and Portugal
should take it in turns
to send representatives,
so that instead of three
only one member of each should attend,
namely, at the next chapter
the provincial of Castille with
a socius from Andalucia
and one from Portugal:
at the following
the provincial of Andalucia
with a socius from Castille
and one from Portugal, and so on.
However, at the chapter of 1539
none of these provinces were represented,
and at 1548 there appeared only
the socius from Andalucia.
In 1564 the provincial of Castille,
Angel de Salazar, was accompanied
by Caspar Nieto of Andalucia.
As the chapters had been
held very irregularly
it was then decided that the next should
take place in 1570,
but when the time came
the general (Rubeo) postponed it,
summoning it later on for Pentecost 1572,
but owing to the death of the Pope
(S. Pius V)
which occurred when Rubeo himself
was already on his way to Paris
where the chapter was to take place and
whither a number of capitulars had
actually proceeded,
he again countermanded it
causing thereby a great deal of discontent.
At length, on Pentecost 1575
the fathers assembled at Piacenza,
but there was no one from the three
provinces in question.
The provincial of Andalucia,
Fray Agustin Suarez, and the socius
from Castille, Fray Martin Garcia,
were delayed on the sea and arrived only
in time to sign the acts of the chapter
after all the proceedings
had been concluded.
The other socius, from Portugal,
had arrived a little earlier,
but as he was in no way concerned
with the Reform and probably
knew but little of it his absence or
presence made no difference.
Consequently there was no official
representative to say a word
in favour of the Discalced friars
and nuns,
no one who was acquainted
with the real course of events,
and the chapter had no better evidence
to act upon than the unchallenged
complaints of the Andaluclans.
____________________
[21]
The general ordered S. Teresa to choose
some one monastery to reside in
for the future,
which she was not to leave
without permission.
The order was sent to the provincial
of Castille, Fray Angel de Salazar,
who transmitted It to Fray Miguel de Ulloa
in Seville.
The latter kept it by him,
and did not make it known to the Saint
till after he had learned
that she was aware
it had come into his hands.
As it was close upon Christmas
when Fray Miguel communicated
the order to S. Teresa,
her immediate superior told her
that the general did not mean
to put her to the grave inconvenience
of travelling in the depth of winter,
and charged her to remain in Seville
for the present.
Fray Jerome, moreover,
had the right to do so,
even if the general had meant
to have the order executed at once,
for he was the delegate of the nuncio,
and his powers came
from a different authority.
The Saint gives an account of her conduct
to the general in a letter
written at the beginning of February.
See letter of 24th July 1576,
(advices) where,
as a proof of her obedience
and reverence for him,
she tells him that,
though the provincial told her
she might appeal to His Holiness
against his decree,
she would obey the general
and seek no relief,
but submit herself to his rule.
_________________
[22]
One of the charges was,
that she travelled in a way, unbecoming
poverty, from Seville to Toledo,
when she returned into her monastery
in the latter place.
But she travelled with her brother,
no doubt at his expense,
and his generosity was made a crime
in her
[ De la Fuente].
It is probable enough
that Don Lorenzo travelled in some state,
for the Saint, shortly after this journey,
tells him that he was much
inclined to pomp, and that he showed it.
The other charge may have been
that which Yepez refers to in his letter
to Fray Luis de Leon,
namely, that
"the last thing to be said of any woman"
was said of the Saint ---
"lo ultimo que de una mujer se puede decir"
[ Fuente, Obrns, vi. 128, n. 12].
________________
[23]
2 Reg. vi. 14..
Et David saltabat totis viribus
ante Dominum.
Blog note: (joyfully)
"And David danced with all his might
before the Lord"
_______________
[24]
The Saint was accused of heresy,
and this is probably
what she refers to.
A postulant was received
of whom her friends spoke highly,
and the Saint observed
that they would lose their credit
if she did not work miracles.
She was given to melancholy,
and the Saint, finding her obstinate,
sent her away with another novice
who had made up her mind to follow her.
The poor woman denounced S. Teresa
to the Inquisition, and a priest
whom the Saint had allowcd
to hear her confessions,
believing her story,
helped to bring the officials of the
Inquisition into the monastery.
The charge was serious enough
at that time,
though to us it appears childish.
According to Father Gratian's memoirs,
it had been thought wise
to forbid the nuns,
lest the strain on their mind
should prove too severe,
to speak of spiritual matters
during the time of recreation.
One nun, however, yielding to habit,
happened to make one day
an exclamation : O God how I love Thee,
or something to that effect.
Being rather scrupulous
she became frightened as though
she had broken her vow of obedience.
She therefore asked to see her confessor
who at first told her it was no sin
to say such a thing,
but being told it was forbidden
in this convent
he, without any further inquiry,
found nothing better to do
than to hasten to the inquisitors
with the news that the Carmelite nuns
were forbidden to love God.
Absurd as the charge was,
it led to an extensive inquiry
into the customs and rules
observed in the convent.
Accordingly next morning
Fray Jerome, going to see the Saint,
found the house surrounded
with the men of the holy office,
with others inside
searching the monastery,
and the poor priest at the corner
of the street waiting to see
all the nuns carried to prison.
Fray Jerome, in the greatest alarm
as we learn from a letter of the end
of November 1576, went in and found
the Saint cheerful and joyous.
The inquisitors,
satisfied with their search,
severely reprimanded the poor priest,
and begged the Father
Rodrigo Alvarez, S.J.,
to examine the spirit of the Saint.
Relation viii. was written
on this occasion and
submitted to Father Alvarez
[ Reforma, bk. iii. ch. xlvi. and xlvii.].
_________________
[25]
See Life, ch. xxxi. 13.
________________
[26]
The history of the foundation
of S. Joseph, Avila,
was written by direction
of Fray Garcia of Toledo,
and is inserted in the Life,
(chs. xxxii, ii-xxxvi.)
Then she was commanded
by Father Ripalda, S.J.,
to write the history
of the other foundations,
which she began to do in Salamanca
on the feast of S. Bartholomew, 1573
(prol. § 5),
and brought it down to the history
of the foundation in Alba de Tormes;
and thus the first part ends with ch. xx.
When she was staying in Toledo, and
the foundations were interrupted
by command of the general and
the troubles that came
upon the whole order,
she was directed by Fray Jerome
to finish the book,
and she then added the rest,
beginning with ch. xxi.
down to the end of ch. xxvii.
[ Reforma, bk. v. ch. xxxvii. 4, 5.]
Fray Jerome laid his command upon her
soon after her arrival in Toledo,
for on 24th July 1576
she writes to her brother Don Lorenzo,
to send her the papers
she had already written.
And in another letter to Father Gratian
dated 5th October 1576,
the Saint says she was then going
to begin to write,
our Lord having told her
that it would be to the profit of many souls.
_______________
[27]
In the original MS.
preserved in the Escorial,
Relation x. is inserted here,
as also in the printed editions
prior to that of Don Vicente.
The remainder of the manuscript
is not divided into chapters,
but each foundation bears its proper title.
|
End of Chapter 27
of the
Book of the Foundations
of S. Teresa of Jesus
of the Order of our Lady of Carmel
|
