To Sister Anne-Marguerite Boudet de la Bellière. On attachment too keenly felt.
My very dear daughter in Jesus Christ. I cannot thank God enough for this great desire of giving yourself to Him without reserve that He has bestowed on you with the courage which inspires you to make so many little sacrifices, and to moderate even the, most harmless attachments. Oh! my dear Sister, how thoroughly God has enlightened you about this, and how many dangers you will escape if you are faithful in following this light. We, unhappily, find only too many who, making profession of piety, are caught in this snare, and thus prevented from making any progress. With the excuse that there is no sin in the attachments they allow themselves, they give themselves up to them without scruple, and thus place an impenetrable barrier to the grace, an the communications of God. He desires to fill and inflame their hearts with His pure love, but how can He do so as long as those hearts are distracted by foolish amusements, and filled with a miserable love for some creature? You know what a dangerous snare this was for St. Teresa, and in truth after such an example you cannot be too much on your guard. Go on then, detaching yourself more and more, and I assure you that in proportion as your detachment becomes more complete you will feel more drawn to God, to prayer, recollection and the practice of every virtue; for, when the heart is empty in this way God fills it, and then one can do everything easily and pleasantly, because all is done out of love, and that, you know, makes all things easy, and sweetens all bitterness.
My dear Sister,
Allow me to tell you in all sincerity, a fear that makes me
anxious about you. It seems to me that your too frequent
intercourse with the members of your numerous family, and with
other people from outside, raises a serious obstacle to your
advancement. Take care that, while trying to do good to others,
you do no harm to yourself. Although I am obliged by my
vocation to have more communication with the world than you,
I assure you nevertheless, that I find it very good for my soul to
keep these communications within bounds. Since I came here
I have only made necessary visits, and try as much as possible
to avoid receiving them. To those who come to me I speak
only of God, of salvation, or of eternity. This is the rule laid
down by St. Ignatius and one which he declared suited him well.
If people like this kind of conversation they will profit by it,
and their visit will not have been a waste of time; if they do
not care for it they will not come again, or, at any rate not so
often, and then I shall have more time left me for my priestly
duties. It is useless to expect to make any progress as long
as your mind is filled with news from outside, and your heart
preoccupied with temporal affairs. The first condition for