e souls of nuns. Well then, I must be a great sinner, for
God made use of this holy religious to bring me much consolation.
At that time I had all kinds of interior trials which I found it
impossible to explain to anyone; suddenly, I was able to lay open
my whole soul. The Father understood me in a marvellous way; he
seemed to divine my state, and launched me full sail upon that
ocean of confidence and love in which I had longed to advance, but
so far had not dared. He told me that my faults did not pain the
Good God, and added: "At this moment I hold His place, and I
assure you from Him that He is well pleased with your soul." How
happy these consoling words made me! I had never been told before
that it was possible for faults not to pain the Sacred Heart; this
assurance filled me with joy and helped me to bear with patience
the exile of this life. It was also the echo of my inmost
thoughts. In truth I had long known that the Lord is more tender
than a mother, and I have sounded the depths of more than one
mother's heart. I know that a mother is ever ready to forgive her
child's small thoughtless faults. How often have I not had this
sweet experience! No reproach could have touched me more than one
single kiss from my Mother. My nature is such that fear makes me
shrink, while, under love's sweet rule, I not only advance--I fly.

Two months after this happy retreat our Venerable Foundress,
Mother Genevieve of St. Teresa, quitted our little convent to
enter the Heavenly Carmel. Before speaking of my impressions at
the time of her death, I should like to tell you what a joy it was
to have lived for some years with a soul whose holiness was not
inimitable, but lay in the practice of simple and hidden virtues.
More than once she was to me a source of great consolation.

One Sunday I went to the infirmary to pay her a visit, but, as two
of the older nuns were there, I was retiring quietly, when she
called me and said, with something of inspiration in her manner:
"Wait, my child, I have just a word for you; you are always asking
me for a spiritual bouquet, well, to-day I give you this one:
Serve the Lord in peace and in joy. Remember that Our God is the
God of peace."

I thanked her quite simply and went out of the room. I was moved
almost to tears, and was convinced that God had revealed to her
the state of my soul. That day I had been sorely tried, almost to
sadness. Such was the darkness that I no longer knew if I were